Regional Leadership
The executive medical director and executive director roles act in partnership for the management of BC Cancer’s services and programs within each of its six
regional centres. This dyad partnership requires collaboration, flexibility, innovation and efficient and effective decision making to meet the changing needs of multiple stakeholders, including patients, families, staff and agency partners.
Executive directors oversee management and administration of operations for respective regional centres, and for the development, implementation and assessment of strategies, programs and services. They develop priorities that support the integration of community, regional and provincial patient-centred care and ensure that standards of care and quality are maintained across services. They also oversee resource requirements such as equipment, space, staff and supplies and plan, monitor and report on specific aspects of administrative and clinical services budgets.
Executive medical directors are responsible for comprehensive delivery and management of medical programs for BC Cancer’s regional centres, including quality, safety, professional practice, medical staff development and support. They establish a framework and infrastructure for program delivery and planning and allocate and manage medical resources in the region, anticipating future changes that will affect service delivery. They drive the planning and delivery of medical services, and develop effective partnerships that enable the best patient outcomes and experiences.
For details about the leadership team in your area, click the location below or call the appropriate administration office:
Ruby Gidda, Executive Director, BC Cancer – Abbotsford and Executive Director, Operations and Professional Practice (Nursing and Allied Health)
Ruby Gidda is the executive director of BC Cancer - Abbotsford and executive director of operations and professional practice (nursing and allied health) at BC Cancer.
Ruby has more than 21 years of experience in health care with a strong background in clinical operations. She has worked as a registered nurse in a variety of clinical settings, including surgical, medical, labour and delivery, home support, sexual health, community and population public health. The leadership positions Ruby has held include portfolios in home support, public health, professional practice leader, and oncology. Ruby first came to BC Cancer – Abbotsford in 2017, and held the positions of clinical manager and regional nursing lead, and then transitioned into the senior practice leader role in 2018. Shortly thereafter Ruby stepped into the acting executive director and took on the interim professional practice nursing director role in early 2020. In addition to strategic and operational planning, Ruby has a passion for education and has held a multitude of teaching roles.
Ruby holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Victoria, and a Masters of Education from Simon Fraser University. Ruby also holds certification in nursing practice of Contraceptive Management and Sexually Transmitted Infections. Ruby is pursuing further education at Queen’s University and is enrolled in the PhD program in Health Quality. Ruby’s ongoing professional and academic commitment is an asset to the organization.
When not working at BC Cancer, Ruby is a part-time instructor at her alma mater BCIT – a position she has maintained for nearly twelve years, and works as clinic nurse for Options for Sexual Health in Abbotsford.
Dr. Ursula Lee, Executive Medical Director, BC Cancer – Abbotsford
Dr. Ursula Lee is the executive medical director at BC Cancer – Abbotsford, medical oncologist and executive medical director at BC Cancer – Surrey, and clinical associate professor at the University of British Columbia. She obtained her medical degree from the University of British Columbia and completed her training in Internal Medicine and Medical Oncology at the University of British Columbia and BC Cancer. Dr. Lee has a Masters of Education and has held a number of leadership positions, including department head for medical oncology at BC Cancer – Surrey, division head of oncology for Fraser Health, and has co-chaired the annual BC Cancer conference for many years. Her clinical and research interests include gastrointestinal and gynecologic malignancies, sarcomas and quality improvement.
John Larmet, Executive Director, BC Cancer – Kelowna (Sindi Ahluwalia Hawkins Centre)
John Larmet holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Nursing from the University of Saskatchewan. He has worked in a variety of clinical settings, including child, adolescent, adult and forensic psychiatry, trauma and plastics surgery and burn units. He has broad operational leadership experience spanning almost 15 years leading various departments, including clinical, surgical, emergency and ambulatory care units in Saskatchewan and British Columbia. His areas of interest are operational planning and delivery, emergency management, quality improvement, process design, clinical research and patient and family experience. Mr. Larmet has participated in various collaborative research projects through the University of British Columbia Sauder School of Business, Operations Research, Health Quality Council of Saskatchewan – Provincial Breast Health initiative and the Saskatchewan Provincial Emergency Department Patient Experience survey, Mercuri Research group, with the School of Public Health, University of Saskatchewan. He is also a member of the Canadian College of Health Leaders, currently completing his Certified Health Executive designation.
