Hi! Thanks for coming to check me out. I am a communications expert, healthcare strategist and patient advocate with 20+ years of experience helping organizations and communities improve how people experience care in Canada and internationally. As a senior leader who drives mission-aligned change through communication, advocacy, and strategy, I’ve led national and regional initiatives that translate complex health challenges into human stories, align stakeholders around shared goals, and move systems toward more equitable, compassionate care.

My background in journalism, including years as a financial reporter and a national health columnist, have shaped my belief that stories change systems. Whether it’s social media, media relations, or comms strategy, I use that lens to help organizations build trust, turn data into insight, and communicate in ways that inspire action and accountability.

As the founder of the Canadian CML Network, I built a national community for people living with cancer that influenced drug access policy and strengthened the patient voice in cancer care. Through my consulting work, I’ve partnered with government, health agencies, and nonprofits to develop engagement frameworks, policy communications, and awareness campaigns that deliver measurable impact. I’m recognized for leading with empathy, building trust across sectors, and turning strategic vision into tangible outcomes.

I also teach in the Liberal Arts department at Toronto’s George Brown College and I am currently designing a new course in Healthcare Management at Humber College that will look at the value of patient engagement.

Areas of leadership:
• Strategic communications & knowledge translation
• Patient and stakeholder engagement
• Health policy & systems transformation
• Mission-driven organizational strategy
• Advocacy leadership & public voice

And in case you are wondering how I got here … I was born into advocacy. My younger brother had hemophilia, a condition that prompted my parents to create an organization to support families living with what was — at the time (70s) — an extremely life-affecting condition that no one seemed to know a lot about. Fast forward a decade and he, along with hundreds of other hemophiliacs, were infected with HIV and Hep C during what would become known as Canada’s Tainted Blood Scandal. In 2021, he died of an aggressive form of liver cancer as a result of the damage caused by Hep C. This, just two years after my dad passed away from dementia. These difficult experiences, plus my own health challenges, have given me unique and thought-provoking insights into what it means to be a consumer of health care in Canada, why caregivers are essential to any health care team, why the voice of lived experience must be embedded in everything, from clinical trials to healthcare administration, as well as the challenges facing patients as they seek the best health outcomes.

Some stories Lisa has been sharing…