John has 25 years of experience as a Neonatologist, the first 10 as a clinician-researcher, the next 15 in different leadership roles, including medical director of several neonatal intensive care units, the Pediatric Home Nutrition Program for Northern Alberta, the neonatal initiative for Collaborative Practice and Quality Improvement and, Regional director of the Northern Alberta Neonatal Intensive Care Program. Under his leadership and with the support of a large team, the latter program integrated 115 neonatal beds and one follow-up clinic in 5 different hospitals under one functional umbrella. After Alberta, he also served for a few years as Regional Medical Director for Neonatology at Fraser Health in BC. He is a Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at the Universities of Alberta and BC, and Associate Faculty for the Master’s Program in Health Leadership at Royal Roads University in Victoria, BC. He served on many committees for regional, provincial and national organizations, including the Alberta Clinician Council, Faculty of Medicine at the University of Alberta, the Canadian Paediatric Society and, presently, as the President of the Canadian Society for Physician Executives.
John holds a PhD in Medical Sciences, a Master’s degree in Leadership Studies and has published >100 peer-reviewed papers, 20 book chapters and 140 abstracts. He has 20 years of medico-legal experience and has provided/continues to provide consulting services for many academic and health care organizations. Presently, he is the founding editor of the Canadian Journal of Physician Leadership and researches several aspects of physician leadership. John practices systems theory by living in a self-sustainable house and by exploring forest regeneration, while his wife grows year-round organic food.