Meet the Team

Senior Leadership 

Dermot Kelleher, MD, FRCPI, FRCP, FMEDSCI
Vice-President, Health
Dean, Faculty of Medicine
Professor, Department of Medicine

Professor Dermot Kelleher serves as Vice-President, Health and Dean, Faculty of Medicine at the University of British Columbia. From 2012 to 2015, he was Vice President (Health) and Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at Imperial College London and concurrently Dean of the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine in Singapore. From 2004 to 2012 he was Head of the School of Medicine and Vice-Provost for Medical Affairs at Trinity College, Dublin, where he led the development of the Institute of Molecular Medicine and Molecular Medicine Ireland as well as the Wellcome Trust HRB Clinical Research Centre. Prior to this, he was a Wellcome Senior Fellow in Clinical Science at Trinity College Dublin following clinical and research training in gastroenterology in Ireland and San Diego.

Professor Kelleher’s research interests have focused on immunology of the gastrointestinal tract. He has successfully obtained funding from a wide range of sources including the Wellcome Trust, Health Research Board and Enterprise Ireland, European Union 4th and 5th Frameworks, and while in the US, from the National Institute of Health. He has been a co-founder of Opsona Therapeutics, Cellix Limited and Deerac Fluidics which merged with the US-based company Labcyte. He has been a Non-Executive Director at ICON PLC from 2008 until 2019.

Professor Kelleher is a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences, London and has served as President of the Federation of European Academies of Medicine.

Christie A. Newton, MD, CCFP, FCFP
Associate Vice-President, Health
Associate Professor, Associate Head, Education And Engagement, and Medical Director, UBC Health Clinic,
Department of Family Practice, Faculty of Medicine

As Associate Vice-President, Health, Christie Newton provides leadership to the UBC Health team and advances key strategic priorities on collaborative health education, interdisciplinary health research, and health systems.

Christie has been very engaged with UBC Health activities for many years. She is a co-facilitator of the TBC @ UBC Network and a member of the Health Systems Partnership Group. She has also been working closely with UBC Health on the design and implementation of a new interprofessional teaching clinic for the Gateway Building on UBC Vancouver campus aimed at modelling innovative team-based care and collaborative health education.

In addition to her appointment at UBC Health, Christie is Associate Professor and Associate Head, Education and Engagement in the Department of Family Practice in the Faculty of Medicine. In this role, she is working on a province-wide project funded by the Ministry of Health, aimed at supporting the design and evaluation of teaching within team-based models of care embedded in primary care network communities. She is also Medical Director of the UBC Health Clinic, a dedicated family practice teaching clinic which provides full service primary care to more than 6,000 patients in the community.

Victoria Wood, MA, EdD
Managing Director

604-822-8693
victoria.wood@ubc.ca

In her role as Managing Director, Victoria Wood is responsible for the strategic mission and operations of the Office of the Vice-President, Health. She provides leadership for collaborative and strategic initiatives across the unit’s core areas of work - collaborative health education, interdisciplinary health research, and health systems.

Victoria sees herself as a facilitator of collaboration and connection. Since 2007, she has been committed to improving the health sector by fostering interprofessional and cross-sector partnerships within the university and beyond. She has a long history of developing, delivering, and evaluating educational initiatives across the continuum of learning, including university and practice-based education and professional development for practicing professionals. During her tenure at UBC, she has led initiatives that align with and contribute to the strategic priorities of the university. She works to ensure that UBC Health’s vision, strategy, priorities, and objectives are understood, supported, and advanced. Victoria firmly believes that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts and has dedicated her career to connecting people, ideas, and processes.

Victoria has a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Anthropology, a Master of Arts in International Relations, and a Doctorate of Education in Educational Leadership and Policy. She is an experienced facilitator specializing in team-based competencies, communication skills, and conflict management. Her research focuses on the relationship between the university and society, beyond education and research.

Ben Fair, MA
Assistant Director, Health Systems

604-822-8693
ben.fair@ubc.ca

As Assistant Director, Health Systems at UBC Health, Ben Fair provides leadership to expand UBC Health’s remit in health systems in alignment with the UBC Health strategic plan. He focuses on initiatives and objectives that involve current healthcare providers and patients. He works closely with UBC Health senior leadership to conceptualize and implement a collaborative planning approach in health systems innovations across both the Vancouver and Okanagan campuses of UBC and with external partners.

Ben worked in healthcare planning, project management, and evaluation for 17 years prior to joining UBC Health. He is passionate about applying evidence to build collective purpose to improve health outcomes, equity, and patient experience. He brings expertise in cross-sector collaborations and partner engagement, health program design and evaluation, and quality improvement. His background spans many sectors of healthcare, from primary care to tertiary services, with emphasis on Indigenous health, team-based care, and mental health and substance use.

