Jury Members

Jury Members

Chair: The Honourable Anne McLellan, OC
Alberta Institute for American Studies, University of Alberta; Academic Director and Distinguished Scholar in Residence, Institute for United States Policy Studies; LL.M, King's College, University of London

The Honourable A. Anne McLellan, P.C., O.C. joined Bennett Jones LLP in its Edmonton office July 4, 2006. Ms. McLellan provides strategic advice to the firm and its clients. Ms. McLellan serves on the Board of Directors of Nexen, Agrium, Cameco and the Edmonton Regional Airport Authority. She also sits on the boards of the Royal Alexandra Hospital Charitable Foundation and Habitat for Humanity Edmonton Society. Among her many community commitments, she is also involved with the Canadian Blood Services Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation Steering Committee. She is a member of the Premier's Council for Economic Strategy where she provides "guidance on actions the Alberta government can take to best position the province for the future."

On May 12, 2006 she was appointed Distinguished Scholar in Residence at the University of Alberta in the Alberta Institute for American Studies. In 2007 the University of Alberta awarded Ms. McLellan an honorary doctorate of laws degree and in July 2009 Ms. McLellan was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada.

Ms. McLellan served four terms as the Liberal Member of Parliament for Edmonton Centre from October 25, 1993 to January 23, 2006. She served as Deputy Prime Minister of Canada and the first Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness (December 2003 to January 2006), Minister of Health (January 2002 to December 2003), Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada (June 1997 to January 2002) and Minister of Natural Resources and Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians (November 1993 to June 1997).

She holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Law degree from Dalhousie University and a Master of Laws degree from King's College, University of London. Ms McLellan was admitted to the Bar of Nova Scotia in 1976.

Judith Bossé, Chief Public Health Officer

Dr. Bossé received her veterinary degree from the Faculté de médecine véterinaire, University of Montreal, followed by a Master of Science degree in clinical science from the University of Sherbrooke. After joining Agriculture Canada in the late 1980s as a research scientist, Dr. Bossé served in multiple policy analyst functions. She moved in 2000 to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), filling senior management responsibilities in which she implemented and optimised national programs on prevention and surveillance, and promoted research development on many national public health issues. In 2008, she assumed an advisory role to the president of the Université de Québec en Outaouais on health and life science academic programs. In May 2009, she joined the Public Health Agency of Canada as Associate Assistant Deputy Minister responsible for the Health Promotion and Chronic Diseases Branch. Throughout her career, her focus has been in fostering partnerships and alliances within and outside of governments for enhanced synergies to maximise results for Canadians.

Jennifer Coppens, Medical Student, University of Alberta

Jennifer Coppens is a third-year medical student at the University of Alberta. She completed her BSc at McGill University in Microbiology and Immunology.

Raisa Deber, Professor, Department of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto; Director, CIHR Team in Community Care and Health Human Resources

Raisa Deber, PhD (MIT), has lectured, mentored, published and consulted on health policy at local, provincial, national and international levels. Professor Deber's current research centres on Canadian health policy. Current projects, conducted with colleagues and students, include: implications of the distribution of health expenditures and public/private roles for financing and delivery of health services; examination of where nurses and other health professionals work and the factors associated with differential "stickiness" across sub-sectors; issues associated with the movement of care from hospitals to home and community; and approaches to accountability. She is the director of the CIHR Team in Community Care and Health Human Resources.

David Elton, President, Norlien Foundation and Max Bell Foundation

Dr. Elton is President of both the Norlien Foundation and the Max Bell Foundation. He is a Professor Emeritus of Political Science, University of Lethbridge and the past President and Director Emeritus of the Canada West Foundation, a public policy think tank. David is the co-founder and former Chair of Philanthropic Foundation Canada, and is a Director of the Arthur Child Foundation and the Alberta Centre for the Child, Family and Community Research.

Mark Hattori, Acting Assistant Deputy Minister, Program Quality and Standards, Alberta Children and Youth Services

Mark Hattori has over 20 years of experience in the field of services to children and families. In 2001, he was the Acting CEO of Diamond Willow Child and Family Services Authority (CFSA) and became CEO of the Central Alberta CFSA when it was formed in 2003. He was recently appointed Acting Assistant Deputy Minister of the Program Quality and Standards division of Alberta Children and Youth Services. Mr. Hattori has a degree in Social Work from the University of Calgary.

