CSHP Foundation

Michael LeBlanc

Foundation Chair and Pharmacist Trustee

Michael graduated from Memorial University of Newfoundland in 1998 and began working at the Dr. Georges Dumont Hospital in Moncton, NB where he practiced in mental health, palliative care and adult oncology. In 2004, he accepted a position with Dr. H. Bliss Murphy Cancer Clinic in St. John's, NL where he worked to develop a sustainable clinical practice model in adult ambulatory medical oncology focusing on the prevention and management of cancer-treatment associated toxicities. In 2009 he returned to NB to become the clinical pharmacy manager of The Moncton Hospital and in 2019 he accepted his current role as the Regional Manager of Clinical Services for Horizon Health Network in NB. Michael remains active in direct patient care as a clinical resource pharmacist in oncology focusing on supporting patients receiving oral anti-cancer therapies. In addition, he has a focus on practice-based oncology pharmacy research with several publications and continues to teach undergraduate and post-graduate pharmacy students.

Joining as a first-year pharmacy student in 1995, Michael has been an active member of CSHP throughout his career both at the branch and national level. He has held positions of NB Branch Delegate, NL Branch President, and Chair of the NB branch Advocacy Committee. Nationally he has chaired the Bylaws Committee, Advocacy Committee and represented CSHP on the Prescribing Safely Steering Committee. In 2015, Michael was made a Fellow of CSHP.

Outside of CSHP, Michael has been a contributor to the Canadian Association of Pharmacy in Oncology as a member of the research committee, education committee and awards committee. From 2013-2019, he was a member of the Dalhousie Pharmacy Endowment Fund.

Heather Kertland

Foundation Past Chair and Pharmacist Trustee

Heather graduated from the University of Toronto before completing a pharmacy residency at McMaster University Medical Centre and then a Doctor of Pharmacy Degree at Wayne State University. She went on for additional training as a Cardiovascular Therapeutics Research Fellow at Hartford Hospital. Heather’s current position is Clinical Pharmacy Specialist/Leader in the Heart and Vascular Program at St Michael’s Hospital and an Assistant Professor (status only) at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto. She is passionate about difference that pharmacists can make in the care of individuals with or at risk of cardiovascular disease. She shares this passion with students both in the classroom and at the bedside as a preceptor. 

Heather has been a member of CSHP since her residency. She first served as the chair of the Manitoba Branch Education committee and during her term developed a physical assessment course for pharmacists. Since then, she has served as chair the national Membership Committee, Education Services Committee, the PSN Coordinating Committee in addition to being an award appraiser and reviewer for CJHP. Heather was granted Fellow status in CSHP in 2013.

Jennifer Jupp

Pharmacist Trustee

Jennifer graduated from the University of Alberta in 2000, obtaining her Board Certification in Oncology in 2007 and her Master of Arts in Healthcare Leadership in 2022. Jennifer has been a Pharmacy Clinical Practice Leader with Provincial Pharmacy Services at Alberta Health Services, since 2011.  As a clinical practice leader, she provides clinical practice support and mentorship for pharmacist teams in pediatric and adult oncology. More recently, Jennifer has been supporting the provincial implementation of an electronic health record by providing project leadership to align clinical practice and provincial initiatives with technical functionality.

Jennifer is strongly committed to advancing the practice of clinical pharmacists within the multidisciplinary team and enjoys participating in practice-based research. Jennifer is the current Chair of the International Society of Oncology Pharmacy Practitioners Research Committee and continues to be involved with CSHP AB and the Canadian Association of Pharmacy in Oncology. 
 

Nkem Iroh

Chair Elect and Pharmacist Trustee

Nkem holds a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from The University of Texas at Austin and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree with a concentration in Healthcare Management from The University of Texas at Tyler. She is board-certified in pharmacotherapy. Nkem has been a member of CSHP since 2013 and has served on the Education Services Committee, CSHP- Saskatchewan Branch since 2015 both as a co-chair and as a member.

Nkem has over sixteen years of combined pharmacy experience including hospital, consulting, clinical, management, and leadership roles both in the United States and Canada. Currently, she is the Director of Pharmacy Services at Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA), Regina. Prior to this Nkem was the Manager of Outpatient Services at SHA and a Clinical Coordinator in emergency medicine, oncology and palliative care. Her clinical experience and practice areas include emergency medicine and cardiology. She has served as a preceptor to both PharmD students and residents in various practice areas. Nkem is passionate about providing patient-centred pharmaceutical care as well as educating the next generation of pharmacists. Outside of the profession of pharmacy, Nkem is a member of the Board of Directors of Your Time Women’s Empowerment Foundation and the First Years Learning Center in Regina, Saskatchewan.

Jody Ciufo

Trustee, Foundation Chief Administrator and CSHP Chief Executive Officer

As a veteran of the association world, Jody has worked most recently as the Executive Director of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, and with other volunteer-led membership associations such as the Canadian Housing and Renewal Association, the Canadian Federation for Humanities and Social Sciences, and Engineers Canada. With a B.A. Honours (Carleton) and an MBA (Ottawa), she has demonstrated capabilities in creating member value, organizational sustainability, and strategic direction.

