Board of Directors

Julia Knox, Chair

SVP Merchandising and Retail Support, Sobeys

Julia has a personal connection to the growing prevalence of cancer in society and its impact on young families. She’s seen family and friends in their thirties and forties – people who were otherwise healthy – receive an unexpected diagnosis of cancer.  As a mother of two young children, that hits close to home.

Since moving to Ottawa eight years ago, the Cancer Foundation was one of those organizations she continually came across and stood out for its contribution to cancer care and cure in the local community.  Growing up, she learned of the importance of giving back to others, especially families going through difficult times in situations beyond their control, so she joined as a board member.

Julia is currently a Senior Vice President at Giant Tiger Stores Limited, where she works to build consensus around transformational strategies for positive organizational change, focused on the customer.  She believes that Cancer Coaching is a truly visionary program, one that has immense potential to improve outcomes and reduce health care systems cost.  She hopes that her skills in strategy, planning, brand and marketing will be able to help the Foundation advance its strategy of expanding cancer coaching in the region.

In her free time, Julia likes to spend time with her husband and two young children, and enjoys cross-country skiing and trail running. Julia also volunteers as a ski coach for the children’s Chelsea Nordiq Jackrabbit cross-country ski program and is a founding activator in support of the SheEO organization.

CARL MARCOTTE, Past Chair

Senior Vice-President, Business Development & Marketing, SNC-Lavalin Nuclear

Despite their own numerous daily challenges, many cancer survivors think about how to make their journey easy on others. Approaching a diagnosis with such altruistic behavior is a constant inspiration to Carl. Many of his friends have been diagnosed, and demonstrate impressive levels of courage and compassion in their journeys.

It was the diagnosis of his wife that led to a realization of how fractured the healthcare system is when it comes to cancer. Throughout this seven year battle with cancer, they found that as patients and caregivers, they were lost and confused with the information. After the passing of his wife, Carl was inspired to ”be the change you want to see” and decided to join the board of directors in 2016.

Working in international financing, Carl has developed a great perspective on fundraising, financing, and government structure. He considers himself lucky to have worked within the government and trained in governance in the non-profit sector.

With his background, he would like to bring his expertise on finance, raising capital and government regulations to help the Foundation become a more permanent part of the fabric of care and a force on a national stage that can guide other cities and provinces.

In his spare time, Carl joined the Canadian Forces Reserves as an Intelligence Officer where he served 6 years, and recently restored two World War 2 jeeps back to factory condition.

Kevin Fitzgerald, Vice Chair

Retired, Past President and CEO of MDS Aero Support Corporation

In 2010, Kevin was diagnosed with cancer. While the treatment he received in Ottawa was top-notch, he experienced wide gaps in support before and after his treatment.

Around this time, Kevin serendipitously met the Cancer Foundation’s CEO, Linda Eagen, through a business association, and learned about the value of cancer coaching. In 2018, he decided to volunteer as a member of our board as a way to give back.

A founder and CEO of an international aerospace company, Kevin brings exceptional skills in the areas of organizational development and the management of people and finances to the Foundation. His goal is to assist the team in establishing a sustainable model of financing and integrating its unique approach into the publicly funded health care system.

He believes that cancer coaching should be part and parcel of the health care system – an approach that not only improves the health outcomes for patients, but also decreases the likelihood of survivors re-entering the health care system with post-cancer mental and physical health problems, saving the system money.

Inspired by those who take risks and accomplish things that have never been done before, Kevin is proud to be part of the Foundation, its leadership team and its one-of-a-kind approach to cancer care.

In his free time, Kevin enjoys his riverside property located just outside of Ottawa, spending time gardening, landscaping, swimming and boating.