Dr. Ross Halperin, Executive Medical Director, BC Cancer – Kelowna (Sindi Ahluwalia Hawkins Centre)
Dr. Ross Halperin, FRCPC, obtained his MD at the University of Alberta, completing his Radiation Oncology residency at the Cross Cancer Institute (CCI) in Edmonton, Alberta. After residency, he did a fellowship in lung cancer three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3DCRT) at Washington University Mallinckrodt institute. Post fellowship, he joined the Radiation Oncology department at CCI in Edmonton, subsequently moving to Kelowna in 2003 to join BC Cancer – Kelowna’s Radiation Oncology department where he commenced its prostate brachytherapy program. Dr. Halperin has served as regional professional practice leader of radiation oncology at BC Cancer – Kelowna as well as interim vice president for radiation therapy, functional imaging, surgical and oral oncology at BC Cancer. He is a past president of the Canadian Association of Radiation Oncology and is a board member of the Canadian Radiation Oncology Foundation.
John Larmet, Executive Director, BC Cancer – Prince George (Centre for the North)
John Larmet holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Nursing from the University of Saskatchewan. He has worked in a variety of clinical settings, including child, adolescent, adult and forensic psychiatry, trauma and plastics surgery and burn units. He has broad operational leadership experience spanning almost 15 years leading various departments, including clinical, surgical, emergency and ambulatory care units in Saskatchewan and British Columbia. His areas of interest are operational planning and delivery, emergency management, quality improvement, process design, clinical research and patient and family experience. Mr. Larmet has participated in various collaborative research projects through the University of British Columbia Sauder School of Business, Operations Research, Health Quality Council of Saskatchewan – Provincial Breast Health initiative and the Saskatchewan Provincial Emergency Department Patient Experience survey, Mercuri Research group, with the School of Public Health, University of Saskatchewan. He is also a member of the Canadian College of Health Leaders, currently completing his Certified Health Executive designation.
Dr. Stacy Miller, Executive Medical Director, BC Cancer – Prince George (Centre for the North)
Dr. Stacy Miller is a radiation oncologist and former physician leader at BC Cancer – Prince George (Centre for the North). As a physician leader in the North, she has focused on the BC Cancer's vision to bring cancer care closer to home, including development of Telehealth systems to support this work. Dr. Miller is originally from the west coast and moved to Prince George in 2012 for the opening of BC Cancer – Prince George (Centre for the North). She trained at the University of British Columbia with a residency at BC Cancer and a subsequent international fellowship in Sydney, Australia. Clinically, she is involved in the treatment of several types of cancer with a special interest in genitourinary and lymphoid malignancies as well as brachytherapy and rapid access to palliative radiotherapy.
Cherie Taylor, Executive Director, BC Cancer – Surrey
Cherie Taylor holds a Masters of Social Work and an undergraduate degree from University of Victoria. She came to BC Cancer from Fraser Health with a strong background in clinical operations, including inpatient and outpatient oncology with many years of leadership experience helping to advance clinical care, service development, redevelopment opportunities and quality improvement. Ms. Taylor has more than 27 years of combined acute and community experience leading many successful operational and project initiatives. She held several leadership roles at Fraser Health, including director of Surrey Memorial Hospital Medicine Program, director of Ambulatory Medicine Outpatient Clinics at Jim Pattison Outpatient Care and Surgical Centre, and director of clinical operations for Ridge Meadows Hospital and Community. She takes pride in building strong, collaborative partnerships and linkages between teams and stakeholders with resulting improvements for patient and family-centred care.