Carrie Krekoski
Acting Assistant Director, Education

604-822-7359
carrie.krekoski@ubc.ca

As Acting Assistant Director, Education, Carrie Krekoski supports the strategic planning, development, implementation and evaluation of integrated practice education initiatives. She works in close collaboration with the UBC Health team, faculty leads from various health disciplines, and community partners internal and external to UBC. In addition to her work at UBC Health, Carrie is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the UBC Faculty of Dentistry. She teaches in content areas related to professionalism, communications, behavioural change and patient/client-centred care. Carrie brings experience in healthcare regulation and team-based practice. She holds a Masters of Education from Simon Fraser University and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Dental Hygiene from UBC. She enhances her educational practice with doctoral studies in educational leadership and policy.

Cathy Kline
Assistant Director, Patient and Community Engagement

604-822-8002
cathy.kline@ubc.ca

As Assistant Director, Patient and Community Engagement, Cathy Kline works closely with the directors of Patient and Community Partnership for Education at UBC Health to provide leadership for operationalizing strategic plan objectives related to patient and community engagement. She builds capacity for sustainable patient and community partnerships by developing and leading strategies to advance the inclusion of people with lived experience throughout UBC Health’s core areas of collaborative health education, interdisciplinary health research, and health systems.

Since 2003, Cathy has advanced research and development initiatives that promote patient and public involvement in health professional education. Her work involves collaborations with faculty, students, patients, community organizations, and international scholars in research and program development to integrate patient expertise and experience into mainstream educational practice.

Cathy holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Simon Fraser University and a Master of Arts in Health Education from Dalhousie University.

Susana Leon
Administrator

604-822-3737
susana.leon@ubc.ca

Susana Leon brings extensive experience in university administration to her role at UBC Health, with a particular focus on budget planning and organizational change. As the Administrator, Susana is responsible for the fiscal health and allocation of resources to sustainably support the priorities and initiatives of UBC Health. She provides leadership in the strategic direction and management of all administrative matters including budget planning, financial operations, human resources, process improvements and change initiatives. Susana has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Simon Fraser University and a Certificate in University Management from the University of Manitoba.

Teo Quay, MSC
Research Manager

teo.quay@ubc.ca

Teo Quay is Research Manager at UBC Health and is responsible for the strategic planning, development, implementation, and evaluation of interdisciplinary research initiatives across the unit. She focuses on fostering innovation, driving impact, and cultivating relationships and communities across UBC’s health research ecosystem. Teo has more than a decade of experience in health research, policy, and academic publishing and a diverse background in research, management, partner engagement, and science communications. She has a comprehensive understanding of the health landscape and an enthusiasm for interdisciplinary collaboration. Teo holds a Master of Science from UBC and a Bachelor of Science from the University of Guelph.

Special Advisor

Nadine Caron, BSc, MD, MPh, FRCS
Special Advisor on Indigenous Health to the Vice-President, Health and to the Dean, Faculty of Medicine
Co-Director, Centre for Excellence in Indigenous Health, Faculty of Medicine
Professor, Northern Medical Program and Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine
First Nations Health Authority Chair in Cancer and Wellness, UBC
Senior Scientist, Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre, BC Cancer

Nadine Caron is a member of the Sagamok Anishnawbek First Nation and a practising surgical oncologist in northern British Columbia. She is a professor in the Northern Medical Program and Department of Surgery, the sole Indigenous physician within BC Cancer, as well as a senior scientist at Canada’s Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre at BC Cancer. Nadine is the inaugural First Nations Health Authority Chair in Cancer and Wellness at the University of British Columbia. She is also a founding Co-Director of the UBC Centre for Excellence in Indigenous Health and consultant in development of BC’s first ever Indigenous Cancer Strategy to improve Indigenous cancer outcomes and experiences in BC.

In her role of Special Advisor on Indigenous Health, Nadine provides vision, leadership, and diplomacy in advancing both UBC Health’s and the Faculty of Medicine’s strategic focus on promoting an Indigenous lens on collaborative health education and research. She offers advice and leadership on meaningful changes to address barriers to culturally-safe and racism-free educational and healthcare systems, including expanding and promoting cultural safety and humility as fundamental to collaborative health education and research. In addition, Nadine plays a pivotal role in facilitating consistent, open channels of communication with faculty, staff, students, Indigenous communities, the senior leadership of the university, and partners involved in Indigenous health.

