Board of Directors

Dr. Catherine (Cathy) Faulds, based in London, Ont., is a staff physician with the Parkwood palliative care unit at St. Joseph’s Hospital and provides consultant palliative care in the London Middlesex community. Dr. Faulds is a member of the Provincial Primary Care Advisory Committee with the Ministry of Health and an investigations and resolutions assessor with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario. A lecturer/physician champion, Dr. Faulds is an adjunct scientist and professor with the Lawson Health Research Institute and the University of Western Ontario’s faculty of medicine, and a peer reviewer for a variety of articles and stories. Dr. Faulds brings a wealth of governance experience from past roles such as serving on the board of the OCFP and CFPC, on the Negotiations Committee at the OMA and on the Technical Board at Accreditation Canada. Dr. Faulds is elected for a two-year term. 

Dr. Audrey Karlinsky, based in Toronto, Ont., is a founding partner of the Bellair Family Practice as well as an assistant professor, department of family and community medicine at the University of Toronto. Dr. Karlinsky has served on the OMA Board in various capacities including as the OMA director representing District 11, vice-chair of the OMA Finance and Audit Committee, member of the OMA Strategy and Transformation Committee, and member of the OMA Advantages Retirement Program Investment Committee. Dr. Karlinsky is also part-time staff with the Mount Sinai Family Practice and courtesy staff with Women’s College Hospital. Dr. Karlinsky is elected for a two-year term. 

Dr. Zainab Abdurrahman (she/her) is an allergist and clinical immunologist practicing in the Greater Toronto Area mainly in Mississauga and works at McMaster Children’s hospital in Hamilton. Dr. Zainab Abdurrahman is a graduate of the University of Toronto Medical School and completed both her pediatrics training and her subspecialty training in clinical immunology and allergy at McMaster University. Dr. Abdurrahman is an assistant clinical professor adj. of pediatrics and a staff member on the Clinical Immunology and Allergy Subspecialty Residency Training Committee at McMaster University. She is also a physician peer leader with OntarioMD. Dr. Abdurrahman is a member of the Black Scientists Taskforce on COVID-19 Vaccination Equity, the Black Health & Vaccine Initiative in association with BPAO (Black Physicians of Ontario) as well as a member of the OMA Civility, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee. She was a collaborator with BPAO in drafting the position statement on Black Health & the COVID 19 vaccines. She has also been part of the OMA Joint Governance Transformation Task Force (GT20), and the OMA Council Governance and Steering Committee. Dr. Abdurrahman was elected as the chair and delegate for the OMA Allergy and Clinical Immunology Section in 2018 and continued in these roles until she officially joined the board of directors. Dr. Abdurrahman is a member of the OntarioMD Educational Taskforce and is a Fellow in Training (FIT) curriculum supervisor with the Canadian Society of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (CSACI). Dr. Abdurrahman is elected for a two-year term. 

Dr. Sanjay Acharya (ICD.D), based in Ottawa, Ont., is an addictions physician with the Recovery Care Addiction Clinic and staff physician with St. Vincent Hospital’s complex continuing care. Dr. Acharya is also a staff physician with the QCH Pain Clinic and staff anesthesiologist with Queensway Carleton Hospital (QCH). Dr. Acharya is a board director for OMA Insurance. In 2020-2021 he served as the chair of the OMA Council, and as the elected local delegate to the OMA Council for the Academy of Medicine. Dr. Acharya is also chair of the local AFP Governance Committee. Dr. Acharya is elected for a two-year term. 

Dr. Sharon Bal, based in Cambridge, Ont., is the lead physician of the Delta Coronation FHO and staff physician at Cambridge Memorial Hospital, providing on-call coverage to area long-term care homes. Dr. Bal is an assistant clinical professor with the department of family medicine, Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine, McMaster University and is the preclerkship coordinator at the Waterloo Regional Campus. Dr. Bal is a recognized physician advocate and champion of health equity for marginalized populations and has held multiple leadership roles. Dr. Bal currently serves as a member of the steering and joint board committees of the Cambridge North Dumfries OHT and is a clinical lead with Ontario Health. Dr. Bal has been co-chair of OMA Women since 2018. Dr. Bal is elected for a two-year term. 

Denise Carpenter is an experienced board chair and director, C-suite executive, business strategist and executive coach with broad experience in several business sectors. She has spent her career advocating for companies and governments on issues that matter most to Canadians and acting as a trusted confidant to senior executives and governments. Denise has worked within a variety of complicated business and governance structures and has led numerous efforts to create critical alignment with executives, board directors, management, and other stakeholders. She has a strong track record in building shareholder value, relationships that deliver value to multiple stakeholders in complex business, government and not-for-profit environments.

Denise applies her recognized business expertise in complicated business environments, stakeholder engagement, governance, mergers, and the integration of merged and acquired entities. She works to help individuals and organizations deliver measurable outcomes. Denise’s most recent work focuses on utilities, (regulated and non-regulated) energy security, climate change, artificial intelligence (AI), serving the underbanked, health care and a national digital health platform. In addition to being a director at the Ontario Medical Association, she is also a board director of Cashco Financial Inc, vice-chair of the board at Ronald McDonald House Charities, chair of the board at EnerFORGE, chair of the board at Oshawa Power and Utilities Corporation, vice-chair of the board at Synergy North and chair of the board at Canada’s Great Kitchen Party, a social enterprise.

