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Leadership

A sustainable future for health care in New Brunswick

May 4, 2021

The Government of New Brunswick is working with New Brunswickers to build a five-year provincial health plan that supports a health-care system that is responsive to the needs of patients, providers, and communities now and into the future.

As New Brunswick’s national comprehensive post-secondary institution, the University of New Brunswick (UNB) is a trusted voice in major discussions and debates across our communities. UNB drives economic growth, social development, and sustainable healthcare delivery by collaborating with government, industry, and community partners to turn ideas into action.

To further serve the public good, UNB will convene the first in a series of important conversations to help build a more prosperous and just future for New Brunswick. Inviting the public to a virtual public dialogue focused on ‘a sustainable future for Health Care in New Brunswick’, UNB will provide a platform for critical exchange of views to nurture the provincial health-care reform process and ensure positive action that will benefit communities, the economy, and lives of New Brunswickers.

Speakers will include:

  • Hon. Dorothy Shephard, Minister of Health, Government of New Brunswick
  • Dr. Petra Hauf, Vice-President Saint John, UNB
  • Rowena Rizzotti, Vice-President Healthcare & Innovations, Lark Group

A panel discussion focused on UNB’s research impact to improve the health outcomes of New Brunswickers will be moderated by Dr. Kathy Wilson, Acting Vice-President Academic (Fredericton), UNB. Panelists will include:

  • Dr. Shelley Doucet, Jarislowsky Chair in Interprofessional Patient-Centred Care; & Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie Medicine NB
  • Dr. Ted McDonald, Director, NB-Institute for Research, Data and Training (NB-IRDT)
  • Dr. Erik Scheme,; Director, Health Technologies Lab; Research Faculty, Institute of Biomedical Engineering, UNB & Adjunct Professor, Dalhousie Medicine NB
  • Dr. Kelly Scott-Storey, Associate Professor, Faculty of Nursing, UNB; Director of Community Research, Scholarship and Teaching, Fredericton Downtown Community Health Centre

The health of the people of New Brunswick is essential to the social, cultural and economic well-being of the province. Join us for this virtual event which is free and open to the public.

Speaker notes: Hon. Dorothy Shephard

Presentation slides: Dr. Petra Hauf

Presentation slides: Rowena Rizzotti

Note: This is not a transcript. The presentations may differ from the notes.

Speakers

President and Vice-Chancellor, UNB

Dr. Paul J. Mazerolle

Dr. Paul Mazerolle is the 19th president and vice-chancellor of the University of New Brunswick.

Prior to his appointment in July 2019, Dr. Mazerolle was previously the pro vice chancellor (arts, education and law, 2009-2019), campus provost for Mount Gravatt campus (2009-2019), director of the Violence Research and Prevention program (2006-2019), and director of the Key Centre for Ethics, Law, Justice and Governance (2007-2009) at Griffith University in Queensland, Australia. He was also director of Research and Prevention at the Queensland Crime and Misconduct Commission (2002-2005) and head of the criminology program at the University of Queensland (2000-2006).

Dr. Mazerolle received his bachelor of arts degree in sociology from the University of New Brunswick (1989), his master of science in criminal justice from Northeastern University (1990), and his PhD in criminology from the University of Maryland at College Park (1995).

Dr. Mazerolle has led and participated in several major initiatives. While at Griffith, he chaired the university-wide Safe Campus Taskforce and chaired the sub-committee on Changing Attitudes and Behaviour regarding Sexual Harassment and Sexual Assault. Since 2014, Dr. Mazerolle led and chaired the Griffith Integrity 20 program.

Dr. Mazerolle was a member of the Premier’s Youth Violence Taskforce and the Seniors Taskforce in Queensland, Australia. He was also Board Chair and Director at Open Minds, a leading non-government organization addressing mental illness and disability.

Dr. Mazerolle is a past editor of the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology and is the founding co-editor (with Tara McGee) of the Journal of Developmental and Life-Course Criminology.

An active scholar in criminology, Dr. Mazerolle has led several funded research projects. His research examines processes that shape offending behaviour across the life-course. His primary focus is in building knowledge on violence to inform theories, advance understanding, and improve policy and practices to reduce or prevent violence.

Paul is a proud native of New Brunswick, having grown up in Fredericton. He returns with his wife Amanda, and their two border collies, Maya and Gaby, to enjoy the four seasons.


