Board of Directors 2024-2025
Jennifer Wilson AALP, ICD.D
Chair of the Board
Charing Cross
Jennifer Wilson is a past director of Chatham-Kent Hospice Foundation. She was the founding Board Chair for Chatham-Kent Hospice during their successful campaign to establish their 10-bed residential hospice. Jennifer was also inaugural Tri Board Chair at the Chatham Kent Health Alliance for a public hospital, a faith-based hospital, and a small rural hospital collaborative. Jennifer has served on over a dozen charitable Boards and held Chair roles for Regional Council Region 5 of the Ontario Hospital Association, YMCA across Southwestern Ontario, and the Tri-County Literacy Network. She also served on the YMCA Canada Board for two terms. Jennifer has received numerous awards for her community service including the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal. She has completed University of Toronto Rotman School of Management’s Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD) Education Program and successfully achieved ICD.D designation.
Jennifer is also Chair of the Executive Committee and a member of the Nominating Committee.
Nancy Lefebre, RN, MN
Vice-Chair
Toronto
Nancy Lefebre is the Senior Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer for the Business of Caring at SE Health, with a broad portfolio that includes the delivery of care across all business lines in addition to the areas of professional practice, research, and education. Advocacy on behalf of Canadians most in need is important to Nancy, and under her direction, SE Health and the Saint Elizabeth Foundation has invested more than $6 million into end-of-life care catalyst projects, supporting over 200 hospices across Canada, and becoming the founding member operator of Journey Home Hospice.
Nancy is a recipient of the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario (RNAO) Award of Merit, and the Canadian College of Health Services Executives Nursing Leadership award in recognition of her nursing leadership. She received the Sharon Carstairs Award of Excellence in Advocacy in 2020 and the Award of Excellence from the Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association in 2023 for her dedication to hospice and palliative care.
Nancy is a member of the Governance, Nominating, and Executive Committees.
Treasurer: Paul Hazzard, CPA, CGA, MBA
Bright’s Grove
Paul currently serves as General Manager, Southpoint Equipment, a company specializing in the merchandising of farm and light industrial/construction equipment. He is also a Director and Chair of the Finance and Audit Committee for SWT, an agri business based in Saskatchewan, a director of IGP Coop, an ethanol production company. Prior to these positions, he held leadership roles at Sollio Agriculture, South West Ag Partners Inc. and St. Lawrence Grain and Farm Supply Ltd., and served as the President of Ontario Agri Business Association. He has extensive experience in the areas of the development of business and marketing strategies, financial analysis, and strategic planning.
He holds a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Guelph and is a Chartered Professional Accountant. Since 2008, at various times, he has been an adjunct professor at the University of Windsor, St. Clair College, and Fanshawe College, teaching business and accounting to undergraduate students.
Paul’s prior volunteer roles include President of both the Alzheimer Societies of Ontario and of Chatham-Kent, as well as Treasurer of the Alzheimer Society of Canada. In recognition of these efforts, he was a recipient of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal.
Paul is Chair of the Finance Committee and a member of the Executive Committee
Lisa Sullivan, RN, MPA
Ottawa
Lisa Sullivan has recently retired as Executive Director of Hospice Care Ottawa. There she led the development of three full service hospices in Ottawa. Lisa is a Registered Nurse with a Bachelors of Nursing Science and Masters of Public Administration from Queen’s University. She has spent most of her career in public and population health. Her past experience includes work with the Champlain LHIN, the Canadian Population Health Initiative- CIHI and Ottawa Public Health.
Lisa has personal experience with palliative care, losing her husband to ALS and her brother to cancer at early ages. She is passionate about finding ways to improve the hospice palliative care system. In her many years working in health care, she has learned that hospice is so much more than the services it provides. It represents a holistic philosophy of care that focuses on quality of living and dying. Perhaps most importantly she has learned to appreciate the fragility of life and the importance of every moment.
Lisa is the Chair of the Governance Committee and member of the Executive Committee.
Janet Cosier, FCPA/FCMA
Ottawa
Janet Cosier is a Fellow Chartered Professional Accountant. After a successful 30-year career, Cosier retired from the Bank of Canada where she held executive-level positions leading the strategic planning and enterprise risk management portfolios. She also held the positions of the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Internal Auditor. Since retiring, Janet chaired two international central banking training courses in strategic planning and risk management for ten years. Janet is a Board member of the Bruyère Health Board of Directors. She is the Board Chair of The Hospice Hub, a new charity not-for-profit organization, providing hospice palliative care services to individuals at end-of-life, and their families and caregivers in a rural community southwest of Ottawa.
