Board of Directors

Diane joined SHN’s Board of Directors in 2022, serving as the Board Liaison to the Community Advisory Council from 2023 to 2025. Deeply connected to Scarborough through her family and community involvement, Diane is a passionate advocate for local healthcare, exemplified by her support of the Love, Scarborough fundraising campaign.

With extensive experience in accounting, auditing, and financial services, Diane is a seasoned financial expert and a respected leader in risk, governance, and controls. She retired in May 2022 after a distinguished 38-year career, most recently serving as Deputy Chief Auditor at TD Bank Group and previously leading EY Canada’s Financial Services Organization. Diane currently serves on the boards of Ontario Pension Board and First National Financial.

Diane holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Wilfrid Laurier University and is a Fellow of the Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario. She completed the Institute of Corporate Directors Education Program and the Competent Boards Sustainability & ESG Designation Program.

Diane has previously served as Board Chair for the YMCA of Greater Toronto and the Kidney Foundation of Canada in Toronto. Her contributions have been recognized with the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Award for community service and the 2020 Ontario Volunteer Service Award.

Ali Suleman has served on SHN’s Board of Directors since 2022, taking on the role of Board Liaison to SHN’s Community Advisory Council (CAC) in 2025.

An accomplished professional and businessman, Ali is immediate past Vice President and Treasurer of Hydro One (1999-2023) where he grew the corporation to become one of the largest non-financial corporate debt issuers in Canada. Mr. Suleman has extensive experience in the management of debt funding, financial risk management, cash management and banking operations, insurance and claims, and, fostering relationships with banks, credit rating agencies and fixed income investors. He has held various positions within Ontario Hydro’s Treasury Division and worked for a number of years in the US Municipal Finance and Mortgage Backed sectors with Kidder Peabody & Company of New York. He was also a consultant to numerous municipal bond issuers. Ali sits on the Board of the Montreal based Institute for Research on Public Policy and serves as Chair of its Investment Committee. He was a member of the Board of Directors of the Wellesley Institute of Toronto from 2012 to 2018, and he continues to serve as a member of its Finance and Investment Committee, which he chaired from 2015 to 2018.

Paul Clark is Senior Executive Vice President, Wealth Management at TD, where he leads teams across the Direct Investing, Private Wealth Management, Financial Planning and Asset Management businesses.

Over the past 30 years at TD, Paul has held senior roles across a variety of businesses, including Retail, Commercial Banking, TD Securities, Auto Finance and Audit.

A passionate advocate for inclusion, Paul served as the Chair of the People with Disabilities Committee and as a member of the Inclusion and Diversity Leadership Council at TD for 15 years. He has also played a leading role in TD’s United Way Campaign.

Paul lives in Toronto with his wife, Susan and their two children, Matthew and Rebecca.

Ali Ghiassi is Vice-President of Industry Affairs and Government Relations at Canada Life where he leads the national public policy team helping to shape legislative, regulatory and industry policies impacting the company’s Canadian operations. 

Ali has 25 years of progressive leadership experience with a record of successfully aligning public affairs strategies to meet business objectives and building value creation.  

He served as senior political advisor in the Ontario government for nearly a decade including as Chief of Staff to the Minister of Finance between 2014-18. During this period, Ali helped design, develop, and deliver four provincial budgets; played a leadership role in the initial public offering of Hydro One; and led Ontario’s negotiations with the federal and provincial governments to enhance the Canada Pension Plan. 

He has taught politics at McMaster University, and has been a guest lecturer on fiscal policy at Toronto Metropolitan University, the University of Waterloo and the University of Toronto.

Ali was previously Vice-President and General Counsel at Mohawk College in Hamilton, and has practiced international law in Toronto and at the World Bank in Washington DC.  