Minister of Health, Government of New Brunswick

Hon. Dorothy Shephard

Dorothy Shephard was elected to the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick in the Sept. 27, 2010, provincial election as the MLA for Saint John Lancaster. On Oct. 9, 2012, she was sworn in as Minister of Healthy and Inclusive Communities. She was reelected as the MLA for Saint John Lancaster Sept. 22, 2014 and served as Opposition Critic for Human Resources and Women’s Equality and followed then by Opposition Critic for Families and Children.

Ms. Shephard was reelected on Sept. 24, 2018 and was sworn in on Nov. 9, 2018 as New Brunswick’s Minister of Social Development and Minister responsible for the Economic and Social Inclusion Corporation. She was reelected for a fourth term on Sept. 14, 2020 and was sworn in as Minister of Health on Sept. 29, 2020.

Born and raised in Saint John, New Brunswick, Ms. Shephard graduated from Saint John Vocational School in 1979.

She has been a volunteer since her teens, beginning with little league baseball and Scouts Canada. After graduation, she became a member of the IODE, and the Spruce Lake Women’s Institute.

Through her business affiliations, Ms. Shephard has been a member of the Canadian Home Builders Association, the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses and the Saint John Board of Trade. She is a past member of Saint John Women Business Owners.

As an MLA, she continues her dedication to many community driven and charitable organizations within the Saint John area.

During her first term, she was a member of several legislative committees that touch on community essentials such as business, policy, and health care. She was a member of the following committees: Standing Committee on Public Accounts, Standing Committee on Estimates (Chair), Standing Committee on Health, Select Committee on Point Lepreau, and Select Committee on Legislative Reform. In addition, she chaired the Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick’s Southern Regional Caucus from September 2010, to August 2012.

In her second term, she also served on the Public Accounts and Economic Policy Legislative Committees.

Prior to becoming involved in politics, she owned and operated Benjamin Moore Colour Center, a retail decorating store, for 17 years.

Ms. Shephard and her husband, Art, have been married for 40 years and live in Saint John’s lower west side.


Vice-President Saint John, UNB

Dr. Petra Hauf

Dr. Hauf is the Vice-President Saint John at the University of New Brunswick since March 2019. She is a dynamic leader who is actively engaged in all campus affairs, including academics, administration, and operations. As an internationally-renowned researcher, she is building on UNB’s momentum as a global leader in research and continuing to advance UNB as a research-focused institution.

Through her involvement with the Integrated Health Initiative, community engagement at Living Saint John, Regional Economic Development Agency for Greater Saint John, Opportunities New Brunswick, and Atlantica Centre for Energy, she is realizing her vision to engage in new approaches and develop strong partnerships to inspire a thriving environment that greatly enhances both UNB and the community of Saint John.

Through her experience in senior administration in a variety of academic institutions, Dr. Hauf takes her academic perspective and applies it to a variety of scenarios. She is establishing innovative approaches to significantly impact and benefit Saint John.

Dr. Hauf joined UNB from St. Francis Xavier University where she was the Dean of Science and the Acting Director of the Rankin School of Nursing. As a testament to her dedication and accomplishments in research, she was Professor and Department Chair in Psychology upon her appointment as Dean of Science. Under her leadership, the Faculty of Science introduced several very successful interdisciplinary programs.

Throughout her tenure at St. FX, she was appointed the Canada Research Chair in Cognitive Development and she continues her NSERC-funded research on the role of motor skills for perceptual, social, and cognitive development during the first years of life.


Vice-President Healthcare and Innovations, Lark Group

Rowena Rizzotti

Rowena Rizzotti has been a highly successful healthcare leader with more than 35 years experience in executive-level leadership roles across multi-site, complex health and business environments.

Rowena holds two Masters Degrees in Management and Business Administration (MBA) and also holds an undergraduate degree in Psychology with a minor in Biochemistry from UBC. She is clinically trained as both a nurse and a paramedic.

Rowena served as VP of Operations for BC’s largest private seniors’ care operator and also served as a Chief Operating Officer for BC’s Northern Health Authority among many other healthcare leadership roles. Rowena earned wide acclaim for her senior leadership of Fraser Heath's Clinical Programs and Operations including Surrey Memorial Hospital (SMH) and for overseeing the largest investment in BC’s history; a $500 million critical care tower in Surrey, BC. Rowena is responsible for having developed the research and innovation strategy in 2012, is a cofounder of Legion Veterans Village, was a visionary behind the Health and technology District and previously developed an innovation centre for healthy aging which won a 2015 Innovator of the Year Award in BC. Rowena currently serves as the Vice President of Healthcare and Innovations for two private health sector company’s, is an advisory member of the Conference Board of Canada, Council for Innovation and Commercialization, and Centre for Business Innovation and is a Mentor for SFU Beedie School of Business.


