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Varun Raza

Founder & President
Access to access

Varun Chandak is the Founder and President of Access to Success, a Toronto-based not-for-profit on a mission to Enable Everyone. Driven by his own lived experiences with disabilities and hopes of better assistive tech, Varun established Canada’s leading accelerator for accessibility startups. Startups that Varun has supported have gone on to benefit over one million people with disabilities. A sought-after speaker on accessibility and inclusive design, Varun has been recognized as a Top 50 Changemaker in Canada and received the inaugural Tom Wilson Leadership in Disability Award.

Simon Deblois

Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Expert
Consultant

Mr Deblois is a Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Consultant, with 14 years of experience in the field. He is dedicated to providing the best quality evidence available to inform decision-making concerning the medical, organizational, market, social and ethical issues associated with health technologies. As an HTA Professional for an academic hospital in Montréal, Mr Deblois has conducted more than 20 technology assessments as a main investigator. Also, he has published five articles in peer-reviewed journals and presented his work in six congresses. He received master’s degrees in Political Science and HTA from Université Laval and Université de Montréal as well as a graduate diploma in Management from the Université du Québec à Montréal.

Shahabeddin Abhari

Postdoctoral Fellow
University of Waterloo

Dr. Shahabeddin Abhari is a researcher, lecturer, and consultant in digital health and health informatics with over 10 years of academic and research experience. Currently, he is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Waterloo, where he conducts interdisciplinary research at the Ubiquitous Health Technology Lab (UbiLab) and serves as a member of the lab’s leadership team. He holds a Ph.D. in Health Information Management, an MBA in Healthcare, and an MPH in Health Policy, bringing a rich interdisciplinary background that bridges health sciences, digital innovation, and public policy.

Dr. Abhari’s research focuses on AgeTech innovation, digital health systems, and interprofessional collaboration, with a strong emphasis on supporting older adults and improving healthcare delivery. He has led and contributed to several high-impact projects, including the development of AgeTech standards and guidelines, designing smart home-based data ecosystems for aging in place, addressing ethical and privacy issues in Active Assisted Living (AAL) technologies, and integrating generative AI into healthcare. These efforts have involved collaborations with key organizations such as AGE-WELL, the Canadian Standards Association (CSA), the National Research Council (NRC), and the Schlegel-UW Research Institute for Aging (RIA). Dr. Abhari has authored over 40 peer-reviewed publications, presented at more than 20 conferences, and contributed to technical reports that shape AgeTech policies and practices in Canada. Prior to his postdoctoral work in Canada, he served as a full-time Assistant Professor in Health Information Technology in Iran, where he taught and supervised undergraduate and graduate students. His work closely aligns with the mission of envisAGE to drive innovation in aging through research, collaboration, and policy engagement.

Sara Ahmed

Professor, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Scientific Director, Digital Health Network (RSN)
McGill University

Sara Ahmed, PT, Ph.D., is a Professor in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at McGill University and a senior scientist at the RI-MUHC Center for Outcomes Research and Evaluation and the Centre de recherche interdisciplinaire en réadaptation (CRIR). She leads a person-centered digital health research program. She is the scientific director of the BRILLIANT learning health community project (https://www.brilliant-cfi.ca), part of a network of international Living Labs, and Open Science initiatives. Dr. Ahmed conducts research to improve health outcomes for individuals with chronic diseases.

Her research addresses the implementation of digital health solutions and patient-centered outcomes across care trajectories to inform clinical and health system decision-making. She is an advisor for the Implementation of Patient-Centered Outcomes for the Quebec Support Unit, and the scientific director of the FRQS Digital Health Network.

Raza Mirza

Director, National Partnerships and Knowledge Mobilization,
HelpAge Canada

Raza M. Mirza, PhD received his MSc and doctorate degrees from the Graduate department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Toronto’s Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy. His areas of expertise and teaching interests include research methods and evaluation, medical decision-making, the socio-behavioral determinants of health in persons aging with a chronic illness, aging-in-place, and factors such as social isolation and loneliness influencing late-life social, mental and physical well-being. He has been an invited speaker at national and international gerontology and geriatrics conferences, workshops and symposiums, and has consulted with various levels of government on diverse issues related to an aging population.

Dr. Mirza is the Director of National Partnerships and Knowledge Mobilization with HelpAge Canada, and Assistant Professor (Status) at the University of Toronto’s Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, Institute for Life Course and Aging.

Myriam Brel

With a degree in mechanical engineering from France’s Institut National des Sciences Appliquées (INSA), Myriam Brel worked for over twenty years as a consultant with major international consulting firms in Europe and Canada, strategizing and managing corporate projects involving business process transformation and organizational alignment with new operating modes crystallized by the integration of new information technologies.

Myriam then worked for fifteen years at Canada Health Infoway, nurturing and advancing digital health solutions in Quebec and Canada. As Regional Director for Quebec, she combined several roles such as evaluation, project/program management, change management and adoption of these solutions by clinicians and patients. In this capacity, she has interacted as much with the public sector (provincial and federal) as with the diverse players in the North American digital health industry (hospital solutions, medical clinics and patient portals). More recently, she has been focusing on the interoperability of digital solutions and the use of Artificial Intelligence to reduce the administrative burden on clinicians.

Michael Cullen

Manager, Technology & Digital Transformation, National Healthcare Practice
Ernst Young

Michael Cullen is an experienced manager within EY’s national Healthcare practice, where he excels in building connections between healthcare organizations, start-ups, and the broader ecosystem. 

