2018-2019 OPWSA Board of Directors
Rob Pividor (Co-Chair)
Rob is an Honor Graduate of Brock University in the field of Recreation and Leisure Studies, in addition to having received his Occupational Therapy Assistant certification from Humber College. Rob has worked in the field of rehabilitation, health care and support for individuals with Prader-Willi Syndrome and Traumatic Brian Injuries (TBI) since 1991 within the public and private sector. During this time, he has been
involved in different agencies not to mention Chairperson for the Red Cross, Niagara Falls Branch, member of the Canadian Association for Disabled Skiing, and delegated board member for the Ontario Prader-Willi Syndrome Association (OPWSA) since 1993.
Since 1996 Rob has volunteered at the annual OPWSA conference and coordinated the OPWSA Youth Program portion of the conference. Rob has also presented at the OPWSA conference with respect to innovative fitness programming for people with PWS.
In 2014, Rob decided to become an active member with OPWSA after a little hiatus and was asked to rejoin the OPWSA Board of Directors. After sitting on the board for the year he and Holly jointly discussed applying for the Co-Chair positions to help out OPWSA with respect increasing awareness of PWS at large, increasing membership and developing a stronger PWS community as well as helping increase fundraising efforts to support OPWSA’s support to those with PWS. He is pleased that he will be continuing in his position as co-chair for the next term.
Mike Sims (Treasurer)
Mike has 10 years’ experience in various Accounting and Finance roles, ranging from reporting to project work and most recently in management at Teranet Inc, a privately held company operating across Canada. He holds a CPA, CGA designation and graduated with an Honours Bachelor of Commerce from
Laurentian University.
Mike lives in Ajax with his wife Susan, four-year-old daughter Kiera, who has PWS, and dog Hunter. In his free time, he likes to stay active and enjoy the outdoors, hiking, backpacking or just getting out into the bush.
Dr. Sanjukta Basak (Medical Advisor)
Dr. Sanjukta (San) Basak completed her medical degree at McGill University, followed by a Paediatric residency and Paediatric Endocrinology fellowship at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. She completed an
additional year of clinical fellowship in San focusing on pediatric obesity, as well and training in social behavior change, and motivational interviewing. She works at Rouge Valley Centenary Hospital in Scarborough in the Diabetes, Endocrinology and pediatric obesity clinics. She also works at Kindercare pediatrics in their Endocrine and Prader-Willi Syndrome clinics.
San is also completing a Masters of Community Health with a focus on health practitioner and patient education at the University of Toronto. She is passionate about teaching and is actively involved in both patient and medical education.
Maria Fernandes (Fundraising Advisor)
Maria Fernandes is a partner with Tangency Strategy, where she helps various pharmaceutical, medical device and contract manufacturing organizations with overall strategy for the companies and also with the development and implementation of tactics to optimize profits and ROI. Maria has a BSc
from U of T in Biochem and a MBA from Kings College. She has worked in the pharmaceutical industry for many years and has done various functions including Regulatory Affairs, Sales, Marketing, Product Development and Medical Liaison. She has also worked with a Communication Agency where she was involved in developing strategies for many clients and also in developing training programs for healthcare professionals.
Maria also works with dental practices and provides training and implementation for Occupational Health and Safety and WHMIS.
With her background in the pharmaceutical industry and communications and strategy, Maria is looking forward to putting her skills and knowledge to help OPWSA in any way possible.
Holly Sine (Co-Chair)
Holly is the President of the Pagnan Group Inc., an Animal Health and Human Health Consulting business. She specializes in generic pharmaceutical commercial operations for both the veterinary and human industry. Holly possesses a Pharmaceutical Regulatory post university diploma and has over 13 years of experience previously working with Teva Canada Ltd.
registering oral and injectable generic pharmaceutical products with Health Canada.
Holly graduated with a double major in Human Biology and Economics from the University of Toronto. While at U of T, Holly was a varsity athlete for the women’s basketball team. Holly received an OUA All-star designation, OUA championship title and competed in the CIS championship tournament in her senior year.
In January 2014 Holly and her husband Michael welcomed their twins Jack and Kyrie (now 4 years old) to join their family with sons Grant (17) and Quinn (15). Jack was diagnosed with PWS at 2 months of age. The Sine family resides in Burlington Ontario. The Sine’s love to travel, spend time with family and visit their cottage during the summer.
Cathy Mallove (Former Co-Chair)
Cathy is a former co-chair and current director on the board of the Ontario PraderWilli Syndrome Association, and currently leads the OPWSA Residential Options Working Group.
She is a communications professional with experience in the public, non-profit and
private sectors. Her areas of expertise
include strategic communications planning, organizational change management, stakeholder engagement, corporate reputation and issues management, media relations, strategic planning, business process improvement and consensus building among divergent interests.
She and her husband Martin live in Toronto with their two daughters, Natalie and Rebecca (PWS, 22).
Dan Yashinsky (Former Co-Chair)
Dan is a storyteller, writer, and educator. He currently works as the storyteller-in-residence at Baycrest Health Sciences.
Dan is a PWS parent, is a former Co-Chair of OPWSA (with Cathy Mallove) and has continued to serve on the Board.
Dr. Reena Kilian (Medical Advisor)
Dr. Reena Kilian completed her medical degree and residency in Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto. She was trained and mentored over the course of four years by the late Dr. Glen Berall, a global expert in the management of
obesity in Prader-Willi Syndrome. She has a special interest in motivational interviewing, behavioural and lifestyle change and psychotherapy. Dr. Kilian works with in-patients with acquired brain injuries at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute. She also works at Kindercare pediatrics in their adult Prader-Willi Syndrome clinic. Dr. Kilian is very involved in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto, teaching medical students and residents and sitting on curriculum development and admissions committees.
Alisha Jaffer (Social Media and Communications Advisor)
Alisha has previously worked with the Prader-Willi Syndrome community through volunteering in Dr. Glenn Berall's clinic helping to take patient histories, charting, and assisting teaching of the Red-Yellow-Green diet. She has had the pleasure of meeting many PWS individuals and their families in clinic and at the FWPR conferences.
She is pleased to join the board as Social Media and Communications Advisor, bringing her experience in community and patient engagement to help grow the OPWSA presence and strengthen communication with the PWS community. Alisha likes to cook and go for a walk in nature in her free time.