Meet Our Board

The Board of Directors plays an important leadership role in establishing and supporting the Mississippi River Health Alliance's strategic goals and directions, monitoring quality and overseeing financial resources while ensuring that the hospital continues to meet the needs of our communities.

The Board is elected from the geographic communities where CPDMH offers care.

 Chair

Lyman Gardiner has over 35 years experience engaged as a public accountant, providing assurance and income tax services to private enterprises. Lyman is a Licenced Public Accountant and holds Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) and Chartered Business Valuator (CBV) designations. He is an active volunteer in his profession and community. He currently sits on the Board of Directors for Mississippi River Power Corporation and Pakenham Curling Club. Lyman and his wife, Doris, live alongside the Mississippi river in Pakenham where they have raised their two children. Lyman was appointed to the AGH Board of Directors in December 2018.  Lyman was elected the first Treasurer of the Allied Boards of Directors in June 2022

 
 Vice Chair

John Fournier was elected to the Board June 2018. Formerly a senior officer in the Royal Canadian Air Force, he served for almost 25 years as an Aerospace Controller across Canada, with NATO flying as a Mission Crew Commander on board NATO AWACS aircraft, and in Alaska where he was the first Canadian Commander of a US Alaskan NORAD Region Crew. Retiring from the military in 1999, John went on to become a manager and then Director of Business Development for various small and very large international Defence and Information Technology companies within the National Capital region. He retired from industry in 2017 and has since volunteered with Habitat for Humanity builds here in Carleton Place and the greater Ottawa area and works a weekly shift at their ReStore facility in Kanata. An avid motorcyclist and former officer of the Canadian Motorcycle Cruisers riding club, he also volunteers for numerous annual local fundraising activities for a breadth of deserving charities.   John will be sitting as a member of the Board’s Ethics Committee, Quality Committee, and Capital Projects Committee. He lives with his wife Kathleen in Carleton Place.  John was elected to the Allied Boards of Directors in June 2022.

Treasurer

Randy Larkin is the Assistant Deputy Minister and Chief Financial Officer at Health Canada. Over 25 plus years in the federal public service Randy has had a rewarding career and the opportunity to work in areas such as: tax administration; social program delivery; business development in scientific research and development; major IM/IT and telecommunications project implementations; organizational transformation and renewal; strategic and corporate planning; and financial management. Randy is a Certified Public Accountant – Certified Management Accountant (CPA, CMA), and has a B.A. in Economics and Political Science.  Randy was the AGH Board Chair from June 2017 to June 2020.  Randy was elected to the Allied Boards of Directors in June 2022.

Past Chair 

Carol Anne Esnard is the former Chief Administrative Officer at Genome Canada. Newly retired, she has held a number of executive positions over her career, mostly in the not-for-profit sector. She holds a Masters in Sports Administration and an Honours degree in Biology from the University of Ottawa. She has completed the Directors Education Program from the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, and the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD). Carol Anne and her husband and two daughters (who both currently reside in Japan) have lived in Beckwith Township for close to 30 years.  Carole Anne was the CPDMH Board Chair from June 2020 to June 2022 and has been elected as the first Allied Boards of Directors Chair in June 2022.

Elected Directors

Alex Bennett is a chartered accountant (CA) with over 15 years of financial experience in the Defense sector.  She is currently the Senior Director of Finance, at Leonardo DRS, Canada.  Prior to joining DRS Alex worked for 10 year in various Internal Audit and External Audit roles. it was through this experience Alex gained a strong appreciation for controls and process.  Alex was first elected to the Allied Boards in June 2023.

Bonnie Lowry Bagshaw has completed a Bachelor of Applied Science (Child Studies) at the University of Guelph, as well as a Master of Science (Occupational Therapy) from McMaster University. She has worked for 16 years as an Occupational Therapist in a variety of settings including community, hospital, private, and rehabilitation. Her primary employment has been with the Ottawa Children’s Treatment Centre which is now known at CHEO. During her career, she has sat on many committees targeting improvement to service delivery, accreditation, infection and prevention control, and until recently a representative at the Lanark Leeds and Grenville Special Needs Strategy planning table. Over the past year, Bonnie has chaired the Patient Family Advisory Committee at the AGH / FVM.  Additionally, she has volunteered and participated in many local groups and charities. Bonnie lives in Almonte with her husband and 3 children. Bonnie was appointed to the AGH Board of Directors in 2018. Bonnie was elected to the Allied Boards of Directors in June 2022.

Toni Moffa joined the Board of Directors in June 2018 and also serves on the Resource Planning and Utilization Committee and the Board Quality Committee. After a 30-year career in many executive leadership roles in the national security and intelligence sector of the federal government, Toni retired in 2016 from the Communications Security Establishment as an Assistant Deputy Minister. She would like her experience in areas such as strategic visioning, business planning, policy development, client services and change management to benefit the hospital during its period of growth and transition. Toni resides in Carleton Place with her husband and daughter. In other community activities, Toni is involved with the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 192 in Carleton Place and enjoys assisting backstage with the Mississippi Mudds theatre group. Toni was elected to the Allied Boards of Directors in June 2022.

Dawn Oosterhoff is a senior writer and editor with a background in nursing, law, and ethics. Her healthcare experience includes obstetrical and neonatal intensive care nursing, clinical studies in nursing turnover, and a 4-year research fellowship in bioethics, examining substitute and end-of-life decision-making. Dawn’s policy experience includes work for public health during provincial downloading of services, development of policy and clinical guidelines when Ontario introduced its consent legislation, and issues management for the Ontario Medical Association. Dawn was elected to the Allied Boards of Directors in June 2022.