Peter Andrews, Vice Chair

President, PRA Strategic Group

Peter has been a highly engaged member of the Ottawa business and philanthropic community for over 30 years. His passion for Ottawa and the wellbeing of all its residents come from his deep roots in the community where he grew up, built businesses, and raised his family. Becoming engaged in the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation first as the Interim CEO in 2020 and now as a director was, in his words, “only natural given just how many of my colleagues, friends, and family had been touched by cancer.”

After graduating with an MBA from the Ivey School of business, he returned to Ottawa to build a career as an entrepreneur resulting in over twenty-five years of strategic, operational, financial, and transition management experience encompassing diverse industries, including information technology, land development, construction, manufacturing, charitable/not-for-profit and private-public partnerships. He has created, managed, reorganized, built, and sold private, venture capital-backed, and publicly listed companies. Currently, Peter leads his company, PRA Strategic Group, to assist organizations in facilitating strategic and operational planning, transition management, interim leadership, and executive coaching.

When not pursuing his volunteer or professional work, Peter is busy with many interests, including skiing, auto racing, wilderness hiking, canoeing, and cooking. He particularly enjoys time with his two daughters and extended family and, most recently, time with his granddaughter, an exciting addition to the family. His volunteer work includes his role as President of Epilepsy Ottawa, an organization dedicated to improving the lives of those in the Ottawa area affected by seizures and Epilepsy.

Candace A. Enman, Director

President, WelchGroup Consulting

Candace Enman was raised by parents who believed in the value of volunteering and always helping your neighbours. Originally from Prince Edward Island, they taught her the importance of giving back to the community – values Candace hopes to instill in her two sons.

Recognizing that cancer touches everyone in the community, Candace began helping out with the fundraising in 2013, and then joined our Finance Committee before becoming a Board Member.

Candace brings extensive experience in finance, management and business strategy to her role. She is presently the President of WelchGroup Consulting, a business advisory company that, among other things, helps businesses strategize for sustainable growth. She has her CPA, CA and CMC designations, and spent more than a decade in CFO type positions.

Candace’s impressive business credentials will be instrumental in supporting the Cancer Foundation to expand its services, while maintaining organizational and financial health. She appreciates how cancer patients and their family and friends can feel lost during and after treatment, and that the support the Foundation provides is essential. She loves most that the Foundation treats the whole person, not just the symptoms or disease.

In her spare time, Candace likes to spend time with her friends and family, swimming, snowboarding and watching her boys play soccer. She also enjoys volunteering with the Ottawa School Breakfast Program.

KEELAN GREEN, DIRECTOR

Partner, Prospectus Public Affairs

Since the age of five, Keelan Green’s son Peyton has been raising money for the Cancer Foundation through the Lemonade Standemonium. Top fundraiser four years in a row, Peyton has now raised a total of $16,000 for the Foundation. Not bad for a nine year old.

Peyton’s father Keelan is no slouch either. In 2008, he was selected as one of Ottawa’s “Top 40 Under 50” by the Ottawa Business Journal. A Partner at Prospectus Public Affairs since 2012, he brings more than 20 years of experience in public affairs to the board.

Keelan has also served as President of the Ottawa-Gatineau chapter of the Canadian Public Relations Society for five years, and volunteered with the Canadian Committee for World Press Freedom, the Salvation Army Ottawa Advisory Board, the Max Keeping Foundation, the Acadia University Alumni Association as well as several sports organizations. He is a big believer in volunteerism, giving back to the community and fundraising for important causes.

A strong supporter of innovative and non-traditional health care programs like the Foundation’s Cancer Coaching program, he wants to see the model grow in the region, then within the province and, finally, across  Canada. He believes that by providing people with the guidance they need on how to navigate the system while helping them manage their own health care in a way that suits them best is a great recipe for delivering positive health outcomes.

In his free time, Keelan enjoys golfing at the Rivermead Golf Club, playing recreational ice hockey, skiing and tennis.

