The Association of Family Health Teams of Ontario (AFHTO) is thrilled to announce Jess Rogers as the new Chief Executive Officer, effective October 17. An accomplished leader, Jess has dedicated the majority of her career to primary care, believing it to be the foundation of a robust healthcare system.
Jess brings extensive experience in fostering partnerships and executing large-scale projects, grounded in her commitment to enhancing primary care. She served as Vice President of Programs, Research, and Public Affairs at the Lung Health Foundation, where she effectively addressed the needs of individuals living with lung disease while engaging diverse stakeholders across government, community, and health systems. This included overseeing the Primary Care Asthma and COPD Program (PCAP), implementing virtual programming for people living with COPD, executed federal and provincial advocacy activities and redesigned the Foundation’s National Research Program.
As a manager and director at the Centre for Effective Practice, her work included managing the development and implementation of interprofessional clinical protocols for academic Family Health Teams, lead for the Provincial Primary Care Low Back Pain Strategy, and lead for the development of the clinical tools and training to support the BETTER Project (primary prevention and screening for chronic disease and cancers).
Jess’s roles at the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer and the Guidelines Advisory Committee, previously a joint body of the Ontario Ministry of Health and Ontario Medical Association under the Physicians’ Services Agreement, further illustrate her dedication to advocating for high-quality care and building organizational capacity to ensure organizations and teams are set up to have real impact.
We extend our sincerest gratitude to Mike McMahon, who has served as Interim CEO since May, strengthening the organization and engaging with members, partners and stakeholders across Ontario. Under his skilled leadership, we developed a transformational strategic plan, which will be unveiled at our Annual General Meeting on October 24.
We assure our members that we have a solid transition plan in place. Our commitment remains steadfast in providing all Ontarians with access to equitable, high-quality, comprehensive, team-based care.
We eagerly anticipate this new chapter under Jess's leadership and look forward to the positive impact her passion and skills will bring to our members and the communities we serve.