James Hees, Reporter, CBC Radio Edmonton

James Hees is an award winning Edmonton journalist. For the past 25 years his body of work has often focused on social issues. This year, his radio series "Million Dollar Babies" concentrated on the challenges of those with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder and the societal cost of failing to help them. The 10- part series provided insight into the difficulties faced by people with FASD in such areas as education, the justice system and employment. He also examined ways to deal with FASD and how to prevent it.

Malcolm King, Professor, Department of Medicine, University of Alberta; Scientific Director, CIHR Institute of Aboriginal Peoples' Health

Dr. Malcolm King is a health researcher at the University of Alberta and since 2001 has been the founding Principal Investigator of the Alberta ACADRE Network, a training program for Aboriginal health research funded by the CIHR Institute of Aboriginal Peoples' Health. A member of the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation (Ontario), Dr. King obtained his doctorate in polymer chemistry from McGill University in 1973. After an initial faculty appointment at McGill University, he moved to the University of Alberta in 1985, and was promoted to Professor in the Department of Medicine in 1990. In 2007, he was appointed Adjunct Professor in Public Health, where he coleads the development of an indigenous public health research training program.

In his career in pulmonary research, he has developed new approaches to treat mucus clearance dysfunction in cystic fibrosis and chronic obstructive lung disease, and is now working on addressing the issues in disease transmission by bioaerosols. He served as Chair of the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry Aboriginal Healthcare Careers Committee from 1993 to 2009; this training program has graduated more than 70 health professionals. Dr. King served as President of the Canadian Thoracic Society in 1999/2000, and from 2000 to 2004 was a member of the Governing Council of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Since January 2009, he has served as the Scientific Director of the CIHR Institute of Aboriginal Peoples' Health. He has been recognized for his achievements by the Alberta Lung Association (1999), the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation (1999), and the University of Alberta Board of Governors (2003).

Christine Loock, Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia; Developmental Pediatrician, Children's and Women's Health Centre of British Columbia

Dr. Christine Loock MD, FRCPC, is a developmental pediatrician at Children's and Women's Health Centre of British Columbia, including Sunny Hill Health Centre for Children and BC Children's Hospital. She is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia (UBC). Dr. Loock obtained her MD from Harvard in 1981 with subspecialty training in pediatrics at the University of Washington and UBC. She did fellowship training in Genetics at UBC and was a Fellow in Medical Education at the Harvard Macy Institute, Harvard Medical School in 1996.

Early in her training, she developed an interest in "Social Pediatrics," advocating for innovative approaches for health service delivery to vulnerable children and families. Her clinical and research work has been focused on children and youth with congenital conditions and developmental disorders, including Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD). She has been a co-investigator on numerous research studies on FAS and other drug effects on children and young adults, including the pioneering studies with Drs. Julie Conry and Diane Fast on identifying youth with FASD in the justice system.

In 2000 Dr. Loock was invited to sit on Health Canada's first National FAS Advisory Committee, and was subsequently appointed to its sub-committee on Diagnosis and Screening in October 2001. She is the co-author of the Canadian Medical Association's 2005 publication "Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder: Canadian Guidelines for Diagnosis." She was on the Board of Directors for the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse (CCSA) from 2000 to 2006. Her credentials as an expert witness on FAS have been accepted in the Provincial and Supreme Courts of British Columbia.

She has received many awards, academic, athletic and in teaching including the 2002 Outstanding Canadian Immigrant of the Year Award from the Canadian Bar Association, Immigration Lawyers Section for her work on FASD. In 1996 she earned the Southern Methodist University (SMU) Distinguished Alumni Award, followed in 2004 by the Silver Anniversary Mustang (SAM) Award for distinguished service 25 years after graduation. In 2005 she became an Honorary Alumna of the UBC Faculty of Medicine.

