Meet the 2022 mentees and mentors of the Women in Pharmacy Leadership Alumni Mentorship Program.
Agatha Dwilewicz and Barbara Prime
Mentee: Agatha Dwilewicz, BSc, BScPhm, PharmD, RPh
Dr. Agatha Dwilewicz holds Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy and Doctor of Pharmacy degrees from the University of Waterloo. During her training, she gained experience in academic research, hospital, pharmaceutical industry, and government settings.
As a compounding pharmacist in community practice, she took initiative and developed patient education materials and resources for health-care professionals. She also presented a pharmacist’s perspective on access to medications at the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress. Currently, Agatha serves on committees at the Ontario College of Pharmacists. She is a peer reviewer for pharmacy journals and an active member of several pharmacy associations.
“Dynamically evolving the pharmacy profession requires us to always be ready to step up and take on new roles. Meeting women in various leadership positions, learning about their journey, and ways of overcoming obstacles is inspirational and empowering.”
Mentor: Barbara F. Prime, BScPharm
Barbara Prime (previously Jovaisas) practised in both community and hospital pharmacy before embarking on a twenty-two-year career in medical publishing at the Canadian Pharmacists Association (CPhA). She worked first as a clinical editor and later as editor-in-chief of CPhA’s drug and therapeutic publications, which collectively inform clinical decision making by thousands of family physicians, pharmacists, nurses and other primary care practitioners daily. During her career in publishing, Barbara honed her skills in critical appraisal, writing, and editing; as editor-in-chief she oversaw the release of several editions of CPhA’s publications including CPS, Compendium of Therapeutic Choices, and Compendium of Therapeutics for Minor Ailments.
After leaving CPhA in 2017, Barbara was a member of the team from Health Canada and Canada Health Infoway that created a highly standardized database of Canadian drug products – the Canadian Clinical Drug Dataset (CCDD) – whose mission was to optimize interoperability of health systems and, in particular, to facilitate e-prescribing in Canada.
“Wherever important decisions are made, the contribution of the collective female voice provides a critical and nuanced perspective that uniquely reflects at least half of the humans affected by those decisions. Actively inviting and welcoming women into leadership roles benefits all stakeholders of every organization or profession, including pharmacy.”
Read more about Agatha and Barbara's experience in the program.
Stacey D'Angelo and Diane Stanley-Horn
Mentee: Stacey D'Angelo,
Stacey D'Angelo is a Pharmacist and Founder of Your Simple Health, where she works directly with patients to help optimize, streamline, and reduce medication use. She specializes in pharmacogenomics and deprescribing. She brings together her knowledge of medication, entrepreneurial spirit, and a passion for holistic care to this innovative practice.
Since graduating from the University of Waterloo School of Pharmacy in 2012, Stacey has had a windy career path encompassing diverse roles. She started her practice as a clinical pharmacist in long-term care and was heavily involved in advocacy as a board director for the Ontario Pharmacists Association. She has had several entrepreneurial endeavours including previously owning a compounding pharmacy and clinic, as well as working as a consultant developing educational content for pharmacists.
“I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to participate in the WIPL program. I have been connected with an incredible mentor who has been providing me with guidance around strategy and a unique perspective that is helping me to take my business to the next level. I also love that the program brings together a supportive community of women leaders and provides unique professional development opportunities.”
Mentor: Diane Stanley-Horn,
Diane Stanley-Horn is an entrepreneur that is passionate about driving and supporting positive systemic change in the areas of social welfare, climate change and gender equality. With a diverse background in psychology, environmental biology and social entrepreneurship, Diane co-owned a sustainable, health and social services software company for 20 years until it was acquired in 2021, at which point she was able to retire and focus on other interests in the areas of climate action and gender equality.
The Women in Pharmacy Leadership Program provides a wonderful opportunity to support emerging leaders. Though equally skilled and as capable as their male counterparts, female leaders are underrepresented in many professions. One of the barriers for female leaders is a relative lack of role-models and mentorship opportunities. As a female business owner who helped start and build a mid-sized company, and who was fortunate enough to benefit from mentorship myself, Diane understands many of the challenges leaders face, the tools that can help them succeed as they grow and the value of having someone in your court helping you along the way. She is excited to support a brilliant aspiring female leader in pharmacy in achieving her goals.
Mirabella Chan and Aska Patel
Mentee: Ashley Gubbels-Smith, BSc, BScPhm, RPh
Ashley Gubbels-Smith graduated with Waterloo Pharmacy’s vanguard class in 2011. She works at Roulston’s Pharmacy, a community pharmacy group in Norfolk County where she is the Designated Manager of Roulston’s Delhi location and the manager of the specialty compounding department at the Roulston’s Wellness Centre in Simcoe. She enjoys expanding her clinical knowledge through continuing education and has completed multiple compounding courses and is a certified diabetes educator.
