Wendy Levinson is a Professor of Medicine and Past Chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Toronto. She led the creation of Choosing Wisely Canada, and presently serves as Chair of Choosing Wisely Canada and Choosing Wisely International. She is an officer of the Order of Canada.

Tai Huynh is Campaign Director of Choosing Wisely Canada. He is responsible for strategy and creative direction. Tai brings many years of experience leading large-scale health system initiatives. He was previously Director of the Excellent Care for All Strategy at the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care and is also Creative Director at OpenLab at the University Health Network in Toronto.

Bev Andres is the Administrative Assistant for Choosing Wisely Canada. Bev is responsible for providing administrative support to operational and special campaign activities. Bev has a Bachelor of Arts in Literature and courses towards a Bachelor of Business Administration from York University.

Steph Callan is the Senior Communications Specialist for Choosing Wisely Canada. She is responsible for managing communications, brand strategy, and content development. Steph holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communications and Multimedia from McMaster University, a postgraduate certificate in Corporate Communications from Sheridan College, and a Professional Master of Education from Queen’s University.

Kalea Davies is the Communications Coordinator for Choosing Wisely Canada. She is responsible for coordinating communication activities across multiple campaign channels and developing content for Choosing Wisely Canada’s social media, website, and newsletters. Kalea holds a Bachelor’s degree in Media and Communications from the University of Guelph.

Doreen Day is the Senior Project Manager, National Programs for Choosing Wisely Canada. She is responsible for managing the development and implementation of national programs related to blood stewardship and leading Choosing Wisely Canada’s climate-conscious initiatives. Doreen holds a Master’s degree in Health Administration from the University of Toronto.

Tara Goodale is the Operations Manager for Choosing Wisely Canada. Tara also leads the program operations for Students and Trainees Advocating for Resource Stewardship (STARS). She is responsible for all day-to-day operations, including staff and stakeholder management, strategic planning, budgeting, and financial reporting. Tara holds a Master’s degree in Family Relations and Human Development from the University of Guelph.

Gillian Hurwitz is the Project Manager, Implementation for Choosing Wisely Canada. Gillian is responsible for advancing implementation efforts, including overseeing a national initiative to improve laboratory utilization across Canada. Gillian holds a Master of Public Health degree from Boston University.

Karen Karagheusian is the Project Manager, Long-Term Care for Choosing Wisely Canada. Karen is responsible for advancing long-term care strategy and implementation efforts, including overseeing a national initiative to reduce inappropriate medication use. Karen holds a Bachelor of Social Work degree from the University of Victoria and a Master of Public Health degree from the University of Waterloo.

Denise McRiner is the Project Manager, Quality Improvement for Choosing Wisely Canada. Denise is responsible for advancing implementation efforts, including overseeing Choosing Wisely Canada’s Hospital Designation Program. Denise holds a Master’s degree in Healthcare Quality, Risk and Patient Safety from Queen’s University.

Tara is the Project Manager, Regional Campaigns for Choosing Wisely Canada. She is responsible for managing the relationships with provincial and territorial Choosing Wisely affiliates, as well as managing the development and implementation of pan-Canadian initiatives. Tara holds a Master’s degree in Public Health from Simon Fraser University.

Joanna Wong is the Project Coordinator for Choosing Wisely Canada. Joanna is responsible for providing support for multiple activities. This includes working with specialty societies to develop and maintain their lists of recommendations. She is also responsible for supporting the international Choosing Wisely collaboration. Joanna has a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Linguistics from the University of Toronto.

Dr. Thomas Bodley is a Clinician Co-Lead for the Using Labs Wisely program. Dr. Bodley is a practicing critical care physician and serves as the Medical Lead for Quality in the Department of Critical Care at Scarborough Health Network. Dr. Bodley’s research interests focus on enhancing the implementation of evidence-based practices in clinical care, and he has authored numerous publications on reducing low-value blood testing in intensive care settings.

Dr. Sid Feldman is a Long-Term Care Clinician Co-Lead for Choosing Wisely Canada. Dr. Feldman is an Associate Professor and Head of the Division of Care of the Elderly in the Department of Family and Community Medicine, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto.

He has been a long-term care (LTC) physician for over thirty years and is the Chief of the Department of Family and Community Medicine and the Executive Medical Director of Residential Programs at Baycrest Health Sciences, a role that includes serving as Medical Director of the 472-bed Apotex Jewish Home for the Aged. He has been an active member of the Seniors Quality Leap Initiative, a consortium of LTC organizations across North America, committed to improving quality of care and quality of life for LTC residents, through sharing of data and ideas. He is a previous member of the Board of Directors of the Ontario Long-term Care Physicians, and has been involved in many projects over the years to improve practice and care in the LTC environment.

Dr. Jeremy Grimshaw is the Implementation Science Lead for Choosing Wisely Canada. Dr. Grimshaw is trained as a family physician prior to undertaking a PhD in health services research at the University of Aberdeen.  His research focuses on the evaluation of interventions to disseminate and implement evidence-based practice. Dr. Grimshaw is a Senior Scientist in the Clinical Epidemiology Program at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, a Full Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Ottawa, and a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Health Knowledge Transfer and Uptake. He is a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences and a Corresponding Fellow of the Royal College of Edinburgh. He is the President of the Board of the Campbell Collaboration.

Adele Harrison is the Hospital Designation Program Lead for Choosing Wisely Canada. She is also the Medical Director for Clinical Improvement and Medical Staff Development at Island Health in Vancouver Island, BC. She previously practiced as a Neonatologist in both Canada and the United Kingdom. Having held leadership roles in quality, safety and improvement, she believes the skills developed in providing direct clinical care are the same required to shape our health care system. She emphasizes that all members of the health care team can contribute to creating a better future for providers, patients, and the system.