Colonel Steven D.  Pirie has spent nearly 30 years in the Royal Canadian Medical Service working in the field of healthcare. He had worked as a clinician, staff officer, instructor, and leader from the tactical to the strategic level both domestically and overseas during this service to Canada.

Steven holds Master of Science and Master of Defence Studies degrees as well being a Registered Nurse (General Class) and a Certified Health Executive with the Canadian College of Health Leaders. He frequently teaches courses at the graduate and undergraduate levels on the topic of disaster planning and leading in crisis. His academic interests include CBRN medicine, infectious diseases, prehospital care, combat casualty management, emergency and disaster medicine.

Steven was elected to the Allied Boards of Directors in June 2023 and lives in Carleton Place with his family.

Rob Probert re-joined the Board in 2016. Rob has a clear understanding of the history of CPDMH and its extended challenges. Rob recognizes and values the incredible volunteer base that supports this organization that is so important to the community. Rob is returning to the Board as a private volunteer after a stint as the Town Council representative from a few years ago. Rob has a long past history in Carleton Place. For the past 30 years, he has owned and operated the Canadian Career Academy, helping match job seekers with skills development and employment opportunities. This organization has very strong links with the local business community. In his community work, Rob was named the Business Person of the Year in 2005 and Carleton Place Citizen of the Year in 2008. He served as President of the Chamber of Commerce for 12 years, Chair of the Canada Day Celebration (13 years) and Chair of the Santa Claus Parade (14 years). He has been an active supporter of local heritage efforts including the Carleton Place and Beckwith Historical Museum and the Roy Brown Society (President for 7 years). Of particular help to the hospital will be his experience as a past Carleton Place Town Councillor and as Chair of the Carleton Place Library Board. The challenges facing the hospital are constant. Rob looks forward to working with the other Directors in all-out effort to maintain continuous improvements at our hospital. Rob was elected to the Allied Boards of Directors in June 2022.

Greg Smith is Founder and President of OrgFitech Inc. as well as President of GHS Enterprise. OrgFitech is a software provider focused on ways of strengthening organizations. He is an Entrepreneur, Educator, Consultant, Advisor, and Coach. He is passionate about helping Individuals continuously learn while discovering ways for Organizations to sustain and prosper. Greg teaches part-time at the University of Ottawa Telfer Business School on the topic of Leadership for the EMBA program. He is also affiliated with the University’s Professional Development Institute and Friesen Kaye and Associates. He has presented key learning and performance issues at major industry events including Institute for Performance and Learning (I4PL); Training Magazine’s Annual Conference & Expo; Local Employment Planning Council (Ottawa Hub); and University of Ottawa EMBA Guest Speaker on Leadership Strategies. Greg undertook his post-graduate studies at American University in Washington, D.C., concentrating in Human Resource Development and Organizational Effectiveness.  Greg was elected to the Allied Boards of Directors in June 2022.

Susan Snow

bio - ccoming soon! 

Michel G. Vermette has spent nearly 40 years working for Canadians, of which 20 were as an executive in the Canadian Federal Public Service. Michel holds Bachelor and Master of Science (Biology) degrees from the University of Ottawa, and a Master of Business Administration from Western University. He was a Parliamentary Intern in 1987-1988.  From 2015 to June 2019, Michel was Chief Executive Officer of the Association of Professional Executives of the Public Service of Canada. APEX is a not-for-profit corporation dedicated to the professional needs of its members, the senior leadership of the federal public service.  Michel also worked in the Canadian Coast Guard, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, other federal organizations, the Canadian Blood Agency and Canadian Blood Services.  Currently he lends his assistance to charities and not-for-profits (and sometimes for-profits) when he is not tending to his farm and was appointed to the AGH Board of Directors in June 2019. Michel was elected to the Allied Boards of Directors in June 2022.

Bruce Young P.Eng graduated from Queen’s University in 1975 and has lived near Pakenham with his family the majority of time since then. He has extensive experience in managing national impact assessment programs, public reviews, intergovernmental relations/negotiations, Indigenous consultations and leading skilled professional teams. He has directed and chaired community consultations, meetings, hearings and public sessions all over Canada. He has represented the federal government in consultations with Indigenous groups and communities and presented papers and talks to national and international conferences. Following his retirement from the federal government, he established a consulting practice that provided impact assessment policy and guidance to several federal departments, agencies and northern Indigenous environmental impact review boards. Bruce is a registered engineer with Professional Engineers Ontario and has served on the Board of Directors with the Ontario Association for Impact Assessment. He was appointed to the AGH Board of Directors in June 2019. Bruce was elected to the Allied Boards of Directors in June 2022.

Ex-Officio Non-Voting Directors

Mary Wilson Trider, President & CEO

Mary has been the President & CEO of Almonte General Hospital since October 2010. She previously held Vice President positions in several hospitals in the GTA. Mary has been active in numerous committees at the Ontario Hospital Association and the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. She currently sits on the H-SAA Steering Committee as an OHA representative and on the OHA's Small Rural Northern Leadership Council.  She is co-chair of the Champlain LHIN Hospital CEO Leadership Forum. A graduate of Queen’s University, Mary is a fellow of the Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario, and a member of the Canadian College of Health Leaders and the American College of Healthcare Executives. She is the Chair of the Queen’s University Board of Trustees. She is past chair, United Way of York Region and past vice-chair, Booth Centennial Healthcare Linen Services. 

Lianne Learmonth, Integrated Vice President, 
Patient and Resident Care and Chief Nursing Executive 

Dr. Allyson Champagne, CPDMH Chief of Staff  

Dr. Gillian Buckley, CPDMH President of Medical Staff 

 Dr. Graeme McKillop, AGHChief of Staff  

Dr. Brandon Harvey, AGH President of Medical Staff