Board of Directors

Brian Lefebvre, President (returning) 

Brian Lefebvre is a thoughtful and passionate health informatics leader with over 15 years of experience in different sectors of Canadian healthcare - including the past 10 years in BC focused on digital health strategy and project delivery. Currently, Brian is a Senior Manager with PHSA IMITS, Provincial eHealth Projects, leading a portfolio of initiatives focused on improving continuity of care for citizens across BC through the Province-wide roll out of new and existing digital solutions. Throughout his career, Brian's focus has been on strategy, operations, and project management - and how these disciplines intersect. After graduating from the Royal Military College of Canada with a degree in Business Administration and serving 9 years in the Canadian Armed Forces, Brian joined the BC Centre for Disease Control as the Operations Manager for Environmental Health Services. In this role, he developed an appreciation for informatics, health analytics, and the crucial role information systems play in healthcare strategy and operations. While at BCCDC, Brian also worked for the Public Health Information Systems team leading efforts to support a new Provincial Public Health system and gaining an appreciation for the critical role collaboration plays in the success of digital health deployments. Following this, Brian joined PHSA IMITS and on behalf of Vancouver Coastal Health launched the Community Interoperability and Informatics Project (VCH CIIP) in 2017. Along the way, Brian also completed a Certificate in Healthcare Management from Ryerson University, Masters in Public Health from UBC, PROSCI Change Management training, and PRINCE2 project management certification.

Rachel Barker, President Elect (returning)

Rachel Barker is an experienced digital health leader with 15 years of experience in the information technology industry, including over 10 years in B.C. Health IT spanning the private sector, public health, non-profits, startups, and consulting. She has extensive experience in a variety of roles including senior management, project and change management, technical and business analysis, product management, and operations. She is proud to have served on the BCHIMPS / BCHIMSS board since 2019 in Communications and Program Director roles, and prior to that acted as the Vancouver chapter leader of Hacking Health and co-organizer of the Vancouver HxD (Healthcare Experience Design) meetup group. She is passionate about the importance of change management and user experience in Health IT, enjoys fostering cross-sector collaboration in healthcare and working with innovative healthcare technologies, and loves a good FHIR pun.

Shaina Reid, Past President (returning)

Shaina Reid is a passionate and respected health informatics leader with over 15 years of expertise in various clinical information system implementations across Canada and the US. She currently is responsible for overseeing all implementations as the Portfolio Director for the Clinical + Systems Transformation project (CST), spanning the majority of facilities across Vancouver Coastal Health, Providence Health Care and Provincial Health Service Authority. Shaina has held various roles on this large transformational initiative since the project’s inception in 2013. Prior to her work as part of the CST leadership team, Shaina worked as the Senior IT Project Manager for BC Cancer responsible for all implementation of all information systems and technologies for the opening BC Cancer Center for the North, a public-private partnership (P3) project. Additionally, Shaina led a project team who implemented the Cerner Ambulatory and Maternity at Children's and Women's Hospital. Previously, she consulted across the US in a number of hospitals implementing clinical information systems in environments further advanced than BC's current state. Shaina is a results-driven senior leader with strong executive and senior leadership relationships across Provincial Health Services Authority, Vancouver Coastal Health, and Providence Health Care. Shaina was the recipient of various HINF and COACH scholarships while she achieved a Bachelor of Science Degree with Honours, specializing in Health Information Science. She also holds an active Project Management Professional certification (PMP).

John Waldron, Secretary (new)

A graduate of the UVIC School of Health Information Science, I have spent my career working in both public and private sector healthcare enterprises with a focus on software development and systems integration. Some highlights include living the dot-com dream of 2000 at an EMR startup in Montreal, building an emergency room whiteboard at UHN, creating a chronic disease registry to service populations across New York City's public hospitals and helping launch the CST project here in BC. These days, I am working for a healthcare data integration startup based in Seattle; living and breathing HIEs and FHIR. Through these experiences I learned key skills applicable to the role of Secretary; the value of efficiency in organizing and coordinating groups, providing clear objectives to help achieve the goals at hand and the importance of clear and concise communication. While I'm not a fan of bureaucracy I appreciate high functioning organization models, well defined process and meaningful meetings that are the foundation of a successful organization.

I have been an active member of HIMSS throughout my career. I have attended multiple HIMSS annual conferences. I have experienced the joy of presenting on a few occasions and I have been a member of the Annual Conference Education Committee. While working at Mount Sinai in NYC, I was the NYS HIMSS Chapter web admin and Chapter executive committee member. During my time in the role, we migrated to the HIMSS national standard web platform and elevated the website from static content to an interactive experience for the membership. As Secretary of the BC HIMSS chapter I can bring value through my diverse background and experiences in other jurisdictions, fresh ideas, combined with a professional demeanor and attention to detail. I pride myself on being organized and action-oriented and I hope to bring these benefits to the Chapter. When I'm not sitting at my home office in Kits, you'll find me at the beach, on a bike, in the forest, in a lift line or playing with our dog Toshie and hanging with my love Daphne.

Andy Yngreso, Treasurer (returning)

Andy Yngreso is the Regional Director of Strategic Planning, Projects, and Business Optimization in Providence Health's Health Information Management (HIM) organization. His responsibilities include leading a portfolio which operates and maintains HIM's data management platform, data analytics, business intelligence, and assesses technical innovation to improve HIM's core operations. Further, Andy facilitates planning of HIM’s strategic direction and implementation of priority initiatives through project management and business analysis support. Andy has extensive background in planning, implementing, and consulting in health informatics and clinical information systems across Canada and the US. Having held positions within McKesson, PHSA, Allscripts, Hoag Presbyterian Hospital System (California), and Telus Health, he has an in-depth understanding of clinical systems and their impact on patient care processes. Andy has a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) degree from the University of Washington, a Project Management Certificate (PMP). Andy has keen interest in the digital transformation of care delivery and looks forward to contributing to the BCHIMSS Board.

