Dr. Chris O’Connor

Dr. Mark Benaroia

Physician Co-founder, Ontario Renal Network | Former Chair of Nephrology, Ontario Medical Association | Former President, Ontario Association of Nephrologists | Director of Home Hemodialysis and Staff Nephrologist, Grand River Hospital | Adjunct Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine, McMaster University 

Mark co-founded FirstHx in 2015, bringing a rich background in system design and leadership. With roles like Physician Co-founder at Ontario Renal Network, Chair of Nephrology at Ontario Medical Association, and President of Ontario Association of Nephrologists, Mark’s impact on healthcare is profound. His extensive experience and passion for patient care continue to shape FirstHx’s journey towards innovative healthcare solutions.

Beth Gerritsen, RN(EC)

Primary Care Nurse Practitioner | Clinical & Strategy Advisor, eHealth Centre of Excellence |
Sessional Instructor Assistant, University of Toronto

Beth is a Primary Care Nurse Practitioner with a visionary approach. She champions digital transformation through her review of fax technology in Ontario’s health system. Using design thinking, Beth leverages technology to enhance team-based care and address patient needs.

Dr. James East

Internal Medicine and Critical Care Physician, Mackenzie Health | Co-founder, EmergentC.ca 

James specializes in optimizing electronic health records. With research interests in biomedical ethics and medical law, he brings a unique perspective. During COVID, he co-founded EmergentC.ca, a global resource for emerging evidence. James joined FirstHx in 2021, furthering his vision of advancing healthcare technology.

Kirsten Lewis

Former Program Manager, Regional Chronic Kidney Disease Programs at Ontario Renal Network | Former Multi-Program Manager, University Health Network | Former Senior Vice President – Clinical

Kirsten is a clinician executive committed to bringing her experience to ensure strategic operations and growth. Having learned from varied transformative leadership roles, she brings visionary thinking and a forward-looking mindset. Kirsten is committed to driving meaningful change, inspiring others, and leaving a lasting impact.

Lachlan Holmes

Global Executive MBA in Healthcare and the Life Sciences, University of Toronto | Startup software leader

Lachlan is a software veteran with 23 years of experience in development and management. His journey spans various continents, programming in diverse languages. With a healthcare background in startups and innovations like COVID-19 diagnostics, Lachlan’s leadership style fosters growth. Holding a Global Executive MBA in Healthcare, he shapes FirstHx’s visionary solutions.

Justin Kline

With over 20 years of experience in healthcare, Justin has served a variety of vulnerable and neurodivergent populations, including individuals with traumatic brain injuries, developmental disabilities, mental health challenges, dual diagnoses, and complex care needs.

He has founded, grown, and invested in several multidisciplinary healthcare businesses, as well as launched his own healthcare software company.

Justin’s commitment to delivering innovation in the healthcare space has led him to serve as a strategic advisor and investor in numerous startup and established health tech companies with focuses in artificial intelligence (AI), extended reality (XR), and multidisciplinary practice management.

Justin’s leadership and expertise will prove invaluable as FirstHx strives to enhance partnerships and drive forward innovation in the healthcare tech space.

Dr. Asif Ali

Dr. Ali is a distinguished Clinical Associate Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston and a managing director of Houston Cardiology Consultants. His profound impact on cardiovascular healthcare extends beyond clinical practice, as he has served as a chief consultant to several national startup companies, including roles as Global Chief Medical Officer for a remote patient monitoring company and Chief Medical Advisor for various medical technology firms.

With numerous administrative roles, including Chief Medical Officer, Chief of Education, and Chief of Cardiology at leading Houston area hospitals, Dr. Ali plays an instrumental role in shaping the future of cardiovascular healthcare technology and innovation on a national scale. He is an elected member of the Health Technology Advisory Group and serves on the artificial intelligence committee of the American Heart Association (AHA).

Dr. Ali’s dedication to advancing healthcare is further evident through his contributions to national media platforms and publications. He is renowned for his pioneering research and experimental papers outlining the future of cardiovascular healthcare.

In addition to his work in cardiology, Dr. Ali is a dynamic entrepreneur and founder of Cena Ventures, a business advisory firm focused on guiding emerging companies in the healthcare technology space.

Jacqueline Duvoisin

Former Managing Director, UAE, Netcetera | Former Senior Vice President MEA, Clinical Solutions, Think Research | Former Regional Director Middle East & Africa, Clinical Solutions, Health, Elsevier | Executive MBA, INSEAD

Jacqueline is a dedicated and trusted Senior Business Builder with a proven track record in various industries and international settings. With extensive experience in commercial and organizational leadership roles, she shines as a Middle East expert. Since 2002, she has been an integral part of the Gulf, leveraging her deep network and expertise.

Dr. Blake Hampton

Comprehensive ophthalmologist, cataract and minimally invasive glaucoma surgeon, Alamance Eye Center

Dr. Hampton is an early-career comprehensive ophthalmologist who diagnoses and treats diseases involving the eyelids, cornea, lens, retina, vitreous, uvea and optic nerve, with particular interest in refractive cataract surgery. He is passionate about leveraging operational efficiency to improve clinical/surgical workflows and patient experience while reducing overhead for eye care provider practices.

