The Health Cities Team
Our team includes a small group of highly skilled professionals with extensive backgrounds in healthcare and business.
CEO
Reg Joseph was appointed as the CEO of Health Cities in February 2018. He has 20 years’ experience spanning the health, technology and investment sectors. At Health Cities, Reg is focused on developing new pathways for healthcare delivery to drive better health outcomes and economic growth for our region.
Reg has served in a wide variety of roles including as an analyst with Boston-based Leerink Swann & Co. and managed a global business unit at US-based Invitrogen Corporation (now Thermo Fisher). Reg has founded and led local health technology companies and most recently, he served as the Vice President of Health at Alberta Innovates managing outgoing investments from the Heritage Fund.
In addition to serving on multiple boards of health technology companies, Reg currently serves as Chair of the Board of BioTalent Canada and on the MacEwan University Board of Governors. Reg has a B.Sc. in Physiology and an MBA in Finance.
Vice President, Strategy
Lisa joined Health Cities in March 2018 and played a key role in establishing the organization as a legal entity. With almost 20 years’ experience in not-for-profit health administration, Lisa brings with her a wealth of expertise in the areas of finance, human resources, and operations. Using her unique skillset, Lisa continues to focus on transforming Health Cities into an invaluable resource for the health innovation ecosystem.
In addition to her role at Health Cities, Lisa currently serves as Board Chair on the Board of Autism Edmonton. Supporting the Autism community is an area that Lisa is deeply passionate about. Prior to moving to Edmonton in 2017, Lisa served for 14 years as Business & Administrative Manager of the St.Amant Autism Programs in Winnipeg.
Outside of work, Lisa’s inner daredevil surfaces and you can often find her engaging in adrenaline pumping activities like ziplining, skydiving, and bungee jumping. Lisa also loves to travel the world to experience new cultures firsthand. When she is not busy planning her next adventure, she loves to spend time with her two dogs, Baker and Bailey.
Executive Assistant, Board Support
Rebecca joined the Health Cities team as the Executive Assistant in 2018. She has over 20 years’ experience in a variety of health-related administrative roles and holds an Executive Assistant diploma from Saskatoon Business College. Prior to joining Health Cities, Rebecca spent much of her career at DynaLIFE in a variety of support roles including Medical Secretary, Administrative Assistant, Senior Executive Assistant and Executive Assistant to the CEO. Rebecca took a brief pause in her career when her children were born where she refined her time management and organizational skills.
At Health Cities, Rebecca utilizes her extensive experience with board relations, stakeholder communications, complex calendar management and expert Microsoft Office skills to assist the Health Cities team to achieve their objectives in developing new models of care to drive better health outcomes and economic growth in the health sector.
In her personal life, Rebecca enjoys spending time with her husband, 2 children and their bulldogs at their lake property year-round.
Manager, Stakeholder Engagement
Cassandra joined the Health Cities Team in November of 2021. She has been in the non-profit sector for six years and has worked with value-added agrifood entrepreneurs, ran a business mentorship program, and helped facilitate a merger between two non-profits. Most recently, she led the Rural Health & Wellness Initiative with the Rural Development Network and managed projects related to age-friendly communities and was successful in achieving $600K to implement dementia-friendly initiatives across rural Alberta.
Cassandra has a varied background with a B.Sc. in Biology and Agriculture from the University of Alberta and for a brief period she was at NAIT for Respiratory Therapy, before gravitating towards non-profits. Cassandra volunteered with Pilgrim’s Hospice through the No One Dies Alone Program and with her education, volunteering, and work/personal experience, she recognized that there are many opportunities to improve health especially in community and preventative care.
You can often find Cassandra cycling through Edmonton’s amazing river valley trails, reading and writing fiction (ask her about her favourite novels), learning different fibre skills, and hanging out with friends and family.
The Health Cities Board
Our Board provides governance and strategic oversight and is accountable for all actions and activities related to Health Cities.
To contact any of our board members, please email board@healthcities.ca
Board Chair
Jason is a Certified Management Accountant, a graduate of the Queens Executive Program and a member of the Institute of Corporate Directors. Jason works with an ownership board, including OMERS and Laboratory Corporation of America (publicly traded.) With a decade of experience at the executive level his background includes roles from CFO to Government Relations. Although his professional background is financial, he is regarded for his transparent and accountable leadership style, as a creator and driver of innovation and strategy. Jason participates in various bio‐tech related industry groups, works with Economic Development and participates on various community committees. Jason serves on the boards of Little Warriors, Bissell Centre, and Viewics, a US health analytics company.
