The Victoria Hospitals Foundation’s Board of Directors is comprised of our community’s leaders dedicated to making a difference in healthcare.
The Victoria Hospitals Foundation is grateful to have an inspired and engaged Board of Directors. Their dedication, expertise, and commitment to helping our organization are deeply inspiring. Every Board member has a unique reason why they are compelled to support and to serve with us. Browse their bios to learn more about this important group within the Victoria Hospitals Foundation team.
Officers
Donnie Wing, Chair
Donnie Wing
Chair
Mr. Wing is a seasoned executive with extensive knowledge in insurance, investments, finance, strategy, policy, privacy and government relations. He was CEO of Healthcare Benefit Trust for five years and also served on their Board of Trustees. He also served as a member of the ICBC executive team for 12 years and as a Senior Policy Advisor and Acting Director for the Province of B.C.’s Crown Corporations Secretariat.
Donnie has given back to the community serving on the board for S.U.C.C.E.S.S., one of the largest social service agencies in B.C., for five years in various capacities, most recently in the role of Chair of the Board. Known for his collaborative working style Donnie is also very familiar with the Victoria community and pleased to Chair the board of the Victoria Hospitals Foundation.
He joined the Victoria Hospitals Foundation Board of Directors in 2018.
Joan Yates, Vice Chair
Joan Yates
Joan Yates had a thirty-plus year career in post secondary education in Saskatchewan and British Columbia. This has included extensive experience serving as Vice President for College Advancement; Communications and Marketing; Strategic Planning; Student Affairs; as Executive Director of a Foundation; as Dean of Business and as a long time business faculty member teaching Communications; Business Strategy; Marketing and Public Relations.
As a senior communications specialist, she has held positions with local and national governance bodies including national president of the Canadian Public Relations Society and has received awards and recognition for her work in planning new governance structures and developing a curriculum model now in use in several Canadian post secondary institutes. Her tenure in Student Services saw innovative and expanded approaches to services for students needing accessible learning; policy and support related to sexualised violence; and mental health supports.
She has international experience having lived and worked in Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Joan has an M.Ed. in adult education; and holds an APR. She is a lifetime member of the Canadian Public Relations Society. She has been a board member in organizations related to arts; education; women’s health; and social advocacy.
She is a recent retiree, living in Victoria with her husband Chris Graham and is proud of her daughter who works as a nurse on the Island.
Joan joined the Victoria Hospitals Foundation Board of Directors in 2023.
Tom Siemens, Secretary
Tom Siemens
Secretary
Mr. Siemens joined the Victoria Hospitals Foundation Board of Directors in 2018 and served as chair for several years before stepping down to resume a member position in 2022. In 2023 he assumed the role of Secretary. He has supported our local hospitals through volunteer leadership for many years, including serving on Campaign Cabinets for VHF .
He brings to the Foundation his extensive experience in finance and other disciplines from his 36-year career with RBC Royal Bank. After joining RBC in Winnipeg in 1982, Mr. Siemens worked across Canada in Calgary, Toronto, and Saskatoon, before retiring in Victoria in 2018.
During his tenure in Victoria, Mr. Siemens has been extensively involved with a variety of community organizations at the governance level. Mr. Siemens has served on advisory committees for Ballet Victoria and the City of Victoria City Manager. He was involved with both Junior Achievement and the United Way throughout his career, serving as Chair of the United Way of Greater Victoria’s 2006 campaign and as Past Chair and a Member-at-Large for several following years. Mr. Siemens has also been a member of the Camosun College Board of Governors, serving as Chair of the Finance & Audit Committees, and was a member of the Board of Advisors for the Faculty of Business at the University of Victoria. Most recently, he served as Treasurer on the Board of Directors of Pacific Opera Victoria. He also currently sits on the Greater Victoria Advisory Board of The Salvation Army, the Board of the Victoria Symphony, and the Investment Advisory Committee for the Catholic Diocese of Vancouver Island.
Mr. Siemens holds an MBA from the University of Manitoba and designations from the Institute of Canadian Bankers (ICB) and the Canadian Securities Institute (CSI). Mr. Siemens resides in Victoria with his wife. They have three adult children.
Ian Wong, Treasurer
Ian Wong
Treasurer
Ian has worked most of his professional career with the Government of BC focusing on Venture Capital. His most recent position was COO for the BC Tech Fund. He is a Chartered Professional Accountant, Certified Management Accountant and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce (Accounting) and a diploma in Business Administration (Finance).
His volunteer roles have included Board Member and Treasurer of the Victoria Chinatown Care Centre and Co-Chair of the Victoria Chinatown Care Society’s annual fundraising event. At the Victoria Foundation Ian serves on the Board of Directors; was Chair of the Vital Loans Committee; Member of the Finance and Audit Committee; and Member of the Governance and Nominating Committee.
In addition to serving on the Board of Directors of the Victoria Hospitals Foundation, he is a member of the Foundation’s Finance and Investment Committee. Most recently, Ian added Member of the Canadian Institute of Planners’, Finance Committee to his volunteer commitments.
Ian is a fourth-generation Victorian with a great sense of belonging. He and his family enjoy all that Victoria has to offer, and he is committed to giving back to the community.
He joined the Victoria Hospitals Foundation Board of Directors in 2019.
Members
Emilie de Rosenroll
Emilie de Rosenroll
Emilie de Rosenroll is the former Group CEO of SIPP, Greater Victoria’s economic development agency, which includes the South Island Prosperity Partnership (SIPP), the Centre for Ocean Applied Sustainable Technologies (COAST), and the Indigenous Prosperity Centre (IPC).