Dr. Hampton will focus on mitigating ophthalmic technician and eye care provider shortages, reducing onboarding burden, standardizing and streamlining the patient intake process, improving pre-encounter patient triage and education, and optimizing data quality and analysis for clinical trial and practice-specific internal processes.

The collaboration between Dr. Hampton and FirstHx provides foundational software upon which best practices in patient intake can be automated while tailoring decision trees to specific practice and provider needs. Dr. Hampton will support FirstHx’s positive impact on eye care practices and their patients.

Kate Groff

Experienced Digital Health Executive | Nurse Practitioner in Pediatrics | Doctorate Student at John Hopkins School of Nursing 

With over 15 years of nursing experience, Kate’s expertise as a pediatric clinical specialist spans various areas, including pediatric pulmonology & critical care, oncology, NICU, and stem cell transplant. As Chief Nursing Officer, Kate plays a pivotal role in advancing PedsHx, the tailored pediatric history module for patients ages two to 16.

Dr. Roman Elinson

Interventional Pain Management, Painless Medicine and Therapeutics Clinic | Interventional Pain Management, Cloudcare Clinic

Roman has broad experience across a wide spectrum of primary care including Emergency medicine (Rural and Urban), Family medicine (Rural and Urban) and Travel Medicine (ISTM Certified). He currently practices Interventional Pain Management at the Painless Medicine and Therapeutics Clinic, Toronto, ON and at the Cloudcare Clinic, Toronto, ON. Roman Co-Founded FirstHx in 2015.

Dr. Stephen Lewellis

Dermatologist, Founder of Above & Beyond Dermatology, and host of The Direct Care Derm podcast

Stephen Lewellis, MD, PhD, FAAD, is a Stanford and NYU-trained, board-certified dermatologist with a passion for integrating conventional and functional/lifestyle medicine principles and tactics to improve healthpsan and happiness through the lens of skin, hair, and nail disease.

He is the founder of Above & Beyond Dermatology, an integrative dermatology center committed to raising the standard of care through heart-centered hospitality, fair and transparent pricing, prompt access, and quality time spent with your dermatologist. 

In addition to working one on one with his patients, Dr. Lewellis shares his experiences and expertise through The Direct Care Derm podcast and the Above & Beyond Dermatology email newsletter.

Dr. Prashant Phalpher

Medical Director of Digital Health, William Osler Health System | Emergency Services Lead, Ontario Health | Global Executive MBA in Healthcare and the Life Sciences, University of Toronto

Dr. Prashant Phalpher is an experienced hospital leader who has successfully driven innovation in emergency medicine and built high performing teams who deliver excellent person-centered care. 

Joel Finlayson

Former Managing Director, Healthcare, Accenture Canada | Former Venture Partner and LP, iGan Partners

Joel has been consulting to and investing in healthcare for over twenty years in Canada, the US, the UK and throughout the Middle East. 

Throughout his career, Joel has led large-scale health system reform programs and is well-versed with the needs and complexities of health system transformations. He is an advocate for private sector collaboration with governments in the modernisation of healthcare and has experience driving the adoption of new technologies and new data-driven services to help to address some of the most pressing and complicated challenges in healthcare. 

He has been a Director of the Canadian Royal College of Physicians & Surgeons International and he is a Fellow of the Creative Destruction Lab in Toronto.

Sarah Hutchison

Former CEO, OntarioMD | Former CIO, Ontario Medical Association | Medical Innovation Leader

Sarah is an experienced health system executive that has a strong track record of driving results-based delivery.  With an extensive background and knowledge of digital health policy and delivery, she has been effective in ensuring that clinicians, and their patients, are actively represented in system discussions about the evolution of community-based practice delivery in Ontario.    

Sarah has excellent policy and health systems understanding and most recently has been actively involved in advancing access to virtual care in her work at both the national and provincial level, including her contribution to Canadian Medical Association’s Virtual Care Task Force and Health Canada’s Expert Advisory Committee on Virtual Care 

Dr. Dorian Lo

President, Express Scripts Canada | Former Executive Vice President Pharmacy & Healthcare, Shoppers Drug Mart | Former Chief Medical Officer, Medco Health Plans US Division

Dr. Dorian Lo has a life-long passion of improving the health of people in Canada and globally. As President of Express Scripts Canada, he manages Canada’s leading Health and Pharmacy Benefits Manager, which administers the pharmacy & dental benefits for 8 million Canadians and $6 billion in spend, on behalf of its insurer clients. 

Dorian previously led Pharmacy for Shoppers Drug Mart and was Chief Medical Officer for Medco’s Health Plans Division in the US. As a former primary care and emergency doctor, Dorian practiced in Canada and Nigeria. Dorian has been a board member for Canadian Association of Chain Drug Stores, Chilton Hospital foundation and the State Society of Aging of New York. He is an Adjunct Lecturer at University of Toronto’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health.