Board of Directors
The Radiation Safety Institute of Canada is a self-governing organization. Overall authority and responsibility rest with its Board of Directors. The Directors are chosen for their good sense, practiced judgment and broad experience and are elected independently from the business, academic, legal, health care and other communities and from labour, industry and government. The Board of Directors is an independent body. It is also, by policy, a multi-partite body. The Board seeks and maintains representation from the three traditional sectors of industry, government and labour. To this traditional triumvirate is added a fourth group of independent, knowledgeable and experienced people who support the Institute’s mission
The Board
Reza Moridi – Chair of the Board
Dr. Moridi has a long history with the Institute. Before embarking on his political career in 2007, he served as the Institute’s Vice-President and Chief Scientist. In his 17 year tenure with the Institute, among many notable accomplishments, Dr. Moridi was instrumental in licensing the Institute’s National Laboratories in Saskatoon with the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission to provide Personal Alpha Dosimetry service to uranium miners. He left the Institute to represent the riding of Richmond Hill at the Ontario Legislature for 11 years. He also served as Minister of Research, Innovation and Science and Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities in Premier Wynne’s cabinet. Dr. Moridi is a Senior Fellow at the Massey College, University of Toronto and serves on several Boards, including Royal Canadian Institute for Science.
Dr. Moridi earned a BSc and MSc in Physics at Tehran University and MTech and PhD degrees at Brunel University London.
Tim Armstrong, QC, O.ONT, Emeritus Chair of the Board
Tim Armstrong, Q.C., has practiced law in the private and public sectors since 1960. He joined the Ontario public service in 1974 as Chair of the Ontario Labour Relations Board, served as Deputy Minister of Labour, from 1976 to 1986, was appointed Ontario’s Agent General in Tokyo for the Asia Pacific Region by Premier Peterson (1986-1990) was selected Deputy Minister of Industry, Trade and Technology by Bob Rae, 1991-1992,
Helen Burstyn, Cofounder of Burstyn Inc.
Helen Burstyn has enjoyed a 40-year career in government, business, academia, broadcasting and community service. Helen spent much of her professional career in government, serving as the Chair of the Ontario Trillium Foundation, Deputy Secretary of the Premier’s Council and Senior Advisor to the Premier. She is the Co-founder of Burstyn Inc., a communications and events management firm, Managing Director of Crescent Investment Partners, and a co-founder and board member of LEAP: The Pecaut Centre for Social Impact.
In 2017, Helen was appointed to the Order of Canada in recognition of her public and community service. She is the recipient of the YWCA Women of Distinction Award for Community Leadership and the Provincial Citizenship Award. Her book, Eleven Out of Ten: The Life and Work of David Pecaut, was published in 2012.
Arnold Cader, BComm, LLB, President, The Delphi Corporation
Since graduation from University of Toronto’s faculties of Business and Law, Arnie Cader has been involved with the development, structuring, restructuring, growth and management of a diverse range of private and public Canadian and International companies. Arnie brings years of legal, business and financial experience to any venture. He has advised businesses, trusts, estates, and non-profit organizations in fields as varied as automotive, steel, real estate and mental health and addiction. Arnie started practicing law with the Toronto firm of Goodmans in 1968, and served as managing partner of the firm from 1976 until the time he left in 1979.
Paula Campkin, MBA, CRSP, ICD.D Vice-President of Operations & Safety Centre of Excellence for Energy Safety Canada
As Vice-President of Operations & Safety Centre of Excellence for Energy Safety Canada, Paula provides strategic leadership to the development of safety programs, training and initiatives to reduce injury and illness in the Canadian oil & gas industry.
Prior to joining Energy Safety Canada in 2007, Paula gained valuable experience in the in the areas of human resources and environmental health & safety working in the oil and gas, construction and utilities sectors.
Paula holds a bachelor degree in psychology from the University of Calgary and an MBA from the Haskayne School of Business. She also holds certificates in occupational health & safety from the University of Alberta and project management from SAIT. Throughout her career, Paula holds the following professional designations; Chartered Professional in Human Resources Professional (CPHR), Canadian Registered Safety Professional (CRSP), Canadian Risk Management (CRM) and Institute of Corporate Directors Designation (ICD.D).
Paula is Co-Founder and Inaugural Chairperson of the Women in Occupational Health & Safety Society, an organization with the mission to foster the advancement of women working in health and safety in Canada and has served as a Governor on the Board of Canadian Registered Safety Professionals.
