THRIVING PEOPLE AND FLOURISHING PLANET: LEADERSHIP IN ACTION

a 3.5-hr Working Summit

Co-hosted by Sanokondu, CSPL, LEADS Global and EqHS Lab

Registration is required as space is limited

Urgent leadership is necessary to reverse the escalating deterioration of climate and human conditions that threaten global safety and amplify existing inequities. Leadership in health and healthcare is critical, as healthcare professionals are ideally positioned to steward climate-related health advocacy and policies, while paradoxically healthcare-related industries contribute to a proportionally high negative impact on the environment. Consequences include climate exacerbated morbidity and mortality, amplification of extreme weather events that worsen or destroy living conditions, and mass climate migrations that will threaten vulnerable populations and exacerbate geopolitical conflicts.

Marginalized communities and low-income countries are at highest risk of climate related health consequences. Healthcare leaders must apply a social justice lens while they promote strategies to:

mitigate our contribution to climate change, inequity, and oppression
prevent resulting adverse health outcomes
prepare the healthcare system to treat present and pending health consequences

They must also do so in a different world where it is imperative to right social injustices and re-design for care, connection, collaboration, equity and inclusivity. Initial progress has been made by healthcare, climate change groups and coalitions but there is much to be done to engage a unified front that can work together and enact the leadership needed to achieve the desired goals.

During this 3.5 hour summit and subsequent longitudinal series, participants will use open-space technology to develop enabling strategies for planetary health, climate-justice, and social justice; and to engage critically with current barriers and broaden leadership for systems transformation.

Goal: To apply the discipline of leadership to frame and address challenges pertaining to planetary health, social inequities, and declining health outcomes.

Learning Objectives

Apply capabilities of coalition building and systems leadership to enhance health and well-being at individual, community and planetary scales.
Define specific leadership strategies, pursued over time, to coalesce energy within the health community in support of the goal.

Planning Committee

Diane Meschino, MD, Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Vice Chair, Sanokondu
Building on a deep appreciation of historical and current discourses on climate, gender, equity, rights, justice, leadership and power, Diane Meschino dedicated her career to compassionate healthcare and system change, developing programmes for underserved mental health populations. She was an early pioneer developing women’s mental health and intergenerational trauma initiatives. She serves as a psychiatrist, educator, artist, associate professor in the department of psychiatry, University of Toronto and vice chair of Sanokondu, a community of practice for health leadership education.
Anne Matlow, MD, FRCPC, CEC, Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics, University of Toronto, Faculty Lead, PG Leadership, Codirector, PG Leadership Certificate Program
In her roles as Faculty Lead, PG Leadership at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine; Subject Matter Expert on Quality Improvement with the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada; and member of the Governance and Leadership Committee of Sanokondu, Anne Matlow MD FRCPC CEC is committed to building capacity for compassionate leadership to advance health and wellness at the personal, system and planetary levels.
Jerry Maniate, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine, University of Ottawa/The Ottawa Hospital, Founding Director, Equity in Health Systems Lab
Jerry Maniate is a physician, educator, researcher and leader, and an Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Ottawa / The Ottawa Hospital. He is the Founding Director of the Equity in Health Systems Lab (www.eqhslab.com) and an Affiliated Researcher at the Bruyere Research Institute.
Johny Van Aerde, MD, PhD, Health Care Consultant
Dr. Van Aerde has 25 years of experience as a Neonatologist, the first 10 years as a clinician-researcher, the next 15 years in different leadership roles, including medical director of several neonatal intensive care units, the Pediatric Home Nutrition Program for Northern Alberta, the neonatal initiative for Collaborative Practice and Quality Improvement and, Regional Director of the Northern Alberta Neonatal Intensive Care Program. Dr. Van Aerde is a Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at the Universities of Alberta and BC, Associate Faculty for the Master’s Program in Health Leadership at Royal Roads University in Victoria, BC, and Faculty for the Physician Leadership Institute (PMI) in Ottawa.