Ashley has a passion for community pharmacy practice as it gives her opportunities to help improve the quality of life of her patients every day. She is also a mom of three beautiful children under the age of eight and enjoys spending her free time with them.
“CPhA’s report that 60-70% of staff pharmacists in Canada are women but only 33% of pharmacy owners are women shines a light on how many women are limited when it comes to upward mobility in the profession. It’s important to ensure women have the tools and resources to obtain those leadership roles. I aspire to be a pharmacy owner and to see many more women in the same position. Having more women at decision-making tables can influence what the future of pharmacy looks like.”
Mentor: Tania Little BScPhm, RPh, CDE, NCMP
Tania Little is part owner of Green Street Pharmasave and Fallowfield Pharmasave in Barrhaven, Ottawa. She is passionate about providing patient focused care and as a Certified Diabetes Educator and Certified Menopause Practitioner, offers consultation services for diabetes and women’s health. She has established a rapport with local physicians as an expert in these fields and they often call upon her for her opinion or recommendation. She also receives physician referrals for specialized patient consultations and education.
Tania continues to be involved with various national advisory committees for new diabetes medications as they prepare for market launch. She is also a member of SliDR (Scientific Literature Intelligent Discussion and Review), a regional group of diabetes educators in Ottawa who meet to discuss diabetes journal news and best practices.
Tania has been involved in co-presenting educational events with endocrinologists and gynecologists to family physician groups. She has also presented to community groups such as the Women’s Business Network of Ottawa.
She and her husband enjoy family time with their teenage son and daughter.
“I feel fortunate to have started my career with two women pharmacy owners as role models. Seeing how they managed a pharmacy and family inspired me to pursue ownership on my own a few years after graduation. I wanted to provide unique, specialized care and as an owner, I have been able to implement patient-care programs that I am passionate about.
Having benefited from strong women role models early in my career makes me excited to be part of a program like this. Hopefully we can all serve to inspire more women to pursue leadership roles in their pharmacy careers. I also hope to inspire my daughter to be a leader in any career that she chooses.”
Tima Turjman and Carla Beaton
Mentee: Tima Turjman,
Dr. Danielle Paes is the Chief Pharmacist Officer (CPO) at the Canadian Pharmacists Association (CPhA), where she is driving strategic efforts towards advancing the profession of pharmacy with a focus on engagement, wellness, and diversity. As part of the management team, she provides guidance on issues facing the industry and acts as a key spokesperson for CPhA.
In addition to Danielle’s genuine passion for the profession, her diverse pharmacy portfolio, including hospital, community, and industry experience, offers her unique insight into the needs and perspectives of pharmacists across Canada.
When she’s not at work, Danielle enjoys spending time with her partner and their bright and curious infant daughter.
“Though women make up the majority of the pharmacy workforce, we continue to be underrepresented in management and decision-making roles. This pattern mirrors the general inequities seen in society, which is why it’s so important that we break the bias and actively work towards overcoming them.
Over the past several months, I’ve come to appreciate what taking on the position of CPO truly means, not just for me, but to the community of young women I represent. The significance of being in this leadership role and the symbolism it holds for BIPOC women in pharmacy is undeniable.”
Mentor: Carla Beaton,
Carla Beaton is Vice President Quality Improvement and Innovations at Think Research (TRC) / Pharmapod.
Her career spans over 30 years in health care within the private and public sectors; including community, post-acute and long term care. She has also been involved at university and college levels in curriculum design, teaching and student mentorship. Carla has built on her Bachelor’s Degree in Pharmacy, advanced learning in Quality Improvement and Certificate in Geriatric Pharmacy, creatively intersecting the art and science of healthcare with innovation, technology, and industry. Carla is a thought leader in the area of innovation, blending design thinking, practice research, knowledge translation and quality improvement to enhance patient safety in medication management systems with workflow efficiencies. Carla currently drives business development through patient safety and clinical pharmacy innovations at TRC Pharmapod, a patient safety software and global digital healthcare company.
Elena Salgado and Rose Patodia
Mentee: Elena Salgado, BSc. PharmD RPh CDE (she/they)
Elena graduated from Waterloo's School of Pharmacy in 2015 and is the current Regional Clinical Coordinator (RCC) for fourth-year Patient Care Rotations in the London/Rural Region. They coach pharmacists as part of the Quality Assurance Program at the Ontario College of Pharmacists, act as clinical preceptor to co-op and PharmD students and serve their local community as a Certified Diabetes Educator. She has always strived to educate, guide and mentor students and colleagues to push the profession forward.
