PRESIDENT: Justin Bates is currently CEO of the Ontario Pharmacists Association. Justin began his career in the advertising and marketing before transitioning in to the health insurance industry. Justin worked in a variety of capacities in the health insurance sector, including as a consultant for a pharmacy benefit manager. His involvement in the field of pharmacy advocacy began in 2005 while engaging in cross-industry initiatives with pharmacy associations, which brought together his passion for healthcare with a platform to advocate for sustainable solutions. In 2006, he joined the Canadian Association of Chain Drug Stores, which is now the Neighbourhood Pharmacy Association of Canada. During his 10 years at Neighbourhood Pharmacies, Justin’s leadership has helped navigate an industry association through strategic initiatives and economic sustainability while developing strong pharmacy industry relationships with all stakeholders.
PAST-PRESIDENT: An inspirational executive with broad ranging experience recognized for achieving exceptional results by creating and delivering innovative vision and outcome-oriented solutions through compelling leadership founded on integrity and building trust, while balancing organizational mission and goals, regulatory environment, legal framework, professional considerations, business mandates, governance, diverse stakeholders, and customer needs.
Deb thrives in engaging diverse internal and external stakeholders and building consensus around initiatives, approaches, and solutions that accommodate and balance diverse perspectives, positions and interests. She has extensive experience in risk anticipation, recognition, management and mitigation, and in managing mission-critical initiatives and issues with coterminous business and professional dimensions, agendas, and demands.
In various roles she has represented the pharmacy profession in complex and critical interactions and negotiations with government and health stakeholders, while obtaining results that successfully balance the often-competing visions, needs and objectives of key health players and decision-makers.
Deb is a member of the Institute of Corporate Directors and has attained the ICD.D designation. She is the President of the
Since November 2011, Deb has been with Shoppers Drug Mart, where she holds the position of Senior Director, Professional Affairs with responsibilities for Ontario and National, and is the Business Privacy Officer for pharmacy.
VICE-PRESIDENT: As CEO of the Canadian Pharmacists Association (CPhA), Glen Doucet is responsible for advancing CPhA, on behalf of its members and the profession, to become one of the most respected, influential and impactful associations in Canada. Glen has more than 30 years’ expertise in association management, government relations and strategic communications. He is widely respected as a dynamic leader and an innovative strategist who can organize, direct and efficiently manage talent and resources to meet and exceed mission objectives.
Glen has served as the executive director of three national associations and on the senior management team for two other major national health non-governmental organizations. In these positions, he led diverse teams of professionals to effectively represent these associations with government, industry, media and the public. Glen also has a passion for public service, politics and policy. He has served as the Vice-Chair of Hypertension Canada’s Board of Directors as well as a member of the Board of the Directors for the Canadian Skin Cancer Foundation. In addition, he has served as the national director and director of policy for a major federal political party. Through his work in politics and his professional life, Glen has built an extensive network of government, political and business contacts across the country.
TREASURER: Sherif Guorgui joined the Board in 2017. Sherif has extensive experience in pharmacy practice, business and operations. He has been an independent pharmacy owner, associate/franchise owner, and has held progressive corporate leadership roles with top pharmacy retailers in Canada. He is currently the co-CEO and Chief Strategy and Stakeholder Relations Officer at OnPharm-United, the fastest growing network of independent pharmacy owners in Canada. Sherif is an active volunteer and serves various provincial and national pharmacy organizations. He was President of the Ontario College of Pharmacists in 2011/2012. He was a board member of the Ontario Pharmacists Association and the Neighbourhood Pharmacy Association of Canada and is currently a member of the International Pharmaceutical Federation's Community Pharmacy Section's Executive Committee and a member of the Steering Committee of the Alliance for Safe Online Pharmacies (ASOP) Canada.
In 2015, Sherif was selected as one of Canada's top immigrants, showcasing the value and contribution of international pharmacy graduates to the Canadian society. In 2017, he was received the Voice of Pharmacy Award from the Ontario Pharmacists Association for his role in promoting the value of pharmacists and the pharmacy profession. That year he also received the Volunteer Appreciation Award by the Peel Multicultural Council. In 2018, Halton Region honoured Sherif with the Newcomer Recognition Award. In 2019 he was named to the Leaders In Pharmacy selection of pharmacists in Canada. The Leaders in Pharmacy initiative is sponsored by Pfizer Canada Inc., and recognizes individuals who are making their mark on the pharmacy profession in Canada.
