Canadian Bioethics Society
Société canadienne de bioéthique

CBS Administrator: Marylou Scott-Smith

canadianbioethicssociety@gmail.com

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Marylou serves as the Administrator for the Canadian Bioethics Society, and supports the Executive Board in its effort to build organizational capacities for the CBS.

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Board of Directors

 

President: Cory Labrecque

Cory Andrew Labrecque, PhD, is associate professor of bioethics and theological ethics, and the inaugural chair of educational leadership in the ethics of life at the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies at Université Laval in Quebec City, where he is vice-dean and director of graduate programs in theology.

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Past President: Bashir Jiwani

Bashir Jiwani, PhD, is Lead Ethicist and Executive Director, Ethics and Diversity Services, at the Fraser Health Authority which serves one of Canada’s largest, fastest growing and most diverse regional populations.

 

Bashir leads a team that provides decision support in patient care and at the system-level, builds capacity to deal with complex, ethically challenging situations in contexts of diversity, enables access to language resources and builds partnerships for understanding and collaborating with diverse communities.

 

Bashir currently serves on the Drug Benefit Council for BC, the Expensive Drugs for Rare Diseases Committee for BC, the pan-Canadian Advisory Panel on a Framework for a Prescription Drug List and the Core Team for the Aga Khan University Thinking Group on Ethics, Stem Cell Science, and Regenerative Medicine.

 

Bashir received his BA in Philosophy from McGill University and his MA in Philosophy with a specialty in Bioethics from the University of British Columbia. He received a PhD in Public Health Sciences from the University of Alberta, Canada.

 

More information about Bashir and his work can be found at incorporatingethics.ca.

 

Treasurer: Zachary Walbaum

Zachary has a B.A. (Hons) in Philosophy from Brandon University, a Master of Philosophy (Humanities), and a Master of Health Ethics from Memorial University of Newfoundland. 

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Zachary works full-time as a Clinical Research Coordinator for Interior Health in Kelowna, B.C. Zachary completed a Clinical Ethics Internship with William Osler Health Systems in Brampton, ON. In 2024, Zachary will begin his PhD in Health Sciences at UNBC. His research interests include moral epistemology, personal identity, ageing-related issues, and end-of-life issues.

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Conference Liaison: Kristina Kékesi-Lafrance

Kristina Kékesi-Lafrance is a clinical ethicist for the Montreal West Island Integrated University Health and Social Services Centre, which is the most cosmopolitan area of the city. She is a member of the Quebec Bar since 2018 and her academic background includes a Master of Laws and Bioethics from McGill University. She has experience as a lawyer in private practice as well as in academia, as an academic associate for the Centre of Genomics and Policy (McGill University).

 

She also serves as the legal representative on the Cells, tissues, genetics and qualitative research (CTGQ) REB of the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) as well as on the REB-3 (minor and adults incapable of providing consent) of the Faculty of Medicine of McGill University. Her research areas of interest include genomics and assisted reproductive technologies.

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Communications Officer: Angel Petropanagos

Angel Petropanagos is an Ethicist in the Ethics Quality Improvement (EQI) Lab at William Osler Health System, in Brampton, Ontario. She is also the Co-Managing Editor of Impact Ethics and the co-founder and co-chair of the Ontario Practicing Healthcare Ethicists Community of Practice.

 

Angel received her PhD in philosophy from Western University with specializations in bioethics and feminist theory and then completed a postdoctoral fellowship in bioethics at Novel Tech Ethics, in the Faculty of Medicine at Dalhousie University.

 

In her clinical ethics work, Angel advocates for a patient-centred approach and role clarity with respect to healthcare decision making. She also enjoys creating tools and resources that can help support individuals, teams, and organizations towards ethical decision making. In addition, she is a graduate of Health Quality Ontario’s IDEAS Advanced Learning Program, and is committed to the development, implementation, spread, and scale of EQI projects, such as ChELO and PoET.

 

Angel has published on a variety of topics in bioethics, including reproductive ethics, informed consent, medical assistance in dying, health technology assessments, and EQI.

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Deputy Communications Officer: Jessie Van Leeve

Jessie Van Leeve is a Sr. Clinical Ethics Intern at William Osler Health System and graduate from Harvard Medical School's Center for Bioethics.

A writer, creative and ethicist, Jessie is interested in engaging narrative as a tool to inspire cultural and attitudinal changes in society. To this end, much of her work is grounded in a desire to use media to bridge gaps in communication between scientific communities and the public as a way of rebuilding trust and promoting understanding, particularly in the context of issues at the intersection of health, ethics and human rights.

In addition to providing ethics education, leading ethics quality improvement projects and supporting clinical consultations in acute care settings, Jessie is producer and co-host of Pop! The Bioethics Podcast, where she endeavours to make complex bioethical questions more accessible to the public.

Given her passion for social justice, together with her background in writing, ethics, and film, Jessie is dedicated to seeking strategies that will uplift diverse voices and use narrative storytelling to expose and respond to some of the most difficult challenges we face in society today.

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Social Media Officer: Monique Visser

Monique Visser is an early career Ethicist with the Health Ethics Alliance, based out of North York General Hospital and Oak Valley Health. Monique's academic background includes a Master of Bioethics (MBE) from Harvard Medical School and further ethics training by completing the Alberta Health Services two-year clinical ethics fellowship. She also has a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BScN) and practiced as a registered nurse in several communities across Canada and in Saudi Arabia. She worked primarily in high acuity acute care settings and completed a graduate certificate in critical care (CCAC).

