ALS Canada is pleased to welcome Catherine Bélanger, Richard Ellis and Lisa Flaifel to our Board of Directors. Comprised of senior leadership volunteers, our Board ensures ALS Canada is well-governed and donor dollars are maximized to serve our charitable purpose.
Like their fellow Board members, our three newest appointees bring expertise from a range of professional areas and a shared passion for the ALS cause:
- Catherine Bélanger has a long history of community engagement and supporting various non-profit and charitable organizations. Catherine has been a champion for the ALS cause since 2015 when her late husband, the Hon. Mauril Bélanger was diagnosed with ALS shortly after being re-elected as MP for Ottawa—Vanier. Her consulting business, KatiCorp Inc., leverages her many years of experience as a public service executive where she worked in policy development, strategic planning and strategic communications. She has been a panellist, presenter and guest speaker at several national and international conferences and recently participated in ALS Canada’s Hill Day in Ottawa.
- Richard Ellis is Past Chairman and current member of the Board of Directors of Ronald McDonald House Charities of Canada as well as a former Advisory Board member of the Canadian Foundation for AIDS Research, member of the Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards National Committee, and Co-chair of The Sandbox Project. He has supported the ALS cause for many years after his best friend, Cathy, died of the disease at the age of 40. Richard’s 30 years of international business experience have included leadership roles in communications, public affairs, government relations and issues management. In 2019 he established Ellis Strategy Group, where he specializes in executive coaching, reputation management, issues management, and leadership development.
- Lisa Flaifel lost both her father and brother-in-law to ALS within a five-year span. She says the experience has had a transformative impact on her, as it brought her family together and taught her about courage and humility. Lisa is Vice-President General Medicine at Bayer and has experience in strategic brand marketing, sales and team leadership. Throughout her career, she has been a strategic cross-functional partner who has supported organizations in creating solutions for complex business problems and translating corporate visions into tangible team goals.
We are also pleased to announce that Patrick Nelson, who joined the Board in 2017, has been appointed Vice-Chair. Having lost his mother to ALS in 2014, Patrick understands firsthand how the disease affects families. He brings this personal experience, along with professional expertise in government relations, communications and governance at public affairs consultancy Santis Health, where he is a Principal, to his leadership role on the Board.
Our entire Board is guided by the challenges and complexities of living with ALS, and its approach to governance is rooted in working together to improve the lives of people affected by ALS through support, advocacy and investment in research for a future without ALS.
We welcome Catherine, Richard and Lisa and look forward to working with them as members of our Board of Directors.