Board of Directors

Feria Bacchus

is the Vice President, Business Development & Marketing, at Healthcare Division, Sodexo Canada. She has more than 15 years of experience in executive positions within the broader healthcare system in Canada and the USA. Her experience includes working with: a multi-national private-sector company in the USA; Cancer Care Ontario; Alberta Regional Health Authority; private health care consulting; and the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care. Feria has a Master of Health Science, major Health Administration, from the University of Toronto (1998), as well as an Honours Bachelor of Applied Science from the University of Guelph (1995).

Julie Callaghan (Secretary)

works at Unison Health and Community Services, as Senior Director, Integrated Performance and Strategic Projects. She's worked in the non-profit sector for 20 years, specializing in design and delivery of community-based programs and services. She has an M.Ed. from the Adult Education Department, Ontario Institute of Studies in Education/University of Toronto. Julie is the Secretary of the Board.

Chris Hilborn (Chair, Finance Committee)

is currently a Director, Loyalty and Retention, at Bell Mobility. Before that, he worked as a consultant at A.T. Kearney and an engineer at Hatch Associates. He holds an MBA from the Rotman School of Business (University of Toronto), and undergraduate degree in Engineering from Queen's. When not at work, Chris enjoys spending time with his family, especially camping and canoeing in the summer, and snowshoeing in the winter. He is currently Treasurer and Chair of NYH’s Finance Committee.

Morley Katz

is Managing Director of Management Matters, a consulting practice focusing on organizational design and behaviour. Prior to becoming an external consultant, he was a corporate executive and power systems engineer. Morley holds an M.A.Sc in Management Sciences from the University of Waterloo, and undergraduate degrees in engineering from Queen’s and mathematics and philosophy from the University of Toronto.

Boris Kogut

is Head of Asset Securitization, Corporate Treasurey for the Royal Bank of Canada. He received a Chartered Financial Analyst designation in 1989 and has more than 20 years of experience in the financial services sector, including nine years as an executive at two major Canadian banks. He earned his MBA and BBA degrees from York University, majoring in finance and accounting. He's married with two kids and lives in North York. Boris is past chair of NYH’s Corporate Advisory Board.

David Krieger

is the founder and president of Krieger + Associates, a full-service, award-winning employee-benefits and HR communications consulting firm that he established in 1988. He chairs the advisory committee to Humber College's Centre for Employee Benefits and speaks on the future of benefit plans and reward strategies. A resident of North York, David has a strong commitment to the community. In 2010, inspired while managing his son's hockey team, David launched a program to provide economically disadvantaged children with hockey sponsorships for leagues throughout Toronto. David is also a member of the Special Events Committee of the Toronto Santa Claus Parade and an active supporter of the Out of the Cold program.

Brent Lawson (Chair, New Direction Committee)

has been the Food Service Manager for 15 years at Youth Without Shelter, a 50-bed emergency and second-stage youth-housing agency. He's been on the board for many years as a client-agency representative.

Francois Poirier (Board Chair)

has spent the last 20 years working in the management consulting and investment banking industries. Most recently in banking, he spent considerable time working with CEO’s and boards of directors in the energy industry on strategic matters. As a management consultant, he facilitated strategic planning and technology planning within the government and hospital sectors. Francois is on the board, audit committee and independent directors committee of EPCOR Power LP, one of Canada’s largest power income trusts. He is Chair of NYH’s Governance and Nominating Committee, as well as Chair of its Corporate Advisory Board.

Alessandro Sapienza

is the co-founder of Personal Brand Strategies, an international consulting agency focused on personal marketing for professionals and business people. He has 16 years marketing and management experience in product/service branding and development. He's an author, consultant and speaker on the subject of Personal Brand for Professionals. Alessandro has a culturally-diverse background, is experienced in dealing with international markets, and speaks fluent English, Italian and Spanish. He's a member of the Human Resources Committee of the Board.

Kent Sobey

is president of Farmhouse Productions, a Canadian media company that produces film and television content for Canadian and US broadcasters. Kent is an active private equity investor and in 2008 formed Sumac Realty which invests in commercial real estate. Kent sits on the Board of Trustees of Crombie REIT, a publicly traded Real Estate Investment Trust. Kent received his B.A. from Dalhousie University and graduated from The Vancouver Film School. Kent has taken executive development at Rotman School of Management and Queens University. Kent has volunteered his time in Africa and currently lives in Toronto with his wife and son.

Peter Zissis

is the Chief Financial Officer of Birch Hill Equity Partners, an investment management firm, with more than 20 years of private-equity and finance experience. He was the CFO of Perennial Investment Group Inc., a venture-capital investment firm, and Perennial Inc., a retail-design consulting practice. Previously, Peter held a number of financial positions with Harrowston Inc., a private-equity investment firm, and he was with Coopers & Lybrand in its audit and assurance practice. He's a Chartered Accountant and received his M.B.A. and B.B.A. from York University. He's also a member of NYH’s Corporate Advisory Board.