Cancer Stakeholder Alliance Working Group
Patrick Sullivan (Chair):
President
Team Finn Foundation
A Founder & Chairman
Ac2orn
Patrick Sullivan is a passionate childhood cancer advocate, the President and a founder of the Team Finn Foundation and a founding member of Ac2orn (Advocacy for Canadian Oncology Research Network). Patrick is a director of several organizations including the Canadian Cancer Research Alliance, Childhood Cancer Canada and Coast to Coast against Cancer. Patrick is also a member of the Executive of Terry Fox Profyle, a pan-Canadian pediatric genomic initiative.
Patrick became an advocate after his twin son Finn was diagnosed with Rhabdomyosarcoma in 2007 and he heard the word incurable for the first time in May 2008. By profession, Patrick is a securities and corporate-commercial litigator and one of the founding partners of Taylor Veinotte Sullivan.
Patrick is the proud father of three remarkable children, Baird, Sarah and Finn. And would do almost anything for the simple pleasure of holding Finn’s hand again.
Louise Binder:
Health Policy Consultant
Save Your Skin Foundation
Louise Binder is a lawyer who has been involved in informing the development of health policy and systemic treatment access practices from a patient perspective for more than 20 years. She started her work in this area in the HIV community in the early 1990s after her own diagnosis and before effective treatments were available for HIV. She cofounded the Canadian Treatment Action Council (CTAC) in 1996 that successfully ensured access to treatments and quality care for people living with HIV by working with the federal and provincial governments and other relevant stakeholders to enhance drug review and approval systems, pricing policies and access to liver transplants for this community. She wrote a paper on Universal Drug Coverage a decade ago while Chair of CTAC. She had a special interest in women’s issues, chairing the Ontario women’s organization Voice of Positive Women for over a decade. She has been involved in these issues internationally as well.
Two years ago Louise began similar work in the cancer area and she is presently Health Policy Consultant for the Canadian Cancer Survivor Network.
She has been recognized by many organizations for her work including receiving an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from her alma mater Queen’s Law School, the Order of Ontario from the province of Ontario and two Queen Elizabeth II medals.
Click here to read the speech that Louise gave at the 2016 Conference Board of Canada Dinner.
John-Peter Bradford:
CEO
Life Saving Therapies Network
John-Peter is a cancer survivor, caregiver and is passionate about his work on issues of cancer research, healthcare policy and delivery. He is a Co-Chair of the Advocacy Committee of Lung Cancer Canada, and is a member of the Research Advisory Group of the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer and the Cancer Care Advisory Committee of the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation. His book, Journeys in Cancerland, with Lisa Newman, was published in 2012. It was based on his experiences and observations of the healthcare system as a cancer patient. He has also published in magazines, newspapers, literary periodicals and peer-reviewed scientific journals on a range of topics including regulatory and healthcare reform.
In the public sector, John-Peter has been principal consultant in restructuring the infrastructures of the House of Commons, the Supreme Court of Canada, the Medical Research Council of Canada, The Immigration and Refugee Review Board of Canada, HRDC, the Canadian Commercial Corporation, to name a few. He coordinated the development of the Inuit land claim that was presented to the Trudeau government in 1976, and was the basis for the eventual formation of Nunavut, Canada’s newest territory. In the private sector, he has served as CEO and board member for publicly listed and private companies, as well as strategic advisor to senior management, organizational doctor and deal maker. He has helped raise hundreds of millions of dollars.
John-Peter is a Fellow of the Institute of Certified Management Consultants of Ontario (FCMC). He holds a B.A. (Psychology) from Fairfield University in Connecticut and an M.A. (Experimental Psychology) from the University of Toronto, where he also successfully completed all requirements but dissertation for a doctorate, specializing in psychopharmacology with a minor in neuroanatomy. During his tenure at the University of Toronto, he taught and held Province of Ontario and NRC Fellowships, and was nominated for a Woodrow Wilson Dissertation Fellowship. He holds a Ph.D. in Psychology and Community Services.
Kathy Brodeur-Robb:
Executive Director
C17
Kathy Brodeur-Robb is the Executive Director of C17 Council, the Canadian pediatrichematology/oncology network based in Edmonton, Alberta. Initiated in 2004 by the Directors of the 17 Canadian programs, the network focuses on grant funding, regulatory management, access to clinical trials, education and clinical guidelines.
She leads an office that is responsible for over 250 Clinical Trial Applications filed with Health Canada working with eight North American academic cooperative groups, including Children’s Oncology Group (COG), Dana Farber Cancer Institute ALL Consortium (DFCI), Therapeutic Advances in Childhood Leukemia (TACL), Pediatric Blood & Marrow Transplant Consortium (PBMTC) and St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital and the C17 Developmental Therapeutics Network.
She has participated in several national initiatives, including the CCRA development of national research frameworks in palliative care and survivorship, the CGSB National Standard of Canada for Research Ethics Oversight of Biomedical Clinical Trials, CAN/CGSB-191.1-2013, the Initiative to Streamline Clinical Trials, Best Practices for Research Involving Children and Adolescents, and the Maternal, Infant, Child and Youth Research Network.