Team

Brenda Gonzalez
Project Coordinator

brenda.gonzalez@ubc.ca

Brenda Gonzalez comes to UBC Health with a strong background in developing and implementing strategies in health and social services, specifically for equity-deserving communities. With a passion for fostering more equitable systems, Brenda has successfully led various projects aimed at building capacity for service providers and improving access to public services in rural and remote communities. As Project Coordinator, she works closely with UBC Health leadership and team members to support the development and implementation of projects that align with UBC Health’s strategic priorities across collaborative health education, interdisciplinary health research, and health systems. Brenda holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from UBC.

Leslie Guo
Research and Development Assistant, Patient and Community Partnership for Education

Leslie Guo is in her final year of the Entry-to-Practice PharmD Program. Through her diverse experiences in various practice settings, Leslie has become acutely aware of the need to integrate patient voices for a truly holistic patient-centric approach. She is actively involved in research surrounding the current landscape of patient involvement within healthcare education programs. Her role within the Patient and Community Partnership for Education continues to catalyze her passion for peer-to-peer learning and interdisciplinary collaboration.

Michelle Hamilton
Education Program Manager

michelle.hamilton@ubc.ca

Michelle Hamilton is Education Program Manager at UBC Health, responsible for operationalizing strategic collaborative health education initiatives and leading the delivery of complex interprofessional education curriculum programs and activities through collaboration with faculty, staff, and diverse patient and community partners and coordination across multiple health departments, faculties, and campuses at UBC. 

Michelle has more than a decade of experience coordinating collaborative and competency-based educational programs, including a diverse list of logistically complex learning events. Through her work in the Faculty of Medicine, she supported the expansion of postgraduate medical education programs on Vancouver Island, adopting innovative administrative processes for distributed learning. She contributed to the delivery of the UBC Health Integrated Curriculum and other interprofessional workshops across multiple sites centered around professionalism, cultural safety, and patient-centered care. Michelle uses her experience with building interprofessional relationships and working within distributed education programs to enhance interprofessional education opportunities across the province. Her background includes formal training and extensive experience in finance, business management, and project management.

Do-Rim Joo
Executive Assistant to the Associate Vice-President, Health

604-827-5698
avphealth.execassist@ubc.ca

As Executive Assistant, Do-Rim Joo provides executive level support to the Associate Vice-President, Health. She also supports the functioning of the UBC Health Executive and UBC Health Council, as well as special projects within the health portfolio. She works closely with the UBC Health team to build positive, strategic relationships with campus and community partners and ensure that the priorities of the portfolio move forward. Do-Rim has extensive experience in executive support, event planning and execution, and office operations, working with regional and international partners in academia, government, and the corporate sector. Do-Rim has a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from UBC.

Jenny Li
Education Program Assistant

604-827-3342
ubchealth.educassist@ubc.ca

Jenny Li supports the organization, coordination, and logistics of collaborative health education delivered by UBC Health on behalf of the health professional programs at UBC. She provides support in building capacity for collaborative health education and plays a key role in the smooth running of the interprofessional programming from an organizational standpoint. With extensive experience working in a few units across UBC, Jenny has demonstrated abilities to support the delivery of educational projects and initiatives for post-secondary students. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in English Language and Literature and a Masters of Education in Curriculum Studies from UBC and a certificate from the Executive Assistance program at Vancouver Community College.

Jen MacDonald
Program Coordinator, Patient and Community Partnership for Education

604-822-8002
jen.macdonald@ubc.ca

Jen MacDonald provides coordination for the UBC Interprofessional Health Mentors Program and the Patient & Community Voices workshop series through the Patient and Community Partnership for Education unit at UBC Health. She works with students and community organizations to promote patient-centered care in the education of health professionals at UBC. Jen has a Masters of Fine Arts degree and a Bachelor of Psychology degree.

Jasvir Sandhu
Research Assistant

Jasvir Sandhu is Research Assistant and plays a role in UBC Health’s interdisciplinary health research activities. She is contributing to the development a web-based knowledge sharing hub for disaggregated data guidance and collaborates on offering guidance surrounding the collection and effective utilization of disaggregated data, all with a strong commitment to advancing data justice principles. As an undergraduate student, Jasvir hopes to continue to integrate her technical skills with a profound dedication to promoting equitable health outcomes.

Mannat Sidhu
Research and Development Assistant, Patient and Community Partnership for Education

Mannat Sidhu is in her final year at UBC, majoring in Psychology and minoring in Education. She is dedicated to promoting more accessible health and well-being, and empowering communities and is excited to make a positive impact on the field of healthcare through her position as Research and Development Assistant. Mannat utilizes research and evidence-based strategies to help create patient-centered learning resources for health professionals.