Jarislowsky Chair in Interprofessional Patient-Centred Care; & Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie Medicine NB

Dr. Shelley Doucet

Dr. Shelley Doucet is the Jarislowsky Chair in Interprofessional Patient-Centred Care, Associate Professor in Nursing, and Director of the Centre for Research in Integrated Care at the University of New Brunswick. Dr. Doucet’s research team develops programs that address the barriers and gaps in services identified through research, with the goal to promote collaborative patient-centred care that is accessible and meets patients’ needs. For example, she is the co-founder and co-director of NaviCare/SoinsNavi, the New Brunswick navigation centre for children and youth with health care needs. Her multi-method community-based research involves intersectoral partnerships with a variety of stakeholders, such as health professionals, decision makers, patients, trainees, and community stakeholders.


Director, NB-Institute for Research, Data and Training (NB-IRDT)

Dr. Ted McDonald

Ted McDonald is a Professor of Economics at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Melbourne, Australia. He is the founding Director of the NB Institute for Research, Data and Training, New Brunswick’s only provincial administrative data centre. He is the Chair of the Canadian Research Data Centre Network Academic Council, a member of the CRDCN Board, and the Academic Director of the NB Statistics Canada Research Data Centre.

Dr. McDonald is also on the executive committee of Health Data Research Network Canada and is the New Brunswick lead of the Maritime SPOR SUPPORT Unit (MSSU). Dr. McDonald is a UNB research scholar for 2020-22. In 2019 he was co-winner of the Mike McCracken award for Economics Statistics, awarded by the Canadian Economics Association.


Director, Health Technologies Lab; Research Faculty, Institute of Biomedical Engineering, UNB & Adjunct Professor, Dalhousie Medicine NB

Dr. Erik Scheme

Dr. Scheme is an Associate Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering, the Director of the Health Technologies Laboratory, and a Faculty member of the Institute of Biomedical Engineering, at UNB. He is also an Adjunct Professor at Dalhousie Medicine NB and co-founder of recent startup, eNable Analytics.

Having just completed a 6-year term as the NB Innovation Research Chair Medical Technologies, Dr. Scheme is a serial collaborator with industry and clinical partners. An expert in machine learning and human machine interfaces, Dr. Scheme’s research explores the use of technology to improve human movement, health, and happiness.


Associate Professor, Faculty of Nursing, UNB; Director of Community Research, Scholarship and Teaching, Fredericton Downtown Community Health Centre

Dr. Kelly Scott-Storey

Dr. Kelly Scott-Storey is a health researcher and Associate Professor in the Faculty of Nursing at the University of New Brunswick and the Director of Community Research, Scholarship and Teaching at the Fredericton Downtown Community Health Centre (FDCHC). Her research lies broadly in the intersection of violence, gender and health as well as social inequities.

She holds over $4.5 million dollars in research funding and is currently the Principal Investigator (PI) on two large national randomized control trials, one CIHR operating grant and two NBHRF bridging grants. Within her role at the FDCHC, she is part of a team working with community, academic and government partners to prioritize equity oriented primary health care for vulnerable groups using low barrier and innovative approaches.


Acting Vice-President Academic (Fredericton)

Dr. Kathy Wilson

Dr. Kathy Wilson is the Acting Vice-President Academic (Fredericton) at the University of New Brunswick, a role she has held since January 2021. An enthusiastic and energetic leader, Dr. Wilson works closely with academic and administrative colleagues across campus. She is responsible for the planning, development and implementation of the university’s academic plan for the Fredericton campus. Dr. Wilson’s academic appointment is in the faculty of nursing.

As chair of the UNB Bi-Campus COVID-19 Response Steering Committee, Dr. Wilson and her team regularly meet with representatives from the Department of Post-Education, Training and Labour and New Brunswick Public Health.

She served as co-chair of both the Canadian Consortium on New Nurse Research and Innovation and the Sub-committee of the New Brunswick Council on Articulations and Transfer (NBCAT) BN-LPN Articulations.

Prior to her appointment as Acting Vice-President Academic (Fredericton), Dr. Wilson served as Associate Vice-President Academic (Learning Environment) and assistant dean of graduate and advanced RN studies in the faculty of nursing.

Throughout her various academic and administrative roles, Dr. Wilson has brought with her an optimism and motivation to provide each student with a transformative education. As an educator, she believes the ideal educational experience involves teamwork and collaboration, resulting in a lifetime of growth and opportunities.

The VPA maintains a close relationship with the Vice-President (Saint John) to ensure that the university as a whole is delivering on its mission, on serving its students, and on the goals of the broader academic plan.