Heather is a valued member of Waypoint’s leadership team having worked at Waypoint in a variety of different roles since 2016. She is currently the Executive Lead, Ontario Structured Psychotherapy Program and Director of Provincial Partnerships with Waypoint, providing leadership in provincial partnerships and relationship activities with government and sector stakeholders. Heather led the implementation and expansion of the Ontario Structured Psychotherapy Program for Waypoint working alongside the other provincial partners, and building the regional program through regional partnerships with primary care, community mental health services, family services, and Indigenous services.

She has also recently completed a secondment to McMaster University where she built a province-wide technical assistance centre, RISE, to support Ontario Health Teams. Prior to working with Waypoint, Heather was the Director of Knowledge Exchange at CAMH. In that role, Heather developed and led the Evidence Exchange Network, focused on developing a more evidence-informed mental health and addictions system. Additionally, Heather also helped build a program that supports implementation efforts by working with partners across the mental health and addictions system.

Heather is a transformational leader that brings a combination of skills in leadership, policy, research, implementation and knowledge exchange. With deep expertise in mental health and addictions, Heather is well-positioned to lead this portfolio with a focus on working with a range of external providers and networks to help advance care across the continuum for a range of populations served by Waypoint and their community partners/providers. 

“Heather is a great fit for this role with her knowledge and understanding of Waypoint and her broader expertise in growing partnerships and networks across the health care system,” notes Carol Lambie, Waypoint President and CEO.  “She will be an excellent lead for our regional and provincial partnership efforts. This new focus and division for Waypoint is an exciting change as we continue to respond to and move on from the pandemic, while staying focused on the goals set out in the Strategic Plan.”

An Associate Professor in the Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact, Faculty of Medicine at McMaster University, Heather completed her PhD in Health Policy from McMaster University in 2019. She has won a number of prestigious scholarships and awards for this work and has published her research in international scholarly journals. Additionally, Heather has her Master of Science in Biology/Psychology and a Bachelor of Science (Honours) from Queen’s University, as well as having completed several leadership and training courses, including LEADS in a Caring Environment Learning Series with colleagues at Waypoint and a Training Program Certificate in Ontario Indigenous Cultural Safety.