Elaine Larsen, DIRECTOR

Senior Consultant – Regulated Health Industries, Global Public Affairs

As a health policy professional and advocate for community-based care, Elaine Larsen draws her inspiration from the many Canadian women throughout history who have directly applied their personal values, work ethic, time, and unique skills in order to create meaningful change. In Elaine’s words, “a sense of service is part of a life worth living.”

Elaine is a Senior Consultant in regulated health industries for Global Public Affairs, and has significant experience in government, diplomacy, public policy, and political advocacy. Having worked with not-for-profit organizations in healthcare and various other sectors, she believes community-based organizations are critically important to supporting health and wellbeing of those facing an illness like cancer.

Elaine began volunteering with the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation as a government relations advisor. She was interested in the quality of services the Cancer Foundation provides to local families who are facing cancer; over the years many of Elaine’s loved ones have faced a cancer diagnosis, and she knows how important it is for patients to have access to quality care close to home. Elaine believes the Foundation is doing something truly unique in Canada when it comes to cancer care, so she was excited to be approached to join the Board of Directors in 2019.

Elaine is looking forward to contributing to the Cancer Foundation’s future projects to grow the Foundation’s impact in the community. She hopes she will be able to help the Cancer Foundation establish a deeper footprint in the Ottawa region, and to support the organization in increasing its sustainability. Ultimately, she hopes to to inspire similar work in communities across Canada, believing there are great things ahead!

In her spare time, Elaine enjoys staying active through hobbies like weight training, swimming, running, and biking, and has even trained for a triathlon. She is also quite happy to spend as much time as she possibly can at her cottage!

Nav Aggarwal, Treasurer

President, A&A Pharmachem Inc.

For Nav Aggarwal, work, family, and community have always been deeply intertwined. His father immigrated to Canada in 1964 and started the family on a path towards business success, where Nav would eventually use his knowledge as a CPA/CA to build businesses in the field of Pharmaceuticals and Real Estate.

Nav holds a degree in Mathematics from the University of Waterloo. He first began supporting the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation as a donor, and by attending the Cancer Champions Breakfast. His good friend Michael McFaul had introduced him to the Foundation’s work, but Nav’s connection to the cause deepened when his cousin sadly passed away from cancer in 2017; she had just turned 50. When Nav was able to partially retire in January of 2019, he quickly joined the Board of Directors at the request of Linda Eagen.

Nav’s work as an entrepreneur allows him to bring a unique perspective to the Cancer Foundation’s Board of Directors. He understands the various challenges of generating funds, whether in business or in community philanthropy, and is acutely aware of how costs and returns can affect an organization’s operations. He is well connected in the business community and aims to spend his coming years making a difference, including by helping the Cancer Foundation to grow its impact.

Nav is the President of A&A Pharmachem Inc., which he founded in the early 1990s. He has spent the past 30 years of his career building businesses as an entrepreneur: he has built two pharmaceutical companies during his career, one of which successfully sold in 2015. He has also been involved with the Board of Directors for Ottawa’s Hindu Community for five years, and even founded his own charitable foundation, the Mona & Nav Aggarwal Foundation, to ensure he could always prioritize support for his community.

In his spare time Nav likes to stay busy, whether through volunteering, sports, or travel. He is an avid tennis player and enjoys golf and hockey, especially since his boys share his passion for sports. When his children were younger he served on the Board of Nepean City Soccer for 9 years and Scouts Canada Nepean for 2 years and also managed 14 hockey teams, many at the competitive level. Nav is also currently serving on the board of the Hindu Temple of Ottawa-Carleton, where he oversees finances, donations and budgets.

Suzanne Pellerin, DIRECTOR

Lawyer, LaBarge Weinstein LLP

Suzanne Pellerin knows cancer as something that is “messy, terrifying and very rampant in the world” – many of her friends, colleagues, and family members’ lives have been touched by cancer, and she admits it has been hard to watch them go through so much. And while she believes cancer is something we should all be paying attention to due to its high incidence rates, she also believes there is incredible hope.

