CCSA Board of Directors 

CCSA reports annually to Parliament and the provincial and territorial legislatures and is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors that meets three to four times a year. The Board is composed of 13 members. The Chair and four of those members are appointed by the Governor in Council. Other directors, known as members-at-large, are recruited from a number of sectors, including the business community, labour groups, and professional and voluntary organizations. Board members serve a three-year term, which may be extended up to two additional terms.

Chair:
Leanne M. Lewis

Governor in Council Appointees:
Sherry H. Stewart, Ph.D. (Currently on leave from the Board)

Members-at-Large:

Dr. Jean-François Boivin
Jean T. Fournier 
William King
Leanne M. Lewis
Meredith Porter, LL.B, LL.M
Michael Prospero
Pierre Sangollo
Paula Tyler

Ex-Officio Board Members:

Michel Perron
Glenda Yeates
François Guimont

Board Alumni:

Barry V. King, OOM (Chair of Alumni)
Alumni Members



Dr. Jean-François Boivin (Quebec)

Dr. Jean-François Boivin is a Full Professor in the Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Occupational Health of McGill University. He is also a consultant in infectious diseases at the Department of Public Health, Montréal General Hospital, and a staff investigator with the Centre for Clinical Epidemiology and Community Studies, Sir Mortimer B. Davis Jewish General Hospital. Dr. Boivin has conducted epidemiologic research in a number of domains, including screening, health services organization, the health of street youth, drug injection practices and infections, and drug injection behaviours.

Dr. Boivin has served on numerous scientific and professional committees and boards, including the Advisory Board of the Institute of Health Services and Policy Research of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Scientific Council of the Institut de recherché en santé et sécurité du travail du Québec, the Scientific Council of the Mutuelle générale de l'éducation nationale (France), and the Québec Regional Advisory Committee of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.

Dr. Boivin holds a medical degree from Laval University (Québec, 1973) and a doctoral degree in epidemiology from Harvard University (1981). He completed a medical specialty in community medicine at the Université de Montréal (1990).

Dr. Boivin has been a member of the CCSA Board since 2009 and serves as a member of the Finance Committee.

Jean T. Fournier (British Columbia)

Jean T. Fournier has had a distinguished career of public service with the Government of Canada, where he held increasingly senior positions in several departments, including Assistant Deputy Minister in the Department of Finance. He served for 12 years as Deputy Minister, first in what is now called Canadian Heritage, then in the Department of the Solicitor General (now Public Safety) from 1993 to 2000. In that capacity, he was chosen to chair an Inter-Governmental Working Group of the Organization of American States. The group created a ground breaking multilateral evaluation mechanism (MEM) to better control drug trafficking and abuse and enhance cooperation among the 34 member states. The MEM's recommendations continue to be a central element of the Hemispheric Drug Strategy and provide a common approach to evaluating programs aimed at addressing drug abuse in the Americas.

Mr. Fournier served as High Commissioner for Canada to Australia from 2000 to 2004. He was subsequently appointed by the Senate as the first Senate Ethics Officer for a seven-year term. Mr. Fournier established a solid ethical framework for dealing with real or potential conflict of interest situations in the Senate. Earlier in his career, he also worked for two Royal Commissions. Mr. Fournier has been a member of the board of directors of several organizations, including Telesat Canada, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, Canadian Arctic Producers and the Vanier Institute of the Family.

Mr. Fournier is a graduate of Stanislas College in Montreal, Queen's University and Laval University. In 2012, he received the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal in recognition of his contribution to Canada.

Mr. Fournier has been a member of the CCSA Board since 2006 and serves as Chair of the Finance Committee. He is a member of the Executive and Nominations & Governance Committees.

William King (Ontario)

William King is among Canada's most respected public affairs professionals and is principal of Sagebrush Communications. A trusted advisor to top political, business and industry leaders, Mr. King has played central roles in advancing provincial and federal government priorities. A journalist by training, Mr. King's experience in government relations, media relations and as chief of staff to federal health and industry ministers builds upon senior positions held at Queen's Park and with Hill and Knowlton Canada.

