Our leadership - Carewest

	Barb Kathol Chief Operating Officer Barb Kathol is the Chief Operating Officer at Carewest Innovative Health Care. She previously held the role of Senior Operating Officer for the Peter Lougheed Centre and the Alberta Kidney Care – South and Transplant programs. During her healthcare career, Barb has held many leadership positions including Senior Program Officer with the Connect Care Clinical Operations team Executive Director including for the Emergency Department, Medicine, Ambulatory areas, Gastroenterology services, Allied Health, and many other subspecialty programs. Barb holds a Master of Nursing from the University of Calgary and a Bachelor of Nursing (with Distinction). In addition, she is a graduate of the AHS Executive Education program. In addition to her current role, Barb is an member of the Alberta Association of Nurses Board of Directors, the Mosaic PCN Board of Directors, and is a regular volunteer with the Calgary Food Bank.
	Shelley Bannister Director of Operations, Dr. Vernon Fanning, Nickle House, Central Services and interim Director of Operations, George Boyack Shelley Bannister is the Director of Operations for Dr. Vernon Fanning Centre and Nickle House, as well as the Director of Carewest Central Services, Pharmacy, and Information Management, Privacy & Technology. She has worked in several jurisdictions (Alberta, Toronto, and Halifax) in Canada in the roles of Operational Leadership, Quality Improvement, Nursing Professional Practice, Clinical Health Informatics, Research, Education, and Provincial Projects. She has worked in acute care general medicine, endocrinology, oncology, psychiatry, ophthalmology, and in public health. Shelley is a native Albertan and holds a Master’s in Nursing from the University of Alberta 1996. She is passionate about equity and quality in healthcare and supporting teams toward excellence. Shelley is an active volunteer in her community and is the past president of the High River Rotary Board. In her free time, she enjoys travel, reading, gardening, and live music of any kind.
	Yaro Kiselev, RN, BN, MAL, CHE Director of Operations, Colonel Belcher, Signal Pointe, Rouleau Manor, OSI Clinic, Bridgeland Yaro’s journey in healthcare spanned across various areas of service delivery including acute care, community, and outpatient programs with a primary clinical background in critical care and acute medicine. Working with marginalized and at-risk populations over the last decade enabled him to develop emerging models of care to support clients of various walks of life. Yaro prides himself in empowering front-line, formal and informal leaders to create meaningful organizational change and improve client experience. As a lifetime learner, Yaro is committed to serving Albertans by responding to the needs of the health system today and into the future. In his spare time, Yaro enjoys outdoors, fitness and learning new skills. His work experience includes Registered nurse, Clinical Nurse Educator, Client Service Manager, Site Manager, Director of Operations, Business Development. In his current role as Director of Operations, Yaro oversees four sites in Calgary and one in Red Deer within complex mental health, long term care portfolio including Carewest Rouleau Manor, Signal Pointe, Colonel Belcher and Operational Stress Injury Services.
	Virginia Meyer Director of Operations, Glenmore Park, Sarcee, C3 Beddington Virginia Meyer is the Director of Operations for Glenmore Park, Sarcee, C3 Beddington. Virginia has worked with Alberta Health Services for the past 16 years in various leadership roles, both within acute care and the community/seniors portfolio, and she worked in the private healthcare sector for over 15 years prior to that. Virginia’s educational background is in Physiotherapy, but she also completed joint Masters Degrees in Business Administration and Social Work (leadership stream) from the University of Calgary. She has a clinical passion for geriatric care, and she is also focused on client and family-centred care, continuous quality improvement, and supporting teams to excel. Outside of work, Virginia enjoys sports – including playing hockey, basketball, and golf, as well as spending time with family and friends. .
	Beatrice Kozlowski, MA, BN, RN Director of Operations, Garrison Green, Royal Park and Signal Pointe Bea is the Director of Operations for Garrison Green, Royal Park, and Signal Pointe. Bea’s clinical nursing career has spanned across various acute surgical and cardiovascular intensive care settings, both in Canada and the U.S. She brings a decade of leadership experience from her over 20 years at AHS, and is passionate about building high functioning teams focusing on people-centered leadership. She has a strong commitment to client and family-centered care and clinical excellence. Bea completed her Master of Arts in Leadership through the University of Guelph, and her Bachelor of Nursing (with Distinction) through the University of Calgary. A born-and-raised Calgarian, Bea enjoys filling her spare time with many outdoor pursuits with her friends and family, especially skiing, trail running, road cycling, and yoga.
	Carol Baumgarten, DBA, MBA, DMC, RN CON(C) Director Quality and Performance Carol oversees the Quality and Performance porfolio. She is a nurse by background and has over a decade of leadership experience. She is passionate about excellence in care, building teams and collaborating across the healthcare system to enhance the resident and client experience while in our care. Carol is also Assistant Adjunct Professor University of Calgary, Faculty of Nursing.