After acquiring a repetitive strain injury in July 2020, Elena's expectation of continuing to work the frontlines was no longer realistic. She could no longer work many hours in a dispensary and it became obvious that it was time to consider pursuing other avenues of the pharmacy profession. The Women in Pharmacy Leadership program has allowed them to keep an open mind and explore non-traditional pharmacist options. Elena is grateful for being accepted as a mentee in the program as she navigates potential business, academia, and consulting experiences while being supported by a mentor with invaluable insight, experience, and wisdom. The opportunity for collaboration through shared learning has already presented itself and they are confident that all pairings will establish fruitful and long-lasting professional relationships within the pharmacy community.
Mentor: Rosemarie Patodia, BScPhm, BCGP, CDE
Rose graduated from the University of Toronto in 1991 and completed a hospital pharmacy residency. She has been a board-certified geriatric pharmacist since 1998 and has worked in various practice settings in Toronto, including community and teaching hospitals, community pharmacy and long-term care. She also held a management position in the corporate office of a national pharmacy chain. Rose is currently a consultant pharmacist, serving as Editorial Director with Pear Healthcare Solutions, and Regional Clinical Coordinator with the University of Waterloo School of Pharmacy. Rosemarie has been actively involved in pharmacist education throughout her career. She has developed several continuing education programs and has delivered numerous in-person presentations to the media, pharmacists, pharmacy students, other healthcare professionals and public groups, on various patient care-related topics. With the shift to virtual meetings and education, Rose has enthusiastically taken on the role of moderator and facilitator for several live programs. She recently obtained the Certified Diabetes Educator credential to enhance her ability to address the growing needs of people with diabetes and the healthcare professionals who care for them.
"Getting involved in this program has been a wonderful opportunity to support my peers and reflect on the gifts that this profession has given me. It is a reminder that we can all make a difference for others and that part of our individual growth occurs when we support the growth of others."
Minh-Thy Nguyen and Mirando So
Mentee: Krystyna Edwards-Lee, BSc, BScPhm, PharmD, RPh
Dr. Krystyna Edwards-Lee is the clinical resource pharmacist for the New Brunswick Heart Centre in Saint John, NB. She has a clinical practice in cardiovascular critical care. Her focus is on improving pharmacy services for all cardiac patients across New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. Krystyna is also a board member of the Canadian Cardiovascular Pharmacy Network.
“There is a need for more women to be in health-care leadership to impact change that will improve the lives of both the patients we care for and for our co-workers. A culture shift is required so that organizations recognize that being a woman and having a family is not a weakness but an incredible strength.”
Mentor: Jane Martin, BScPhm, ACPR, MBA
Jane Martin is currently the Vice President, Clinical and Diagnostics at Grand River Hospital with specific accountability for the laboratory, medical imaging and pharmacy services as well as the regional renal program. She is also the Regional Vice President, Waterloo Wellington (WW) Regional Cancer Program. A health-care executive with over 30 years experience, Jane holds a pharmacy degree from University of Toronto, a MBA from McMaster University and completed a hospital pharmacy residency at London Health Sciences Centre. Jane has worked as a Director of Pharmacy at a number of hospitals in WW and as a consultant and guest lecturer at the University of Waterloo School of Pharmacy.
In her role as VP/RVP, Jane champions a vision of service excellence and participates in hospital and provincial strategic planning. She enjoys affecting change at the provincial and systems level as well as working collaboratively with others in the health-care system to achieve strategic objectives.
"Throughout my career, I have been very fortunate to have received encouragement and guidance from strong women role models in leadership positions. It is important that we continue to coach and mentor emerging women leaders to achieve their personal and professional goals and to benefit from their impact on the health-care system.”
Parnian Ghafari and Shelita Dattani
Mentee: Heather Foley, BSc, BScPhm, PharmD, ACPR, RPh
After graduating as part of Waterloo Pharmacy's vanguard class in 2011, Dr. Heather Foley has been on an adventure throughout the health-care system, involving herself with work in community pharmacies, hospital practice, primary care teams, academia and telehealth. Her involvement across the continuum of care has sparked a passion for medication lists. Yes, medication lists – unusual but incredibly important! Heather is now spending the second decade of her career working towards a future where every Canadian has an accurate and accessible medication list that is managed by their pharmacist.
Heather is a working mom of two, a step-mom of one, a wife, sister, daughter and auntie. She is a woman who fiercely believes in the capabilities of all women, and all pharmacists. By connecting with a mentor through the Women in Pharmacy Leadership Program, she hopes to gain new skills and knowledge that will help her to provide opportunities for many other pharmacists who wish to practice to their full potential.
"Leadership is a mindset; it means using courage and good sense to positively influence whichever things are within your control. With the proper mindset, tools and mentorship, every woman in the profession of pharmacy can be a leader, no matter their job title.”
