AMS Healthcare Conference - April 8, 2025
8:15 — 9:00 Breakfast
9:00 — 9:15
Bonnie Adamson
Currently Board Chair of AMS, Bonnie is a health leadership consultant who draws on a wealth of experience, including service as President and CEO of London Health Sciences Centre, President, and CEO at North York General, and President and CEO of the Huron Perth Hospitals Partnership. She has held academic appointments at the University of Toronto and Western University, and served on the boards of Cancer Care Ontario and the Hospitals of Ontario Pension Plan. Bonnie was appointed by the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care as Investigator for the Chatham Kent Health Alliance (2016) and Supervisor, Brantford Community Healthcare System (2017-2019).
AMS Board Chair
Helen Angus
As Chief Executive Officer at AMS, Helen brings her many talents and a renewed energy to the organization’s role as a catalyst for change and innovation in healthcare. Helen has a demonstrated ability to lead complex organizations and inspire others to drive systems-level change. From 2018 – 2021 she was Deputy Minister in the Ontario Ministry of Health, where she helmed Ontario’s initial health response to the COVID-19 pandemic. She played a critical leadership role in the groundbreaking work of Cancer Care Ontario and as co-chair of the Council of Deputy Ministers of Health. Helen is currently a distinguished fellow at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy.
AMS Healthcare CEO
9:15 — 9:30
Colleen M. Flood
Colleen M. Flood is the Dean of the Faculty of Law at Queen’s University. She served as a professor and the Canada Research Chair for the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Law from 2000-2014 and as the inaugural director of the Centre for Health Law, Policy and Ethics and University of Ottawa Research Chair in Health Law & Policy from 2014-2023. Dr. Flood holds a Doctor of Juridical Science (SJD) and Master of Laws (LLM) from the University of Toronto and a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) Honours from the University of Auckland, New Zealand. Her research has informed national and global debates over privatization, health system design, accountability, governance, and the role of courts in defending rights in health care. Her latest research focuses on the governance of health-related artificial intelligence. She holds many honours and accomplishments, including being named a Justice Emmet Hall Laureate in 2022, and member of the Canadian Council of Academies Scientific Advisory Committee in 2021, and a member of the Royal Society Taskforce on COVID-19 in 2021. She has over 100 publications and over 1,200 citations, including publications on implementing digital passports for COVID-19 immunizations, vaccine ins and outs, the legal issues that have been raised in the presence of COVID-19, and accounts of what our country could look like post-pandemic.
Helen Angus
As Chief Executive Officer at AMS, Helen brings her many talents and a renewed energy to the organization’s role as a catalyst for change and innovation in healthcare. Helen has a demonstrated ability to lead complex organizations and inspire others to drive systems-level change. From 2018 – 2021 she was Deputy Minister in the Ontario Ministry of Health, where she helmed Ontario’s initial health response to the COVID-19 pandemic. She played a critical leadership role in the groundbreaking work of Cancer Care Ontario and as co-chair of the Council of Deputy Ministers of Health. Helen is currently a distinguished fellow at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy.
Jaron Chong
Jaron Chong is an Assistant Professor and Department of Medical Imaging Undergraduate Medical Education Director at Western University. He joined the Department of Medical Imaging at London Health Sciences Centre (Victoria Hospital) in July 2020. As a graduate of McGill University (Medicine) and the University of Toronto (Master in Health Informatics, Institute of Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation) he has expertise in health informatics, natural language processing, and artificial intelligence.Jaron’s research interests include genitourinary oncology and artificial intelligence development and validation. He is a member of multiple advisory groups on AI including the Health Canada – Scientific Advisory Committee on Digital Health Technologies, is the Chair of Canadian Association of Radiology – AI Standing Committee. Jaron is also a Deputy Editor of Social Media and Artificial Intelligence for the Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging.
Anna Foat
Anna Foat is a passionate patient advocate. When she isn’t lending her expertise to public health care organizations trying to create compassionate and equitable digital solutions based on her 20 years of experience in technology roles in the private sector, she’s busy designing systems and new ways of working and understanding using human centred design to inform work and drive meaningful and impactful outcomes.
