2022-2023 Board of Directors

Officers:

• Alex Bushell – Chair
• Nadine Valk – Vice-Chair
• Derek Antoine – Treasurer
• Stephanie Carpenter – Secretary

Directors:

• Jesse Ajayi
• Rachelle Anctil
• Derek Antoine
• Sue Beardall
• Nelson Coyle
• Bushra Saeed-Khan
• Isabelle Sirois
• Colleen Taylor
• Hieu Vu
• Jennifer Wilson

Past Chair (Ex-officio, non-voting):

• Linda Savoie

Staff (non-voting):

• Yacouba Traoré , Executive Director (Ex-Officio)
• Vanessa Rodnez
• Hilary Rose

Communicate with the Board by email to .

Biographies

Jesse Ajayi

Jesse has been a Carlington resident for over four years. He is a professional land use planner and has worked extensively in Indigenous communities in Nunavut and Northern Ontario, and holds an M.Sc. in Planning from the University of Toronto and a B.Sc. in Computer Science from the University of Lethbridge.

His work has helped him build skills in communications, policy development, strategic planning, and governance. Jesse is strongly committed to anti-racism and decolonization, and his passion for this is driven by his own lived experience. Jesse served on the Indigenous Planning Perspectives Task Force of the Ontario Professional Planners Institute, which produced key recommendations for the de-colonization of the planning profession.

Jesse also brings not-for-profit governance experience to the Board, having chaired the Board of a non-for-profit daycare society in Canada’s Arctic. Through this, he gained an
understanding of organizational structure and consensus-based governance.

Rachelle Anctil

Rachelle is a Franco-Albertan, who has made Ottawa her home since 2004, and now lives in the Carlington community. Holding an MBA and a BSocSc in International Development, she works as an International Development Officer and as a senior leader in her organization with over a decade of experience working in the not-for-profit sector.

Rachelle has a special interest in supporting women, children and families who come to Canada as refugees. She has traveled the World and brings a broad set of experiences and perspectives to the Board. Rachelle is passionate about offering her skills and perspectives to benefit those in the community who seek equity and social justice.

Rachelle is the Mom of two young children, believes strongly in the mission of the Centre, and is excited about the opportunity to contribute through participation on Carlington’s Board of Directors.

Derek Antoine

Derek is a resident of CCHC’s catchment area.  He is fluently bilingual and brings a wealth of experience in non-profit community services, strategic planning, corporate governance, public policy, and communication.

Derek is Senior Manager at Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation on a leadership team reviewing programs through the lens of reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples.  He previously led the Parliamentary Affairs team, shepherding through the National Housing Strategy initiatives.

Derek completed his doctorate in Carleton University’s School of Journalism and Communications, where he is a sessional instructor.

As a community oriented father of two young children, teacher and public policy professional, Derek has dedicated his career to advancing community health and social services in Ottawa, and hopes to continue doing so as a member of the CCHC’s Board of Directors.

Sue Beardall

Sue is a resident of the CCHC catchment area. She will soon be retiring from Indigenous Service Canada’s First Nations and Inuit Health Branch and is looking for an opportunity to make a valuable contribution and facilitate change in the healthcare field and with Indigenous and immigrant populations.

Sue is bilingual, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing and a Master of Health Sciences, with a specialty in Community Health and Epidemiology. Her education and experience in her current role, as well as having worked as a staff nurse in hospitals both in Canada and the UK, have given her an in-depth understanding of the health care system, the social determinants of health, the challenges of newcomers to Canada and the barriers faced every day by BIPOC and other marginalized communities.

Sue’s goal is to continue advocating for marginalized and racialized people and communities into her retirement, and feels that participation in the Board of Directors at CCHC will partially fulfil this commitment.

Alexander Bushell

Alex is the Director of Strategic Policy and Analysis at CANARIE, a federally funded non-profit agency that designs and delivers digital infrastructure. Alex coordinates the organization’s position in the area of public policy and recommends activities that would serve to strengthen Canada’s digital infrastructure ecosystem. Alex also serves on the Secretariat of the Global NREN CEO Forum with CEOs from international organizations similar to CANARIE.

Prior to joining CANARIE, Alex spent almost 6 years working for MPs in both Canada and the U.K. In Ottawa, he worked primarily on analyzing and producing policy on a range of consumer related topics, before moving to the private sector as government relations consultant.

Alex has a strong focus on community involvement, having served on the Board of two community associations and on a Union Executive. Prior to joining the Carlington CHC Board, he was a member of the former Strategic Planning, Advocacy and Quality (SPAQ) Committee. He looks forward to continuing his work on the CCHC Board during this time of transition in Ontario’s healthcare system.

