Dean has a degree in Political Science and Public Policy from Carleton University and is currently the Chief Administrative Officer for the Township of Laurentian Valley. He is a Certified Municipal Officer who has his roots in the area. He has an extensive background in municipal government (30 years) and is a Past President of the Association of Municipal Clerks and Treasurers of Ontario. He has also served on the Board of Directors for Marianhill and currently sits as Vice-Chair of the Marianhill Foundation Board.
Neil Nicholson, Vice-Chair
Neil joined the Board in 2019. Neil is a Canadian Armed Forces veteran with a keen interest in Emergency Management having obtained a master's degree in Disaster and Emergency Management from Royal Roads University.
As a father of four, much of his time is invested in their activities and community activities within the Township of Whitewater Region.
Rebecca Paulsen, Vice-Chair
Now starting her third three-year term on the Board, Rebecca is first and foremost a mother of three wonderful children. She enjoys gardening and cooking. She is currently employed as a Special Mental Health Consultant in Sanirijack, Nunavut and working as a psychotherapist for an international group working with children living abroad with their families and attending international schools.
David Unrau is currently the Chief Administrative Officer for the City of Pembroke. He brings with him more than 25 years of municipal experience, having held similar roles in other municipalities including the Town of Petawawa. David also brings similar expertise from employment in the private sector (CNL) as well as federally through positions held with Defence Construction Canada. His skillset includes those in governance, management, leadership, communications and critical thinking. He has proven to be an excellent resource on the Board and has voluntarily participated in and attended many other meetings and functions in order to gain more knowledge about the Hospital and the Board. He also sits on the Local Authority Services Board (AMO Business Services) and advises on committees for the Ontario Municipal Administrative Association.
Amy is passionate about working with children and families, having worked in the education field for more than 20 years as a teacher, a consultant and a principal. Married with two boys, family is very important to Amy. Her other passions include cooking, running, singing and playing the piano and she loves to travel, particularly anywhere with hot weather, a beach and an ocean.
Sabine Mersmann, President and CEO
Effective November 1, 2022, Sabine has assumed the role of President and CEO after holding a series of progressive leadership roles over the past 23 years. Educated as an Occupational Therapist in Germany, Sabine moved to Canada in 1986. For 13 years she worked in various clinical roles as part of the team at Renfrew County’s Community Care Access Centre (CCAC) before being hired by PRH in 1999 as Director of the hospital’s new Rehabilitation program. The next 13 years were spent in Clinical Director roles at PRH for a wide variety of programs. In addition, she helped to lead the major capital expansion in the early 2000s, while helping bring much-needed services closer to home such as cardiac rehab, systemic therapy and new programs serving our geriatric population.
In 2012, Sabine moved in the position of Vice-President of Patient Services, Seniors, and Community Care where she was a leader in quality and patient safety and was pivotal in the organization-wide implementation of Lean management. Since January 2021, Sabine served as Senior Vice-President of Clinical and Support Services, Partnerships and Integration.
Beth Brownlee, Vice-President Clinical and Support Services, Chief Nursing Executive
Since May 2021, Beth has held the position of Vice-President of Clinical and Support Services and CNE (Chief Nursing Executive) at the Pembroke Regional Hospital.
In 2005, Beth joined the Rehabilitation team as a Clinical Educator with our District Stroke Centre. Since then, Beth has held multiple progressive leadership roles as a Clinical Manager and Clinical Director in Rehabilitation, Medicine, Ambulatory Clinics, Surgery/Operating room and Labour and Delivery Program. As Pembroke Regional Hospital’s cancer care facilitator Beth supported many initiatives allowing quality cancer care closer to home and in 2012 Beth lead the successful launch of our Lean Management journey.
Dr. Tom Hurley, Chief of Staff
Dr. Tom Hurley is a member of the Board in his role as Chief of Staff. After completing his MD (University of Western Ontario, 1995), Dr. Hurley’s initial work was as a Flight Surgeon with the Canadian Armed Forces. This included such unique experiences as working with the Disaster Assistance Response Team and providing front-line healthcare during the NATO mission in Kosovo. After leaving the military, he pursued additional training in Emergency Medicine at Queen’s University. When not occupied by medicine, Dr. Hurley enjoys his most important job as a father of five children.