Jennifer L. Gibson
Professor Gibson is Sun Life Financial Chair in Bioethics and Director of the University of Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics. She is Associate Professor in the Division of Clinical Public Health and the Institute of Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health. Jennifer holds a PhD in philosophy. Her research and practice focuses on ethical issues in contemporary health institutions and systems. Jennifer has advised governments and policymakers on topics such as medical assistance in dying, public health emergencies, health technology assessment, drug funding and supply, and resource allocation. Jennifer was Chair of the COVID-19 Bioethics Table in the Ontario health system response structure. Jennifer is currently a member of the World Health Organization Expert Group on Ethics and Governance of AI for Health and has recently completed a three-year appointment as Vice-Chair of the Ontario Health Data Council. At the Joint Centre for Bioethics, Jennifer leads the AMS-Fitzgerald Fellowship on AI and Human-Centred Leadership and founded the Ethics and AI for Good Health program, which explores and engages emerging ethical and social issues associated with AI in health.
9:30 — 10:30
Colleen M. Flood
Colleen M. Flood is the Dean of the Faculty of Law at Queen’s University. She served as a professor and the Canada Research Chair for the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Law from 2000-2014 and as the inaugural director of the Centre for Health Law, Policy and Ethics and University of Ottawa Research Chair in Health Law & Policy from 2014-2023. Dr. Flood holds a Doctor of Juridical Science (SJD) and Master of Laws (LLM) from the University of Toronto and a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) Honours from the University of Auckland, New Zealand. Her research has informed national and global debates over privatization, health system design, accountability, governance, and the role of courts in defending rights in health care. Her latest research focuses on the governance of health-related artificial intelligence. She holds many honours and accomplishments, including being named a Justice Emmet Hall Laureate in 2022, and member of the Canadian Council of Academies Scientific Advisory Committee in 2021, and a member of the Royal Society Taskforce on COVID-19 in 2021. She has over 100 publications and over 1,200 citations, including publications on implementing digital passports for COVID-19 immunizations, vaccine ins and outs, the legal issues that have been raised in the presence of COVID-19, and accounts of what our country could look like post-pandemic.
Helen Angus
As Chief Executive Officer at AMS, Helen brings her many talents and a renewed energy to the organization’s role as a catalyst for change and innovation in healthcare. Helen has a demonstrated ability to lead complex organizations and inspire others to drive systems-level change. From 2018 – 2021 she was Deputy Minister in the Ontario Ministry of Health, where she helmed Ontario’s initial health response to the COVID-19 pandemic. She played a critical leadership role in the groundbreaking work of Cancer Care Ontario and as co-chair of the Council of Deputy Ministers of Health. Helen is currently a distinguished fellow at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy.
Jaron Chong
Jaron Chong is an Assistant Professor and Department of Medical Imaging Undergraduate Medical Education Director at Western University. He joined the Department of Medical Imaging at London Health Sciences Centre (Victoria Hospital) in July 2020. As a graduate of McGill University (Medicine) and the University of Toronto (Master in Health Informatics, Institute of Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation) he has expertise in health informatics, natural language processing, and artificial intelligence.Jaron’s research interests include genitourinary oncology and artificial intelligence development and validation. He is a member of multiple advisory groups on AI including the Health Canada – Scientific Advisory Committee on Digital Health Technologies, is the Chair of Canadian Association of Radiology – AI Standing Committee. Jaron is also a Deputy Editor of Social Media and Artificial Intelligence for the Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging.
Anna Foat
Anna Foat is a passionate patient advocate. When she isn’t lending her expertise to public health care organizations trying to create compassionate and equitable digital solutions based on her 20 years of experience in technology roles in the private sector, she’s busy designing systems and new ways of working and understanding using human centred design to inform work and drive meaningful and impactful outcomes.
Jennifer L. Gibson
Professor Gibson is Sun Life Financial Chair in Bioethics and Director of the University of Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics. She is Associate Professor in the Division of Clinical Public Health and the Institute of Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health. Jennifer holds a PhD in philosophy. Her research and practice focuses on ethical issues in contemporary health institutions and systems. Jennifer has advised governments and policymakers on topics such as medical assistance in dying, public health emergencies, health technology assessment, drug funding and supply, and resource allocation. Jennifer was Chair of the COVID-19 Bioethics Table in the Ontario health system response structure. Jennifer is currently a member of the World Health Organization Expert Group on Ethics and Governance of AI for Health and has recently completed a three-year appointment as Vice-Chair of the Ontario Health Data Council. At the Joint Centre for Bioethics, Jennifer leads the AMS-Fitzgerald Fellowship on AI and Human-Centred Leadership and founded the Ethics and AI for Good Health program, which explores and engages emerging ethical and social issues associated with AI in health.