Hillary Stevens
Project Manager, Gateway to Team-Based Care

hillary.stevens@ubc.ca

As Project Manager, Hillary Stevens works closely with UBC Health leadership and team members to support the operational planning and implementation of the Gateway to Team-Based Care project. She brings extensive experience working in clinical healthcare settings and has a strong background in health promotion and program planning in higher education. With a passion for student development and interdisciplinary collaboration, Hilary has supported student leaders and learners in a variety of settings and has served as a clinical instructor and preceptor in the UBC Dietetics program for a number of years. Hillary is a registered dietitian, attaining her dietetics degree from the University of British Columbia.

AMANDA UNRUH (LEAVE REPLACEMENT)
SUBSTANCE USE & ADDICTION PARTNERSHIP MANAGER

amanda.unruh@ubc.ca

Amanda Unruh (she/her) brings her passion for education and her expertise in the area of adult learning, substance use health and harm reduction to her role as Interim Substance Use and Addiction Partnership Manager. This position is a joint appointment between UBC Health and the BC Centre on Substance Use, and Amanda works out of both locations, managing the initiatives shared by the two organizations that focus on improving substance use education and clinical training. In this innovative role, she also works to identify shared priorities and opportunities for program alignment and further partnership between BCCSU and UBC Health. Collaborating with 17 health profession programs on both UBC campuses as well as health system partners, she works to coordinate interdisciplinary education that provides students with foundational training in substance use and addiction care, treatment and recovery. Amanda holds a Master’s degree in Education specializing in adult education and learning from UBC and a Bachelor of Arts from McGill University.

Mandy Young
Community Engagement Coordinator

604-822-8002
Mandy.young@ubc.ca

Mandy Young is a parent of a medically and behaviourally complex child and has six years of experience working in the non-profit peer support sector. Mandy has been a valued partner of Patient and Community Partnership for Education (PCPE) for over 10 years, volunteering as a Health Mentor and workshop facilitator for health care students. She is also a member of the UBC Health Patient & Community Advisory Committee and a recipient of the R. Paul Kerston Community Educator Award for expanding student learning beyond traditional boundaries and making a difference to student learning at UBC. Mandy brings her passion, dedication and advocacy experience to her role as community engagement coordinator.  

Mandy builds community relationships and develops processes for the recruitment, orientation, and support of patient and community members engaged in UBC Health activities, especially in the core area of collaborative health education. Her work advances UBC Health’s mandate to graduate learners who understand the diverse perspectives and experiences of patients and communities.  

Mandy holds facilitator certificates in ‘Planning an Alternative Tomorrow with Hope (PATH)’, a person-centered planning tool, and ‘Sibshop’, support for siblings of kids with disabilities. Mandy also has a certificate in Family Engagement in Research from McGill University.

Angela Towle
Co-Director, Patient and Community Partnership For Education
Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine
Senior Scholar, Centre for Health Education Scholarship, Faculty of Medicine

604-875-4111
angela.towle@ubc.ca

Angela Towle's expertise, especially in the management of change, builds on her past experience in health services development and change in medical education with the King's Fund, London, UK. She is currently Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine, Senior Scholar in the Centre for Health Education Scholarship at UBC, and Academic Director of the UBC Learning Exchange in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. Between 2002 and 2010, she was Associate Dean, MD Undergraduate Education in the Faculty of Medicine.

William Godolphin
Co-Director, Patient and Community Partnership For Education
Professor Emeritus, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Faculty of Medicine

604-822-7701
wgod@mail.ubc.ca

William Godolphin has been a teacher and researcher for many years, with projects and publications ranging across lipoproteins, breast cancer prognostic factors, clinical laboratory toxicology, laboratory automation and medical education. He is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine.

ELIZABETH YUE (on leave)
SUBSTANCE USE & ADDICTION PARTNERSHIP MANAGER

604-366-5883
liz.yue@ubc.ca

Elizabeth (Liz) Yue brings her passion for public health and her expertise in the area of substance use disorder research and education to her role as Substance Use and Addiction Partnership Manager. The position is a joint appointment between UBC Health and the BC Centre on Substance Use, and Liz works out of both locations, managing the initiatives shared by the two organizations that focus on improving substance use education, clinical training and research. In this innovative role, she also works to identify shared priorities and opportunities for program alignment and further partnership between BCCSU and UBC Health. Collaborating with 17 health profession programs on both UBC campuses as well as health system partners, she works to coordinate an interdisciplinary education strategy that provides students with foundational training in substance use and addiction prevention, treatment and recovery. Liz has a wealth of experience in interdisciplinary stakeholder engagement and substance addiction education and training. She holds a Master’s degree in Public Health from the University of Alberta and a Bachelor of Science degree from UBC.