Health Innovation Summit

Dr. Marlene Smadu, RN, EdD, LLD (h.c.) has been a registered nurse for over 40 years, serving in a variety of leadership roles in health, nursing and education during her career.  She created and served in the role of Vice-President of Quality and Transformation, Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada 2012-2016.  Prior to that she served as the Associate Dean, Southern Saskatchewan Campus and International Student Affairs for the College of Nursing, University of Saskatchewan, Assistant Deputy Minister of Health and Principal Nursing Advisor for the government of Saskatchewan, and Education Consultant and Executive Director at the Saskatchewan Registered Nurses Association.   She has practiced nursing in all domains (clinical, education, administration, research and policy) and in a variety of settings in Canada, Papua New Guinea, and Qatar.  

Tracy Zambory is a Registered Nurse and President of the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses (SUN); the union representing more than 10,000 Registered Nurses, Registered Psychiatric Nurses and Registered Nurse (Nurse Practitioner)s in the province of Saskatchewan.

With 27 years of experience in providing direct care to long term care patients, Tracy has leveraged her passion for the nursing profession and unwavering commitment to improving safe patient care to become one of Saskatchewan's foremost health activists.

Frequently featured in the local and national media, Tracy is a recognized and respected leader in advocating for an expanded and strengthened universal health care system that is equally accessible to all Canadians regardless of their ability to pay. Her outspoken dedication to social justice issues and intimate knowledge of Saskatchewan's health system have firmly established her as a go-to resource for provincial media, government and healthcare stakeholders.

Recognizing the importance of being a responsible and engaged global citizen, and that Canada's health care challenges are not unique, Tracy has prioritized knowledge-sharing with her international nursing counterparts. In her role as union president, she has attended International Council of Nursing (ICN) Biennium Conferences in Spain and Korea, where she had the opportunity to lead dialogue on issues such as the benefits of a national pharmacare plan as well as the impacts of privatization in health. She also attended a study tour to examine models of care being implemented in the New Zealand health system.

Tracy also represents her members as the current Vice President of the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour (SFL) and as an Officer on the National Executive Board of the Canadian Federation of Nurses' Unions (CFNU).

Born and raised in the town of Stoughton, Saskatchewan, Tracy still lives there with her husband, Sam, and their dog, Danga, where she is known for her community service, and her love of gardening and baking.

Mr. Bell is currently Chief Operating Officer and Executive VP Assets for the PIC Group of Companies. Mr. Bell serves as Portfolio Manager for Round Table Management, the Kreos Aviation Group of companies, PIC Flight Services, as well as several other investments and projects for PIC Group.  Mr. Bell has an extensive background in business management, people management, marketing, sales, and business analysis.  Mr. Bell has developed this wide range of skills having worked with a number of Fortune 100 companies over the 15 years prior to joining the PIC Group of Companies in March 2008.  

Chief Cadmus Delorme is a citizen of Cowessess First Nation. Graduating from Cowessess Community Education Centre, Chief Delorme moved away from Cowessess to pursue experience and higher learning. After achieving a Undergrad Degree at the First Nations University of Canada and a Masters Degree at the Johnson Shoyama School of Public Policy, Chief Delorme moved home and became Chief. 

david Gregory is Professor and Founding Dean of the Faculty of Nursing, University of Regina. His research interests include nursing education, Indigenous health, and qualitative methodology.

Mr. Sanj Singh has over 20 years of successful leadership experience in business, biotech and pharmaceutical life science industries. Sanj’s philosophy is to add value to someone, an organization and/or cause every day.

Currently serves as CEO of Temple Therapeutics BV, a Dutch clinical stage development company. Previously, he co-founded and served as Chairman, President & CEO at AdeTherapeutics Inc.

Throughout his career, Sanj has assembled and led a team of experts and thought leaders focused on growth opportunities in hospital and acute care. Key objectives include successful identification of strategic commercial partnerships for late stage Phase II/III development programs, financing, supply chain, development partnerships and expanding portfolio opportunities. Prior to AdeTherapeutics, from 1999 to 2005, Sanj executed several high-value asset and technology transactions. Sanj has been involved in four start-ups which led to private sale exits.

He is currently in his third year on the Board of Directors for BioteCanada. He also is the Vice Chair of the Emerging Companies Advisory Board to BioteCanada. He served three consecutive two year terms on the Board of Directors at the Greater Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce from 2010 to 2017. While there he co-founded and co-chaired the Health Opportunities Committee, a role he is still active in building two highly successful, fully sponsored and nationally recognized events.

Sanj was a professor of entrepreneurship and technology management at the University of Saskatchewan between the years of 2004-2011. He was Chair of the MBA bioTechnology management program and a Wilson Scholar of Entrepreneurship. He built the technology and entrepreneurship curriculum, and served as the inaugural director and led the growth of the University’s entrepreneurship centre (Wilson Centre for Entrepreneurial Excellence), churning out several successful start-ups which are highly profitable today. Sanj was responsible for conceiving and implementing the “Dragon’s Den Pitch Party”, an annual fund raiser event attracting over 800 people. During his tenure as Director (from 2008-2011) he created the “i3 Idea Challenge” which became a top 5 business plan competition in North America. Sanj attracted a sponsorship prize package worth $300,000, which was awarded to aspiring young students looking to launch their businesses.

Sanj attended The University of Saskatchewan Edwards School of Business, and received undergraduate and graduate degrees in Finance, Marketing and International Business and Biotechnology, respectively. He is married to his spouse, Theresa and they have four adult children, all serving or educating within health care.

Sanj and his wife are both musicians which brought them together. He enjoys the arts, performing arts, culture and believes that these are essential ingredients to a vibrant life.

Victor Thomas was born and raised in Saskatchewan and has been heavily involved in the community. Over the past 15 years he has held various leadership roles at the University of Regina (Board of Governor), Canadian Red Cross in Saskatchewan (Cabinet Chair), Regina & District Chamber of Commerce (Chair) and SaskEnergy (Vice-Chair). 

Bruce leads KPMG Canada's Internal Audit, Risk and Compliance Advisory Services and KPMG's Advisory Services in Saskatchewan. He has over 30 years of experience providing assurance and risk-based business advisory services to the public sector, publicly-traded companies and private organizations. He is an experienced project manager and has facilitated dozens of consultative sessions with the public, senior management, boards and audit committees to support business process improvement, risk assessment and risk management projects including managing diverse teams in multiple locations. Bruce serves on the boards of the United Way of Regina, the Saskatchewan Foundation for the Arts , the Lt. Governor’s Gala Committee to Support our Troops and Creative Saskatchewan.