Dr. Amanda Williamson, President of Professional Staff
Amanda, a graduate of Queen's University's Life Science program, completed her MD and general surgery training at the University of Ottawa in 2014 and was promptly recruited to the Ottawa Valley as a General Surgeon at PRH. Her practice has evolved into a group of four surgeons who provide one of the most dynamic and patient care focused community surgical programs in the province. Within the hospital, Amanda has served as Chair of the Medical Quality Improvement Committee, Surgeon Champion for the NSQIP program and still serves as the site lead for undergraduate and postgraduate surgical medical education and now, as President of the Professional Staff Association. As a mother of two boys, she is often found at a baseball field or hockey rink. Amanda also coaches and plays baseball and serves as the current Upper Ottawa Valley Little League President and District President for youth baseball in the valley. In her spare time, she enjoys alpine skiing, taekwondo, reading and sunset cruises on the Ottawa River.
Diana Gagne, PRH Auxiliary President
Diana is a 25-year volunteer with the Pembroke Regional Hospital Auxiliary who has served as secretary on their Executive for 15 years and has served as president since 2016. Diana also manages the hospital’s Mural Café, and volunteers in the Sunshine Gift Shop and at the Auxiliary’s Bingo events twice a month. Outside of the healthcare field, Diana has volunteered as the ladies’ co-captain at the Pembroke Golf Club for two years and also served in a secretarial role with the Pembroke Curling Club for eight years. Professionally, Diana enjoyed a 30-year career in a supervisory role with Bell Canada.
As a local business and community leader, philanthropist and EGM Insurance CEO Lisa Edmonds has been a long-time champion of the Pembroke Regional Hospital and the PRH Foundation. Helping to steer the planning of the annual Black and White Gala every year since its inauguration in 2002, Lisa joined the PRHF Board of Directors in 2017, and currently serves as PRHF Board Chair.
Suli Adams, Director
Suli retired from a career in research science which included clinical trials for cancer treatment, the development of PCR technology, and research of diseases at a genetic level using human DNA nuclear and mitochondrial, at NRC and at UWO. More recently, she worked at CNL as a Root Cause Analyst, a Nuclear Oversight Auditor and finally as a Regulatory Specialist for the NRU Reactor. Suli is passionate about contributing to the local community and has volunteered for PSP and PMFRC. Prior to the pandemic, Suli volunteered for employment services in Petawawa and taught ESL under the citizenship program for newcomers to the area. Suli is the past Co-Chair for the Pembroke Diversity Committee. Currently, Suli assists the Local Immigration Partnership for Lanark and Renfrew counties with many of their cultural initiatives.
Daniel Burke, Director
Daniel who is currently in his ninth and final year as a Director on our Board is a Chartered Accountant/CPA who has held his CPA designation since 2014. He has over ten years of public accounting and corporate finance experience. He is currently the County of Renfrew's Treasurer. Born and raised in the Ottawa Valley, Daniel is also a volunteer for the Canada Revenue Agency's Community Volunteer Income Tax Preparation Program which hosts free tax preparation clinics and arranges for volunteers to complete income tax and benefit returns for eligible individuals who have a modest income and simple tax situations.
Sean Crozier, Director
Sean was born and raised in the Renfrew area and now lives in Pembroke with his wife Claire. He is a Chartered Professional Accountant and is currently the Treasurer/Deputy CAO at the Township of Laurentian Valley. He recently completed a Master of Accounting degree from Carleton University and has served as a valuable member of the Board Resource and Audit Committee for the past two years as a Community Representative. Sean also serves as a Director of the Bonnechere Manor Foundation and previously served as treasurer for the Robbie Dean Family Counseling Centre. He loves to walk his dog Lucy while listening to sports and business podcasts.
Previously, Clay has served the Board as a Community Representative. In his current Director role he will be participating in the Resource & Audit and the Board Nominating Committees. Clay is a Program Officer within the Ethics and Business Conduct Department at Canadian Nuclear Laboratories located in Chalk River, Ontario. Clay has a Master's of Business Administration from Royal Roads University of Victoria, B.C. and has a designation of a Certified Compliance and Ethics Professional - International through the Compliance Certification Board of Minneapolis, MN. Clay has a keen interest and has held past positions in continuous process improvement initiatives where he holds a Master Black Belt through Sigma Pro. of Denver, CO.