Janet has considerable Board governance experience, having served on several not-for-profit Boards of Directors including the Canadian Payments Association, the Ontario Hospital Association, and the Queensway Carleton Hospital. Cosier served as the Board Chair of the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Center, and the Rideau Community Health Services. Janet has a Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematics and computer science from York University, and a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Windsor.
Janet is a member of the Finance Committee.
Angelika Gollnow
Toronto
Angelika Gollnow is the Executive Director at the Centre for Effective Practice, a national healthcare think tank that has been delivering projects across Canada for the last two decades. The Centre is committed to building sustainable healthcare systems focused on increasing provider capacity and reducing the burden of delivering care. With over 25 years of experience, Angelika has developed and expanded programs that address healthcare challenges within Ontario and beyond. She led the development of the Ontario Palliative Care Network, which included a $75 million expansion of hospice and palliative care services in 2017 and remains a passionate advocate for improving access to hospice and end-of-life care. Angelika is also an Adjunct Faculty member at the University of Toronto’s Institute of Health Policy, Management and Administration program and holds a Master of Business Administration from McMaster University.
Angelika is a member of the Audit and Risk Management Committee.
Nazira Jaffer, BSc. MHA. MBA. CHE
Thornhill
Nazira Jaffer is an international healthcare consultant supporting clients in planning palliative care and hospices services, strategic planning and providing accreditation support for governance and leadership for Aging and Medical Rehab services. She is currently the Chief Executive Officer of Ewart Angus Homes Inc. and Cedarhurst Dementia Retirement Home in Toronto.
Prior to that, she was the Executive Director of the Yee Hong Hospice from 2020 to 2023. She has over 25 years of experience working in senior positions within health care planning and management. She maintains excellent relationships with clinical and community peers in Canada and internationally. She builds partnerships for the highest quality compassionate care and is a strong advocate for diversity and end of life values and supports in a multicultural environment.
Nazira is a faculty member at the Global Institute of Psychosocial Palliative and End of Life Care (GIPPEC) and in addition, as an International Health Care Consultant, Nazira brings the elements of dignity, compassion, holistic care, and client choice to ensuring optimal living for the dying. Nazira has served on numerous Boards over the past 20 years with experience in strategic planning, governance, fundraising, and finance committees.
Nazira is a member of the Governance Committee.
Len Lifchus
Peterborough
Len Lifchus joined the HPCO Board of Directors in 2023 after having completed his term as Chair and President of Hospice Peterborough. Born in Vancouver and a graduate from the University of BC, he has spent the majority of his working career in the Not-for-Profit/Voluntary sector having
served as Director, Blood Donor Recruitment BC for the Red Cross Blood Program and then CEO of 3 United Ways (Kelowna, Peterborough and Hamilton/Burlington). Len has his Health Service Management Designation from CCHSE and his certification as a Donor Recruitment Manager from Virginia Polytechnic University and the Association of Donor Recruitment Professionals, an organization he served as International President. He has also served as Chair of the following organizations: Central East Community Care Access Centre (CCAC); Ontario Association of Community Care Access Centres Chairs Council, Greater Peterborough Chamber of Commerce; Showplace Peterborough Performance Centre and Peterborough Theatre Guild. Len is a Past President of Kawartha Rotary. For 12 years Len was a member and then chair of the City of Peterborough’s Committee of Adjustment and a member of the City of Peterborough Grants Review Team.
Len was a member of the Prime Minister’s Volunteer Awards Advisory Committee and a senior volunteer with the Pan Am/Para Pan Am Games in Toronto. Len is a trainer for both Elections Canada (Peterborough) and Elections Ontario (Peterborough). He was recognized with the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal for his volunteer activities and was inducted into the Peterborough Pathway of Fame for his work in Community Betterment in 2018.
Len is a member of the Finance Committee
Johanna Lim, CPA, CMA, PMP, Prosci®
Toronto
Johanna has combined decades of both public and private sector experience in governance, audit, risk management, and compliance providing her with significant opportunities to define value-added solutions to advance organizational objectives.