She has served as a guest lecturer and executive in residence at the University of Alberta’s MBA program and guest lecturer at the Fellows Program, Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard. She has written and lectured widely on diversity of thought, governance as a business enabler and stakeholder relationships. In 2018, Denise was appointed to the Diversity 50 Cohort, recognizing Canada’s most diverse and eligible board candidates. She is an active and accredited member of the Institute of Corporate Directors, The International Coach Federation and the International Women’s Forum. She has been honoured by Global TV as a Woman of Vision; by the YWCA with a Woman of Distinction Award; and has twice been named one of Alberta’s 50 Most Influential People by Alberta Venture magazine. Her passion is exploring the world, its people, and its cultures. She lives in Toronto and continues to travel widely. Denise is is elected for a two-year term. 

David Collie is the president and CEO of the Electrical Safety Authority of Ontario. During his tenure, the ESA has been recognized as a leader in harm reduction outcomes, stakeholder and government collaboration and regulatory excellence. David holds an MBA, is a chartered professional accountant (an awarded “fellow”) and chartered director. He is a faculty member and the energy executive in residence of the Directors College of Canada. He has written several articles and published two books on good governance and regulatory practices as well as presented at numerous conferences. He is also guest faculty at the Strategic Management of Regulatory and Enforcement Agencies executive program at the Harvard Kennedy school of government. David has chaired the CPA’s National Certification Committee, the Electricity Distributors Association of Ontario, the United Way of Burlington-Hamilton and Plug ‘N Drive. He is currently the chair of the Governance Committee at Hamilton Health Sciences and a public member of the National Association of Pharmacy Regulatory Authorities of Canada. He has served on Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care working groups, conducted workshops for boards of health-care authorities and presented at numerous national and international conferences focused on health-care oversight. David and his wife live in Glen Williams and have two daughters who are both Ontario-based physicians. David is elected for a two-year term. 

OMA President Dr. Andrew Park is an emergency medicine physician, practicing in London, Ont. For 16 years he has practiced both academic and community emergency medicine in British Columbia and Ontario. Dr. Park is a graduate of the University of Toronto school of medicine. He completed his residency at Queen’s University and holds a certification in emergency medicine from Dalhousie University. A lifelong learner, Dr. Park is an assistant professor at Western University’s Schulich school of medicine, where he has developed a novel course for resident physicians focused on emotional intelligence and leadership. He also holds an executive MBA as well as a master’s in education in adult learning and global change. Dr. Park and his wife live in London, Ont., and have three young daughters.

Carmen Rossiter (ICD.D), based in Toronto, Ont., is currently focused on board and professional advisory work and is program director at the Centre for Governance, Risk Management & Control Excellence with the Schulich executive education centre. She is a member of the Senior Advisory Panel to the Auditor General, Office of the Auditor General of Ontario, and is a member of the Audit and Conference Advisory Committees for CPA Canada. In the past, Carmen has served on the audit committees of various public sector organizations such as Statistics Canada, Citizenship and Immigration Canada and National Defence. She has also served on the board of the Deposit and Insurance Corporation of Ontario where she was chair of the Audit & Finance Committee and member of the Risk Oversight Committee. In the health-care sector, Carmen has served on the Board of Governors of the North York General Hospital, including serving as vice-chair. Carmen is is elected for a two-year term. 

Dr. Cynthia Walsh is a radiologist working at The Ottawa Hospital. She attended medical school at the University of Western Ontario, followed by a residency in medical imaging at the University of Ottawa and a fellowship in abdominal imaging at Stanford Hospital. She has been on staff at the Ottawa Hospital as an abdominal radiologist since 2006. Her experience in the OMA includes two years as a board director, chair of the Diagnostic Assembly, and a D8 delegate. She is honoured to be re-elected for another term as a board director and pledges to work tirelessly to advocate for all Ontario physicians. Dr. Walsh is elected for a two-year term. 

Dr. Hirotaka Yamashiro, based in Toronto, Ont., is a community pediatrician with a special interest in pediatric respiratory medicine. He is medical director of the Yamashiro Pediatric Clinic and is assistant professor and clinical adjunct lecturer with the department of pediatrics at the University of Toronto, as well as adjunct professor with the division of family medicine at Queen’s University. Dr. Yamashiro has served previously in many OMA leadership positions, including Pediatrics Section chair from 2004-2014 and 2020-21, executive member of the Academic Medicine Forum, and a member of the Education and Prevention Committee. He is also a pediatrics peer reviewer for the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario. Dr. Yamashiro is elected for a two-year term. 

Dr. Dominik Nowak is a family doctor practicing at Women's College Hospital. In addition to his clinical practice, Dr. Nowak’s mission is to build teamwork across the health system. He is a trusted adviser to leading provincial, national, and international organizations toward a health system that is more kind, caring and careful. Dr. Nowak trained at McMaster University, where he specialized in family medicine and served as chief resident. He went on to finish a master of health administration at the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the University of Toronto and holds a certified health executive designation by the Canadian College of Health Leaders. Dr. Nowak is currently a faculty member at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health and the department of family and community medicine at the University of Toronto. He is a recipient of the College of Family Physicians of Canada Award of Excellence for his leadership in Canadian health care.

Dr. Rose Zacharias, based in Oro-Medonte, Ont., is a medical hospitalist and physician wellness officer with Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care. Dr. Zacharias served as board director for the Ontario Medical Association from 2020-2021 and has served as a member of the Governance and Nominations Committee. She also is an emergency physician with 17 years of experience at Orillia Soldiers' Memorial Hospital and currently working in Midland, Ont., at the Georgian Bay General Hospital.