Dr. Virginia Clark, BSc, BN, MD, CCFP, IBCLC

Virginia Clark is a practicing family physician with active obstetrical privileges at both the Foothills Hospital and Peter Lougheed Hospital in Calgary. In addition to obstetrical services, she provides primary care to a wide range of patients from infants to geriatrics, with the inclusion of mental health and palliative care. As a complement to the obstetrical care, Ginny, as she is known to most, provides her services as a lactation consultant in the Foothills Breastfeeding Clinic. Women’s Health has been a passion since graduating from the University of Calgary Medical school in 1998 and, through a number of pursuits, Ginny is heavily involved in promoting family practice obstetrics at the clerkship, residency and physician level in Calgary.

Dr. Benjamin Burko, MD

Dr. Benjamin Burko is a graduate of McGill University (BSc. 1984, MDCM 1988) and completed his General Pediatrics Residency/Emergency Fellowship at The Montreal Children’s Hospital in 1993. He is an assistant professor of medicine at the McGill University Health Centre in the department of Pediatrics and Family Medicine, and clinician teacher, supervising 50 students per year. He is the practice manager and medical director of Tiny Tots Medical Centre, the largest (non-hospital) pediatric ambulatory facility in Canada, which features the services of 41 Physicians and 11 therapists in two locations – servicing the needs of 130,000 patient visits annually. He has been on the forefront of using technology to enhance medical office administration and clinical encounters, driving operational expenses and office overhead to record lows while creating efficiencies enjoyed by the Physicians, Support Staff and Patients alike. He is a regular speaker on a national and international level in Pediatrics and on issues dealing with Practice Management. He is married and has two sons.

Dr. Derek Puddester, BA BMedSc MD MEd FRCPC

Dr. Derek Puddester is an Associate Professor at uOttawa's Faculty of Medicine where he also is the Director of the Faculty Wellness Program.  The program provides support, advocacy, research, and educational services to medical students, residents, and practicing physicians.  Dr. Puddester is also a Child/Adolescent Psychiatrist at the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario where he co-leads the Behavioural Neurosciences and Consultation-Liaison Team.  He completed his undergraduate training at Memorial University of Newfoundland, residency at McMaster, and fellowship at uOttawa.  In 2008, he completed an MEd in Teaching/Learning at uOttawa with his research focused on physician health education.  Dr. Puddester has developed several national and international curricular resources on physician health including www.ephysicianhealth.ca, eworkplacehealth.ca, the Royal College of  Physician and Surgeon's Physician Health Guide, and the Canadian Medical Association's  undergraduate curriculum in physician health.

Dr. Nicholas Leyland BASc, MD, MHCM, FRCSC Chair 

Dr. Nicholas Leyland is Professor and Chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at McMaster University and Chief of Women's Reproductive Health Program at the Hamilton Health Sciences.

Dr. Leyland received his Bachelor of Applied Science degree with distinction from the    University of Guelph and his MD with honours from the University of Toronto where he graduated as the Cody Silver Medalist.  Dr. Leyland received a Master of Science in Health Care Management from Harvard University.

Dr. Leyland is a nationally and internationally recognized leader in gynecological surgery. He has contributed academically to the advancement of women’s health in the development and the provision of the least invasive surgical options for a variety of surgical conditions. He is an award winning teacher and researcher and sought after speaker on a variety of issues in women’s health, patient safety and quality in medicine. He has developed many innovative laparoscopic techniques including a laparoscopic operation to correct cervical incompetence in pregnant patients, an operation that he has trained surgeons to perform across Canada and in many other countries.

He is the Chair of the Gynecology Clinical Practice Committee of the Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada, helping to set standards for the profession and is the President of the Society of Minimally Invasive Gynecologists of Canada. The majority of his academic career has been at the University of Toronto where he developed one of Canada’s first comprehensive fellowships in minimally invasive gynaecological surgery. He continues to train residents and surgical fellows in complex endoscopic surgery and maintains an active research program in OB/GYN.

Dr. Bradley J. Dibble, MD FRCPC, FACC

Dr. Dibble was born and raised in Barrie and attended Barrie North Collegiate, graduating top of his class and serving as valedictorian in 1984. He attended McMaster University in the Arts and Science Programme for two years before attending medical schools at the University of Western Ontario in London, where he graduated cum laude in 1990. He remained in London to complete training in Internal Medicine followed by Cardiology, and then completed a six-month position as a Clinical Assistant for the Department of Cardiology at Victoria Hospital. He started his practice in Barrie in 1996, and joined the team at Southlake in 2000 where he has worked in the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory.

He has a broad-based practice in clinical cardiology, with a particular interest in preventative medicine and risk factor modification. He has been the regional spokesperson for the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario, and is often on radio and television discussing cardiovascular issues. He was the Physician Lead for the Division of Cardiology and the Clinical Director of the Cardiovascular Program at RVH from 2012 to 2017, helping to bring advanced cardiac care to the region's own Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory which officially opened in January 2018.

Outside of Cardiology, he also has an interest in the climate crisis, and was appointed by the federal Minister of the Environment (the late Jim Prentice) as one of 25 members to the Sustainable Development Advisory Council, a membership he still maintains. He has written a book on the subject entitled 'Comprehending the Climate Crisis' which has won awards and been endorsed by former Canadian astronaut Col. Chris Hadfield, and has received training from former Vice President and Nobel Laureate Al Gore in San Francisco in August 2012, allowing him to provide versions of Mr. Gore's climate talk to Canadians. He now serves as a Mentor for Climate Reality Canada.

Mr. Michael Fraleigh, B.A., J.D.

Michael is a Partner at Fogler, Rubinoff LLP where he heads the health law group. He is also a former member of the Firm's Executive Committee. Michael has extensive experience in all aspects of health law including the representation of physicians in regulatory matters involving complaints, discipline, quality  assurance,  fitness  to practice and  registration  issues.  He  has  represented  numerous physicians in hospital privilege disputes as well as in matters involving the management and business operations of a medical practice including billing issues.  He also advises hospitals,  corporations and institutions with respect to health law issues. Michael is also an experienced medical malpractice litigator having both defended physicians and represented plaintiffs.  Michael is a frequent speaker at continuing education programs for health care practitioners and lawyers on issues relating to health law and medical practice. Michael is a past chair of the Ontario Bar Association Health Law Section and  Past President of the Medico-Legal Society of Toronto.