The mandate of the Canadian Foundation for Women’s Health is to provide funding for research, education, and international work in all aspects of women’s health, thereby saving lives and improving the health of women. The Board of Directors is responsible for putting the mandate of the Foundation into action. The Board establishes the Foundation’s goals and policy, ensures adequate financial support for Foundation operations, develops and plans long-range initiatives, hires the Executive Director, and promotes the Foundation both privately and publicly. Our Board of Directors is comprised of dedicated individuals from a variety of backgrounds.
- Dr. Cathy Popadiuk, Chair
- Dr. George Carson, Secretary
- Dr. Donna Fedorkow, Treasurer
- Dr. Jan Christilaw
- Dr. Tamara Kuzma
- Dr. Diane Francoeur
Dr. Cathy Popadiuk, Chair
Portugal Cove-St. Philip’s, NL
Dr. Popadiuk is an Associate Professor Dept. Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine at Memorial University. She has been a practicing gynecologic oncologist since 1998 with special interest in Cervical Cancer.
Her passion and commitment for Cervical cancer screening and women’s health began when she visited Northern Ontario as a University of Toronto medical student working on a research project to evaluate women’s health and cervical cancer screening in the Aboriginal Women of the Sioux Lookout Zone.
She later completed her residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at McGill University followed by Gynecologic Oncology training at the University of Toronto. She has been the Medical Director for the Cervical Screening Initiatives Programme in Newfoundland and Labrador since its inception in 2003 and in 2007 led the medical provider education strategy for the roll out of the successful HPV vaccination programme in NL.
She is Lead for the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer OncoSim HPV Cervical Microsimulation Model that assesses the effects of various screening and preventive strategies on cervical cancer outcomes in Canada used to assist decision makers in making informed policy decisions. Her research interests include the evaluation of cervical screening in young women and innovative strategies to reach the disadvantaged and under-screened. She is a passionate advocate for Women’s Health and hopes to see the eradication of cervical cancer in her lifetime.
Dr. Popadiuk is Chair of the Canadian Foundation of Women’s Health and a Director of the Board of the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada.
Dr. George Carson, Secretary
Regina, SK
Dr. Carson went to medical school at Queen’s University and did his internship and two years of residency in Internal Medicine at Queen’s before switching to Obstetrics and Gynecology. Residency was done at the Boston Hospital for Women and the Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal. Perinatology education was then done at McGill University.
Dr. Carson was assistant then associate professor of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Medical Physiology at the University of Calgary. He then worked for two years with the Algoma Medical Group at Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. Since April 1st, 1989 he has practiced Maternal Fetal Medicine at Regina General Hospital, now in the Saskatchewan Health Authority. He was Head of the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology in the Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region from 1995 to 2011, and Senior Medical Officer in Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region from March 2014 to December 2017 when that region ceased to exist.
Dr. Carson was founding co-chair for the ALARM Course of the SOGC and has been on several other provincial and SOCG committees. He is a Clinical Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at the University of Saskatchewan.
He was the President of the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada in 2016–2017.
Dr. Donna Fedorkow, Treasurer
Hamilton, ON
Dr. Fedorkow graduated with an MD degree from the University of Calgary where she also obtained her FRCSC in Obstetrics and Gynaecology. After completing sub-specialty training in Urogynaecology and earning a MSc. Degree in Epidemiology, she joined the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at McMaster University. She holds the rank of Professor Emeritus.
She served as the Department’s Continuing Medical Education Director, Undergraduate Program Director and Urogynecology Program Director.
She is a Past President of the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada. Dr. Fedorkow’s clinical and research interests include menopause, urogynaecology, conservative management of pelvic floor dysfunction and undergraduate medical education.
Dr. Jan Christilaw, Director
White Rock, BC
An obstetrician-gynecologist, Jan Christilaw is an innovative health care leader. As vice-president of the BC Women’s Hospital and Health Centre, she has launched new treatment programs and strengthened its research profile by encouraging interdisciplinary co-operation. Known for her ability to improve public health outcomes, she also leads provincial efforts to enhance breast screening and perinatal health. Her work extends beyond Canada as she has provided obstetrical training in Uganda, Ethiopia and Tanzania, and has campaigned to increase access to emergency obstetrical care in rural Africa.
In 2018 Dr. Jan Christilaw was invested as a Member of the Order of Canada. Dr. Christilaw has spent her career working to improve health outcomes and building capacity of health care providers here in BC, throughout Canada and the developing world.
Dr. Christilaw was appointed to the Order of Canada for her leadership in obstetrical care and international work to improve maternal health in developing countries. Dr. Christilaw’s commitment to women’s health and newborn care is unparalleled.
Dr. Tamara Kuzma, Director
Calgary, AB
Obstetrics & Gynecology Resident- University of Saskatchewan
Gynecologic Oncology Fellow- University of Calgary
Dr. Kuzma is a Gynecologic Oncology fellow at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre at the University of Calgary. She completed medical school at the University of Alberta and residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Saskatchewan. She earned her MSc in Public Health, with a specialization in Global Health from the University of Alberta.
Dr. Kuzma has been involved in multiple Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada and Society of Gynecologic Oncologists of Canada committees. She previously served as a board member of the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada in 2017–2018. Her research and clinical interests include gynecologic oncology and access to surgical services in developing countries and the effect of poverty on health and wellbeing.
Dr. Diane Francoeur, Director
Ottawa, ON
Dr. Diane Francoeur is Chief Executive Officer of the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada (SOGC), which is a leading authority on women’s sexual and reproductive health representing thousands of specialists across the country. Dr. Diane Francoeur has been a highly accomplished Obstetrician-Gynecologist for more than 30 years and as a fierce advocate for women and health care providers, she continues to serve her community as a practicing OB/GYN to this day.
Dr. Francoeur has been responsible for leading all specialties in Quebec as the health care system navigates the devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic and understands the needs of women’s health specialists throughout this difficult climate.
Dr. Francoeur was the CEO and served as the first woman president of the Federation of Medical Specialists of Québec (FMSQ), completing all mandates. She continues to work as an associate professor in the OB/GYN department at CHU Ste-Justine, affiliated with the University of Montreal and is a strong champion of women’s rights, physician’s leadership, and healthcare management.
She is a graduate of the Université Laval with a doctorate in medicine, completed the Director’ education program at McGill University and graduated from Harvard University with a Master’s degree in Health Care Management.
Dr. Francoeur’s academic background has been a driving standard of care in her obstetrical practice and in the boardroom.