Suzanne first learned about the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation when one of her colleagues was diagnosed with cancer, and a team from their office participated in the Foundation’s Epic Walk event. In fact, Suzanne’s team ended up being the top fundraisers that year! The seamless organization, team spirit, and collective passion she experienced at the event had an incredible impact on Suzanne, and so when she heard the Cancer Foundation was looking for a lawyer to join its Board of Directors she was excited to accept the position.

Suzanne is currently an Associate with LaBarge Weinstein LLP. Though she has a governance background and has done extensive work in tax and corporate law, she has also worked with various charities and not-for-profit organizations. As a member of the Cancer Foundation’s Board of Directors, Suzanne is inspired by the passion the Foundation’s staff, volunteers, and ambassadors have for their work, and hopes to help the organization build on its impact in the Ottawa community.

In her spare time, Suzanne is very active and enjoys golfing, snowboarding, cross-country skiing, spending time at her family’s cottage, and traveling.

Julie Hawrishok, DIRECTOR

Internal Communications Manager, Nutrition International

Julie Hawrishok was born into a family of dedicated volunteers. Service to the community – whether door-to-door canvasing for charity, sitting on regional or national boards of directors, or volunteering at events – has been a family value that Julie has been proud to continue.

This commitment to community and an innate interest in people led Julie to a career in journalism, where she was able to connect with diverse groups and share their stories with audiences around the world. As a content creator, her writing, photography, and multimedia pieces have been featured in The Globe and Mail, The Ottawa Citizen, Business Spotlight Magazine (Germany), and Spotlight Magazine (Germany), among others.

Realizing the impact that storytelling has on a community, Julie took her skills and experience to the charitable sector, in both marketing and communications roles and development and fundraising positions. A strategic and innovative communications professional, Julie has worked with many non-profit organizations, including the Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa, Roberts/Smart Centre, Paralympic Foundation of Canada, and, currently, Nutrition International, where she is Manager of Internal Communications.

Working closely with Canadian Para athletes, many of them cancer survivors, she became acutely aware of what life after a cancer diagnosis can look like and what opportunities exist, even in the face of the disease. Julie hopes her skills in stakeholder engagement, marketing, and public relations functions will help the Cancer Foundation increase cancer survivorship in the Ottawa region and allow more people facing cancer to access world-class treatments close to home.

In her spare time, Julie enjoys exploring local cycling and hiking paths, record stores, and restaurants.

Karen Brownrigg, DIRECTOR

Founder & CEO, iHR Advisory Services

Karen is an accomplished certified senior human resources leader, certified executive coach, and business strategist with more than two decades of experience leading transformational, security-sensitive, and crisis management issues and initiatives. Over the years, she has worked in the legal, telecommunications, and not-for-profit health care sectors, with the Ottawa Police Service, and for a Federal Crown Corporation in the financial sector.

Karen’s career path has required her to adapt to local, national, and global environments, where she has channeled strategic leadership and coaching skills and an advanced understanding of employee and labour relations, change management, conflict resolution, organizational health, safety, and wellness, and talent management. She is bilingual and holds a Top-Secret security clearance.

In 2016, Karen refocused her passion for human resourcefulness by launching iHR Advisory Services, providing HR and people solutions for growing businesses, with support from an agile community of HR and business experts whom she enlists from across Canada.

In 2017, Karen obtained her Graduate Certificate in Executive Coaching from Royal Roads University. Karen and the Certified Executive Coaches on the iHR Advisory Services team believe that leaders who are empowered through coaching can see personal results they never thought possible.

Glenn Monteith, Director

Senior Associate, Global Public Affairs

Glenn is an experienced health system executive with extensive experience working in government, the pharmaceuticals industry, and consulting across Canada. Skilled in Health Administration, Government, Negotiations, Program Management and Public Speaking. Glenn is passionate about health system sustainability through the use of real-world evidence, the adoption and application of innovative technologies, and the effective use of skilled health professionals.