Rebecca Martell, Clinical Associate, Occupational Performance Analysis Unit (OPAU), Department of Occupational Therapy, University of Alberta

Of Indigenous ancestry, Ms. Martell is a member of Waterhen Lake First Nation. With a background in the field of Native Addictions, her work in the area of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder began with Dr. Jane Silvius in 1975. Ms. Martell continued her commitment to the prevention of FASD through her position as Executive Director of the Alberta Indian Health Care Commission (1981-1985), as well as a Board Member with A Centre for Women and Excel Society in the 1990s. In 2000, Ms. Martell was appointed to the National Advisory Committee on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and participated as a member of the NACFAS National Working Group: Reaching At-risk & Previously Un-reached Populations with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. Since that time, Ms. Martell has had the privilege of participating as a member of the Alberta Aboriginal Committee on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder.

As a Clinical Associate with the Occupational Performance Analysis Unit (OPAU), Department of Occupational Therapy, University of Alberta (1996 to present), Ms. Martell collaborates on a variety of community-based projects. These include Corrections to Community (C2C), a Fort Saskatchewan Correctional Centre program that supports and transitions Aboriginal female inmates to the community upon release; as well as the development of Corrections & Connections to Community (3C), a Fort Saskatchewan Correctional Centre-based FASD diagnostic clinic and transition program for male inmates. As an OPAU Clinician, Rebecca also provides sessional lectures focused on Cultural Reflection on Being, Doing and Feeling with Occupational Therapy students. Ms. Martell is a frequent sessional lecturer to a number of post-secondary programs at the University of Alberta, University of Wisconsin Eau Claire and Trent University Department of Indigenous Studies, as well as NorQuest College Practical Nurse Program, Keyano College Aboriginal Child & Family Services Program and Nechi Training, Research & Health Promotions Institute.

Edward Riley, Distinguished Professor, Psychology; Director, Center for Behavioral Teratology, San Diego State University

Edward P. Riley (Ph.D., 1974, Tulane University) is currently a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Psychology and the Director of the Center for Behavioral Teratology at San Diego State University. He has authored over 225 scientific papers and reviews and served as Chair of the U.S. National Task Force on FAS/ FAE from 2000-2004. He currently serves on the Expert Panel for the SAMHSA FASD Center for Excellence. He has served as President of the Research Society on Alcohol, the Fetal Alcohol Study Group, and the Behavioral Teratology Society. He is currently a Reviewing Editor and on the Editorial Board of Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research has served on several Editorial Boards. He has received numerous awards for his scholarship and service including the Research Society on Alcoholism Distinguished Researcher Award and the National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Research Recognition Award. His work on FASD has been continually funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism since 1978.

Marguerite Trussler, Chairperson, Alberta Liquor and Gaming Commission

The Honourable Marguerite Trussler was appointed Chairperson of the Board of the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission in 2007. Prior to that appointment she was a Justice of the Court of Queen's Bench for 20 years. While on the Court she served as the Chairperson of the Family Law Committee of the Court, as a member of the Editorial Board of the Canadian Bar Review and as President of the Canadian Chapter of the International Association of Women Judges. Although she heard a wide range of cases as a judge, her particular interest was the effects of divorce on children and what could be done to protect them. She has spoken internationally on this subject. She currently serves as Chairperson of the Provincial AIDS Advisory Committee and Chairperson of the Victoria School Foundation for the Arts.

Lee Ann Weaver-Tyrrell, Child Personal Care Advocate and Co-ordinator

Lee Ann Weaver-Tyrrell obtained her nursing qualifications at the Regina General Hospital in 1963. She completed her BSc in Nursing at the University of Alberta and taught pediatric nursing from 1965 to 1970. She returned to the University of Alberta to complete her law degree in 1981. She articled with the law firm of Milner and Steer and worked for the Attorney General Amicus Curiae program for two years.

In 1984, she became the Director of Child Welfare for the Yellowhead Tribal Council's child welfare program, the Yellowhead Tribal Services Agency. Her goal was to work with the five Treaty Six bands to develop an education and infrastructure for child welfare services for First Nation children. Following this, she was recruited by Alberta Family and Social Services for policy planning and contract management. She retired from this position and became Project Manager for the start up of a new biotechnology company, KMT Hepatech.

For many years, Lee Ann has been a legal guardian and co-ordinator of care for a friend with a developmental disability. She has served on the board of the Hope Foundation and is currently a board member for CASA (Child Adolescent and Family Mental Health) and the Board of the TD Canada Trust Friends of the Environment.

Lee Ann's long term interest in the welfare of children has been demonstrated by her nursing experience and legal practice that have focused on children.