Trained as an anthropologist at McGill University and University of Alberta, she has worked in clinical research and research administration since 1991. She has been with C17 Council since January 2005.
Linda Eagen:
President & CEO
Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation
Inspired by W.A. Ward’s quote “If you can imagine it, you can achieve it. Dream it and you can become it,” Linda Eagen’s dream is to change the cancer experience for families in our community – families like her own.
To that end, Linda’s involvement with the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation began fourteen years ago, first volunteering on the Board of Directors, then transitioning into Campaign Director, and most recently serving as the Cancer Foundation’s President & CEO for the past ten years.
In her role as President and CEO, Linda ensures that cancer remains a priority year-round in our community. Through support of research and clinical trials and through the delivery of Cancer Coaching, the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation is changing the cancer experience and giving families in our community access to the best, personalized cancer treatment and care right here at home.
With her lifelong career in the not-for-profit industry combined with her entrepreneurial spirit and business education, Linda brings a passion for fundraising and a love for change and innovation that continues to help the Cancer Foundation thrive in our community.
Inspired and honoured to work with an incredible Board of Directors and a top-notch team, Linda hopes that in the coming years, the Cancer Foundation will be recognized as a top performer and one of the best places to work in Canada.
In her spare time, Linda enjoys spending time with her family, reading, learning, and being outdoors.
Peter Glazier:
Vice-President, Marketing, Communications and Development
The Lung Association – Ontario
Prior to joining The Lung Association – Ontario in 2008, Peter Glazier had close to 15 years of leadership experience working in government and the not-for-profit sector. Following five years with the Federal Government where he served as a Policy Advisor, he entered the not-for profit sector where he held numerous roles in the areas of development, communications and public relations.
In his current role as Vice President, Marketing, Communications and Development, Peter is responsible for the overall communications and development activities of The Lung Association, as well as national corporate development on behalf of the broader lung federation. Peter is the key relationship manager for all corporate and foundation partners, including the pharmaceutical industry, and a member of the board of both Health Partners and Federated Health Charities. He is also a member of the Steering Committee of the Innovative Medicines Canada-sponsored Value-Demonstrating Initiative on COPD, and the past-Chair of Better Care Faster, a private-public healthcare coalition that focused on innovation and improving patient care.
Peter also has a dual role within The Lung Association federation as the Director of Breathing as One – The National Campaign for Lung Research which aims to bolster investments in general research, training, and knowledge translation.
During his career, his success has been in strategy development, marketing and branding, program development, and stakeholder engagement. Contributing to his success has been his strong network of leaders within health, business, and government.
Recent highlights include:
- Development of Completing the Circle, a strategic approach to lung cancer advocacy and system change that brings together patients and specialists in the area of oncology and respirology to focus on the issues of personalized medicine and molecular testing
- Patients First — an evidence-based advocacy and government relations program
- Introduction of the Breathing Policy Forum/white paper series
Active in his community, Peter serves as a volunteer and board member for local charities, and is active in provincial politics. He resides in Oakville with his wife and two children.
Helene Hutchings:
CEO/Founder
Hair Donation Ottawa
CEO/Founder
Anal Cancer-A Bum Rap
The CEO/Founder of not-for-profit organizations Hair Donation Ottawa and Anal Cancer – A Bum Rap, Helene is formerly from the UK and lives in Ottawa with her partner Iain and three daughters. Helene joined Coldwell Banker First Ottawa Realty in 2002 and has been helping clients with their Real Estate needs ever since.
Diagnosed and successfully treated for Cancer in 2010 at The Ottawa Hospital, Helene began the cancer research fundraiser Hair Donation Ottawa in 2011 as a way of thanking the medical profession that saved her life as well as creating Anal Cancer-A Bum Rap which offers peer-to-peer support for international anal cancer patients.
In March 2016, Helene was awarded The Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteers.
Tammy Northam:
Executive Director
Bladder Cancer Canada
Tammy has served as the Executive Director for Bladder Cancer Canada since September 2011.
Previously, Tammy worked as the Executive Director for Kidney Cancer Canada for four years where she saw the organization grow from a small, grassroots non-profit organization into a well-established national health charity. She has also done work with the Melanoma Network of Canada in the area of program development and worked for a number of years in volunteer development, communications and fund development for the YMCA. Much earlier in her career she worked in Human Resource Management with Loblaws Supermarkets.
Her passion for volunteerism is what has led her to dedicate herself to employment in the charitable sector. She is a volunteer instructor at her local YMCA and has volunteered with Cystic Fibrosis Canada since 1997. She is a strong advocate for her adult son who thrives despite having two rare genetic syndromes. She also has a teenage daughter and resides with her children in Kitchener, Ontario.
Tammy attended the University of Western Ontario where she earned a degree in Administrative and Commercial Studies. Following that she attained her Certificate in Human Resource management, graduating with Honours in 1991.