Sophie Dennis, retired Ontario Deputy Minister of Labour
Sophie is a strategic leader with over 40 years of experience in the fields of occupational health and safety, employment rights, policy and labour relations. She served as Ontario’s Deputy Minister of Labour overseeing the workplace environment in both the private and public sectors, ensuring adherence to labour standards. Prior to becoming Deputy Minister, Sophie was the Assistant Deputy Minister of Operations, where she led and had overall responsibility for one of the largest field operations with a staff compliment of over 1100, including 2 labs, field inspections and highly complex, high profile investigations.
Patrick Dillon, Business Manager and Secretary Treasurer, Building and Construction Trades’ Council of Ontario
Patrick J. Dillon is the Business Manager and Secretary Treasurer of the Provincial Building & Construction Trades Council of Ontario; a position he has held since January of 1997.
Patrick began his career in the construction industry as an apprentice electrician in 1961 and became a journeyperson in 1966. Following 18 years of experience in the construction industry, he was elected Business Manager of Hamilton Local 105 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW).
Buzz Hargrove, Executive Director of Centre for Labour Management Relations (CLMR) Ryerson University
Buzz Hargrove, OC, is the former National President of the Canadian Auto Workers trade union. He is currently serving as a Distinguished Visiting Professor at Ryerson University’s Ted Rogers School of Management.
Vic Pakalnis, retired President and CEO, MIRARCO, Mining Innovation.
Vic Pakalnis has a rich and diverse background in the mining industry, government and academic institutions. In 1972, he obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Mining Engineering and in 1976, obtained a Master’s Degree in Engineering, both from McGill University. In 1994, Vic garnered his wall with yet another Master’s Degree, this time in Business Administration from Queen’s University.
Before his entry in the Government of Ontario in 1978, Vic worked in various mines in the province: Falconbridge Nickel Mines, Kerr Addison Mines, Inco Mines Ltd. as well as the Iron Ore Company of Canada. Vic had a 32 year career in provincial government at the Ontario Ministry of Labour. He worked as the Chief Mining Engineer, Provincial Director of Mining, Director of Industrial Health & Safety, Regional Director of Eastern Ontario (which included corporate and program responsibilities for Health and Safety Programs and Employment Standards) and Operations Director for Human Resources (which required him to recruit and train over two hundred new inspectors). Amongst his successes, Vic was also one of the founding members and past Chair of the Eastern Ontario Regional Directors’ Council and the Provincial Interministerial Council and in 2010, was elected as president of the 88,000-member Ontario Public Service Quarter Century Club. Furthermore, he chaired the tripartite Provincial inquiry into Health and Safety in the Pulp and Paper industry and co-led the Early Wins Team within the Internal Administration Restructuring Project in 1995, a project that was charged with reducing the cost of administration within the Ontario Public Service by $300M.
Due to his experience and influence in the Canadian Mining Safety community, Vic has appeared on radio and television networks such as CNN, BNN, CBC and CTV as a commentator on health and safety issues, in particular the Chilean Mine Rescue Operation in 2010. He is the author of a number of papers on varying subjects such as: mine safety, public policy, training and organizational design.
Vic is a proud member of the Association of Professional Engineers of Ontario, the Society of Mining Engineers, the Canadian Institute for Mining and Metallurgy and the Institute of Public Administration of Canada. He serves on the Board of the Radiation Safety Institute of Canada as well as the Board of Minerva Canada, which promotes the introduction of occupational health and safety in schools.
In July 2012, he became President and CEO of MIRARCO Mining Innovation; a not-for profit corporation with 50 researchers and revenues of $4M. On November 1st 2016, he was appointed Associate VP at Laurentian Mining Innovation Technology, an umbrella organization composed of 225 researchers at Laurentian University. .
John Perquin, retired Assistant to the International Secretary-Treasurer, United Steel Workers
Labour Co-Chair of the Ontario Mining Health Safety and Prevention Review, January 2014 – June 2015. (MHSPR was set up to perform a thorough review of Ontario’s mining industry and to provide the Ontario Minister of Labour with a report containing recommendations to make the mining industry safer and healthier for its workforce.)
– Member of the Board of Directors of the Workers Health & Safety Centre, 1992 – 1996.
– Member of the Council of Ontario Sectoral Health & Safety Organizations, 1994 – 1996.
(COSHSO was an organization set up to oversee joint initiatives in health and safety training between labour and management organizations in Ontario.)