 

Her research areas of interest include exploring moral distress and the role of ethics education as part of preventative ethics.

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Fundraising Officer: Valentin Kravtchenko

Valentin Kravtchenko has 7 years of experience in project management and over a decade in communication - with a focus on new media, new technologies, and social entrepreneurship. 

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He founded Grey-Box.ca, a social innovation startup that provides free WiFi access to educational resources in remote areas where access to the Internet and electricity is inconsistent (50% of the world's population is disconnected according to the UN Broadband Commission).

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Valentin specializes in the management of projects that involve creative and technical components. He trains and supports clients in their content creation strategies for the digital age. 

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He also masters the occult art of "growth hacking" but chooses to use it for good. In his free time, Valentin is involved in community organizations such as Montreal Newtech all the while acting as a stealth paladin (chaotic neutral).

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Diversity Officer: Moji Adurogbangba

Moji is currently the System-Level Ethicist at Fraser Health Authority in British Columbia. She promotes and advances ethical decision-making through the consultation process, developing and reviewing policy guidelines and strategies.

 

Moji was educated and worked as a Dentist before obtaining a Master of Public Health in Nigeria and a Master of Arts in Bioethics from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. She then earned a Fellowship in Clinical Ethics at the Joint Centre for Bioethics at the University of Toronto. She has worked as a Clinical Ethicist for over ten years in two Ontario locations before moving to British Columbia. Moji’s passion for Social Justice, excellence in Public Health, Clinical and Organizational ethics spans all her work.

 

Her areas of interest include exploring the ethics of prioritizing scarce health care resources and identifying, articulating, and addressing ethical implications of organizational decisions on patients, health care providers, and the community.

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Membership Officer: Victoria Seavilleklien

Victoria Seavilleklein is a member of Alberta Health Services (AHS)’ Clinical Ethics Service, and is the Clinical Ethicist for the central part of the province.

 

She holds a PhD in Philosophy (specializing in Bioethics) from Dalhousie University, an MA in Philosophy from the University of Calgary, and a BA in Philosophy from the University of Victoria. She completed a Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Clinical and Organizational Ethics from the Joint Centre for Bioethics at the University of Toronto and a Doctoral Fellowship in Ethics of Health Research and Policy in a Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Strategic Training Program, jointly held between Dalhousie University and the University of British Columbia.

 

She is a Clinical Lecturer with the John Dossetor Health Ethics Centre at the University of Alberta and a regular guest lecturer at Red Deer College.  Victoria’s role includes ethics consultation, education, policy review, and support for organizational initiatives. She is particularly concerned with matters of social justice.

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New Initiatives Officer: Meredith Schwartz

Meredith Schwartz completed her doctoral studies in philosophy at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Meredith was a professor at Toronto Metropolitan University, where she taught philosophy and bioethics at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Meredith's academic research focuses on respect for persons, particularly those who lack capacity to consent or whose autonomy is otherwise restricted.

Since arriving in Quebec in 2022, Dr. Schwartz has held the position of Clinical and Organizational Ethics Councillor for the Montreal West Island Integrated University Health and Social Services Centre.

Meredith has been a member of the CBS-SCB since 2003. She has previously served on the board of the CBS-SCB as the Graduate Student-at-Large 2007-2009.

 

Partnerships and Community Relations Officer: Katherine Duthie

Katherine Duthie is member of the AHS Clinical Ethics Service, and is the Clinical Ethicist at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Edmonton. 

 

Katherine’s educational background includes a BSc in Biology (minor Philosophy), an MA in Philosophy, and a PhD in Public Health with a focus on the intersections between clinical and organizational ethics.  She completed her residency in clinical ethics at the Royal Alexandra Hospital.  In addition to her AHS role, Katherine is a consulting ethicist with the Fraser Health Authority and the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technology in Healthcare.  She is also a member of the Health Research Ethics Boards of Alberta Cancer Research Ethics Committee, and is an Assistant Clinical Professor with the John Dossetor Health Ethics Centre at the University of Alberta.  

 

Katherine’s research and professional interests include harm reduction, values-based decision-making methodologies, and health technology assessment.

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Undergraduate Student Member-at-Large: David LeBlanc

David LeBlanc is currently completing his undergraduate degree at Dalhousie University. He is double majoring in psychology and philosophy. David hopes to move on to a masters in either psychology, philosophy, or a combination of both. In the future, David will take whatever program accepts him and move forward from there. David grew up in Halifax and has lived there all his life. David currently works retail as well as childcare. He is super excited for this position and is open to new ideas/feedback!

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Graduate Student-at-Large: Megan Bailey

Megan Bailey has a Master’s in Health Policy and Equity from York University and is currently completing a Ph.D. in Ethics and Public Affairs at Carleton University. She has professional experience grounded in acute care settings with formal clinical ethics training from William Osler Health System in Brampton, Ontario, where she is a Senior Clinical Ethics Intern. Her multifaceted role involves providing ethics education, supporting intern training, leading ethics quality improvement projects, supporting policy initiatives and clinical consultations, as well as conducting ethics quality improvement research. Megan is passionate about health justice and health equity-related issues across the Canadian healthcare landscape.