As CEO, Jody will be responsible for the successful leadership and management of the Society in accordance with the strategic direction established by the Board of Directors. As the chief administrator of both CSHP and the CSHP Research and Education Foundation, the CEO is responsible for the management of CSHP’s office, its human resources, and the financial affairs.

Dara Wills

Public Member Trustee

Dara Willis is a strategic communications and marketing professional with 20+ years of experience supporting clients in various industries, with a focus in healthcare, through complex and regulated communications challenges. 
With clients ranging from large-scale pharmaceutical companies, industry associations and patient stakeholder groups, Dara has had a front row seat to witness and respond to the dramatic changes that have impacted Canada’s healthcare system. 

Dara recognizes the challenges that organizations face when they are looking to educate and reinforce positions and policies, regardless of the audience and has spent the better part of her career helping clients formulate their position on topics of interest (including potential issues) and help develop communications programs and initiatives that are strategic and effective in their goals. 

She has also worked extensively with stakeholder groups and foundations in their pursuit of funding for research and educational programs and is unique in that she has supported clients from both sides of the funding paradigm – pharmaceutical companies looking to partner with stakeholder groups for specific initiatives and stakeholder groups looking to break free from the crowded funding landscape to bring programs of interest forward to potential funding organizations. 

Dara has a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) with a speciality in Archaeology from McMaster University, and a post-graduate certificate in Public Relations from Humber College. 

Sharon graduated from the University of Toronto in 2000 receiving her BSc in Pharmacy and shortly thereafter completed her hospital residency program at McMaster University Medical Centre. Sharon holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Wilfrid Laurier University as well as a certificate in healthcare supply chain management.

Sharon is currently Clinical Director of Pharmacy at HealthPRO Procurement Services Inc., Canada's group contracting provider for healthcare. In her role, she is responsible for strategic sourcing initiatives of hospital medications that deliver exceptional quality products that enhance patient safety and maximize value to more than 1,300 healthcare facilities.

Sharon brings over 20 years of clinical, pharmacy operations, and strategic leadership experience that includes working at community and teaching hospitals as well as working in the healthcare technology sector. As a Professional Practice Leader, Pharmacy Coordinator, and Pharmacy Manager, she has worked with inter-professional teams on several hospital committees and task forces to enhance pharmacy and hospital processes that resulted in system-level improvements, and delivered quality and effective patient care. Sharon brings governance and risk management experience as a former member of the Performance Monitoring Stewardship Committee of the Board at the Scarborough Hospital.

Sharon is passionate about being a pharmacist, and continues to be a casual clinical hospital pharmacist. She supports pharmacy student learning and has been a preceptor for the Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience and Early Practice Experience at the University of Toronto's Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy.

Mark Lachovsky

Industry Trustee

Mark has worked in the Canadian pharmaceutical industry for over 30 years. He gained expertise in both the brand and generic market sectors over the years. Starting his career in Business Development, he moved through various segments of the industry with increasing responsibility including product licensing, sales, customer services, product management and general management.

Mark's corporate experience includes working at Smith and Nephew, Rhone Poulenc Rorer and RhoxalPharma.

With experience gained throughout his career, Mark started IntelliPharm Inc., a consulting company focused on providing clients with added value in the areas of Business Intelligence, Licensing and Life Cycle Management support.

Mark then started Accel Pharma Inc., a privately held generic drug company with a unique focus in Canada. The company in-licenses and distributes high quality affordable prescription generic pharmaceuticals. Accel has bene successful in launching three first to market generics. Accel was founded on the principle of maintaining low overhead costs while offering cost savings for both private and public payers to benefit patients.

On the personal side, Mark was born and has lived in Montreal and has two children. When not working, he is an avid photographer who enjoys nature and travelling.

Sherry Piersol

Industry Trustee

Sherry brings over 40 years of experience to the trustee position. She is the Regional Sales Manager for Western Canada for Fresenius Kabi. In addition to this position within the IV Generic business, she has held positions within both the Board pharmaceutical business, and with a global medical surgical supply company.

Born and raised in rural Manitoba, Sherry is an alumna of the University of Manitoba. She has lived most of her life in Calgary. The centre of her world is her daughter Chanel. In her free time, she enjoys sharing time with friends and family; cooking, exploring new wines, and travel.

Throughout her career, Sherry has attained expertise in her field, along with many friends and colleagues. She brings her positive attitude and tireless energy to this role and looks forward to contributing to the enhancement of the CSHP Foundation and its mission.

Bal Dhillon has more than 25 years of experience in the pharmacy profession. After completing a BSc. at SFU, she pursued her RPhT training, completed her Provincial Instructor diploma from the province of British Columbia, completed her Master of Business Administration focusing on process and project management and recently completed her Project Management Designation from PMI.  
 
Bal also designs, develops and delivers pharmaceutical compounding education for health care professionals in the topics of sterile and non sterile compounding and is the Director of Education with the Pharmacy Technician Society of BC (PTSBC). Bal continues to be involved in various initiatives, promoting education and personal growth for pharmacy personnel in British Columbia.  She currently works with the Provincial Health Services Authority as Director, Inventory and Order Management.