	Darrell Lang, BA, MIR Director of Human Resources Darrell has been Director of Human Resources with Carewest since 2016. He has led a variety of human resources, education, volunteer services and communications teams in health care organizations for over 30 years. His leadership has helped these organizations achieve multiple top employer awards at the national and provincial level.He holds a BA in Economics (University of Calgary) and a Masters degree in Industrial Relations (Queens University). He has held board positions with the Continuing Care Safety Association, the Canadian Human Resources Council for the Nonprofit Sector and the Continuing Care Employers Bargaining Association. He is currently a member of the governance board for the Health Benefits Trust of Alberta. Darrell leads a diverse team at Carewest providing responsive human resources services including staff booking, payroll, position management, labour and employee relations, collective bargaining, talent acquisition, workforce planning, compensation and benefits, employee health and safety and communications and marketing.In his free time Darrell enjoys spending time with his wife and teenage twins and is active coaching their various sports and making sure the whole family leads an active lifestyle so there is minimal time to spend surfing on their phones. When he can, he likes to sneak away to go scuba diving.
	Jennifer Craddock, CPA, CA, CHE Director of Finance Jen is the Carewest Director of Finance, accountable for finance, strategy and risk management for the organization, as well as serving as a Non-Voting Member of the Carewest Board of Directors. She joined Carewest in 2016 after 8 years working as a leader in External Financial Reporting at AHS. Jen enjoys being a member the Executive Leadership Committee, influencing and informing decision making with the goal of improved care and services for our clients. Jen holds concurrent degrees in Honors Business Administration and a Bachelor’s of Health Sciences, and received her Chartered Accountant (CA) designation in 2008, which later became the Chartered professional Accountant (CPA) designation. She also recently completed her Certified Health Executive (CHE) designation, and is an active member of the Canadian College of Health Leaders. Outside of work, Jen’s 3 school-aged kids keep her and her husband very busy with various activities such as skiing, biking, camping and travelling. She is a volunteer Girl Guide leader, and recently finished a 12 year volunteer term with the Calgary Foundation as a Grants Committee Member.
	Dr. Diana Turner, BSc-CMMB, MSc-Molecular Virology, MD, CCFP, FCFP (Fellow College Family Physicians) – Care of the Elderly Medical Director Dr. Diana Turner acts as Carewest Medical Director specializing in community-based complex chronic disease management of the frail elderly & younger frail population. She is published in areas of infectious disease and cancer (molecular virology) research, and medical research in dementia and frailty. Work to date centres on quality, cost-effective and sustainable community-based complex chronic disease management of the elderly and frail, through team-based care. Her goal is to promote and support quality of life despite progressive multiple medical illnesses, and promote health and wellness. Areas of work include clinical, research, teaching, medical administration and medical executive Continuing Care. Diana also serves as the Site Leader Medical, Continuing Care at Alberta Health Services, a Primary Care family physician and Clinical Associate Professor, University of Calgary, Department of Family Medicine. In her spare time, she enjoys outdoor activities in all seasons and spending time with family and friends.
	Dr. Rachel DeFina Medical Director Photo and profile to come.
	Samara Sinclair Manager of Communications & Marketing Samara Sinclair is Carewest’s Manager of Communications & Marketing and has served in this role since 2007. She is responsible for the internal and external communications needs of Carewest, strategic communications planning, development and execution. She ensures all communications, including websites, to social media channels, newsletters and posters are reflective of the Carewest values of Caring, Relationships, Excellence, Accountability and Teamwork. She sits on the Executive Leadership team and is co-chair of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Advisory Group. Samara earned her Bachelor’s degree of Applied Communications with a minor in Journalism from Mount Royal University in 2002. She holds certificates in Digital Graphic Design, Public Relations, Crisis Communications and Adult Education. She taught at Mount Royal University in the Digital Graphic Design program. She also worked as senior writer and backup photographer for the Calgary Sun, prior to joining Carewest. In her spare time, Samara enjoys scuba diving, home improvement projects, stand-up comedy and anything creative, from cooking to painting to photography.
	Shawna Syverson Board Chair Shawna Syverson is a senior healthcare executive with over 35 years of experience in public and private sector healthcare. Shawna is the Senior Operating Officer of the Foothills Medical Center, a position she has held for 14 years. She also holds the position of Chair of Carewest Board of Directors. Shawna did undertake a one year secondment during this tenure in 2016, when she was the Chief Operating Officer for Calgary Lab Services. She has held several senior roles in the Calgary Zone in the areas of Surgical Services, Cardiac Sciences, Bone and Joint and the Chief Operating Officer office. In addition, Shawna was the Chief Executive Officer, Surgical Centres Incorporated, a western Canada private and public surgical services company. Shawna is a native Calgarian and has graduated from the University of Calgary with the Bachelor of Arts degree (Major in Psychology). She also has Post Graduate Professional Managers Certificate from University of Calgary and Post Graduate Certificate of Business Administration from Heriot Watt University, Edinburgh Business School, Edinburgh, United Kingdom. Her volunteer activities include, SAIT School of Business Dean’s Community Advisory Committee member, University of Calgary Faculty of Nursing Community Advisory Council member, Libin Cardiovascular Institute of Alberta Strategic Advisory Board member, Member or participant on various community boards including Calgary Open Ringette Association and Calgary Touch Football Association, Southern Alberta Women’s Hockey Association. Her hobbies include golfing, ringette, hockey, touch football, outdoors, exercise and time with family and friends. She is an avid sports fan.