Matthew Neadow, Director
Starting his second three-year term on the Board, Matthew is currently a Coordinator/Professor for the Computer Systems Technician Program at Algonquin College where he supports student learning and success across all three levels of the two-year diploma course. Throughout his 20 year career in public sector Information Technology, Matthew has worked for and supported several community organizations such as Family and Children's Services, The Phoenix Centre for Children and Families, the Pembroke Regional Hospital, the Child Poverty Action Network and the Renfrew County Virtual Triage and Assessment Clinic. An Ottawa Valley native, Matthew lives in Laurentian Valley with his wife and two sons.
Les Scott, Director
Les is excited to continue his community involvement as a member of the Board. Retired from a career with the Renfrew County District School Board, Les spent 14 years in teaching and 18 years as school Principal. Even from a young age, Les had a passion for community involvement. He was involved in coaching and refereeing hockey at the minor levels, which eventually led him to junior and professional refereeing. His interest in politics and community responsibility led to 36 years on the political scene in the City of Pembroke, serving as Councillor, Deputy-Mayor and Mayor. In his free time, Les enjoys daily walks, exercising and, on occasion, golf.
Richard Wilson, Director
Richard is a Chartered Accountant (CPA), retired from his position as Executive Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer at The Ottawa Hospital, who wishes to continue to contribute and share the knowledge he has gained over his long career in heath care.
Richard has a deep understanding of hospital financing and governance and has held positions on the boards of the Health Insurance Reciprocal of Canada (HIROC) and the Eastern Ontario Laboratory Association (EORLA). He is currently Board Chair of Healthcare Collaborative Benefits. Richard lives in Rolphton, which is at the far reaches of our service area.
Roger retired as Director of Education for the Renfrew County District School Board in 2017 completing a career of 35 years in public education. In his eight years as director, he worked directly with the Board of Trustees to develop and implement a multi-year strategic plan that brought district-wide improvements to student achievement and well-being. In addition to his many years with the Renfrew Board, he served as Chair of the Eastern Ontario Staff Development Network, was a member of the Institute for Educational Leadership and represented the Eastern Ontario Region on the Executive of the Council of Ontario Directors of Education.
Since his retirement, he’s provided private consulting for several organizations and companies in the education sector specializing in Project Management, Strategic Planning, Senior Executive Recruitment and Performance Appraisals and Political Advocacy. In addition, he served for three years as Vice-President, K-20 for the Canadian Publishers’ Council.
Colin practiced full spectrum family practice in Pembroke from 1985 until retiring in 2021 and was on staff at PRH for 28 years. He was the Board Chair of the West Champlain Family Health Team Board of Directors until 2019 and recently re-joined their Board as a member in 2023. He was previously involved on the PRH Board of Directors when he served as the President of Professional Staff at PRH from 2003-2004 and Chief of Staff from 2000-2003. He has some extra training in conflict resolution as part of his medical leadership training and has also developed the ability to explain difficult and complex concepts in understandable ways.
Dave has lived in the Pembroke with his wife and 3 children for almost 20 years. He is currently a Principal with the Renfrew County Catholic District School Board and has had various teaching and leadership roles with the school board. Dave and his family are actively involved is several community events and extra curricular activities. You can find him in the local rinks, at the soccer field or enjoying all of the outdoor spaces that the Ottawa Valley has to offer. In his free time, he loves to golf, play Mens league basketball or take his dog for a hike.
Sheldon Reiche
Sheldon was born and raised in the Ottawa Valley. He currently resides in Laurentian Valley and is a small business owner of a law practice based out of Pembroke. He is passionate about advocating for both local and rural issues; particularly those which will have a positive impact on local residents. Sheldon is a member in good standing of the Law Society of Ontario. He is also a Board member of Valley Mental Health and of Renfrew County Community Futures Development Corporation and the Renfrew County Law Association. He is pleased to be able to be to assist the Pembroke Regional Hospital.
Shelley Sheedy
Shelley is an active clinician, utilizing critical analysis as a Chairperson of the College of Nurses' Inquiries, Complaints and Reports Committee. Additionally, she uses her extensive healthcare knowledge and formal education, including a Masters in Leadership Studies, in her faculty role that certifies Administrators through the Long-Term Care Executive Leadership Program. Shelley was the Director of Long Term Care for the County of Renfrew Long Term Care Homes from 2016-2021 where she provided oversight of the operations of two large long term care homes - Bonnechere Manor and Miramichi Lodge.