About us

Dr. Lisa Calder

Board Chair

Dr. Lisa Calder is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Canadian Medical Protective Association (CMPA), a not-for-profit organization providing legal defense, liability protection, and safe medical care education for Canadian physicians. She is an experienced emergency physician who has focused her career on increasing patient safety.

Before joining the CMPA, Dr. Calder spent more than a decade as a practicing emergency physician in Ottawa. She is an Associate Profession at the University of Ottawa’s Department of Emergency Medicine and received the University of Ottawa’s Excellence in Emergency Medicine Quality and Safety Award, as well as the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians’ Teacher of the Year Award.

Dr. Calder joined the CMPA in 2015 as the Director of Medical Care Analytics. In her role as CMPA’s Director of Medical Care Analytics, she has diversified data sources and analytic approaches, created an evidence synthesis unit and a member data request service. She has also extended and created new stakeholder relationships that have elevated the CMPA’s profile internationally in medical-legal data analysis. In August of 2020, Dr. Calder was appointed CEO of the CMPA.

Dr. Calder brings extensive experience in patient safety. She completed two fellowships: The Patient Safety Fellowship in Emergency Medicine from the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine and the Emergency Medicine Patient Safety Foundation, and the American Hospital Association’s Fellowship in Patient Safety Leadership.

Prior to completing these two fellowships, Dr. Calder completed her Medical Degree at the University of Western Ontario. She has a Master of Science degree in Epidemiology from the University of Ottawa, where she also completed her Royal College Emergency Medicine residency and an Emergency Medicine research fellowship.

Dr. Calder lives in Ottawa with her husband and their two daughters.

Dr. Amanda Black

Board member

Dr. Amanda Black is an Obstetrician-Gynaecologist in the Division of General Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Ottawa Hospital. She also works in the Division of Paediatric and Adolescent Gynecology at the Childrens Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO). She is an Assistant Professor at the University of Ottawa. She is actively involved with undergraduate and graduate teaching.

Dr. Black received her medical degree from the University of Western Ontario and completed her Obstetrics and Gynecology residency at the University of Ottawa. Dr. Black completed a fellowship in Contraceptive Advice, Research, and Education (CARE) at Queens University and also completed additional training in Paediatric and Adolescent Gynecology in London, England and Zurich, Switzerland. She is currently pursuing her Masters of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University.

Dr. Black has been involved in a number of educational initiatives in the area of contraception, including the development of computerized counselling aids for office practice, the development of contraception modules and workshops for physicians, and the development of on-line learning modules for physicians. She has lectured locally, nationally, and internationally on the topics of family planning and sexuality. She conducts research in the area of contraception and is currently recruiting patients for ongoing contraception research.

Dr. Black is currently the chairman of the Society of Obstetrician and Gynecologists of Canadas (SOGC) Contraception Awareness Program (CAP) and is involved in the ongoing development of the SOGC website, www.sexualityandu.ca. She is a reviewer for the Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology. She served as the Co-Chair of the 2004 Canadian Contraception Guidelines Committee, and she served on the SOGC Guidelines Committee for Dysmenorrhea and Continuous Hormonal Contraception.

Dr. Debra Boyce

Board member

Dr. Boyce was first elected to CMPA Council in 2008. In 2018-2020 she was the first woman to serve as Chair of Council and President. During her tenure, she also served on every Council committee and chaired the Human Resources and Compensation Committee, Member and Stakeholder Relations Committee, Case Review Committee, Nominations and the Executive. She was also 2nd and 1st Vice President of Council and participated in 2 Governance reviews, 2 strategic plan renewals and 2 CEO searches. She has been a strong advocate for a refreshed approach to EDI at CMPA.

Dr. Boyce practices family medicine in Peterborough, Ontario, and she is an active staff member at the Peterborough Regional Health Centre and Peterborough Networked Family Health Teams.

Dr. Boyce is currently focused on community health, specifically related to the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccination.

Dr. Diane Francoeur

Board member

Dr. Diane Francoeur has been a highly accomplished Obstetrician-Gynecologist for more than 30 years and as a fierce advocate for women and health care providers, she continues to serve her community as a practicing OB/GYN to this day.

Dr. Francoeur has been responsible for leading all specialties in Quebec as the health care system navigates the devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic and understands the needs of women's health specialists throughout this difficult climate.

Dr. Francoeur was the CEO and served as the first woman president of the Federation of Medical Specialists of Québec (FMSQ), completing all mandates. She continues to work as an associate professor in the OB/GYN department at CHU Ste-Justine, affiliated with the University of Montreal and is a strong champion of women’s rights, physician’s leadership, and healthcare management.