	Feisal Keshavjee Board Member Feisal Keshavjee is the Senior Vice President, Health Partnerships & Transformation at CBI Health, a leading Home Health and Rehabilitation company in Canada with over 13,000 staff. He is an accomplished healthcare leader who has worked in all facets of the healthcare system – policy, public, private, corporate, and early stage. He has worked in the healthcare system in Calgary where he was greatly involved in the restructuring and regionalization efforts throughout the nineties. He was also a Principal for Ernst & Young in the Asia Pacific region, carrying out numerous post-merger integration efforts in New Zealand, Australia and Malaysia. Feisal has held the position of Director of Business Development for the University of Calgary, Faculty of Medicine, General Manager for GE Healthcare, CEO of a large radiology practice in Calgary, and CEO of a health technology start-up. Feisal is the current Chair of the Alberta Continuing Care Association, on the Board of Healthcare Excellence Canada as well as Carewest. Feisal is the past Chair of the Canadian College of Health Leaders, and has served on the boards of an AI company in the imaging space, a cardiac MRI software company as well as a secure messaging company.
	Larry Albrecht Board Member Throughout his professional career in public education as a high school educator and administrator and his extensive involvement in community-based volunteer organizations Larry enjoys serving his local communities. He currently serves as a public member of the Carewest Board. Larry also serves as a public member of the South Calgary Primary Care Network (SCPCN) Board and Chair of the SCPCN’s Joint HR Governance & Nominating Committee. Past Board experience includes Chair of Foothills School Division Board of Trustees, Chair of Prairie Mountain Health Advisory Committee for Alberta Health Services and Co-Chair of the Council of Health Advisory Chairs. Larry recently received the ICD.D with an Indigenous focus. When not keeping busy with these various community initiatives, Larry enjoys travelling with his wife and spending time with their kids and grandchildren.
	Pam Nordstrom Board Member Photo and profile to come.
	Tom Briggs Board Member Tom Briggs is an executive leader with over 25 years of health care experience. He is currently the Senior Program Officer for Planning and Performance with Alberta Health Services. In his current role, he supports teams responsible the development of the AHS Health Plan, AHS reporting on public performance measures and providing service and strategic planning support for clinical programs, sites, geographic areas and zones. His roles over the years provided him with a deep understanding of the health care system and the dynamic interplay between various service sectors. He takes a systems approach to supporting improvement through health services delivery redesign. Tom earned his Ph.D. in Industrial Organizational Psychology at Northern Illinois University. He completed his master’s and undergraduate degree the University of Calgary. Prior to joining AHS almost 17 years ago, he was a Management Consultant specializing in the health care sector but also worked extensively in education, social services, labour, infrastructure and other public sectors. He has extensive experience in program evaluation, research design, organizational development, quality improvement and analytics. In his spare time, he enjoys cooking traditional family fare, relaxing in the outdoors and spending time with friends and family.
	Nicholas Thain Board Member Nicholas Thain serves as the Senior Operating Officer (SOO) for the Calgary Zone of Alberta Health Services (AHS), overseeing operations at the Peter Lougheed Centre, Alberta Kidney Care – South, and the Southern Alberta Transplant Program. In his current role, Nick brings a wealth of experience and leadership to the healthcare sector. Nick also has the privilege of co-leading the Calgary Zone Indigenous Health Action Planning. Through this work, has been honoured with a Blackfoot name – Siipiyapomoh (Went Overseas Overnight) With over 2 decades of health care and leadership experience, Nick has previously held the position of SOO for the Community, Rural, and Continuing Care Portfolio in the Calgary Zone. And during the challenging times of the pandemic, he played a pivotal role as the Calgary Zone Emergency Operations Commander, showcasing his ability to lead and manage in crisis situations. Nick’s professional journey began as an Advanced Care Paramedic, a designation he maintains in good standing with the Alberta College of Paramedics. He gained extensive experience as a front-line paramedic in diverse settings, including Rural, Urban, and Air Ambulance environments. His leadership trajectory started in a Municipal Commission-based EMS system, where he later played a key role in transitioning EMS from municipal to health-based governance when it became part of AHS in 2009. Within AHS, he served as the Executive Director and Deputy Chief of EMS Operations for the South Sector, overseeing operations in Central, Calgary, and South Zones. Educationally, Nick holds a Master of Arts in Leadership (Health Socialization) from Royal Roads University, showcasing his commitment to continuous learning and leadership development. His passion for leadership has led him to speak at various conferences, locally, provincially, nationally, and internationally, particularly on Leadership Competency Frameworks. In addition to his professional commitments, Nick has contributed his expertise to several Boards, including the Alberta Ambulance Operators Association, The Paramedic Chiefs of Canada, and the Foothills Primary Care Network. Currently, he serves on the Mosaic Primary Care Network Board, further exemplifying his dedication to community healthcare. Away from work, Nick is married with two teenage boys. His family shares a love for travel, sports, and spending quality time at the lake. Furthermore, he actively contributes to community-level lacrosse associations. Photo to come.