Dr. Van Aerde holds a PhD in Medical Sciences, a Master’s Degree in Leadership Studies and has published over 80 peer-reviewed papers, 20 book chapters and 150 abstracts. He has 20 years of medico-legal experience and has provided and continues to provide consulting services for many academic and health care organizations.
Graham Dickson, PhD, Partner, LEADS Global
Graham Dickson is a Senior Research Advisor to the Canadian Society of Physician Leaders (CSPL) and the Canadian Health Leadership Network (CHLNet). Dr. Dickson’s research work includes as PI for a four-year Canadian Institutes of Health Research and Michael Smith Foundation’s Partnership for Health Systems Improvement grant-funded national project; PI for two studies on physician leadership and engagement for the CSPL, and recently, with Doctors BC, exploring the leadership needs of Medical Association Executive in BC hospitals.

Dr. Dickson has co-authored a book entitled Bringing Leadership to Life in Health: LEADS in a Caring Environment. He has had peer-reviewed articles on leadership published in many journals.

Dr. Dickson is the principal in LEADS Global, a not-for-profit enterprise to enable countries outside of Canada to use LEADS for leadership development. He helped to develop the Master of Arts in Leadership (Health specialization) for Royal Roads University and was the founding Director of the Centre for Health Leadership and Research.
Charles-Antoine Barbeau-Meunier, MD, Member, Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada’s Planetary Health Task Force
Charles-Antoine is a resident physician, empathy scholar and climate-health advocate from Quebec, with training in media studies (B.A.), sociology (M.A.) and neuroimaging (PhD, ongoing). He has modelled empathy in various social, cultural and institutional settings, namely in contexts of crisis and leadership such as healthcare, climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic. Since 2021, Charles-Antoine serves the Planetary Health Task Force for the AFMC. As a past Youth Delegate for the Canadian Government, he led advocacy work on health and climate change at the World Health Assembly and PAHO’s Directing Council
Lyn Sonnenberg, MD, MEd, MSc, FRCPC, Associate Dean, Educational Innovation & Academic Technologies, University of Alberta, Director, Learning, Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada
An educational innovator, Lyn Sonnenberg is a forward-thinking, intuitive, and strategic advisor who inspires and empowers. An experienced clinical and academic leader with advanced skills in assessment and education technology, she is recognized nationally and internationally for her teaching excellence, both as a medical education futurist and an equity, diversity, inclusivity, and ableism champion. She is a Professor of Pediatrics and practicing neurodevelopmental pediatrician at the University of Alberta and is the Director, Learning at the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.
Deepak Dath, MD, Med, FRCSC, FACS, President, Hamilton Health Sciences’ Medical Staff Association, Co-founder, Sanokondu
Dr. Deepak Dath works at the intersection of medicine, education and leadership. Being a surgeon in a tertiary care centre and the president of the Medical Staff Association provides him with the opportunities to be constantly learning and practicing leadership skills. He is most interested in bringing leadership theories to the real world and applying them to current and future challenges.
Jamiu Busari, MD, PhD, MHPE, CCPE, Associate Professor, Medical Education, Maastricht University, Dean. Health Professions Education, Horacio Oduber Hospital, Aruba
AJamiu Busari MD, PhD, MHPE, CCPE is an associate professor of medical education at Maastricht University and currently a consultant pediatrician and Dean of health Professions Education at the Horacio Oduber Hospital, Aruba. He is a Certified Canadian Physician Executive, Maastricht University alumnus, Harvard Macy Scholar and an HBS executive education graduate in Managing Health Care Delivery. Recognized nationally for his teaching and leadership abilities and as a physician leader, he is a fervent advocate for diversity, equity and social accountability.
Constance LeBlanc, MD, Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine, Dalhousie University
Constance LeBlanc is a tertiary care Emergency Physician and Professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Dalhousie University in Halifax Nova Scotia, Canada. She holds a Master of Arts in Education and has over three decades of clinical experience in Emergency Medicine. She particularly enjoys teaching and has provided education in clinical medicine, leadership, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion and faculty development nationally and internationally.
Ming-Ka Chan, MD, MHPE, FRCPC, Co-Director, Office of Leadership Education, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, Pediatrics Lead, Equity, Diversity, Inclusivity and Social Justice, Chair, Sanokondu
Ming-Ka Chan, MD, MHPE, FRCPC is a Pediatrics Clinician Educator at the University of Manitoba and The Children’s Hospital of Winnipeg, on Treaty 1 Territory and Homeland of the Metis Nation. She is the Co-Director, Office of Leadership Education, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences and Pediatrics Lead, Equity, Diversity, Inclusivity and Social Justice. She is also the Chair, Sanokondu Leadership & Governance Team, a learning community dedicated to health leadership education.