Our Board of Directors

Kevin O’Brien, Board Chair

Mr. O’Brien, a graduate of Wilfred Laurier University, has a career that spans 40 years in international cooperation, community development, and humanitarian aid, with both domestic and international civil society organizations.

Mr. O’Brien began his career as a community development worker and teacher in Sierra Leone, living and working in a remote rural village for two a half years. His career would take him to England, back to Sierra Leone, as well as Senegal, West Africa, where he worked as the Country Director for Plan International, with the overall responsibility for the design and implementation of an integrated community development program in remote rural areas while working within the host government’s strategic development framework.

Returning to Canada in 1991, Mr. O’Brien acted as Director of Residential Services with SUREX, an organization providing 24-hour care and training for adults with developmental disabilities, before becoming the Executive Director of Canadian Feed the Children in 1997. Under his leadership CFTC expanded from being primarily a commodity-based relief organization to one utilizing responsive integrated development programs/strategies. In 2002 Mr. O’Brien was recruited and appointed Executive Director of Canadian Physicians for Aid and Relief, an NGO building healthy communities in Ethiopia, Uganda, Malawi and Tanzania, with a focus on primary health care, food security, water, sanitation, hygiene and livelihoods utilizing cross country themes of gender equity, environment and prevention of HIV.

Mr. O’Brien is currently an International Development, and Organizational development and management consultant.

Tom Magyarody 

Mr. Magyarody has a wealth of experience as a CEO, board member, consultant and strategic advisor. He is the principal of Magyarody Strategy and Governance Consulting. He also provides Executive Coaching to C-suite executives as well as Board Directors.

He is currently a Director of Blue Pier Pension Administration Inc,  a member of the Board of Governors for the Ontario Medical Foundation and Vice Commodore at the Etobicoke Yacht Club.

With particular expertise in the health-care sector, Mr. Magyarody has been CEO of the Ontario Medical Association (OMA) and the Ontario Dental Association; an independent director of Centric Health Corporation; Executive Director, Corporate Affairs and Administration with OMA; Managing Director of Community Telephone Health Management Co.; a Senior Vice President with Commercial Union Assurance; and Director of HR with McDonnell Douglas.

Mr. Magyarody holds an ICD.D via the Rotman School of Management and MBA and Engineering & Management degrees from McMaster University. He is an honourary member of the OMA and has been recognized by McMaster Engineering as a top-150 graduate. He is currently working on attaining his Associate Certified Coach standing via Royal Roads University, Victoria BC.

Dr. Allon Reddoch

A resident of the Yukon Territory for 45 years, Dr. Reddoch works as the Chief Medical Consultant to the Yukon Workers’ Compensation Health and Safety Board. Since completing his medical studies, Dr. Reddoch has actively worked as a family physician since 1974, complementing his knowledge with post-graduate studies in dermatology, allergy and disabilities and impairments.

Professionally, Dr. Reddoch’ s many leadership appointments include seeing him elected by his peers to the roles of President of the Yukon Medical Association (1979 to 1990) and the Canadian Medical Association (1998-1999).

An active and engaged community member, Dr. Reddoch is a Member of the Rotary Club of Whitehorse (1975 to present) where he served as President in 1983, the St. John Ambulance charitable organization, the Ramesh Ferris Cycle to Walk Society (polio eradication, education and rehabilitation) and other charitable and community building organizations. Dr. Reddoch was elected to the Board of Trustees for the Canadian Medical Foundation in 2018.

Janet Hatcher Roberts

Over the past three decades, Mrs. Hatcher Roberts has been involved in the design, monitoring and evaluation of global health and development and gender and health programmes and projects at IDRC, CIDA, CIHR (Institute on Gender and Health), the Public Health Agency of Canada and Health Canada. From 1998-2013, she was the Executive Director of the Canadian Society for International Health. She spent 2007-2008 in Geneva where she was Director of the Migration Health Department with the International Organization for Migration, now UN Migration.

In her volunteer time, Mrs. Hatcher Roberts was the Chair of the Board for Action Canada for Population Development and was a Board member and Past Treasurer of the Canadian Coalition for Global Health Research. She was a Board member of the US-based Council of Graduate Foreign Nurses (CGFNS) from 2007- 2016. From 2009-2019, she was appointed by an Order in Council as Board member to Public Health Ontario (PHO) where she also sat on the Strategic Planning Committee and Governance Committee. From 2018 to 2020, Mrs. Hatcher Roberts also has served as an ex-officio member and now board member of the Ottawa Centre Liberal EDA. She also served for four years on the National Board of Make Poverty History.

Since January 2021 Mrs. Hatcher Roberts also has served as a member of the Advisory Committee for the newly formed Pegasus Institute and is a member of the newly formed Transition committee for the new Canadian Association for Global Health, an amalgamation of the Canadian Society for International Health and the Canadian Coalition for Global Health Research.

J.L. Gilles LeVasseur

J.L. Gilles LeVasseur, O.Ont, LLD, LSM, CD, is a distinguished Canadian academic, lawyer, and public servant whose expertise spans multiple disciplines, including corporate governance, financial management, and public policy.. Mr. LeVasseur holds multiple degrees in business, economics, health, law, and international affairs, having pursued studies at renowned institutions, including Cambridge University. He is a member of both the Ontario and Quebec Bars and holds professional designations as a certified management consultant, project management professional, and financial planner.

Mr. LeVasseur is a professor at the University of Ottawa’s Telfer School of Management, where he teaches law, economics, and business administration. Beyond academia, he has played a key role in advocating for Franco-Ontarian rights. He was instrumental in legal battles to protect French-language services in Ontario, particularly during the campaign to save Ottawa’s Montfort Hospital in the 1990s. His extensive involvement in national and provincial organizations has supported cultural, minority, and healthcare initiatives.

His contributions have been recognized with prestigious honors, including the Order of Ontario, the Queen’s Jubilee medals, the Coronation Medal, the St-John Ambulance Award, the Ontario Merit Order and an honorary doctorate. Mr. LeVasseur’s dedication to public service, legal advocacy, and education continues to shape policies and governance in Canada, solidifying his legacy as a leader in his field.

Nehal Sawvad

Nehal Sawvad is a healthcare executive with extensive experience in leadership, strategic planning, healthcare regulation, operations, and high-stakes assessment methodology. With a background as a dentist in her home country of India, she has leveraged her clinical expertise and firsthand experience as an Internationally Educated Healthcare Professional in Canada to strengthen transparency and accountability between the public and healthcare providers in British Columbia.

Holding both a dental degree and an MBA, Ms. Sawvad began her career as a practicing dentist in India before transitioning into healthcare accreditation in the Middle East. Currently, she leads the Licensure Team at the College of Complementary Health Professionals of BC (CCHPBC), overseeing registration and certification processes to ensure policies and procedures serve the public interest.
Committed to public safety and community health, Ms. Sawvad also serves as a public member on the Registration Committee of the British Columbia College of Oral Health Professionals (BCCOHP), where she brings a community-focused perspective to regulatory decisions in oral healthcare.

Beyond her professional roles, Ms. Sawvad’s dedication to public service and healthcare excellence drives her contributions as a board member, where she works to uphold high standards in healthcare, support internationally trained professionals, and promote equitable access to quality care.