Kaitlyn Shaw, Director 1: Program Director (new)

Kaitlyn Shaw is the current Manager of the Doctors Technology Office at Doctors of BC. In her role she leads a team of health informatics and technology professionals to provide advisory, advocacy, and consultation supports to facilitate the use of health technology in primary care. Kaitlyn has a history of working across many different sectors of healthcare, including clinical research, biotechnology, and public health. She is passionate about driving transformation in health IM/IT through engagement, change management, and collaboration to help ensure technology is an enabler of healthcare delivery and integrated in a meaningful and effective way to support patients and providers.

Dan DeBeyer, Director 2: Networking and Patient Partnership (new)

Dan DeBeyer is the Director, Digital Strategy within the IMIT team of the First Nations Health Authority (FNHA). His responsibilities include leading organizational capability and maturity though digital enablement and data strategy initiatives as well as complex multi-stakeholder projects. Dan’s 25 year career has spanned a range of leadership roles within life sciences and health care include pharmaceutical product development, product management, health care innovation and strategy. Passionate about innovation and the patient experience, Dan has participated in health hackathons and shared his knowledge and experience as an UBC Health Mentor. He currently services on the boards of the Jericho Tennis Club and Living Systems Counselling. Dan has an MBA from Queens University and BSc from the University of Guelph.

Nancy Gabor, Director 3: Sponsorship, Partnerships, and Advocacy (returning)

Nancy Gabor, Virtual Care Specialist at Mustimuhw Information Solutions, is a passionate advocate for technology-enabled healthcare in support of individual and community health and health sovereignty. With over 15 years of experience in strategy and project leadership with provincial telehealth/virtual delivery programs in both BC and Ontario, Nancy is excited to bring digital health tools to First Nations communities across Canada. Nancy has provided leadership in the areas of health system advocacy, virtual care strategy, performance and evaluation, business analysis, project and change management, market research and communications. She has worked for and with organizations including the University of British Columbia, Vancouver Coastal Health, The Clearview Group, Provincial Health Services Authority, IBM, the Ontario Telemedicine Network (OTN), and the Ontario Hospital Association.

Nancy brings a deep understanding of the Canadian healthcare landscape, trends and requirements for remote and collaborative care in addition to insights into virtual care and health system strategies and leadership across Canada. Nancy holds an MSc. Health Information Sciences from the University of Victoria, and the PMP, PROSCI and CPHIMS-CA credentials.

Brigitte Mettler, Director 4: Communications & Marketing (returning)

Brigitte Mettler is a strategic leader in technology adoption, optimization and emerging solutions with a human factors (change management) and usability focus. With over 20 years working in healthcare, Brigitte brings a wealth of expertise and some great stories. She is passionate about mentoring/encouraging others to excel and reach their full potential. A Masters in Science, Health Informatics from the University of Victoria, a designation as a CPA, CGA (Certified General Accountants of BC) and a BBA from SAIT give Brigitte a unique perspective of balancing technology expectations and feasibility with realistic approaches and guidance. Brigitte believes as key influencers, it is our obligation to participate in the discussion of moving health information concepts forward and sharing experiences with like minded individuals to shape the future of healthcare in British Columbia. Brigitte's past board experience also includes serving as director of the Certified General Accountants of BC (CGA-BC) board for six years.

Sian Crothers, Director 5: Mentorship and Accreditation (new)

Sian Crothers is a versatile healthcare professional with a curiosity for complex challenges and innovative solutions. As a Senior Business Architect with PHSA Enterprise Architecture, the Business Architecture team supports strategic digital initiatives across the province. More recently this included a focused effort on COVID 19 response, primarily supporting the provincial vaccination program (getvaccinated.org & Imms BC). Sian has a wide ranging experience across many healthcare sectors and roles, including project management, technical and business analysis, business architecture, change management, and leading initiatives across diverse teams in challenging situations. Past experiences include PACS implementations, community health and interoperability initiatives, and work with private practice physicians in the EMR space. Sian has a BA in Anthropology from UBC, PROSCI Change Management training, with additional coursework in Project Management and Business Analysis. She is also a long time volunteer with the Canadian West Coast Chapter of the Project Management Institute (PMI). Sian is passionate about BC Healthcare and always looking for opportunities to improve patient experiences in BC.

Melissa Chua, Director 6: Member Relations (returning)

Melissa Chua has 20 years of experience in the information technology industry, and has worked in various projects in government, healthcare, finance, telecommunications, transportation and more. Her skills both as a health consultant and a management team member at Gevity will show that she will be an asset to the board. As a consultant, Melissa has a thorough understanding of project management best practices and life cycle, and the ability to see the big picture in business concepts and strategies and relate them to a tactical plan. She understands how to work with various stakeholders to foster collaboration and reach decisions on difficult issues. Her ability to communicate at all levels of an organization, provide focused leadership, and build strong, engaged teams at every level, translates to successful project delivery. Melissa has a Master’s in Business Administration from Queen’s University with a certificate in Responsible Leadership, and a Bachelor of Commerce with Honours degree from the University of British Columbia with a double major in Management Information Systems and Finance.