EVENT Speakers

Joelle Walker is the Vice President of Public and Professional Affairs for the Canadian Pharmacists Association. In this role, Joelle leads the Association’s advocacy initiatives with key decision-makers and stakeholders, by increasing the profile and reputation of the profession, and advancing specific public policy issues affecting the pharmacy sector. Joelle has over 15 years of advocacy experience in law, government relations, and communications previously working on the Canadian Cancer Society’s national advocacy agenda. Joelle has a Bachelors of Political Science and an LLB from the University of Ottawa.

Mohamed Elsabakhawi completed his Pharmacy education at the University of British Columbia. Since his graduation, he has risen through the ranks from community pharmacist to manager to associate owner to now associate owner of 4 Shoppers Drug Mart Locations in the Mississauga and Etobicoke region, including one of Ontario's first Pharmacy Care Clinics. Mohamed's ability to leverage Point of Care testing has not only helped enhance patient care but has set his stores apart and earned him recognition within the pharmacy community. His keen understanding of the evolving landscape of pharmacy practice has allowed him to seamlessly integrate new technologies and innovative practices into his operations. This adaptability has not only ensured the efficient functioning of his pharmacy locations but has also positioned him as a trailblazer in the industry. In addition to his role as associate-owner he is passionate about advancing the role of pharmacists in healthcare and has actively participated in community health initiatives such as clinic days in long-term health care facilities.

Dr. Dillon Lee has explored every avenue of pharmacy, undertaking various community, hospital, academia, and industry roles in multiple provinces. She completed her Doctor of Pharmacy degree at the University of Alberta, where she was awarded the National CAPSI-CSHP Hospital Pharmacy Student Award at PDW in Montreal in 2020. Dillon then completed her hospital residency training with Lower Mainland Pharmacy Services and worked as a clinical pharmacist at Vancouver General Hospital during COVID-19.

In search of a richer understanding of the healthcare system and the ethical and regulatory landscape guiding the pharmaceutical industries, Dillon completed pharmaceutical compliance residency training in Toronto. Dillon now lives in Boston and works as a Senior Internal Auditor at a global pharmaceutical company, Sanofi. Her ongoing role in the industry as an auditor specializing in medical and R&D assignments underscores pharmacists' unique role in risk management in business.

Dillon advocates for pharmacy students and pharmacists' role as change agents in the Canadian healthcare system and beyond. Dillon is excited to meet pharmacy students at this year's PDW and deliver her presentation, "The Art of Self-Discovery: Residency Choices and Paths with Purpose."

Lesley Graham trained as a pharmacist in the UK where she started her career in hospital pharmacy, specialising in oncology and formulary management. She then moved into primary care where she worked as a prescribing advisor for family doctors, and then an interface pharmacist where she helped to improve seamless prescribing across the primary / secondary care interface. She is interested in the rational use of medications, especially in the appropriate use of opioids for pain in the community.  She is also interested in how medicines are funded and has an MSc in health policy from the London School of Economics, and a research MSc from the University of Toronto.

Zehra Jaffer is a Regulatory Compliance and Enforcement Officer for the Controlled Substances Program (CSP) at Health Canada. Zehra started in the destructions unit of CSP, before moving over to the pharmacy inspection team where, for the past 3 years she has conducted numerous inspections of community pharmacies throughout the province of Ontario, ensuring and promoting compliance with the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA) and its associated regulations. While the majority of her work is in inspections, with the expansion of CSP’s compliance promotion initiative for pharmacy she has taken on additional projects such as presenting at various conferences and workshops as well as helping to create presentations and articles to increase exposure and knowledge of the CDSA to a wider audience outside the scope of an inspection.

Zehra completed her Bachelor of Science from Toronto Metropolitan University and also has a Regulatory Affairs and Quality Operations Graduate Certificate from Seneca College.

Geneviève is Senior Director, pharmaceutical services and external affairs at AQPP, the Quebec pharmacy owners' association. In this capacity, Geneviève is responsible for ensuring the development of educational programs, tools and services to support AQPP’s membership. She is also responsible for liaising with a variety of stakeholders and partners on behalf of the association. Among AQPP’s priorities are issues of market concentration which have been noticed for a few years whereby some pharmaceutical products are available in a limited number of pharmacies. Prior to joining AQPP, Geneviève had held various positions in the pharmaceutical industry, most notably the responsibility of national manager pharmacy relations.

Certina is a graduate of the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto. She obtained

her graduate degrees in Library and Information Science and in Education from the University of

Toronto. She completed her PhD dissertation at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education,

University of Toronto (OISE/UT) and holds faculty appointment at the Department of Psychiatry

and the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto; School of Pharmacy, University of Waterloo; and the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine, McMaster University, with a focus on educational program evaluation and scholarship, development of patient/medication safety and quality improvement curriculum, respectively. Certina also retains her affiliation with the Institute for Safe Medication Practices Canada as a Medication Safety Advisor, with a focus on community pharmacy reporting and learning.

Since December 2018, Certina was elected to the Board of Directors of the Canadian Council on Continuing Education in Pharmacy (CCCEP) as the representative of the Association of Faculties of Pharmacy of Canada (AFPC).

A graduate of Dalhousie University, Pierre Thabet went on to complete his residency at The Ottawa Hospital before joining the Hôpital Montfort team where he currently works as a clinical pharmacist in general medicine and intensive care. In addition to his clinical work, Pierre is involved in several research projects studying the optimization of pharmacological interventions, pharmaceutical practice, and the role of French in pharmaceutical education and care. He is also pursuing his master’s degree in epidemiology to further his knowledge in research. Lastly, Pierre is also involved in the education of pharmacists, residents and pharmacy students. 

Expertise:

• Pharmacotherapy 

• Pharmaceutical practice 

• Synthesis research methods (systematic review, etc.) 

• Optimization of pharmacological interventions  

Dr. Nakhla is an academic and community pharmacist specialized in minor ailments, non-prescription therapeutics and patient self-care with over ten years of commitment to teaching, research, advocacy and practice innovation on these topics. She received her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences and is licensed to practice in Ontario and New York. As a faculty member at the University of Waterloo School of Pharmacy, Dr. Nakhla was recognized with the Excellence in Pharmacy Teaching Award in 2019 and received the Excellence in Science Teaching Award in 2020. Dr. Nakhla possesses a strong background in pharmacist and student pharmacist education innovation, pharmacy-based public health projects, and advocating for regulatory changes to expand pharmacy practice. In addition to her extensive academic work, Dr. Nakhla is the CEO and co-founder of MAPflow, a powerful clinical decision support tool designed to facilitate minor ailment assessment and prescribing services.