– Member of the Joint Steering Committee on Hazardous Substances and its Biomedical Surveillance Task Force, 1992 – 1996.
(The JSCHS and the BMSTF were committees appointed by the Ontario Minister of Labour with a directive to arrive at a consensus between labour and management in Ontario and to give advice to the Minister about: permissible exposure levels for regulated chemicals and substances; new regulations relating to workplace monitoring; new regulations relating to the provision of medical monitoring as well as the protocols for such monitoring programs.)
– Labour Co-Chair of Small Business Advisory Committee established through the Ontario Workplace Health and Safety Agency, 1993 – 1996.
(The SBAC was a joint labour and management committee appointed by the Ontario Minister of Labour to give advice to the Minister with respect to health and safety regulations for Ontario’s small business sector.)
– Alternate member of the Ontario Mining Legislative Review Committee, 1992 – 1996.
(The MLRC is a joint labour and management committee appointed by the Ontario Minister of Labour to give advice to the Minister with respect to health and safety regulations for the Ontario mining industry.)
– Member of Green Industry Ministerial Advisory Committee, 1993 – 1994.
(GIMAC was a tripartite committee appointed by the Ontario Minister of Environment and Energy to give advice on Green Industry Technology issues. Its report was published in November 1994.)
– Member of Ontario Premier’s Labour and Management Advisory Council Secretariat to study Workers’ Compensation Reform, 1993.
– Participated as a member in the Governor General’s Canadian Study Conference, June 1991.
(The GGCSC is a multi-partite structure established to provide opportunities for Canada’s potential future leaders to share occupational and life experiences and thought processes with each other, over a 21 day period of intense interaction in various regional settings throughout Canada.)
– Author and/or co-author and/or instructor of numerous worker education materials on occupational health and safety as well as other topics.
– Author and/or co-author of various briefs and submissions to government agencies.
– Negotiator in workplace contract negotiations.
– Representative of workers and families at various Public Tribunals and Coroner’s Inquests.
International:
– Canadian Delegate to the International Labour Organization meeting to develop an International Standard for Health and Safety in the Mines, June 1994.
– Canadian Delegate to the International Labour Organization reconvened meeting to complete the development of an International Standard for Health and Safety in the Mines, June 1995.
– Member of the Mine Safety and Health Research Advisory Committee, 1998 – 2003.
(MSHRAC is a Federal Advisory Committee that gives advice on mining safety and health research matters to the US Government through NIOSH – National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.)
Dave Shier, retired President, Canadian Nuclear Workers Council (CNWC)
Dave has worked in the electrical power industry in Canada for the past 50 years. He commenced his work in the Electrical Power Industry as a Generating Plant Operator in the sixties for Ontario Hydro. Progressed through the Operator classifications.
Fahad Siddiqui, Senior Associate, Norton Rose Fulbright LLP
Fahad Siddiqui practices commercial litigation. He acts in corporate, shareholder, contract, financial product and regulatory matters and appears in all levels of court. Fahad previously clerked at the Supreme Court of Canada, the Court of Appeal for Ontario, and the High Court of Delhi. He joined the firm after practicing in the securities litigation group at Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP in New York City and a litigation boutique in Toronto where he represented clients in the financial services, healthcare, technology, energy, food services, and infrastructure industries. Fahad has guest lectured on Appellate Advocacy at Osgoode Hall Law School and published in peer-reviewed academic journals.
His pro bono service includes cases heard by the Supreme Court of Canada and the Supreme Court of the United States and a one-year term as a director of a legal-aid clinic serving low-income Torontonians. Fahad is fluent in French and conversant in Hindi, Urdu, and Arabic.
Advisory Council
Leo W Gerard, LLD, Former International President, United Steelworkers
The Honourable Roy McMurtry, OC, O.Ont, QC, LSM Hull and Hull LLP
Ken Neumann, Canadian National Director, United Steelworkers
Maureen Shaw, President and CEO, Act Three Consulting
Management
Natalia Mozayani, President and CEO
An integral part of the Institute’s management team for over ten years, Ms Mozayani took on the leadership of the Institute in March 2020. Before joining the Institute, Ms Mozayani managed multi-disciplinary regional teams supporting European Commission Development Projects and held an appointment with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. She brings years of experience in project management, strong business management skills and a passion for building high performance teams where every member can thrive while achieving organizational goals. Ms Mozayani holds an MBA degree from the University of Leicester School of Business.