Dr. Ursula Lee, Executive Medical Director, BC Cancer – Surrey
Dr. Ursula Lee is a medical oncologist and executive medical director at BC Cancer – Surrey, interim executive medical director at BC Cancer – Abbotsford, and clinical associate professor at the University of British Columbia. She obtained her medical degree from the University of British Columbia and completed her training in Internal Medicine and Medical Oncology at the University of British Columbia and BC Cancer. Dr. Lee has a Masters of Education and has held a number of leadership positions, including department head for medical oncology at BC Cancer – Surrey, division head of oncology for Fraser Health, and has co-chaired the annual BC Cancer conference for many years. Her clinical and research interests include gastrointestinal and gynecologic malignancies, sarcomas and quality improvement.
Susan Schroeder, Executive Director, BC Cancer – Vancouver
Susan Schroeder is the executive director of BC Cancer – Vancouver. She began her 22-year leadership journey as a program manager at Sunny Hill Health Centre using a passionate, engaging approach and keeping patients and families at the centre of her work. At the Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA) Quality Department, she led and implemented accreditation at five different PHSA sites, guided innumerable quality and Six Sigma improvement projects and led countless patient safety reviews. In her directorship at BC Centre for Disease Control, she demonstrated overall system improvement in both quality and operations in provincial programs such as BC TB Services, Chee Mamuk Program and National Collaborating Centre for Environmental Health. Susan was recently the senior director of operations at BC Children's Hospital where she focused on building infrastructure to better support pediatric medical and surgical specialized services, supporting improved models of care, interdisciplinary teams, patient flow and workplace culture.
Susan also previously held a strategic senior director role at BC Cancer in the supportive care & Quality Safety portfolio. Accomplishments included co-lead in the advocacy and development of the Late Effects, Assessment and Follow-Up Clinic, the implementation of speech-language pathologist and nurse practitioner survivorship roles and supporting the development of education and training programs for advance care planning. She believes in working innovatively and collaboratively to provide and improve patient-centred care.
Dr. Dan Renouf, Executive Medical Director, BC Cancer
– Vancouver
Dr. Dan Renouf is the executive medical director and a medical oncologist at BC Cancer - Vancouver. He received his Doctor of Medicine from the University of Alberta and completed his internal medicine and medical oncology training at the University of British Columbia and BC Cancer. He undertook further training in early drug development and gastrointestinal oncology at Princess Margaret Hospital and the University of Toronto, and obtained a Masters of Public Health from Harvard University.
Kelly Nystedt, Executive Director, BC Cancer – Victoria
Kelly Nystedt has an Honours Bachelor of Science from the University of Toronto and completed Radiation Therapy training at Hamilton Regional Cancer Centre. She is the recipient of the L.J. Cartwright Award and Joan Beaverstock Radiation Therapy Student Essay Award, Certificate of Merit, for her graduating class. She also holds a post graduate Certification in Adult and Continuing Education at University of Victoria. Kelly moved to B.C. as a new graduate in 1992 and has practiced her entire career within BC Cancer – Victoria. Starting as a clinical radiation therapist, she transitioned through progressive leadership positions, including dosimetrist, radiation therapy educator, clinical instructor, director of clinical operations for radiation therapy, regional director and now executive director, BC Cancer – Victoria. She has been an active advocate for her provincial and national professional associations: British Columbia Association of Medical Radiation Technologists and Canadian Association of Medical Radiation Technologists (CAMRT), respectively serving two full terms (six years) as director for BC and two years as finance director for CAMRT. She is currently participating in the Canadian College of Health Leaders Mentorship Program.
Dr. Jason Hart, Executive Medical Director, BC Cancer – Victoria
Dr. Jason Hart is a medical oncologist at BC Cancer – Victoria. He trained in Hematology and Medical Oncology in Edmonton, Alberta, before joining the Medical Oncology team at BC Cancer – Victoria in 2005. He was also appointed the department head of medical oncology in Victoria, in January 2016. He is currently a clinical associate professor with the Department of Medicine at the University of British Columbia, and at the University of Victoria. Areas of clinical practice and research interests include benign and malignant hematology, as well as sarcoma. He has an interest in pharmacoeconomics, and he currently serves with the pan-Canadian Oncology Drug Review (pCODR), as a clinical guidance panel member and review leader.
