SOAHAC: Welcoming our Regional Directors

In follow up to our recent leadership reorganization, we are pleased to introduce SOAHAC’s new Regional Directors!

The three (3) Regional Directors are each based in one of three geographic regions in which we operate: Chippewas of the Thames/London, Owen Sound/Grey-Bruce, and Windsor/Erie St. Clair. The positions were created to ensure that as we continue to grow in size and expand our services, SOAHAC continues to provide the highest quality services possible for the diverse Indigenous communities in each region. They will fulfill a strategic, systems level role with regard to securing funding, enhanced consultation with Indigenous communities, service planning and evaluation, quality improvement, and meeting funding obligations.

Deanna Guernsey, RN, BScN, MSc, is the Regional Director for the Chippewas of the Thames/ London region, and will be starting on July 23.

Deanna earned her Bachelor of Science degree from McMaster University and her Master of Science – Neonatal Nurse Practitioner from the State University of New York. She is a veteran health care provider with over 20 years of clinical practice and progressive leadership experience in multiple health care sectors. For the past five years, she has been supporting the advancement of high quality community care through various positions at the South West CCAC/LHIN. Viewed as a practice expert and leader with successful experiences across the life span, Deanna has a proven ability to foster relationships at all levels of the health care system to advance quality of care initiatives. Deanna is a strengths based leader, always seeking to recognize, mobilize and optimize the strengths within a team to promote health and facilitate healing.

Danielle Wilson, BSc, MPH, is the Regional Director for the Owen Sound/Grey-Bruce region, and will be starting on August 1.

Danielle is a member of the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation, located on the West Coast of Vancouver Island and is from the Masso and Frank families. She is mother to 3 and has been married for 16 years. Danielle has worked for Interior Health in British Columbia as a Health Lead in Aboriginal Health Program since 2011, having worked with First Nation Inuit Health Branch of Health Canada for 12 years prior to this. She has a BSc from University of Victoria, Bachelor of Technology in Environmental and Public Health from British Columbia Institute of Technology and Master in Public Health from University of Waterloo.

Sylvie Guenther is the Regional Director for the Windsor/Erie St. Clair LHIN region, and will begin her transition from Integrated Care Manager into the new role effective immediately.

Sylvie spent most of her life in Northern Ontario (Timmins), and moved to Windsor in 2016 when she started working with SOAHAC. She has had a variety of amazing experiences throughout her career, each preparing her for this new role: these range from mental health and addiction support, health promotion, system design and change, as well as work with the Local Health Integration Network. Sylvie also graduated as a Master (MA) in Leadership in 2015. She enjoys her work at SOAHAC, and is excited to take this next step on her journey and to continue to grow with the organization.

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