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Paul Kidston was appointed Executive Director of the
Dr. Waite is Professor and Associate Director Clinical Education at University of Waterloo. Nancy is co-founder of OPEN, the Ontario Pharmacy Evidence Network, a program of research that examines current and emerging medication management services, processes and policies. Dr. Waite’s research program and teaching examines medication/vaccine management and pharmacy practice with a focus on innovation in an evolving health-care landscape. Her research examines the impact pharmacists and pharmacy technicians have on improving vaccine uptake and improving vaccine confidence. She also oversees co-op, rotation and community-service learning programs for the PharmD program.
Nancy obtained her BScPhm from University of Toronto, and PharmD and post-doctoral fellowship from Wayne State University in Detroit. She has worked in Canada and the United States as a practicing pharmacist in hospital, primary care and community pharmacy.
Kerry Mansell is currently a Professor at the College of Pharmacy and Nutrition, University of Saskatchewan. He obtained both his BSP and MBA from the University of Saskatchewan and his PharmD from the University of Washington.
Kerry has worked as a pharmacist for more than 20 years, primarily as a community pharmacist, and in an outpatient clinic as a clinical pharmacist focusing on diabetes. His scholarly work and activities focus primarily on diabetes, and issues related to pharmacy practice. He has previously sat on Boards for the Association of Faculties of Pharmacy of Canada (AFPC), Canadian Pharmacists Association (CPhA), and Pharmacy Association of Saskatchewan (PAS), and served as Chair of PAS and President of AFPC.
Jean Bourcier is the Executive Vice-President and General Manager of the Association québécoise des pharmaciens propriétaires (AQPP). He leads and manages the Association’s overall activities, represents the Association within various groups of interest and manages media relations. He also sits on several internal and external committees. Bourcier possesses numerous years of experience managing health services organisations. A pharmacist who also holds an MBA, he served as President of Allegro Residences LP, President of Medisys Corporate Health LP, and more recently, General Manager for Canada (excluding Québec) of TELUS Health, Provider Solutions.
Margaret's involvement in pharmacy has been constantly evolving since obtaining her B Sc Pharm from the University of Alberta in 1985. She is currently CEO of the Alberta Pharmacists' Association (RxA). During Margaret's tenure as CEO advocating for pharmacists across the province, she has provided leadership over many important initiatives that have significantly advanced the practice of pharmacy in Alberta. Some of these include pharmacists' engagement in: Alberta Health COVID-19 programs from Asymptomatic Testing; COVID-19 Vaccinations; the Alberta Public Health Influenza Immunization Program; and the Pharmacy Services Framework funding model.
Throughout her career, Margaret has developed an expansive pharmaceutical background with experience in such roles as pharmacist, regional pharmacy manager, pharmacy owner, Director of Professional Services and CEO with RxA. Margaret obtained her MBA from Athabasca University in 2007 and completed the Directors Education Program (ICD.D) in 2019. She was awarded the Len Marks Pharmacy Advancement Award in 2019 from the Neighbourhood Pharmacy Association of Canada. She received the University of Alberta 2020 Alumni Honour Award in recognition of alumni that have made outstanding contributions to their profession and community over a number of years.
Rita Winn is a Director of Lovell Drugs Ltd. where she was the previous General Manager and COO for over 22 years prior to her retirement. In her role at Lovell Drugs, Rita is always enthusiastic to pilot new technologies, products and programs to help advance the role of the community pharmacist and to share this information with others. Rita is also the President and owner of WINN-RX LTD, a consulting company focused on strategic planning, professional programming, and training and development. Rita was an editor of the Pharmacy Management in Canada textbook published by CFP, as well as the author of several chapters. A graduate of the University of Toronto’s pharmacy program in 1981, she has more than 40 years of community pharmacy and retail experience.
Dr. Shelita Dattani is currently the Vice-President of Pharmacy Affairs at the Neighbourhood Pharmacy Association of Canada and in this role she leads a team advocating for pharmacy’s evidence-based role in delivering accessible, high-quality healthcare. Sheli is a dynamic pharmacist and a pharmacy leader with more than 20 years experience in many sectors of the profession in both Canada and the US, including community, hospital, academia, industry, group purchasing organizations and pharmacy associations.