Michele Goddard retired in 2018 from a long career as a financial services executive at BMO Financial Group. She has led significant transformational changes and successfully designed and implemented technology change programs within highly complex, regulatory environments. Michele is a Patient Advisor for Bridgepoint Active Healthcare, and was the Chair of the Board for Women in Capital Markets and a member of the Canadian Depository for Securities Board. She received her ICD.D in 2013 and recently completed courses on Board Oversight of Strategy and Audit Committee Effectiveness. Michele graduated from the University of Toronto, Commerce and Political Science.

Tahira Hassan is a seasoned, senior business executive with extensive international experience in the food industry leading transformative change across varied cultural and economic settings. She brings diverse corporate governance expertise serving as a non-executive Director notably at Canada Pension Plan Investments (2015 to present), Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences (2014-2023), Brambles Limited (2011-2021), and Recall Holdings Limited (2013-2016).

A Professional Management Accountant by training (CPA, CMA, FCMA-UK), Tahira held executive roles such as Global Business Head of Nescafé Ready-to-Drink, Head of Global Supply Chain at Nestlé SA and President of Ice Cream, EVP Consumer Demand Chain & Information Services at Nestlé Canada Inc. She served on the Dean’s advisory council for the School of Business & Economics at Wilfrid Laurier University and Executive-in-Residence’ at Lahore University of Management Sciences.

A long-time resident of Scarborough, where she has lived for over 30 years, Tahira also brings lived experiences from the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and Pakistan. 

Jay Kaufman is the President of KTA Inc. and the KTA Centre for Collaborative Government, a consultant with extensive experience as a senior government executive. Jay specializes in leading-edge public policy reform and negotiations. He is a former Ontario government Deputy Minister of Finance, Secretary to Treasury Board and Assistant Deputy Minister of Health; prior to which he had a long career with the Manitoba Government. He has led or been senior advisor on numerous major policy and program reforms, participated in many successful government restructuring initiatives, and managed large, complex organizations through difficult processes of change. Jay has prior governance/board experience, and is a resident of east Scarborough.

As Senior Partner and Executive with Lifeworks (formerly Morneau Shepell), Al has extensive experience and expertise advising Board committees in healthcare and financial institutions on risk management, governance, strategy, financial and policy matters regarding pension, investments, and employee benefits. Al has been a resident of Scarborough for more than 45 years, and also volunteers with the Association of Canadian Pension Management and the Knights of Columbus.

Joseph Lo is a Partner at Sagard and leads the Sagard Private Equity Canada team in Toronto. Jo is responsible for originating, structuring, investing and portfolio management and is a member of the Sagard Private Equity Canada investment committee.

Prior to joining Sagard, Jo was a Partner in PwC’s Value Creation practice where he also served as the firm’s Deals Private Equity Leader. In this role, he worked with corporate, private equity and portfolio company clients through all stages of the deals lifecycle. Previously, Jo served as a sponsor-backed CEO in healthcare and multi-site consumer retail. Earlier, he was an executive at BCE, where he spent a decade in operating roles in the Bell Business Markets and Field Services business units. Jo began his career at Kearney where he advised clients on matters of strategy and operational effectiveness.

Active in the community, he serves on the boards of Canadian Club Toronto (Past-President), Harvard Business School Club of Toronto (Past-President), Scarborough Health Network, Canadian Sport Institute of Ontario and is a member of the Young Presidents Organization.  Jo holds an HBA and MBA from the Ivey Business School at Western University where he graduated with distinction and is also a graduate of the GMP program at Harvard Business School.

Karen has more than 30 years of experience in the pharmaceutical sector with over 20 years as Vice President Human Resources and Employee Development for Eli Lilly Canada. As a member of the Canadian affiliate leadership team, she was responsible for the Human Resources function including talent management, compensation, and employee development. Prior to this role, she held progressive roles in finance and operations. Karen is a member of the Board of Governors of St. Clement’s School as past Committee Chair Advancement, Vice-Chair and Chair, and the Board of Directors at Capitalize For Kids (C4K). She graduated from the Ivey Business School at Western University with a Masters of Business Administration and from the University of New Brunswick with a Bachelor of Business Administration.

