Board of Directors

Jenny McAdam is a recently retired financial services executive.  She has extensive professional experience in the areas of leadership and strategic planning as well as developing both people and operational platforms.  Given the highly regulated nature of the investment sector, her skills include risk mitigation practices and governance oversight.  Jenny is also a family member of a CHIRS residential client, who has been with the organization for many years.  Having an ABI family member and her involvement with CHIRS has given Jenny a deep understanding of family and staff challenges as well as community accessibility.  Jenny’s objectives in joining the CHIRS Board is to use her pragmatic approach in resolving business issues and her long association with CHIRS in helping the organization achieve its Mission and goals. 

Dr. Snaiderman is a Neuropsychiatrist trained at University of Toronto, University of Western Ontario, University of Manitoba and UNAM. He is the director of the Neuropsychiatry Clinic at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, Neuro-rehabilitation Program, where he has worked for the past 24 years. He has a full-time appointment as Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and is cross-appointed to the department of Medicine at the University of Toronto, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Department.

Dr. Snaiderman has been an instructor in the “Art and Science of Clinical Medicine Course” at the University of Toronto, Faculty of Medicine and resident supervisor in the Consultation Liaison program and fellowship supervisor in Neuropsychiatry at the Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto. He is also a member of the Exam Board in Psychiatry for the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons and the Canadian Concussion Centre, University Health Network. He is a member of the advisory panel for the acquired brain injury section, Ontario Neurotrauma Foundation and a member of the Canadian Psychiatric Association and American Neuropsychiatric Association.

Dr. Snaiderman was co-winner of “The Ivan Silver Award for Excellence in Mental Health Education” given by the University of Toronto, Dept. of Psychiatry. His expertise is in the areas of the cognitive, emotional and behavioural effects of neurological problems such as traumatic brain injury, multiple sclerosis, stroke, seizure disorders and other neurologic disorders. Dr. Snaiderman is a frequent guest keynote speaker and lecturer at several institutions, and community organizations nationally, provincially, and locally.

Ellen Drevnig (CPA, CA) is co-founder of a boutique litigation accounting and actuarial firm The EF Group. She has expertise in valuing future cost-of-care reports/life-care plans in personal injury cases, loss-of-service reports in fatality claims, and conducting damage quantifications in commercial breach-of-contract and procurement disputes. She is also frequently called upon to critique other experts’ reports in complex litigation matters. In addition to her professional designations and certification in financial forensics by accounting bodies in the United States, Ellen holds a Bachelor of Business Management degree in Accounting and Finance.

Erica Teklits was a partner with BDO Canada, retiring from the firm in December 2021. She was the firm’s National Industry Leader for the Not-for-Profit & Education sector for eight years and the engagement partner for CHIRS since 2015. She has over 30 years of experience providing auditing, accounting and advisory services to a wide range of clients, including public and private Not-for-Profit Organizations.

From October 2015 to July 2018, Erica served as a Member of the AcSB Not-for-Profit Advisory Committee. In 2018, she was named a Fellow of CPA Ontario. In December 2017 and 2019, she was appointed and is currently still serving on the Accounting Standards Oversight Council.

Erica is actively involved in the community and has received the Ontario Volunteer Service Award for 15 years of service at Etobicoke Services for Seniors and is currently serving as its Board Chair. She is also Chair of the Community Foundation of Mississauga.

Joseph Pileggi is a long-time member of CHIRS Board.  In addition he is on the Board of the CHIRS Foundation. For over 35 years Joe worked with and was mentored by some of Canada’s best personal injury Lawyers: Earl Cherniak Q.C., Ken Howie Q.C, and Lawrence Mandel

Joseph became one of Canada’s most experienced Law Clerks in both the preparation and presentation of trials and arbitrations.  He dealt primarily with Catastrophic Injury victims - those who suffered quadriplegia, paraplegia, brain injury and amputation. He was part of the War Amputees of Canada’s successful endeavour to have the Canadian government re-compensate Thalidomide drug victims, part of the first independent NHL arbitration on behalf of a disabled hockey player and a participant in the Canadian Residential Schools Class Action.