10:30 — 11:00 Break
11:00 — 12:15
Suresh Balu
As Director of DIHI, Suresh leads a multi-disciplinary team to catalyze innovations across health, healthcare delivery, education, and research. In this role, he leads DIHI’s work in identifying, developing, and implementing novel, high-impact innovations to improve clinical outcomes, health equity and value of care. Suresh leads data science efforts to develop and integrate digital strategies, AI/ML and algorithmic clinical decision support into routine workflows to improve, safety, quality, efficiency and efficacy of care. In his role as Associate Dean, he is responsible for creating, implementing, and sustaining innovation and strategic partnerships for the School of Medicine, specifically, to support the priorities for clinical and translational research. His expertise includes building programs to support entrepreneurship, translate innovations to real-world benefit and go-to-market strategies for new products, processes, and services.Suresh is a founding member of the Health AI Partnership (HAIP), the first multi-stakeholder collaborative exclusively focused on empowering healthcare delivery systems to adopt AI safely, effectively, and equitably. HAIP was launched in April 2022 with initial funding from Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. HAIP envisions to be the trusted source of actionable, contemporary guidance for healthcare professionals seeking to use AI and advanced technologies.Suresh’s experience prior to Duke spans academia, management consulting, venture capital and private equity.12:15 — 13:15 Lunch
13:15 — 14:30
Laura Desveaux
Dr. Desveaux is the Scientific Director of the Institute for Better Health at Trillium Health Partners and the Lead for the Learning Health System Portfolio. She is also the founder and Executive Director of Women Who Lead, an organization dedicated to supporting the career advancement and leadership development of women in the health sector. Her work in behavioural science tackles healthcare’s most persistent problems by examining what drives behaviours, how and why things work, and identifying how context influences success (and failure). This approach provides insights into how to effect change at both individual and system levels.
14:30 — 15:00
Will Falk
Will Falk spent 25 years as a strategist and advisor in New York and Toronto advising top academic centres, governments, and innovative companies in healthcare. Since retiring from the PwC partnership in 2017, Will had had several roles. He is an Executive in Residence at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto where he has taught since 2008. He is a Senior Fellow at the CD Howe Institute and an Innovation Fellow at Women’s College Hospital Institute for Health System Solutions and Virtual Care. He invests in and has worked with several startups focused on healthcare. He received his B.Sc. from the University of Toronto (Trinity College) and his M.P.P.M. from Yale University’s School of Management where he was later a Visiting Research Fellow.
Payal Agarwal
Dr. Agarwal is a Family Physician and the Integrated Chief Medical Information Officer at Grand River and St. Mary’s General Hospitals. She is a seasoned digital health leader, having worked with multiple startups, hospitals and governments to design and implement high impact digital health tools. She also runs an active research program focused on digital health and virtual care. She completed her masters in Health Services Research from the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the University of Toronto and have an undergraduate degree in Systems Design Engineering from the University of Waterloo.
Brian Hodges
Brian Hodges is Executive-Vice President Education and Chief Medical Officer at University Health Network, and Professor in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto and President of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. Brian is a practicing psychiatrist, teacher, and healthcare leader. His research and writing focus on assessment, competence, compassion and the future of the health professions.
Muhammad Mamdani
Dr. Mamdani is Vice President of Data Science and Advanced Analytics at Unity Health Toronto and Director of the University of Toronto Temerty Faculty of Medicine Centre for Artificial Intelligence Research and Education in Medicine (T-CAIREM). Dr. Mamdani’s team bridges advanced analytics including machine learning with clinical and management decision making to improve patient outcomes and hospital efficiency. Dr. Mamdani is also Professor in the Department of Medicine of the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, and the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation of the Dalla Lana Faculty of Public Health. He is also adjunct Senior Scientist at the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES) and a Faculty Affiliate of the Vector Institute. In 2010, Dr. Mamdani was named among Canada’s Top 40 under 40. He has published over 500 studies in peer-reviewed medical journals. Dr. Mamdani obtained a Doctor of Pharmacy degree (PharmD) from the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) and completed a fellowship in pharmacoeconomics and outcomes research at the Detroit Medical Center. During his fellowship, Dr. Mamdani obtained a Master of Arts degree in Economics from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan with a concentration in econometric theory. He then completed a Master of Public Health degree from Harvard University with a concentration in quantitative methods.
Carla Velastegui
Carla is the primary caregiver for her mother, who was diagnosed with early-onset Parkinson’s Disease over 14 years ago. Drawing from her role as a young and working caregiver, Carla has dedicated her advocacy to increasing awareness about the multifaceted experiences that caregivers encounter in their communities, workplaces, healthcare settings, and beyond. Professionally, Carla is a healthcare technologist committed to advancing inclusive digital solutions for all Canadians. Aligned with her personal commitment, she actively explores how leveraging innovative approaches can enhance support for caregivers and their loved ones.