She is a graduate of the Université Laval with a doctorate in medicine, completed the Director' education program at McGill University and graduated from Harvard University with a Master's degree in Health Care Management.

Catherine Gaulton

Board member

Ms. Catherine Gaulton is the Chief Executive Officer and Attorney in Fact for Healthcare Insurance Reciprocal of Canada (HIROC), for HIROC Management Limited and the HIROC Foundation.

A former registered nurse and currently a practicing lawyer in Nova Scotia and Ontario, Ms. Gaulton also has more than 25 years-experience in senior healthcare leadership roles. Before joining HIROC she served as the Vice President, Quality and System Performance and Chief Legal Officer for the Nova Scotia Health Authority. She has served as Chair of the Board for the Canadian Patient Safety Institute and as a member of the CIHI Board. Ms. Gaulton is also an experienced advisor in healthcare system governance, quality and safety improvement, risk management and strategic planning.

Michael Lam

Board Member

Michael Lam is currently Chief Program Officer, Financial Operations at Alberta Health Services (AHS) and is responsible for overseeing all aspects of Finance. AHS is Canada’s first and largest province-wide, fully integrated health system, responsible for delivering health services to the over four million people living in Alberta.

Michael graduated from the University of Calgary with a Bachelor of Commerce degree in accounting and earned his designation as a Chartered Accountant while working at a large public accounting firm in Calgary. Michael joined the Calgary Health Region in 2006, which later become a part of AHS, and has since held various senior roles in Internal Audit & Risk Management, Treasury, and Financial Reporting. Michael is a Canadian Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CA), and Certified Health Executive (CHE) with the Canadian College of Health Leaders.

Wendy Nicklin

Board Member

A valued active partner in discussions about improving the quality of health care, Wendy is a recognized health care leader across Canada and internationally. Obtaining her academic degrees at McGill University, Wendy has extensive experience as a critical care nurse and in progressive leadership positions. She has participated in many provincial and national initiatives, such as the National Steering Committee for Patient Safety, and as a founding Board member on the Canadian Patient Safety Institute Board for 8 years, working to contribute to its establishment and success. During over 11 years as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Accreditation Canada, Wendy led a significant renewal of the approach to and value of accreditation. Her global leadership about accreditation is well regarded.

Wendy became President (Board Chair) of the International Society for Quality in Health Care (ISQua) in 2017, after 7 years on the ISQua Board. She is a previous Chair of the ISQua Accreditation Council for the International Accreditation Program, an Expert, a Fellow, Mentor and an ISQua surveyor. In addition to the ISQua board, she serves on several other boards including Hospice Care Ottawa and Salus Global. Her term was recently completed on the Board of the Healthcare Insurance Reciprocal of Canada (HIROC). She is a member of the Committee on Accreditation of Canadian Medical Schools (CACMS) and a member of the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD), completing the ICD-Rotman Directors Education Program (ICD.D). An Emeritus member of CHLNet, she co-chairs the CHLNet Leadership Exchange and Acceleration Working Group. Wendy received the Woman of Distinction Award – Health Services in 1999, the Canadian Nurses Association Centennial Award in 2008, the CCHL Eastern Ontario Chapter Award for Distinguished Service in 2012, and the University of Ottawa Telfer School of Management Preceptor award for 2016. With a strong commitment to effective governance and focusing on quality, safety and leadership, Wendy has numerous publications to her name and has given many presentations nationally and internationally. She has academic appointments to Queen’s University and the University of Ottawa.

Dr. Helen Scott

Board member

Dr. Helen Scott is the Chief Executive Officer and one of the founders of CanWaCH. She is a global health leader with a track record of building and leading initiatives and partnerships in reproductive, maternal and child health and rights. As an epidemiologist, Helen is passionate about analyzing, integrating, and sharing data to advance the solutions to complex challenges in community health. As a collaborator, she cultivates partnerships that empower organizations to deepen their impact, reach, and relevance in order to drive progress and mobilize for collective action.

Helen is responsible for overseeing all areas of CanWaCH and its work, including visioning in cooperation with the Board of Directors; strategic planning; policy, program, personnel and finance management; risk analysis; and providing leadership for the CanWaCH team.

Helen holds an Assistant Professor appointment at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto. She completed a doctorate in epidemiology at the University of Toronto, where she was awarded a Vanier Canada Scholarship. Over her career, she has worked with the World Health Organization, Health Canada, provincial Health Units, hospital research institutes, and not for profits. In her spare time, Helen can be found on a baseball field, soccer pitch, hockey rink or volleyball court cheering, coaching, or joining in the game.