Dr. Jerome Leis is the Clinician Lead for the Using Antibiotics Wisely campaign. Dr. Leis is also an Infectious Diseases physician at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and an Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine and the Centre for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety at the University of Toronto. His research is focused on the development of new models of care to reduce the risk of hospital-acquired infection and to promote the appropriate use of antibiotics.

Dr. Yulia Lin is the Clinician Lead for the Using Blood Wisely campaign. Dr. Lin is also an Associate Professor in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology at the University of Toronto and Division Head of Transfusion Medicine and Tissue Bank at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. She is Chair of the Ontario Transfusion Quality Improvement Plan Committee, the Ontario Transfusion Coordinators Network Steering Committee, and the Planning Committee for the University of Toronto Transfusion Camp, a postgraduate transfusion education program with participation from over 12 Canadian universities. Her scholarly interests include physician education in transfusion medicine, quality improvement in patient blood management, and transfusion safety.

Dr. Olivia Ostrow is the Pediatrics Lead for Choosing Wisely Canada. Dr. Ostrow is the Director for Quality and Safety for the Division of Paediatric Emergency Medicine at the Hospital for Sick Children, and an Associate Professor in the Department of Paediatrics at the University of Toronto. Dr. Ostrow is passionate about health care quality, safety and value and is actively involved in front-line improvement work.

Dr. Janet Reynolds is a Primary Care Co-Lead for Choosing Wisely Canada. Dr. Reynolds is a family physician and the Medical Director at Crowfoot Village Family Practice in Calgary, Alberta. She is also the Medical Director for the Calgary Foothills Primary Care Network. Dr. Reynolds completed her medical degree from the University of Saskatchewan, moving to Ottawa to complete her family medicine training at the University of Ottawa.

In her more than 20 years of experience as a physician, Dr. Reynolds has learned that the most rewarding part of her job is getting to know her patients over time and understanding what is important to them. She is passionate about family medicine and health care stewardship.

Dr. Janet Simons is a Clinician Co-Lead for the Using Labs Wisely program. Dr. Simons is a medical biochemist and internist at Vancouver’s Providence Health Care and an Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of British Columbia. Dr. Simons’ research interests include improving clinical and laboratory services to create better efficiencies in health care systems.

Dr. Guylène Thériault is a Primary Care Co-Lead for Choosing Wisely Canada. She is a Family Physician and practices family medicine in Gatineau, Québec. She also practices in public health and has academic responsibilities at McGill University. She teaches many different types of audiences on the use of evidence in practice, including students, residents, physicians, and the public, and has an interest in prevention, screening, and appropriate use of resources.

Julie Weir is a Long-Term Care Clinician Co-Lead for Choosing Wisely Canada. She is currently the Clinical Director Operations, Patient Flow and Ambulatory Care with Horizon Health, and she recently served as the CEO of the New Brunswick Association of Nursing Homes.

With over 20 years of experience as a registered nurse, Julie’s background includes leading a provincial initiative for the appropriate use of antipsychotics and overseeing the implementation of the interRAI LTCF assessment across all nursing homes in New Brunswick. Currently pursuing her PhD, she continues to provide quality improvement and evaluation coaching through Healthcare Excellence Canada.

Dr. William Silverstein is a general internist at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and an Assistant Professor (Clinician in Quality and Innovation) in the Department of Medicine at the University of Toronto. He has been the Lead of Choosing Wisely Canada STARS since July 2022. He is also the Physician Lead of Sunnybrook’s Choosing Wisely Committee. His academic interests lie at the intersection of QIPS, resource stewardship, health services research, and educating clinicians to incorporate high-value care into their practices.

Dr. Brian Wong is the Medical Education Lead of Choosing Wisely Canada. He is also an Associate Professor and the Director of Continuing Education and Quality Improvement in the Department of Medicine at the University of Toronto, the Director of the Centre for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety at the University of Toronto and a Clinician Educator with the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. Clinically, he is a staff general internist at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. His scholarly activities lie at the intersection between medical education, quality improvement, and patient safety, and has been extensively involved in developing curricula to teach patient safety, quality, and value to health professionals across the learning continuum.

Jane Arychuk’s life and career have brought her into contact with many different touchpoints within the medical and health care system. Currently situated in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Jane brings experiences recognizing the health care system of a 700-person community, a 2500-person regional centre and a 20, 000-person capital city. Jane hopes to raise awareness about the importance of using finite resources wisely, drawing from her rural and remote experiences.

Tony has been an active member of the Newfoundland and Labrador Patient and Public Advisory Council for over seven years. Personal experiences supporting a family member through a dementia diagnosis furthered his commitment to ensure patient and public voices are heard in health care. Tony hopes to use past experiences and expertise to support and shape Choosing Wisely Canada’s future initiatives.

Amy is passionate about the intersection of the climate crisis and health care. She believes that making informed choices, both on a micro and macro level, can lead to more resilient and environmentally responsible health systems. As an adult child of immigrant aging parents, a racialized woman, and a parent to three children, Amy brings experiences navigating the healthcare system, coupled with over five years in the Patient and Public Advisor role with Choosing Wisely Canada.

With seven years of experience as a patient advisor, partner, and evaluator on the local, provincial, national, and international levels, Paula comes to Choosing Wisely Canada with a very strong background in patient engagement. She is interested in improving healthcare systems across the country. Having seen how waste, outdated practices, and pressure from patients can result in unnecessary tests and treatments, Paula aims to use her experience and perspective to help others understand the risks associated with overuse in health care.