Mentor: Pavithra Ravi, RPh, MPharm, MBA, LSSBB
Pavithra Ravi is a Product Director at Manulife Canada. She is a practicing pharmacist and runs a health-care consulting firm. As a pharmacist and entrepreneur, she has a passion for community pharmacy and patient-centered care innovation. She has worked with various PBMs, insurers, pharmaceutical companies, and health-care companies in supporting innovation and strategy. She comes with both a business and clinical background that allows her to tie together the different needs of the plan member. Pavithra obtained a Master of Pharmacy from Liverpool John Moores School of Pharmacy. She then moved to obtain her Lean Six Sigma Black Belt certification and her Executive Master of Business Administration at the University of Fredericton.
“Women ascending to leadership roles carve the paths for those who follow. The next generation of women needs to see how their opportunities are boundless and that the passion they have can drive change.”
Mira Maximos and Miranda So
Mentee: Mira Maximos, BHSc, BScPhm, PharmD, MSc, ACPR, PhD student
Dr. Mira Maximos is a mom, pharmacist, and researcher. She is an inpatient and antimicrobial stewardship pharmacist specializing in infectious disease and a PhD student studying infectious disease pharmacoepidemiology. She has been a practicing pharmacist for approximately seven years and has been involved in research in areas of medication taking behaviours, medication safety, knowledge translation, sex and gender-based analyses and infectious diseases.
Mira guest lectures at the University of Waterloo in areas such as drug-induced disease and infectious diseases in the elderly. She is interested in clinical and research areas that bridge infectious disease and knowledge translation and loves to teach.
“Being a woman, particularly a woman of colour and a mom as well as a clinician and scientist, can be a lot to juggle, but it’s also very fulfilling and phenomenal in so many ways. Having a network of women supporting women through different stages of our lives and career paths is important to not just help us with personal growth but also to help us raise each other up. This program can give us the means, as women, to build a strong network to share joys and excitement during times of success and find support in times of need.”
Mentor: Miranda So, PharmD, MPH (Epidemiology), BScPhm
Dr. Miranda So is a Pharmacotherapy Specialist and the Research Director of the Sinai Health-University Health Network Antimicrobial Stewardship Program in Toronto, Ontario. She is a Clinician-Investigator with the Toronto General Hospital Research Institute and an Assistant Professor (status-only) at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto. Miranda received her Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy and Doctor of Pharmacy degrees from the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, and her Master of Public Health degree in Epidemiology from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University. Her research focus on antimicrobial stewardship in immunocompromised patients, specifically hematology-oncology patients and organ transplant recipients.
Her work also examines the intersection of antimicrobial use, resistance and public health, including the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Miranda is an active member of the Canadian Society of Hospital Pharmacists. She is the current Chair of the CSHP Foundation Education Grant Committee.
“For the health of our profession and the sustainability of the pharmacy workforce, we must address gender inequality, and support women in pharmacy leadership positions.”
Sarah Blythe and Angela Puim
Mentee: Sarah Blythe, BSc, PharmD, RPh
Dr. Sarah Blythe started her career as a staff pharmacist at an independent pharmacy in the Niagara/Haldimand area after graduating from Waterloo Pharmacy in 2017. Recently, she has shifted into an ownership role after making the move to the North Bay area. She is currently focused on increasing services and building interprofessional relationships to help improve health-care outcomes in her community.
“I would love to see future generations of female pharmacists striving to become pharmacy owners and leaders in the profession. As an aspiring pharmacy student in high school, I had one female role model who was a pharmacy owner. Since then, the majority of the pharmacy owners I have worked with have been male, even though the majority of pharmacists are female. I am excited to connect with female leaders who are making an impact in the profession and hope to one day become a role model for the youth in my community.”
Mentor: Angela Puim, PharmD, RPh, CBE, CDE, CRE
Dr. Angela Puim is a co-owner of a community pharmacy, Preston Medical Pharmacy, as well as a clinical pharmacist at Two Rivers Family Health Team in Cambridge, Ontario. She has multiple certifications in diabetes, respiratory care, obesity education and palliative care. She is a passionate advocate for collaborative health-care models and expanded utilization of pharmacists. Angela has worked on numerous community projects aimed at expanding the scope of community pharmacists. She is also a member of various community networks focused on improving the quality of care for patients in her region. Angela enjoys mentoring students from multiple health-care disciplines including pharmacy, pharmacist technicians, nursing and medical students.
She is a proud mother to her three children and in her spare time loves physical activity and talking pharmacy!
"Women belong in all places where decisions are being made." – Ruth Ginsburg
Read more about Angela and Sarah's experience in the program.