Before EY, Michael spent 15-years in the healthcare industry. As a biomedical engineer, Michael became embedded in the circle of care for his clients. After seeing a need for change for how care is delivered to vulnerable populations, Michael founded his start-up, crafting a market for smart technology. His team developed standard solutions enabling their clients to live more independently.  

From his experience, Michael understands the desire and challenges healthcare organizations and start-ups face when trying to innovate. As such, he is well positioned to drive transformative change for those that need it most. 

Marie-Michèle Lord

Professor in the occupational therapy department University of Quebec in Trois-Rivières

Marie-Michèle Lord is a professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy at the University of Quebec at Trois-Rivières. She is a regular researcher at the Centre for Research and Expertise in Social Gerontology (CREGÉS) and the Centre for Research on Social Innovations (CARES). She is responsible for the RQRV’s thematic group on Living Environments and Social Interactions and co-responsible for CARES’s Healthy Aging research area. Her research expertise lies in social gerontology. In her research program (J1 FRQ scholarship researcher), she is particularly interested in the inclusion of citizen knowledge in techno-social innovation in health, including the creation of spaces of epistemic justice for older adults regarding innovations that affect them.

Karen Tisley

Director of Programs and Partnerships
Health Research Foundation (SHRF)

Karen Tilsley has worked at Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation (SHRF) for over 15 years holding progressive roles in research funding program delivery and leadership. As the Director of Programs and Partnerships, she plays a key role enabling a vibrant and relevant health research and innovation ecosystem in Saskatchewan. Her work is focused on developing and implementing responsive programming, including best practices in peer review, fostering collaborations, and increasing research investments through innovative local and national partnerships. 

Garcin Dama

Project Manager in Telehealth - Planning, Programming, and Research Officer
CIUSSS de l'Ouest-de-l'Île-de-Montréal

Garcin Dama brings extensive experience in public health management and research, with a strong focus on telehealth project management and COVID-19 outbreak management. His educational background in pharmaceutical science and public health has provided him with a solid foundation for his roles in planning, programming, and research within health services. His work at the Integrated University Health and Social Services Centre of West Island of Montreal reflects his commitment to improving healthcare delivery through innovative telehealth solutions. Prior to his current role, he played a key role in managing COVID-19 outbreaks at the Integrated Health and Social Services Centre of Montérégie-Centre, demonstrating his capability in handling public health crises.

Emna Jaafar

Program Manager, Business Analyst and Change Management
Clean Construction

With a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering, specializing in management, and a master’s degree in engineering, specializing in health technologies, Ms. Jaafar works as a program and project manager, business analyst, and organizational transformation strategist. She has over 15 years of experience in leading complex projects, project office management (PMO), professional training, and change management in an interorganizational context, in accordance with PMBoK, Agile, Macroscope, and ISO best practices.

Ed Leach

Entrepreneur
Aging Proactively

An experienced entrepreneur with a passion for changing the narrative for older adults. I am president of Aging Proactively, a not for profit, and chapter ambassador for Aging2 Nova Scotia.I have experience in navigating the health care system as a patient (2 open heart surgeries), author of the original business plan for monitoring congestive heart failure patients at home after release from hospital and an initiative to build a portal for managing personal health records. I was an assistant professor and director of the Norman Newman Centre for Entrepreneurship in the faculty of management at Dalhousie University.

I am the co-author with Dr. Mary Kilfoil of the Canadian edition of Management, the bestselling undergraduate text in the field. I received a Ph.D. in computing technology in education from Nova Southeastern (2009), an MBA from the Ivey School of Business at Western University (1977) a professional accounting degree from the Society of Management Accountants (1975) and a BComm. from Dalhousie University (1972). 

 I am past president of the Canadian Council for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (CCSBE), past chapter chair for the Young Presidents Organization (YPO), Atlantic Canada Chapter and most recently served as the director of education at the Centre for Entrepreneurship Education and Development (CEED). 

Angela Brooks

Managing Director
Health Arts Society

Angela is the Managing Director of Health Arts Society, a BC based non-profit that provides professional arts programs for older adults. Prior to this, she was the Senior Lead, Future of Aging, SE Health – Canada’s largest non-profit community healthcare provider. She is a healthy aging & gerontology devotee with a passion for technology & innovation. As a people person her education is rooted in gerontology and psychology.

Angela has a diverse 20+ year career journey multi-faceted business operations experience in business & industry and the non-profit charitable sector. As an experienced senior leader Angela loves building partnerships and community connections within our aging population and to better collaborate in community driven projects. Angela sits on the BCOMA board, https://destinationimagination.ca/ and enjoys advising innovators in AgeTech space.

Living in Vancouver, BC, Angela enjoys an active life with her 4 teens, husband and golden lab Ritchie. She loves enjoying time in the mountains, travelling, cooking and is an amateur urban gardener.

Barbara G. Stymiest, CM, FCPA

Board Vice-Chair, AGE-WELL

Barbara Stymiest served as an executive in financial services for over 20 years at Royal Bank, TMX Group and BMO Capital Markets. Her early career at EY LLP was concentrated in both financial services and healthcare.

She is an active corporate director serving on the boards of George Weston Limited, President’s Choice Bank, Resolution Re, and Sun Life Financial. She also pursues her passion for the importance and complexity of our healthcare system through current board and advisory roles at AGE-WELL, AgeTech Capital, envisAGE, and Health Data Research Network Canada, as well as being a past Vice-Chair of University Health Network. She also continues to serve as a director and past Chair of CIFAR, a global convenor of the world’s research community to address the most important issues facing science and humanity.

Her skills and interest in exemplary governance continued to be honed as a member and lead author of the TMX/ICD report, Charting the Future of Canadian Corporate Governance, which was released in December 2022.