In June of 2018, Joseph retired.  Currently, in addition to charitable works, he is providing consulting services to accident victims dealing with structured settlements, in particular with those under a “disability” - a mandatory requirement of the Ontario Courts.

Strongly focused on Technology, Risk & Human Capital, Susan D. Noiles, IBDC.D, leads Noiles Consulting Inc., a virtual CIO, Board and executive advisory & coaching company.

Thematic throughout Ms. Noiles’ career has been her aptitude for leadership, a passionate belief that it is people that matter, and the leveraging of integrative, creative approaches to challenges. She complements this with a passion for guiding the development of exceptional organizations that are founded on robust culture, human capability, and diversity.

She has been CIO of the Insurance Bureau of Canada, an Executive Counselor for Info-Tech, and has recently completed a virtual CIO assignment for a mid-size bank. Ms. Noiles is the pioneer of a Strategic Governance Framework for Data that enables Board oversight and governance of this vital asset. Additionally, Ms. Noiles has been Vice President with accountability for Technology, Legal, HR, Finance, Administration & Strategic Planning for a high-growth technology organization and has been accountable for the improved operations and profitability of a North American application services organization leading up to its successful sale.

She is frequently leveraged by her clients for Board related matters, providing thought leadership, advice & credible challenge on strategy development, execution oversight, and organizational change. Additionally, she is experienced in developing and proposing technology and transformation initiatives for Board approval and oversight and has extensive knowledge of the necessary capabilities and program components to achieve success.

Adept at the recovery of failing technology organizations and initiatives, and the transformation of organizations through the alignment of technology, risk & human capital, Ms. Noiles has deep and broad knowledge of strategic planning, decisioning processes and effective governance mechanisms. She has a broad range of industry experience and values a global perspective.

Lucy Jackson, B.A. (Hons), J.D., is a personal injury and class actions lawyer at Thomson, Rogers. Her practice involves helping people who have been seriously injured in motor vehicle collisions, slip/trip and fall accidents and other incidents. Many of Lucy's clients are individuals who have sustained a traumatic brain injury as a result of an accident. Lucy advocates to ensure that they and their families have access to the medical and rehabilitation treatment they need. In the course of her legal practice, Lucy also works with private and community treatment providers throughout Ontario.

Gerald Shoot retired after 23 years in Support Services for the TDSB to stay at home with his children.

Karen Beekenkamp (MSW, RSW) is Registered Social Worker who has been working in the hospital and brain rehabilitation sector for over 20 years, at University Health Network Toronto Rehab. She is the Outpatient Stroke Rehabilitation team’s Day Hospital social worker at the Rumsey Centre Neuro and University Centre sites, as well as the social worker for Rumsey Centre Neuro’s Stroke Fast Track North Outpatient Program. In addition to offering in-person and virtual counselling to individuals, couples and families in the stroke program, Karen has been involved in a variety of initiatives to improve program and hospital operations and enhance the rehab experience of patients and families. Karen has been a leader on committees to develop patient/family education groups and materials (including materials for persons with aphasia), and to implement on-site and virtual quality improvement enhancements for the patient and family experience. She has co-designed and facilitated psychoeducational groups. She has years of experience overseeing the flow of patients across the continuum of care within the Toronto Rehab Brain program, working as a Service Coordinator for stroke, brain injury, multiple sclerosis, and persistent pain teams. Karen engages in Master’s level Social Work student field instruction, as well interprofessional education. Her career has included prior work in the areas of social housing, at-risk children and youth, adults with developmental disabilities, youth employment counselling, and adult mental health.

Brett Laschinger is an Operating Executive who focuses on building and growing healthcare services businesses in Canada and the US. Most recently he was Chief Operating Officer of Corus Orthodontists, a newly formed consolidation in the orthodontic clinic space. Prior to Corus, Brett led a restructuring and strategy renewal for a private equity-backed mobility devices distributor, and was the COO of Medcan, the leading preventative and diagnostic care provider in Canada. Before his operating roles, Brett was a Strategy and Operations Consultant with McKinsey & Company, where he led engagements with US and Canadian clients in the retail, energy, and financial services sectors. Brett has family members who have been impacted by acquired brain injuries and believes deeply in developing healthy social supports around ABI. Brett holds a BA from Western University and an MBA from the Harvard Business School.