Sheli maintains a practice in community pharmacy and primary care team-based practice. She is an adjunct faculty member of the new Doctor of Pharmacy Program at the University of Ottawa, and a lecturer and block instructor at the Memorial University of Newfoundland. She is a sought after speaker in diverse areas of practice and policy and is passionate about her continued engagement as an advisor, consultant, educator and dynamic thought leader. Sheli has previously sat on the Board for the Canadian Council on Continuing Education in Pharmacy and is currently a board member of Hypertension Canada. Sheli is fueled by contributing to the evidence-informed policy change that will drive the profession and sector forward as an integral healthcare partner.
Helen Marin earned her BScPhm from the University of Alberta in 2017, completed her MSc from the University of Montreal and is currently working on her PharmD for Pharmacists at the University of Toronto (UofT). Helen has spent most of her pharmacy career in Alberta, where she completed her pharmacy residency with Alberta Health Services and then started her career at the Cross Cancer Institute, where she developed the pharmacist’s role in ambulatory breast cancer clinics.
Helen is currently working at the Princess Margaret Cancer Center, where she provides comprehensive pharmacy services to the various oncology inpatient units. Helen is also a Lead Course Instructor for the International Pharmacy Graduate (IPG) program at the UofT as well as an APPE preceptor for UofT pharmacy students. Helen has been a guest speaker/lecturer (presenting in English, French or Spanish) at numerous events in Canada and the U.S on a range of topics, such as pharmacogenomics in oncology, deprescribing and palliative care.
Jason is an experienced commercial strategy and business development leader who is driven by the desire to improve the Canadian healthcare landscape by reducing healthcare expenditures and ensuring a stable supply of treatments and medications. As Vice-President of National Sales at JAMP Pharma, he and his teams are credited for being a driving force behind JAMP Pharma's accelerated growth across Canada. With his dedicated team, he has helped make JAMP Pharma a key supplier across the Canadian pharmaceutical industry. Jason has had tremendous success building businesses in both long-term stable growth environments and hyper-growth models both in the U.S. and Canada. He takes pride in providing personalized services to his industry partners where his aim is always to create mutually beneficial long-term partnerships.
Sherry Peister has served as President of both the Ontario Pharmacists Association (1994-1995) and Canadian Pharmacists Association (CPhA) (2013-2014). While President of CPhA, she was instrumental in building the relationships required to help the association successfully transition to a new membership and governance model. Sherry became the first female Chair of Green Shield Canada in 2010, serving as a director from 1997 to 2020. She is a current director of In-Common-Laboratories and Chairs their Governance and Nominations Committee.
Sherry is a three-time winner of the Women’s Executive Network’s (WXN) Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Award, in 2016, 2017 and 2020, and she received the CPhA Meritorious Service Award and Pillar of Pharmacy in 2019. She has also been recognized for her work in the community, being awarded the Bowl of Hygeia award. She has served on district health councils as well as a hospital board.
Al Moghaddam is an accomplished pharmaceutical executive with a science background and more than 20 years of experience in Canada and the U.S. He is currently Vice-President and General Manager of Pharmascience.
Al has helped propel Fortune 500 and early-stage companies to leadership positions within the biopharma, established pharma, and consumer markets. He has been recognized by such companies as Allergan, Bristol Myers Squibb, and Actavis (now Teva) and Pharmascience for outstanding performance in creating value. Recent projects with Boston Consulting Group, McKinsey, and the Disney Institute focus on superior patient outcomes and consumer experience, while also delivering an ROI. Within life sciences, he has served in leadership roles in the areas of product life cycle management, sales, business development, marketing and finance.
Rita Egan has more than 45 years experience in the pharmaceutical industry, starting at Upjohn, continuing with Kenral, AltiMed, ratiopharm, Schein, currently National Pharmacy Relations at AstraZeneca. As a Medical Science Liaison in Reproductive Medicine & Oncology, she worked with academia, pharmacists, physicians and specialists on innovative collaborations and research.
For 30 years Rita has actively participated in pharmacy stakeholder working groups at a provincial and national level, with Neighbourhood Pharmacies' Associate Advisory committees on scope advancement in public health, chronic disease management and specialty pharmacy, nationally active as an Organizational Affiliate with Canadian Pharmacists Association, trending survey reports with Canadian Society of Hospital Pharmacists and Community Pharmacists. At AstraZeneca she drives initiatives that optimizes pharmacist’s full scope of practice to support patients across Canada. Purposeful in advancing policy, diversity & inclusion, and mentoring women in leadership. Rita keenly believes that research and science matter, and that all stakeholders must work together to help patients. It is her joy volunteering for her 3rd term on the Board of Directors with