On a personal level, Jason lives in St. Albert with a big family that includes six active children. In between work and kids he is an active outdoorsman with passions from sailing to skiing, motorbikes to mountains and loves to spend time with his family in the back country or behind the boat at their cabin.
Vice Chair
Dr. Randy Yatscoff is the former Vice-President of Business Development for TEC Edmonton, a business service provider and incubator. Prior to joining TEC Edmonton, Randy was CEO and President of the drug development company Isotechnika, raising over $200M in equity financing. He has over ten years’ experience as a biotech executive. Randy was the national recipient of the 2016 Startup Canada Adam Chowaniec Lifetime Achievement Award. In an earlier lifetime, Dr. Yatscoff was an accomplished academic, a full professor and researcher at several Canadian universities. In total, he holds more than 20 patents.
Director
Mel Wong is a co-founder and principal of Synergia Associates, a unique consulting organization that is composed of former government assistant deputy ministers and vice presidents from industry.
From August 2015 to December 2019, Mr. Wong served as President and CEO of BioAlberta, bringing a wealth of government management experience and an intimate knowledge of life sciences to the position, as well as an extensive network of international, intergovernmental and industry relationships.
Prior to his tenure at BioAlberta, he was Assistant Deputy Minister (ADM) of Advanced Technology Industries within the Ministry of Innovation and Advanced Education. His responsibilities included advancing the government’s innovation agenda supporting technology commercialization, technology adoption, and development of technology industries. After a 10-year tenure as ADM, Mr. Wong retired from the Ministry in June 2015. Mr. Wong joined Alberta Treasury in 1979 as an economist. His career path led him to senior advisory and management positions in the Government of Alberta, including responsibilities for developing manufacturing and high technology industries. Throughout his career, Mr. Wong has also taught economics, international marketing, international business and multinational finance at various post-secondary institutions.
Born in Southern Alberta, Mel Wong attended the University of Lethbridge, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and a Management Development Certificate. He is also a graduate of the University of British Columbia’s Executive Management program. Prior to joining the Government of Alberta, Mr. Wong worked in a family-owned restaurant business, a building-products manufacturing company, the Federal Business Development Bank and the Anti-dumping and Countervail Division of Revenue Canada. Mr. Wong and his wife, Carma, have three daughters and four grandchildren.
Vice President of Government,
Alberta Blue Cross
Ms. Dianne Balon is an executive with over 35 years of experience in healthcare and healthcare benefits related industries. Ms. Balon is currently the Vice President of Government with Alberta Blue Cross and fills various roles within the company including the past Chair of the Alberta Blue Cross Executive Committee and Co-Executive Lead of the Alberta Blue Cross’ Women’s Initiative. Focused on delivering quality results coupled with strong leadership, not only for her organization but for her community, Ms. Balon has recently finished her last term on the Red Deer College Board of Governors, and is currently serving on the Board of Governors for Compassion House Foundation as the Vice Chair of the Board and Chair of the Governance Committee. She is also a member of the Edmonton Glenora Rotary Club, a member of the Lois Hole Hospital Women’s Society since its inception and serving on their Executive Steering Committee, and a past cabinet member of the Alberta Capital Region United Way, just to name a few. Ms. Balon is a mentor including a formal role with the future leaders within Alberta Blue Cross and outside the company. In addition to her formal education, Ms. Balon has completed her Executive Business Management Program from Queen’s University and the Advanced Executive Management Program from the Banff School of Advanced Management. Ms. Balon has also recently completed the Women In Leadership Certificate through Cornell University with a keen interest in understanding today’s changing environment with a global perspective.
In addition to her work, Ms. Balon is very proud of her two grown daughters and their husbands, who are all very successful business people with growing families. She is a also a very proud grandmother of three amazing young grandchildren with another on the way, and enjoys spending time making new memories with her family. She is also a strong believer and supporter of physical and mental wellness.
Retired from the Public Service of Canada after nearly 36 years in July, 2019. I have extensive experience leading in a complex environment and working with senior leaders in government, the private sector and academia. Highlights include:
Education & Training
Awards & Recognition
Personal
Vice President,
Thin Air Labs Fund I
Entrepreneur, former elite athlete, co-founder of Branch Out Neurological Foundation and Vice President of Thin Air Labs Fund I. Crystal has a range of experience that provides unique insight into investing in the health care space for significant human impact and outsized returns on investment.
She has a nationwide network of public, private, governmental, and charitable leaders. Her experience, network and competitive spirit allow her to bring solutions to ventures that accelerate their growth. As the co-founder of Branch Out Neurological Foundation she and her team have raised over $4 million for neurological research in universities across Canada.