His participation in government and economic initiatives, and international summits, particularly his role in launching Canada's National Anti-Drug Strategy, reflect his commitment to public service, public safety and human rights, and support for drug prevention and treatment programs.

As an active community member, Mr. King has served on the boards of such world-renowned arts destinations as the McMichael Art Gallery and Toronto's Sony Centre for the Performing Arts (formerly O'Keefe Centre/Hummingbird). He is proud member of the Royal Canadian Legion as well as the Albany Club of Toronto.

Mr. King has been a member of the CCSA Board since 2012 and serves as a member of the Audit Committee.

Leanne M. Lewis (Ontario)

Leanne Lewis is a passionate community advocate for parents, families and youth affected by substance abuse. She brings significant governance and community experience and has studied not-for-profit governance at the Institute of Corporate Directors and the fundamentals of governance at Queen's School of Business.
 
Ms. Lewis has been a respected member of the CCSA Board since 2011. In her new role as Chairperson of the Board of Directors, she chairs the Executive Committee and is an ex-officio member of all Board committees. Outside of CCSA, she is the president-elect of HOPE (Helping Other Parents Everywhere), a support and self-help group for parents of at-risk youth. She also volunteers with a restorative justice youth program at Peacebuilders in Toronto.
 
Ms. Lewis holds a B.A. from the University of Toronto. She was awarded the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal for community service in September 2012.

Meredith Porter, LL.B., LL.M. (Ontario)

Meredith Porter is a private practicing lawyer who currently represents survivors of residential schools. Since her Call to the Bar in Ontario, Ms. Porter has worked extensively in the areas of First Nations child welfare, domestic violence and justice, corrections and fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. She previously served as President of BridgeWorks Consulting Inc., a First Nation-owned research and contractor-services company specializing in Aboriginal health and social issues, legal research and public policy development, and has taught as a sessional lecturer at Carleton University in the School of Social Work and the Department of Law. Ms. Porter has also provided legal support and research to the National Aboriginal Health Organization and acted as a member of the Health and Social Secretariat at the Assembly of First Nations.

Ms. Porter is a graduate of the University of Ottawa, Faculty of Common Law, where she completed Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) and Master of Laws (LL.M.) degrees focusing on First Nations women and the law, social justice, human rights and international law.

She is originally from the Long Plain First Nation, a Saulteaux (Ojibway) community near Portage la Prairie, Manitoba.

Ms. Porter has been a member of the CCSA Board since 2012 and serves as a member of the Finance Committee.

Michael Prospero, B.Ed, M.A. (Ontario)

Michael Prospero is the former Superintendent of Education for the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board. His position includes responsibility for providing innovative leadership and administrative efficiency for 16 elementary schools and three secondary schools. Other responsibilities include Safe Schools, Health and Safety Program and Special Education.

Until his retirement in 2010, Mr. Prospero was involved in education for 34 years as a teacher, Vice-Principal, Principal and Superintendent.

He has a B.A. from the University of Toronto, a B.Ed. from York University and a Master's Degree in Education from Niagara University.

Mr. Prospero has been a member of the CCSA Board since 2009 and serves as the Chair of the Audit and is a member of the Nominations & Governance Committee.

Pierre Sangollo (Quebec)

Pierre Sangollo has worked for the Correctional Service of Canada since May 2003 and is currently the National Investigator, National Board of Investigations and Audits.  He previously held the position of Director of Intelligence and National Project Manager, Public Safety, and has acted on several occasions as Director, General Security Branch. Before that, Mr. Sangollo served as Director of Public Security in Sainte-Julie where he also helped develop a working paper on the amalgamation of the seven police forces serving 17 Quebec cities and municipalities.

Pierre Sangollo joined the Montreal Police in 1963 and eventually became Assistant Director of the police service of the MUC before moving to Sainte-Julie. Mr. Sangollo spent much of his career in operations and the management of criminal investigations. He has headed task forces on organized crime and crimes against persons, in addition to assuming command of several hostage-taking and barricade situations. Mr. Sangollo has helped develop various courses in investigation taught at Concordia University, the Canadian Police College and the Institut de police du Québec. He has taught police techniques for 20 years in Quebec CEGEPs and has trained investigators from various federal and provincial departments.

