Our Board of Directors

Barb moved to McNab/Braeside in 1996 to become the Chief Financial Officer for a local technology company. She left full-time work as a CFO in 2007 to open Sew Inspired in Arnprior. With her husband and children actively involved in the retail store, Barb was able to enjoy a newfound balance between work and family. Seven years later, after growing the business substantially, Barb sold the store. It was then she finally had time to commit to giving back to the community, and joined the ARH board.

Barb brings a wealth of financial expertise, traditionally in short supply on organizational boards. Her career as a Chief Financial Officer for several Ottawa technology companies has allowed her to build expertise in financial management, strategic planning, mergers and acquisitions, HR management and legal/regulatory issues.

Barb is married to Wayne and has two adult children: Emily, 20, is studying at her mother’s alma mater Queen’s University and Connor, 21, shows his mother’s passion for serving the community as a proud member of the Canadian Forces at Garrison Petawawa.

Barb loves to travel. At home on the shores of the beautiful Madawaska River (she and Wayne call it “God’s Country”), Barb remains an avid knitter and sewer.

Recognizing the area’s charm and tranquility, Donna and her husband retired to the Ottawa Valley in 2013.

Donna is a long-time community-minded volunteer with a passion for healthcare. With over 20 years as principal of an HR consulting firm, more than five years as a VP with Accreditation Canada and a former Chief of Staff to the mayor of the City of Ottawa, Donna brings a range of skills in the areas of human resources, strategic planning, government relations, healthcare administration, governance/risk management, charity leadership and communications and marketing. She brings particularly valuable experience in health quality, having been an international surveyor and HR expert for the International Society of Quality.

Donna has also served as a board member for Eastern Ontario Young Offenders and for a residential hospice facility within the Ottawa Valley.

Jenny Buckley has more than twenty years of health policy experience, examining issues and challenges across the continuum of health care. She is currently a Senior Improvement Lead with the Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement helping improve health and care for everyone in Canada.

Jenny is a graduate of the University of Western Ontario (MA History), the University of London (MSc Public Policy and Management) and is a PhD Candidate in Public Policy at Carleton University.

Jenny’s desire to serve on the Board stems from her great appreciation for the work and approach of community hospitals. Growing up in the Niagara region, four generations of her family have been well served by a community hospital. In addition, Jenny led the Canadian Medical Association’s work on the social determinants of health and health equity and is looking forward to utilizing those learnings to support Arnprior Regional Health’s work on improving the health of the community.

In her spare time, Jenny is an avid scuba diver spending as much time as she can exploring the underwater world of the St. Lawrence river; and whenever possible the ocean blue. Her dogs Dempsey and Keller make sure to keep her on her toes.

Deborah and her husband moved to McNab/Braeside in 2010 after they retired. She saw joining the ARH board as a way to give back to her new community, having been fortunate to have so many wonderful opportunities throughout her lifetime.

Deborah brings extensive technical/scientific, financial and management skills to the board. She worked for more than 20 years as a research scientist developing novel fabrication processes for semiconductor lasers, detectors and integrated circuits. Deborah was the program coordinator and taught in the micro-electronics manufacturing apprenticeship program at Algonquin College. From 2004 to 2013 she served as VP for FabFlow Inc. where she was responsible for finances, training and customer relations. She has a BSc in chemistry and a MSc in organometallic chemistry.

When not immersed in her work with the ARH board, Deborah can be found enjoying a wide range of interests, from the active (walking, hiking, cross-country skiing, cycling, travelling) to the creative and contemplative (sewing, quilting, reading, gardening).

Valerie was born and raised in the Ottawa Valley and moved from the Pembroke area closer to Arnprior six years ago. She brings a broad range of skills in technology and management of information systems, as well as in project management, healthcare administration and strategic planning.

Valerie is passionate about participating in the ongoing improvement of healthcare offered in rural Ontario. As a patient, as a caregiver to aging relatives, as a previous hospital employee and as a provider of services, she brings a well-rounded perspective. For 15 years Valerie worked coordinating both clinical and non-clinical applications at the Pembroke Regional Hospital. She also previously spent time as the General Partner for Supples Landing (Retirement Residence) Limited Partnership.  Currently Valerie works as a Technical Consultant with Mitel, designing and implementing unified communication systems primarily for healthcare organizations throughout the U.S. and in Canada.

When asked about her most significant accomplishment, Valerie says aside from the great personal pride and feelings of accomplishment that comes from her family life and being a mom, the work she is doing now with clients who want to transform their enterprise has been very exciting. When not “on the job” or busy volunteering for the hospital Valerie can be found stealing some quiet moments kayaking along the Ottawa River.  Valerie says she “feels gratitude every day for the life we get to live here in the Valley”.

Becky is well known in the Arnprior area. She was formerly the Director of the Arnprior Villa Retirement Residence and is married to local United Church clergyman Rev. Dr. Richard Hollingsworth. Becky hopes that her position on the ARH Board will allow her to be a positive link between ARH and the community.

With 30 years of community nursing experience, Becky brings a valuable perspective on health promotion and the impacts of the social determinants of health. She was one of the first mature students accepted into the BScN program at McMaster University in 1974. She worked as a front-line nurse for St. Elizabeth Visiting Nurses in Hamilton, then as the Executive Director for VON Grey/Bruce and, subsequently, the Ottawa-Carleton branch. Becky also completed a Masters degree in Women’s Studies at Carleton University, for which her thesis addressed the personal and professional caregiving roles of women, how providing care at home is not always the ideal, and that institutional care can be appropriate for some.