Executive Director,
Edmonton Downtown Business Association
Puneeta McBryan is the Executive Director of the Edmonton Downtown Business Association, a role she took on in 2020 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic’s devastating impacts on downtowns across the globe. As the lead connector and ‘chief optimist’ for Edmonton’s Downtown, she is working with all orders of government, the private sector, and the arts & culture and non-profit sectors to secure and restore downtown vibrancy and economic prosperity for her community. Her work has led to her recognition as one of Edify Edmonton’s Top 40 Under 40 in 2021, IABC Edmonton’s 2021 Inspired Leader of the Year, and most recently as the recipient of the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce’s 2022 Community Impact award. Previously, Puneeta was an industry leader in the field of marketing, branding, and communications, where she built a reputation as a sought-after strategist and consultant working on behalf of pubic and private sector clients across Alberta. Most recently, she was the Director of Client Services at ZGM Modern Marketing Partners. She previously served as Board Chair & President of the Advertising Club of Edmonton and is currently a member of the Board of Directors for the Alberta 2030 Bid for the Commonwealth Games. Puneeta is also a proud mom and a two-time cancer survivor.
Senior Manager,
Deloitte Canada
Badeia is a disruptive tech enthusiast, innovative strategist, and change champion who seeks to improve user/patient experience in healthcare and life sciences industries to drive business growth, improve patient outcomes and increase access to care. With over a decade of experience, Badeia is a trusted advisor and strategist for both private and public sector clients—recognized as relationship builder who delivers forward-thinking solutions and fosters impact and people focused strategies. She has brought an entrepreneurial spirit and passion to support vulnerable populations by addressing complex healthcare and life sciences transformation initiatives —globally and in her hometown of Edmonton.
Leading healthcare, life sciences, technology and innovation across the region at Deloitte, Badeia specializes in developing sustainable programs to address the complexities and dynamics of the health ecosystem as it relates to stakeholder engagement, digital health, innovation, data, health technologies and the critical need to improve patient access and care. Badeia is a trusted advisor and strategist for both private and public sector clients.
Badeia has addressed complex global challenges at such forums as the Singularity University Exponential Medicine Summit, WHO’s World Health Assembly, and the Medical Informatics Europe Conference. Her experience leading a complex and dynamic health information system implementation in one of Kenya’s largest slums, Kibera, revealed the importance of looking beyond technology to focus on the human and process aspects of transformation programs.
Badeia holds a bilingual (French) BComm, a Master in Science focused inHealth Informatics from the University of Alberta, andis a Chartered Professional in Human Resources (CPHR). She is a member of the National Institute of Medical Informatics, American Medical Informatics Association and an academic reviewer for the Journal of American Medical Informatics Association.
Chief Business Officer,
Entos
Jason has over 20 years of financial and transactional expertise in the life science and healthcare industry and is currently the Chief Business Officer of Entos Pharmaceuticals. Before joining Entos, Mr. Ding served as a Partner and Senior Managing Director in Deloitte’s investment banking practice and as the National Life Sciences & Healthcare Transactions Leader. He has worked with start-ups, large public companies, and global consulting companies and has been an investor and a Board member for numerous technology organizations. Jason is a Fellow of the Chartered Professional Accountants of Alberta (FCPA, FCA), a Chartered Business Valuator (CBV), and ICD.D designation with the University of Toronto Rotman program and Institute of Corporate Directors. He received his BSc. and BCom. from the University of Alberta.
Prior to working in the financial industry, Jason worked as a science reporter intern for CBC radio, an Ombudsman for the University of Alberta, and in a variety of research labs.
Jason has served as a Board member of the BioAlberta, Telus World of Science Edmonton, Senator at the University of Alberta, and a Trustee and Vice-Chair on the Edmonton Public Library Board. Jason received Merit Awards from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Alberta in 2010 and 2017. He was also part of the class of Top 40 under 40 Edmonton in 2016.
The Health Cities Industry Advisory Committee
The Industry Advisory Committee is to provide insight and leadership to the Health Cities Board (and thereby management).
Professor and Chair, Department of Biomedical Engineering Faculties of Engineering and Medicine & Dentistry
President, Associated Health Systems Inc.
Vice President – Partner, Associated Health Systems, Inc.
Director (and founding partner), priMED Medical Products Inc.
CEO , Mountain Integrated Medical Devices
President and CEO, Brass Dome Ventures, Ltd.
Manager, Healthcare Technology Strategy and Architecture, Deloitte