15:00 — 15:15 Break
15:15 — 16:15
Will Falk
Will Falk spent 25 years as a strategist and advisor in New York and Toronto advising top academic centres, governments, and innovative companies in healthcare. Since retiring from the PwC partnership in 2017, Will had had several roles. He is an Executive in Residence at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto where he has taught since 2008. He is a Senior Fellow at the CD Howe Institute and an Innovation Fellow at Women’s College Hospital Institute for Health System Solutions and Virtual Care. He invests in and has worked with several startups focused on healthcare. He received his B.Sc. from the University of Toronto (Trinity College) and his M.P.P.M. from Yale University’s School of Management where he was later a Visiting Research Fellow.
Payal Agarwal
Dr. Agarwal is a Family Physician and the Integrated Chief Medical Information Officer at Grand River and St. Mary’s General Hospitals. She is a seasoned digital health leader, having worked with multiple startups, hospitals and governments to design and implement high impact digital health tools. She also runs an active research program focused on digital health and virtual care. She completed her masters in Health Services Research from the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the University of Toronto and have an undergraduate degree in Systems Design Engineering from the University of Waterloo.
Brian Hodges
Brian Hodges is Executive-Vice President Education and Chief Medical Officer at University Health Network, and Professor in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto and President of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. Brian is a practicing psychiatrist, teacher, and healthcare leader. His research and writing focus on assessment, competence, compassion and the future of the health professions.
Muhammad Mamdani
Dr. Mamdani is Vice President of Data Science and Advanced Analytics at Unity Health Toronto and Director of the University of Toronto Temerty Faculty of Medicine Centre for Artificial Intelligence Research and Education in Medicine (T-CAIREM). Dr. Mamdani’s team bridges advanced analytics including machine learning with clinical and management decision making to improve patient outcomes and hospital efficiency. Dr. Mamdani is also Professor in the Department of Medicine of the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, and the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation of the Dalla Lana Faculty of Public Health. He is also adjunct Senior Scientist at the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES) and a Faculty Affiliate of the Vector Institute. In 2010, Dr. Mamdani was named among Canada’s Top 40 under 40. He has published over 500 studies in peer-reviewed medical journals. Dr. Mamdani obtained a Doctor of Pharmacy degree (PharmD) from the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) and completed a fellowship in pharmacoeconomics and outcomes research at the Detroit Medical Center. During his fellowship, Dr. Mamdani obtained a Master of Arts degree in Economics from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan with a concentration in econometric theory. He then completed a Master of Public Health degree from Harvard University with a concentration in quantitative methods.
Carla Velastegui
Carla is the primary caregiver for her mother, who was diagnosed with early-onset Parkinson’s Disease over 14 years ago. Drawing from her role as a young and working caregiver, Carla has dedicated her advocacy to increasing awareness about the multifaceted experiences that caregivers encounter in their communities, workplaces, healthcare settings, and beyond. Professionally, Carla is a healthcare technologist committed to advancing inclusive digital solutions for all Canadians. Aligned with her personal commitment, she actively explores how leveraging innovative approaches can enhance support for caregivers and their loved ones.
16:15 — 16:30
Helen Angus
As Chief Executive Officer at AMS, Helen brings her many talents and a renewed energy to the organization’s role as a catalyst for change and innovation in healthcare. Helen has a demonstrated ability to lead complex organizations and inspire others to drive systems-level change. From 2018 – 2021 she was Deputy Minister in the Ontario Ministry of Health, where she helmed Ontario’s initial health response to the COVID-19 pandemic. She played a critical leadership role in the groundbreaking work of Cancer Care Ontario and as co-chair of the Council of Deputy Ministers of Health. Helen is currently a distinguished fellow at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy.
Will Falk
Will Falk spent 25 years as a strategist and advisor in New York and Toronto advising top academic centres, governments, and innovative companies in healthcare. Since retiring from the PwC partnership in 2017, Will had had several roles. He is an Executive in Residence at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto where he has taught since 2008. He is a Senior Fellow at the CD Howe Institute and an Innovation Fellow at Women’s College Hospital Institute for Health System Solutions and Virtual Care. He invests in and has worked with several startups focused on healthcare. He received his B.Sc. from the University of Toronto (Trinity College) and his M.P.P.M. from Yale University’s School of Management where he was later a Visiting Research Fellow.
16:30 — 18:00
Networking Reception
