Board of Directors

Linda Rothstein (LL.B. University of Toronto) is partner of Paliare Roland Barristers, a law practice with expertise in class actions, commercial litigation, professional liability, public law and appeals.  In addition to serving as Vice-Chair of PHO’s Board of Directors, Linda serves as Chair of PHO’s Governance Standing Committee (GSC). She is also the Chair of the Law Foundation of Ontario.

She was lead commission counsel to the Goudge Inquiry into Pediatric Forensic Pathology and counsel to the Motherisk Independent Review. She previously served as a Toronto Regional Bencher of The Law Society of Upper Canada and was the recipient of the prestigious Law Society Medal and the “Award of Distinction” presented by the Toronto Lawyers’ Association.

Dr. John Garcia (Ph.D. University of Waterloo) is a Professor of Practice and Associate Director of Professional Graduate Programs at the School of Public Health and Health Systems, University of Waterloo.

John has many years of experience working with government, private sector, voluntary health, and academic organizations to advance public health, health promotion, chronic disease prevention and tobacco control initiatives. He has served previously in the Ontario Public Service, with senior management responsibility for health promotion and chronic disease prevention initiatives.

Ford Ralph (M.B.A. York University) is a retired vice-president of Petro-Canada, where he was responsible for retail and wholesale operations across Canada. In a previous role as Vice-President refining and supply, Ford initiated the development of Petro-Canada’s Corporate National Emergency Response Team and Corporate Crisis Management Team and acted as National Incident Commander for the Team. He holds the Professional Engineer (P. Eng.) designation and the Professional ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors.

Ford recently served on the Hydro Ottawa Holding Inc. Board of Directors and was a member of the Audit Committee, the Investment Review Committee and the Strategic Investments Oversight Committee. He is a past governor on the Shaw Festival Board of Governors and was a member of the Finance and Audit Committee, Governance Committee, and Strategic Planning Committee.

Margaret Flynn (RN, Non-Practising) has been employed in nursing in both rural and urban communities. Throughout her career, she has held frontline, senior and middle management level positions in both the private and public sectors. She has training and experience in nursing, management, education, health promotion, primary care and addiction treatment.

Margaret most recently served as the Director of Primary and Community Health at Belleville and Quinte West Community Health Centre. Prior to that, she was Patient Care Coordinator at Gateway Community Health Centre. She has served as the Director of Nursing at a long term care facility and a community nursing agency. Her work in addiction treatment included serving as the Director of Nursing and Patient Care at Bellwood Health Services, and Nurse Counsellor at the Donwood Institute. She also had the opportunity to assess the performance of health organizations and identify opportunities to improve patient safety and promote quality improvement as a surveyor with Accreditation Canada. Since her retirement in January 2018, she has remained interested in quality improvement activities.

Martina Dwyer (B.Sc.N., R.N., c. Ped. (c), J.D.) has more than 30 years of experience in the health care field. She has held nursing positions in a range of hospital departments such as Neonatal Intensive Care, Cardiology, Occupational Health, Labour and Delivery, and Adult Intensive Care. She has completed studies in Perinatal Intensive Care (George Brown College) and Public Health Nursing (University of Windsor). Martina is also an accredited Pedorthist and owned and operated a pedorthic clinic for many years.

Following her graduation from the University of Windsor's Faculty of Law in 2011, Martina articled and then practiced as an associate with a medical malpractice firm, Sommers, Roth & Elmaleh Professional Corporation, in Toronto. Presently, Martina operates her own legal practice that focuses on family law and medical malpractice law in Hamilton.

Frank Davis (B. Comm, LL.B.) is the Canada Country Head and Senior Legal Counsel for Pattern Energy Group LP, an independent renewable energy generation and operations company. His responsibilities in this position include market development, government relations, community engagement, joint venture partnerships and relationships with customers. He previously worked as an associate lawyer at the national law firm, McCarthy Tetrault LLP.

Frank currently sits on the executive committee and board of directors for the Canadian Wind Energy Association, and is the legal representative/member of the Harbord Village Residents Association. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Memorial University of Newfoundland and a Bachelor of Laws from Dalhousie University.

Dr. Earl Nowgesic (RN, BScN, MHSc, PhD) is Anishinaabe and a member of Kiashke Zaaging Anishinaabek. He is the Assistant Scientific Director of the Institute of Indigenous Peoples’ Health at the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). At CIHR, Earl is involved in developing and implementing strategic initiatives to support the advancement of Indigenous health research in Canada. Earl is also a Status-only Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto (U of T) in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health (DLSPH).

Earl has held leadership and research positions across a number of organizations including the U of T DLSPH Waakebiness-Bryce Institute for Indigenous Health, the First Nations Centre of the National Aboriginal Health Organization, and with Health Canada as a Canadian Field Epidemiologist. Earl was the first epidemiologist for the Assembly of First Nations.

Earl has extensive volunteer experience, including with the Canadian Nurses Association, International Union for Circumpolar Health, National Collaborating Centre for Indigenous Health, and the Canadian Indigenous Nurses Association. He holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Public Health Science (specializing in Social and Behavioural Health Sciences) and a Master of Health Science in Community Health and Epidemiology from U of T, and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Ottawa. Earl is a Registered Nurse in Ontario.

Dr. Isra Levy (MB BCh MSc FRCPC FACPM) is the Vice President of Medical Affairs and Innovation at Canadian Blood Services (CBS), where he focuses on operational and policy issues in the areas of national transfusion and transplantation. He is an adjunct professor of public health at the University of Ottawa. Prior to his role at CBS, Isra served as Medical Officer of Health for Ottawa Public Health for close to 10 years, where he guided local public health programming including infection control, tobacco control and mental health and addictions.

Isra has worked as a clinician and public health physician in South Africa, England and Canada, including as an epidemiology consultant to Health Canada and the founding director and chief medical officer of the Office for Public Health at the Canadian Medical Association. His work has been published in numerous scientific journals and he currently serves on the editorial board of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Isra is physician who is a graduate of the University of the Witwatersrand and has completed postgraduate studies in Epidemiology and Public Health and Preventive Medicine at the University of Ottawa.