Brian Bjorndal, Director of the Fergal Nolan National Laboratories
Mr. Bjorndal brings over 20 years experience in radiation safety and occupational health and safety in industry, academia and research. Before joining the Institute, he held positions as Director, Workplace Safety and Environmental Protection with the University of Saskatchewan, and Manager Safety and Radiation with AREVA Resources.
Bruce Sylvester, CFO
Mr. Sylvester is an accomplished accountant and finance executive with over 45 years of senior management experience, including engagements as CFO for both not-for-profit and for-profit organizations. In addition to leading the financial operations of the Radiation Safety Institute of Canada, Mr, Sylvester is spearheading the organization’s administrative and operational transformation.
National Office/ Toronto
Lynn MacDonald, Training Manager and Liaison Scientist, BSc, BEd, MSc, OCT Scientist
Lynn MacDonald is the Manager of Training and Liaison Scientist at the Radiation Safety Institute of Canada. In these roles, she educates workers in ionizing radiation safety including the related science and legislation. She works as a part of the scientific team to design, edit, and prepare materials for educational and consulting services, review relevant materials to include on the company website, and answer enquiries received through the Institute’s free information service. Mrs. MacDonald comes to the Institute with an extensive teaching background. She has had experience in teaching and administration in the public school system in Prince Edward Island and Ontario, with 17 years of experience as a high school teacher, department head, and vice principal. Before this, she worked in adult education and web design. In 2009, she returned to graduate school at the University of Toronto to obtain her MSc in physics. After this, she completed additional graduate-level courses in biophysics at the University of Toronto. Her scientific training includes work in condensed matter physics and biophysics. Her experimental physics research projects were in the areas of scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) of liquid cultures, non-linear pattern formation, and cellular biology in micro-fluidic systems. She is highly computer literate and has learned to program in many computer languages. A believer in life-long learning, Mrs. MacDonald can relate well to training clients and their needs. Her strong scientific background and experience teaching to various learners allows her to translate technical subject matter into information usable to the trainee when they return to their workplace. Her skills as a professional teacher have been positively received by our course participants. Ms. MacDonald is a member of the Canadian Radiation Protection Association (CRPA), the Canadian Association of Radon Scientists and Technologists (CARST), and the Health Physics Society (HPS).
Athena Wang, Radiation Scientist
Athena Wang is a Radiation Scientist at the Radiation Safety Institute of Canada. She is responsible for reviewing and delivering the educational courses offered at RSIC, contributing to our scientific consulting services, and managing RSIC’s social media presence.
Ms. Wang comes from a background in science and education. She received a master’s degree in physics in the field of biophotonics investigating the propagation of laser through photonic crystals used as cancer detectors. After this project, she went on to complete a master’s degree in teaching with a focus on using narrative and mythology as science pedagogy. Somewhere along the way, she volunteered for the David Suzuki Foundation and helped found Rain Gardens United, an environmental non-profit, which had the goal of promoting and facilitating the installation of rain gardens to manage urban stormwater and creating habitats for native plants and pollinators. She also has classroom experience teaching elementary, secondary and post-secondary in both the public and private education systems.
Maria Costa, Coordinator, Administrative Services
Ms. Costa is the registrar for the Radiation Safety Institute of Canada’s training programs. She is the administrator at the Toronto office and is the coordinator of the Institute’s Health and Safety and Accessibility committees.
Fergal Nolan National Laboratories / Saskatoon
Octavian Mavrichi, Radiation Scientist
Mr. Mavrichi is responsible for data analysis, quality assurance and related research for all services offered by the laboratory. He also participates in delivering our training courses in Saskatoon.
Kaley Lowe , Laboratory Technologist
Ms. Lowe is responsible for all laboratory processing and work procedures related to the PAD Dosimetry service as well as instrument calibrations and maintenance/repairs at the National Laboratories.
Pam Lynn, Laboratory Assistant
Ms. Lynn performs a variety of lab related activities at our National Laboratory in Saskatoon. She is involved in the PAD Dosimetry Service and the Postal Quality Assurance program. Previously, Ms. Lynn worked as a research technician at the University of Saskatchewan for 15 years.
Seung Bang, Laboratory Assistant
Mr. Bang performs a variety of lab related activities in our National Laboratory in Saskatoon, SK.
Hilary Goddard, Office Administrator
Hilary is responsible for invoicing and Accounts Receivable duties at the National Laboratory.