Gale Rubenstein is a lawyer and has been a partner at Goodmans LLP for over 30 years. She has extensive commercial and corporate expertise, specializing in corporate restructuring, crisis and change management, corporate governance, pensions and regulatory matters. Recognized repeatedly as one of the top lawyers in Canada, Gale has played a key role in some of the country’s largest and most complex restructurings. Gale serves on the Goodmans LLP Partners Compensation Committee and previously, for 20 years, on their Executive Committee. At Hydro One, Gale served on and chaired a number of committees during 11 years on the Board, including the Regulatory, Public Policy and First Nations Committees, Corporate Governance and Human Resources Committees, and was a member of Audit & Finance, Strategy, and Health, Safety & Environment Committees. Gale is a member of the Lawyers Advisory Committee for the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal, a board member for Outside the March Theatre Company, and is active with the UJA Federation of Greater Toronto. She was previously a board member of the Insolvency Institute of Canada, where she chaired the National Membership Committee and on the board of Osgoode Hall Law School Alumni Association.

Mr. Shah is the Managing Partner of Alignvest Management Corporation since its inception in 2011, as well as the Managing Partner at Alignvest Student Housing since 2018. Previously, he was the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer of StorageNow Holdings, a retail real estate business that acquired, developed, and operated 11 self-storage stores in Ontario, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. During this period, he directly managed approximately 50 retail and management employees. He has also been an instructor at York University’s Schulich School of Business, the University of Toronto, and with the Chartered Accountants of Ontario’s School of Accountancy.

A University of Toronto graduate, Dr. Catharine Whiteside served as Dean of Medicine and Vice Provost Relations with Health Care Institutions at the University of Toronto from 2006 -14 and was recognized with WXN Canada’s Most Powerful Women Top 100 Award in 2012. Dr. Whiteside was awarded the 2007 Medal for Research Excellence from the Kidney Foundation of Canada and the Canadian Medical Association 2009 May Cohen Award for Women Mentors. Dr. Whiteside is a founding member of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences and former President. She currently chairs the Board of the Banting Research Foundation. Until June 2022, she served on the Scarborough Health Network Foundation Board. In 2016, she was appointed as a Member of the Order of Canada. Dr. Whiteside now holds the position of Director of Partnerships for Diabetes Action Canada, the CIHR-Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research (SPOR) Network in Diabetes and Related Complications

Dr. Lynn Wilson was recommended to SHN’s Board of Directors by the University of Toronto, and brings with her many years of experience and extensive, deep expertise in healthcare and leadership.

Dr. Lynn Wilson is Vice Dean, Clinical & Faculty Affairs and Associate Vice Provost, Relations with Health Care Institutions at the University of Toronto and the Temerty Faculty of Medicine. In her two roles, Dr. Wilson works closely with the University of Toronto’s affiliated hospital partners and other stakeholders to advance the Faculty’s mission and strategic priorities. She also oversees the Rehabilitation Sciences sector, Medical Radiation Sciences, and Physician Assistant programs at the University of Toronto. From 2002 to 2007, she was a member of the Physician Services Committee for the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-term Care where she helped to lead primary care renewal in the province of Ontario.

Ruth has more than 30 years executive experience in professional services management, investment banking and consulting. She is the Chief Operating Officer of Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP, where she is responsible for Finance, IT, HR, Facilities and Administration. Prior to Osler she was a founding partner of Hugessen Consulting Inc, Senior Vice President; Global Head of Human Resources at Scotia Capital; and a Founding Director of Women in Capital Markets. Ruth has served on the Bishop Strachan School and Royal St. George’s College Boards of Governors as Vice-Chair and Chair respectively, and on the board of Kinross Gold Corp. She is also a Past Member, Sick Kids Leaders for the Hospital for Sick Children Foundation. Ruth graduated from the University of Toronto with a Masters of Business Administration, majoring in Finance, and from the University of Waterloo with a Bachelor of Mathematics, majoring in IT.