Mr. Sangollo has been a member of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police (CACP) Law amendments committee, national drug abuse committee, and a member of the executive committee of the Criminal Intelligence Service Canada. He is Chair of the National Joint Committee of Senior Criminal Justice Officials, and sits on the boards of the Centre québécois de lutte aux dépendances and the Fondation québécoise des jeunes contrevenants.

Mr. Sangollo joined the CCSA Board in 2008 and serves as a member of the Finance Committee.

Sherry H. Stewart, Ph.D. (Nova Scotia)
(Currently on leave from the Board)

Dr. Sherry H. Stewart is a Killam Research Professor in the Departments of Psychiatry and Psychology at Dalhousie University. She is currently the Director of Clinical Training in the Department of Psychology at Dalhousie.

Dr. Stewart is internationally respected for her research on psychological factors contributing to addictive disorders, and the co-morbidity of mental illness and addictions. She has published several clinical trials of novel approaches to the treatment and prevention of substance abuse and co-occurring mental health problems. She has received over $15 million from granting agencies worldwide to support her addictions and mental health research.

Dr. Stewart has been a member of the CCSA Board since 2007 and serves as the Corporate Secretary. She is a member of the Audit, Executive and Nominations & Governance Committees.

Paula Tyler (Alberta)

Paula Tyler has had a long and distinguished career in the field of human services. Paula is currently the President of the Norlien Foundation.  Previously, Paula was Vice President, Child and Women's Health and Specialized Clinical Services for the Calgary Health Region. Prior to this, she served as Vice President and CEO, Mental Health at Capital Health in Edmonton, Alberta. Her other professional experience includes the position of Chief Executive, Child Youth and Family Services for the Government of New Zealand and Deputy Minister for Alberta Children's Services. Paula has also held several other senior executive positions with the Alberta Government including Deputy Commissioner for Children's Services and Assistant Deputy Minister for Alberta Family and Social Services. As well, Paula has been active in community volunteer work; she is a member of the Board of Directors for the Calgary YMCA and has served in a number of senior volunteer roles locally, provincially and nationally in the area of disabilities.

Ms. Tyler has been a member of the CCSA Board since 2009 and serves as the Vice-Chair, Chair of the Nominations and Governance Committee and is a member of the Executive Committee.

Ex-Officio Board Members

Michel Perron

Michel Perron was re-appointed Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse (CCSA) for another five-year term by the Governor in Council of Canada in November 2012. For more than 12 years, Mr. Perron has passionately championed a national and collaborative approach to prevent and address the impacts of substance abuse.

Working with all levels of government as well as the not-for-profit and private sectors, CCSA has successfully led many first-ever national initiatives for Canada, including an overarching national action plan on substance abuse, a national alcohol strategy, a national workforce strategy for professionals working in the field, and a national youth drug prevention strategy. These strategies represent new ways of thinking and working together to deliver practical and tangible results for Canadians.

On the international stage, Mr. Perron is Chair of the Vienna Non-Governmental Organization Committee on Drugs (VNGOC), which serves as the primary link between NGOs and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. He also led the Beyond 2008 initiative—developed by NGOs from more than 115 countries, it represents the most comprehensive, consensus-based declaration and recommendations on global drug policy matters. Today, VNGOC's work guides and forges new alliances between NGOs, member states and the United Nations to enable countries to find new ways to reduce the impacts and harms associated with substance abuse.

Prior to his appointment with CCSA, Mr. Perron held a number of positions in the federal government with the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency, Health Canada and the Office of the Solicitor General.

Mr. Perron is a graduate of the University of Winnipeg and the Harvard Business School. 


Glenda Yeates

Glenda Yeates is Deputy Minister, Health Canada


François Guimont

François Guimont is Deputy Minister, Public Safety Canada.