With over 15+ years experience leading and launching organizations, Emilie was the founding CEO of SIPP in 2016. She is tri-lingual and has worked in different sectors in cities in Canada, U.S., France and Mexico. Emilie is passionate about creating a resilient, innovative, sustainable and equitable – or RISE – economy. She has her ICD.D. designation, has sat on numerous boards, and is currently Vice Chair at InnovateBC (Crown Corp).
Emilie was also the recipient of many awards such as the 2020 Business in Vancouver Forty Under 40 award, a Woman of Influence western finalist for the 2022 RBC Canadian Women Entrepreneur Awards, and the Victoria Community Leadership Award for Belonging and Engagement (2022) where she was described as a ”visionary and collaborative leader who harnesses the energy of others to help inform her transformative work to ensure an equitable, resilient, and robust economy in our region.”
Marko Peljhan
Marko Peljhan (Island Health Representative)
Marko is the Vice-President, Clinical Services Acute South Care/Center Island & Provincial Programs, Island Health. Previously in September 2021, he had been appointed the Vice President of Pandemic Planning. In this temporary role, he oversaw Island Health’s pandemic planning and response to COVID-19, while also monitoring analytics and modelling on a provincial scale, under the leadership of the Deputy Minister of Health and Provincial Health Officer.
Marko served as Executive Director Geography 4 in Clinical Operations prior to this appointment. As Clinical Director of the Royal Jubilee Hospital, he was responsible for several program areas including: Emergency; Medicine; Rehab; Surgery; Patient Flow; and Intensive Care at the Royal Jubilee and Victoria General Hospitals. Prior to this Marko held various roles in Emergency Medicine including Director of Medicine, Emergency Services.
In his Clinical Operations leadership roles he has supported the implementation of a variety of initiatives including the development of Hospital at Home, and the opening of Island Health’s first High Acuity Units while serving as the Executive Director of Clinical Service Delivery for the Royal Jubilee and Victoria General Hospitals.
Marko is a natural fit for a leadership position, having successfully worked across portfolios at Island Health to deliver excellent health and care. As a clinical leader, Marko has experience in all areas of health system delivery and has a clear understanding and appreciation for the connections between acute care, primary care, and community care.
Marko’s ability to be vulnerable and open to learning, growing and asking for help leaves space for those with expertise and knowledge to have a voice and input, which is critical to leading through these uncertain times.
Jessica Thomson
Jessica Thomson
Jessica is an experienced lawyer. She practices all areas of labour and employment law, with a focus on labour relations, human rights, workplace safety, employment litigation, and workplace investigations. Through her work, Jessica provides strategic advice and representation regarding the interpretation of workplace policies, collective agreements, rights and interest arbitration, mediation and other dispute resolution processes. She has extensive litigation experience and has established herself as a strong advocate. Jessica has a keen interest in handling complaints of workplace misconduct including allegations of bullying and harassment. She has conducted numerous complex workplace investigations in highly sensitive circumstances and is committed to ensuring due process and procedural fairness.
Early in her career, Jessica practiced criminal law. She acted as defense counsel and later served as a Crown Prosecutor for the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service, establishing herself as an effective litigator, handling a high volume of cases and successfully managing the expectations of various stakeholders. In these roles, Jessica gained experience working with vulnerable persons, including victims of trauma, and those affected by sexual and domestic violence.
In 2020, Jessica returned to Victoria after having lived in Edmonton for a number of years.
She joined the Victoria Hospitals Foundation Board of Directors in 2021 and is currently the Human Resources and Compensation Committee Chair. Jessica is proud of to support the important work being done by the Victoria Hospitals Foundation in her community.
Helen Wale
Helen Wale
Helen Wale is a Certified Executive Coach holding the ICF Professional Certified Coach credential and is an experienced Human Resources professional with over 26 years in a range of professional and leadership positions in health care organizations in both the UK and Canada, most recently working in senior roles within human resources at Island Health before establishing her own business in 2016. Helen has strong human resources experience in recruitment and selection, leadership and talent management and policy development and is also a trainer facilitating workshops primarily in leadership development, employee engagement and coaching.
Helen has expanded her industry experience more recently working with clients in manufacturing, municipal government, education, leisure and fitness, financial services, not-for-profit and news media.
With a Bachelor of Arts degree in History, Helen is a Chartered Professional in Human Resources (CPHR), holds a Master’s degree in Human Resource Management, a Graduate Certificate in Executive Coaching and is certified to deliver MBTI workshops and the emotional intelligence assessment EQi-2.0 and EQ 360.
Helen joined the Victoria Hospitals Foundation Board of Directors in 2021.
Jagdeep Bawa
Jagdeep Bawa
Jagdeep Bawa is a dual-qualified Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in the United States (USA) and Canada, having substantial expertise in supporting businesses and the contexts in which they operate in both countries. She has over fourteen years of experience in corporate finance and public accounting. She has played a crucial role in assisting numerous private companies with their expansion strategies, including creating business plans and acquiring funding from various sources. The other areas of expertise include financial and tax planning for the USA and Canadian resident corporations and individuals. Her MBA in Sustainable Innovation from the University of Victoria broadened her understanding of business value chains through a sustainability lens. Her leadership philosophy centers on creating platforms for success, fostering growth, and advocating for inclusivity and varied perspectives.
Multiple non-profit and charity organizations have benefited from her assistance in developing and implementing financial reporting and compliance procedures. Recently, she served as the Treasurer for the South Asian Legal Clinic of British Columbia (SALCBC) and led the search and hiring committee for the clinic’s first executive director and managing lawyer.
Jagdeep received a Bachelor of Science in Accounting (Honors) from Johnson & Wales University in Denver, Colorado, and a Master of Business Administration in Sustainable Innovation from the University of Victoria in Victoria, British Columbia.
Jagdeep joined the Victoria Hospitals Foundation Board of Directors in 2023.
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