On September 13 at WSPS’ Annual General Meeting, a new Board Chair was elected. In addition, five new members were welcomed to the team.
Lori Cornwall – Board Chair
Lori is an experienced commercial and regulatory lawyer and an active volunteer. Her legal career has spanned almost 30 years and concluded with her retirement from her role as Associate General Counsel with Enbridge Gas Distribution in Toronto. During her years at Enbridge, Lori was a strong advocate of safety in the workplace. She believes that a safe working environment is a fundamental human right.
Prior to joining Enbridge, Lori was a partner in the Competition and Foreign Investment Review practice group at Davies, Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP. And prior to that, spent several years as a criminal defense lawyer in Toronto.
As a volunteer, Lori spent four years on the board of the Ontario Association of Engineering Technicians and Technologists and has taken on a variety of smaller volunteer roles with the Bride’s Project and Sherbourne Health.
Lori holds a Law Degree and an MBA from the University of Ottawa as well as an honours undergraduate degree in Criminology.
Graham Browne
With over 40 years of Human Resources and General Administration experience in highly respected national and global enterprises in the private, public, and not-for-profit sectors, Graham has enjoyed the opportunity to develop skills and insights at both managerial and executive levels about how business is conducted in diverse sectors of the economy. For a significant portion of his career, Graham had either managerial or executive accountability for health and safety management, primarily in the manufacturing and mining sectors.
Graham is also actively involved in his local community, working as a volunteer with two area food banks, and as Chair of the Board of Directors of Community Living Burlington. Over 15 years of board experience in the not-for-profit sector has produced a strong appreciation for the principles of good governance and their practical application.
Graham is currently Principal and Owner of an independent human resources management consulting firm, based in Oakville, Ontario.
Aimée Israel
Aimée has over 30 years of executive experience as the Vice President, Operations and Special Projects at Jack.org, a Canadian charity dedicated to training and empowering young people to revolutionize mental health; a founder and the CEO of a North American, multimillion dollar technology start-up, LifeSpeak Inc.; Corporate Counsel at Cadbury Canada; and as a corporate commercial lawyer at Borden Ladner Gervais LLP. In 2009 she was named one of Canada's Top 100 Women Entrepreneurs by PROFIT Magazine.
Committed to promoting health, wellness and resilience in communities, Aimée has sat on a number of Boards including the Mood Disorders Association of Ontario and Partners for Mental Health. She is currently a Governor of the North York General Foundation Board on which she serves as the Vice Chair of the Governance and Inclusion Committee.
Aimée holds a BA degree from York University and an LL.B from the University of Western Ontario in 1997. She is also a licensee of the Law Society of Ontario.
Ellen Pekilis
Ellen is an independent board director with expertise in governance, strategic planning, enterprise risk management and ESG (environment, social and governance).
Ellen served as the Chair of Finance & Audit Committee on the board of Canada’s Drug Agency. She was the Vice Chair of the board and Chair of Governance of the Oikocredit Canada board. She formerly served on the Council (board) of the College of Optometrists of Ontario where she was Chair of the Strategic Planning Committee and the Quality Assurance subcommittee. And was previously Chair of Governance on the board of Endeavour Consulting and has served as a member of two regulatory tribunals.
Ellen was previously General Counsel & Chief Privacy Officer of Canadian Standards Association where she was also accountable for global enterprise risk management, privacy and compliance. She participated in development of standards including the ISO 14001 series of international environmental management system standards, the Model Code for the Protection of Personal Information and Canada’s National Standard on Sustainable Forest Management. Ellen is the editor and author of LexisNexis’ Corporate Governance – Practical Guidance and provides organizational advisory services in relation to corporate governance, compliance and ESG.
Fariba Rawhani
Fariba is a seasoned executive with over three decades of leadership experience at top-tier organizations, including EDS, CIBC, Teranet and Home Capital Group. Currently she is the SVP and chief information officer (CIO) at Teranet where she oversees the IT functions, including digital transformation, development and delivery, information security, data governance, and cloud strategy. She integrates emerging technology trends with AI to drive organizational innovation and efficiency. Her leadership bridges the gap between different divisions, ensuring all teams actively participate in the transformation process.
Fariba's leadership style has consistently delivered measurable results through innovation, automation, and the adoption of agile practices. She has optimized complex structures and driven significant financial benefits. Her emphasis on governance and collaboration led to the successful implementation and delivery of numerous complex, multiyear, high-profile programs. As the SVP and CTO at eHealth Ontario, Fariba was instrumental in creating a comprehensive blueprint required for the delivery of the Electronic Health Record (EHR).
Fariba is a strong advocate for leadership and talent development. She firmly believes that consultation and teamwork are vital to driving success and is committed to creating growth opportunities for individuals of all backgrounds. Her active involvement in community and volunteer efforts – particularly those that promote diversity and inclusion – reflects her dedication to those values.
She holds an MBA from the Ivey School of Business and studied computer science and business administration studies at the University of Vienna.
She currently serves on the board of Payments Canada and chairs the human resources and technology committees. She also serves on Metrolinx's Presto Committee. Her past board roles include JusticeNet and the YMCA of Greater Toronto (GTA).
Michael Quast
Michael is a strategic leader with over 25 years of experience in branding, marketing, communications, public relations, and award-winning content generation. He combines entrepreneurial drive with a proven track record in business development, successful partnerships, and market share growth. He has experience in multiple sectors, including manufacturing, agriculture, television production and construction, with additional roles in regulation and consumer protection.
Michael’s commitment to community service includes serving on the Board of Directors for a Habitat for Humanity affiliate, where he chaired the Planning & Development Committee. Driven by his passion for supporting the skilled trades, Michael also established a national charity that provided scholarships and bursaries to youth pursuing careers in the trades.
Michael holds a B.A. (Hons) in Political Science from Queen’s University and an M.A. (Econ) in Politics from the University of Manchester. He brings to the Workplace Safety and Prevention Services Board a wealth of experience, a commitment to excellence, and a passion for advancing workplace safety and prevention.
Thank you
WSPS extends their gratitude to outgoing Board of Director members: Ajay Bhardwaj, Fred Burke, Nicola McGovern, Marjan Pouran and Geeta Sharma, for their years of guidance and leadership. Thank you for helping us grow and evolve to meet the health and safety needs of the Ontario businesses we serve.
About WSPS’ Board of Directors
Our Board of Directors represent a variety of industries and geographies across Ontario. Consisting of 12 independent directors and our CEO, they provide oversight, insight, and foresight to WSPS operations, helping steer us towards achieving our strategic goals and vision: Protecting the potential of Ontario’s businesses and employees by keeping every worker, healthy & safe, every day.
Learn more about our Board of Directors.