Alex holds a B.A. (Hons) in Politics and Parliamentary Studies from the University of Leeds in the U.K. and a M.A. in Political Science from Carleton University

Stephanie Carpenter

Prior to being elected to the Board in September 2020, Stephanie spent a year as member of the former Quality Assurance Committee. She has worked for more than 15 years in health policy and social services and wants to use that experience and knowledge to contribute in her community.

Stephanie is particularly passionate about equity in care, accessibility, and working with at-risk populations. As a resident of the Centre’s catchment area, she looks forward to leveraging her experience at the community and national level to help within her community of Carlington.

Nelson Coyle

Nelson is a resident of CCHC’s catchment area with a history of community involvement and managerial experience.

Nelson is retired from a satisfying career with the Canadian Dairy Commission where he worked as Assistant Director, Policy, Strategic Planning and Communications, and later as Chief of Policy and Manager of Evaluation.  He holds a B.A. (Hon) Sociology from Queen’s University and a Masters in Science, Agricultural Economics from McGill University.

Nelson is an active volunteer with CCHC’s Healthful Food and container gardening initiatives and was the 2019 recipient of the Centre’s Community Achievement Award in recognition of his dedication to community building, volunteerism, collaboration and gardening.  He believes his experience in communications and the principles of evaluation would be a benefit to the Board.

Bushra Saeed-Khan

Bushra is a resident of the Centre’s catchment area, born and raised in Ottawa, and is motivated to improve the quality of life and health services, specifically to marginalized communities, in a manner that is inclusive and respectful.

Her career has a broad international focus, with an emphasis on human rights and security issues. Bushra currently works as a Senior Policy Advisor at Global Affairs Canada and was previously Senior Policy Analyst for the Privy Council Office. As a Canadian diplomat, she gained an understanding of the challenges local communities can face.

Bushra is fluently bilingual English and French and speaks Urdu/Hindi. She holds a Bachelor degree in Social Science (Hon) in International Development and Globalization from the University of Ottawa.

Bushra looks forward to gaining a better understanding of the challenges faced by her neighbours and to applying her personal experiences to improve the health and well-being of her community.

Isabelle Sirois

Isabelle is a seasoned volunteer with considerable experience in the not-for-profit sector. First appointed to the Carlington CHC Board of Directors in 2017, she sees this as an opportunity to support a community-based agency with strong roots in the social determinants of health.

As resident of the Centre’s catchment area and a Francophone, Isabelle remains excited at the Centre’s involvement in a multi-centre joint strategic plan and plans to expand the reach of its services.

Colleen Taylor

A resident of the Carlington Community, Colleen is a champion of building and fostering partnerships at all levels. Throughout her career, she has worked in various capacities providing leadership, expertise and advice on the development of programs, strategies and policies.

Elected to the Board in September 2020, Colleen looks forward to contributing to the Board with the experience she has acquired during a career of more than 25 years in the health and social services field.

Nadine Valk

Nadine is a resident of the Centre’s catchment area with over 25 years of experience working for health charities and organizations. Her work has focused on developing collaborative relationships within complex multi-stakeholder environments in order to improve health and well-being.

Nadine served on the Carlington CHC Board from 2008-2011 and elected again in 2019. She has retained her passion for and commitment to the Community Health Centre Model.

Hieu Vu

Hieu has focused the bulk of his career in public service with regard to the health and safety of Canadians, in part due his belief that families benefit greatly from the support of their community.

He served as a board member and Chair of a non-profit board for over a decade and volunteers to help newcomers integrate into the community through the Ottawa Community Immigrant Services Organization (OSISO).

Hieu works in the Centre’s catchment area and was elected to the Board of Directors in 2019.

Jennifer Wilson

As a member of the Board for the Carlington CHC since 2017, Jennifer believes that the key to the future success of the area is for the people who live and work here to come together to ensure that the continued transformation of Ottawa into modern city, respects the positive elements that make Carlington so unique.

Jennifer has watched with keen interest how the neighborhood has grown and developed over the years, and she remains committed to making a contribution to the area both as a resident of and member of the Board of Directors.

Linda Savoie

Linda Savoie is a management executive with significant experience in organizational transformation, partnership development and employee engagement. She has a proven track record conceiving and implementing innovative strategies in the delivery of various initiatives. Linda is a weathered communicator, is flexible and strategic.

Linda is a resident of the Centre’s client service area. Elected to the Board in 2015, Linda served as Chair from 2019-2021.