Becky has been in the Arnprior Community Choir for 25 years and is a member of the Dochart Book Club. Becky has two daughters and four grandchildren.

Cathy has extensive experience and a passion for health and social services. She joined the Board of Directors because she wants to support ARH in minimizing the challenges and maximizing the opportunities to best serve the health of people living in Arnprior and the surrounding communities.

Over the course of Cathy’s career, she has worked with community hospitals, community health and resource centres, Public Health, VON, St. Elizabeth Health Care, Rideau Valley DHC and the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care.  Cathy was also the Executive Director of the Western Ottawa Community Resource Centre – a position she held for 14 years. For the past two years, she has been working as a community health consultant.

Cathy and her husband have two children and three grandchildren and recently moved to Calabogie.

Ryan was born and raised in Renfrew and has deep familial roots in the Arnprior/Pakenham area. He cites his admiration for JFK and the leader’s iconic statement, “Ask not what your country can do for you…” as the inspiration for his long history of volunteerism.

Ryan brings extensive skills in accounting/financial management, program planning and evaluation, human resources, strategic planning and marketing/communications. Ryan has held various leadership roles with RBC, including Branch Manager and Community Manager. He has also led other not-for-profit boards of directors. Ryan recently led an engagement committee within RBC focused on employee experience for younger and new employees, which generated a significant increase in the measured engagement of the target group.

Ryan volunteers for Junior Achievement, which brings financial literacy and business lessons into schools. He sings and plays guitar, piano and mandolin and also plays volleyball and golf regularly.

Ryan’s wife, Tierney, is a nurse practitioner. Ryan readily admits that he and Tierney “spend far too much time doting on” Archer, their Welsh Springer spaniel.

Tyler Pirie was born and raised in Arnprior and has a deep-rooted connection to the community.

He is now a masters-trained Epidemiologist with extensive experience working in the substance use and mental health field and has a passion for community health. Tyler has held positions with several prominent health research organizations in Canada and has presented at numerous national and international conferences.

Currently, Tyler works for the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI), putting him at the forefront of emerging health trends, data management techniques, standards, and the use of new technology and strategies to improve the healthcare system.

How did a girl who grew up on a beef farm outside of Fort Coulonge, Quebec end up on a board in Arnprior? Her parents bought her a car from Reid Brother’s when she finished her undergraduate degree. During a regular servicing visit to the dealership two years later, she was recruited to play in Arnprior’s Sunday night Mixed Lobb Ball League. This is how she met a local man named Graham. Erin and Graham were married in 2008, and the couple moved to McNab-Braeside.

Erin brings extensive expertise in a number of areas, including accounting/financial management, communications/marketing, government relations, health care administration, public policy development, human resources, strategic planning, program planning/evaluation, governance/risk management, not-for-profit or charity leadership, clinical leadership and legal/regulatory issues.

Erin received a BSc in Biochemistry in 2005 and a doctorate in Cellular and Molecular Medicine Ottawa in 2011, both from the University of Ottawa. She began teaching at Algonquin College in 2008, became a full-time professor in 2010 and is currently the Chair of their Allied Health Department, which includes programs such as Medical Radiation Technology (x-ray technician), Diagnostic Medical Sonography (general ultrasound) and Respiratory Therapy. She provides our board with a critical connection to educational advances and innovative practices that are such an important driver of healthcare change.

Erin completed an Executive Masters of Business Administration from Queen’s University in 2017.

Robin, her husband and children moved from Montreal to rural West Carleton in 1982. It was Robin’s experience as a cancer patient that inspired her to join the board as it made her keenly aware of the importance of empowering patients and listening to their voices as key health system stakeholders. With her new appreciation of our health care system and the medical profession, she is currently in remission and enthusiastic about using her energy and skills to contribute back to the health care system.

In addition to her valuable patient perspective, Robin also brings a range of expertise in the areas of legal/regulatory issues, government relations, public policy development, strategic planning, program planning/evaluation, governance/risk management, not-for-profit or charity leadership as well as eagerness to learn.

Robin is most proud of her wonderful, engaged children and also her work with difference-makers in their communities supporting economic, social and political rights and advancing the rights of the marginalized. Robin herself has long worked as a champion of human rights and social justice. She was Director of International Development for the Canadian Bar Association from 1994 to 2013, where she managed projects in over 30 countries in Asia, Africa, the Caribbean and Central and Eastern Europe. She sat on the Rule of Law and Access to Justice Working Group for the UN Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor. In 2013 she received the inaugural Commonwealth Lawyers Association Rule of Law Award and in 2014 the Walter S. Tarnopolsky award for Human Rights.

Robin serves as the co-chair of the Ottawa-Gatineau Multiple Myeloma Support Group, is a member of the Ottawa-Gatineau Myeloma March Committee and the chair of the Ontario Advocacy Committee for Multiple Myeloma. She also sits on the board of the International Commission of Jurists and is past chair and advisor to the Pro Bono Committee of the International Bar Association.

Robin enjoys an active lifestyle. Living on a farm on Galetta Side Road gives her the opportunity to enjoy her horses and gardening. She also cycles, cross-country skis, walks and sails.