She currently oversees the internal audit function at the Canadian Red Cross and establishes the strategy intended to support the achievement of the organization’s objectives. She has led integrated audit, risk, and compliance programs at the Toronto Transit Commission, enhancing its operations. She also played a key role in establishing corporate compliance and ethics programs at the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board. Additionally, Johanna has provided strategic consultations to numerous clients at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, improving their efficiency.
While Johanna values her professional growth, she equally cherishes her role as a volunteer Board Director for several not-for-profit organizations. Leveraging her combined professional and volunteer experiences, she is committed to supporting HPCO’s collective efforts to enrich the lives of those it touches everyday – and continue to best represent the interest of those in need to make their rest of life, the best of life.
Johanna is the Chair of the Audit and Risk Management Committee
Janette Panhuis, BScN, (RN) MBA
Georgetown
Janette has extensive experience in the healthcare field having started her work career as a registered nurse with Toronto General Hospital, moving into hospital management positions before going into pharmaceutical and clinical research. Janette retired from her position as Chief Operating Officer at Population Health Research Institute (PHRI), an academic research institute affiliated with McMaster University in June 2022.
Janette is the Chair of the Board at Bethell Hospice in Inglewood, having just completed her second year as chair and served as a Director and chair of the Governance committee at Bethell for the 3 previous years. Janette places high value in contributing to her community, and so living in Georgetown, and being passionate about healthcare, serving the local hospice is a perfect fit. She is pleased to continue her involvement in Hospice Palliative Care and broadening her impact by joining the HPCO board, working to ensure access to quality end-of-life care in Ontario.
Janette has more than 10 years of board experience having served on a volunteer board for a clinical research network (N2 Canada) as well.
Janette is a member of the Audit and Risk Management Committee
Vivian Papaiz, PhD, RN, CHPCN(C)
North Bay
Vivian Papaiz is the Associate Dean for the School of Health Sciences at Canadore College. With a diverse background in nursing practice, Vivian has worked across multiple sectors of nursing and nursing education, including curriculum and program development in academic settings, as well as oversight of nursing and allied health programs in clinical environments. Her professional experience includes significant leadership and management roles, having served as National Palliative Care Lead, Practice Educator, and Manager of Nursing and Home Support Programs with VON Canada in Ontario. In recent years, her focus has shifted toward academic leadership, guiding the advancement of Health Sciences programming. Vivian’s career has been defined by her deep commitment to palliative and end-of-life care. She has held numerous governance roles at national, provincial, and local levels in hospice palliative care, including executive positions on several Boards of Directors. Most notably, she serves as Past President of the Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association (CHPCA).
A Registered Nurse, Vivian completed her undergraduate degree at Western University, earned her Master of Nursing (Teaching Focus) from Athabasca University, and holds a Doctorate in Educational Sustainability with a specialization in Palliative Care Nursing from Nipissing University.
She remains passionate about fostering a strong academic experience for students, with a particular emphasis on integrating palliative care education into health sciences curricula.
Vivian is a member of the Governance Committee.
Angela Rea-Mahoney, B.Sc., MBA
Gananoque
Angela has over 30 years of leadership experience in the health care sector and was most recently a Project Director at Trillium Health Partners in Mississauga, Ontario. In that role she worked with internal and external
partners to advance innovative and often complex projects designed to improve system integration and ultimately enhance the patient experience. Previous roles have included experience in audit, clinical information systems, contract management, and clinical program operations.
Angela holds certifications in Thanatology and as an End-of-Life Doula. She has also been a volunteer in a local hospice and as a bereavement support volunteer in the community. She holds a B.Sc. Honours in Life Sciences from Queens University and an MBA (Health Services Management) from McMaster University. She is a curious and empathetic person and constantly seeks to gain new skills, knowledge, experience and relationships.
Angela is a member of the Finance Committee.
Jill Ross, BScN, MBA
Mississauga
Jill Ross is a leader with over 30 years of experience in Ontario’s healthcare system. Her roles have spanned policy, program development, data analytics, nursing and quality improvement. Most recently, she was CEO of the Pediatric Oncology Group of Ontario (POGO), a registered charity with both government-funded and charitable programs that advance children’s cancer care. Previously, she served as Director of Cancer System Quality Improvements at Cancer Care Ontario. Jill has a career-long commitment to accountable, person-centred, data and evidence-driven healthcare.
Jill is a member of the Audit and Risk Management Committee.