Alumni Profiles
We are proud to have over 400 graduates in our network, in addition to the many graduates from our former MSc Health Services Planning and Administration. Together, our alumni stand out as health care leaders working across the province, Canada and the world.
Simon Rayek
External Communication Manager, ViiV Healthcare Canada
Simon Rayek
External Communication Manager, ViiV Healthcare Canada
Rayek says that the MHA program helped him understand the inner workings of healthcare systems and how to make changes within them.
Tanya Houghton
Senior Director, Health Care and Specialized Claims Services, WorkSafeBC
Tanya Houghton
Senior Director, Health Care and Specialized Claims Services, WorkSafeBC
Tanya Houghton says her role at WorkSafeBC is about finding value for workers in need of care and their employers who fund the compensation system.
Jesse Sales
Director of Health, Northern Health Authority
Jesse Sales
Director of Health – Northern Health Authority in British Columbia
Juggling the demands of work, study and travel, Sales valued the MHA’s course delivery options with its mix of online and in-person class sessions. Deepening his own understanding of Indigenous health, Sales encourages Indigenous students to join the MHA and to have more Indigenous voices influence the healthcare system.
Heath Robson
Officer Commanding Canadian Forces Health Services Training Centre
Heath Robson
Officer Commanding – Operations and Support Services at the Canadian Forces Health Services Training Centre
“I do have an economics degree, but thanks to the MHA I’m very passionate about health-care economics,” because health-care economics drive policy decisions and policy decisions drive health outcomes,” Heath says.
Melanie Stack
Lead, Human Resources Initiatives
Melanie Stack
Lead, Human Resources Initiatives
Melanie Stack decided to transition from frontline care to management and enrolled in the UBC’s MHA program. She credits the program for providing “valuable context to the field of health-care leadership, giving her experiences that she would not have had otherwise.”
Ikennah Browne
Thoracic Surgery Fellow
Dr. Ikennah Browne
Thoracic Surgery Fellow
“There are a few programs across North America that are similar, but I don’t think there’s any program that quite allows for the same level of flexibility to allow busy practising clinicians to maintain their practice.”
Pritma Dhillon Chattha
VP of HealthCare Innovation
Pritma Dhillon Chattha
VP of HealthCare Innovation
“It was important to me that every course have a healthcare focus, and UBC’s MHA provided this. With healthcare being such a vast and complex industry, I knew that I would never get bored and could never stop learning within it – it turns out, I was right!”
Marcus Blouw
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Marcus Blouw
Assistant Professor of Medicine
“The MHA cultivated both the broad knowledge base and the mindset required to serve as a leader in a variety of health care settings. Working with clinical teams, leading administrative groups, collaborating for research projects and serving as a board member for one of Winnipeg’s two tertiary care centres have all become part of a post-MHA weekly routine.”
Heather Bretschneider
Director, Workplace Mental Health at BC Provincial Government
Heather Bretschneider
Director, Workplace Mental Health at BC Provincial Government
“The UBC MHA program set me up to ask the right questions or ask hard questions that I might not have thought of before and thinking through things from a lot of different angles.”
Joanne Shum
Project Manager
Joanne Shum
Executive Healthcare Management Consultant
“I credit my fast-moving career to the UBC MHA program. It gave me the foundational knowledge I needed and the courage to ask the difficult questions about our health system while creating a safe space for dialogue.
Shanti Gidwani
National Senior Director
Shanti Gidwani
National Senior Director
“During my two years in the MHA, I literally applied what I learned the weekend before to my current job. It was a true translation of knowledge between my education and my day-to-day.”
Shawn Sangha
Healthcare Manager and Pharmacist
Shawn Sangha
Healthcare Manager and Pharmacist
“The strength of the program is in the diversity of students in the cohort.“
Jennifer Krempien
Program Manager, Inter Campus Operations
Jennifer Krempien
Program Manager
“I think what I gained from the MHA was exposure to a whole box of tools, a very deep and broad set of tools. I’m confident that I can draw on those tools to get me to a successful end.”
Baljit Singh
Manager, Clinical Operations, Fraser Health Authority
Baljit Singh
Manager, Clinical Operations, Fraser Health Authority
“I think the MHA gives you the skills to be a successful participant in the health-care system, no matter where you are in your journey”