working to improve care for people living with:
working to improve care for people living with:
Keith is the President of CareNow Ontario (formerly MEAO). He is a semi-retired retirement financial planner with Assante Wealth Management. He has served as the treasurer of the local chapter of the Retirement Planning Association of Canada. With a family member who has been ill for many years with the medical conditions supported by CareNow Ontario, Keith is committed to creating a health and social service system for people with ME/ as outlined in the Business Case for a Center of Excellence.
Laurie is the Vice-President of CareNow Ontario. As a former special education consultant with the Waterloo Region Board of Education, Laurie had the opportunity to work with students and families who were experiencing a variety of health issues including ME/CFS, FM and MCS. Her work included supporting schools to reduce the impact of multiple chemical sensitivities on student health and working to manage building and classroom environments to create healthy learning opportunities. Laurie has also been personally managing Fibromyalgia for many years and would like to see appropriate and timely access to affordable services for those who have been impacted in our province.
John is currently the secretary for CareNow Ontario (formerly MEAO). He has been involved with the organization since 2012 and works to press the government to implement the recommendations of the Business Case proposal for the Ontario Centre of Excellence in Environmental Health. John has experience working with over 30 non-profit organizations going through change, has worked with community health centres, legal clinics, environmental organizations, with social policy, and with children and housing organizations. John brings to the board extensive experience working with boards as the local, provincial and national level.
Adrianna has been a director since 2017. Her experience with CareNow Ontario dates back to 2012 when she was Chief Executive Officer for Alliance for Healthier Communities and developed a partnership with MEAO (now CareNow Ontario) to develop the business case for a Centre of Excellence for Environmental Health. As a former CEO of The Alliance for Healthier Communities Adrianna brings expertise in government relations, public policy development, membership support and governance to the Board.
Philip De Groot B.Sc. (Biology) 1979, MBA (Marketing) 1981
Phil has been living with ME/CFS for 37 years and has great empathy for those burdened by disabilities. As a successful grant writer, Phil believes he can bring his skills and experience in helping CareNow Ontario in fundraising.
Phil brings a wide range of private sector management experience to CareNow Ontario. He was senior management at a manufacturer of equipment for the US Army, the Marine Corps and the Canadian Department of National Defense. Phil raised millions of dollars in grants from governments in support of research and development and managed many of the funded projects. During this time, he was the marketing manager, comptroller, manager of finance, and a manager of specific projects.
In addition to ME/CFS Phil has bipolar II disorder (which is now under control), type 2 diabetes, and ADD. He has experience helping people with mental illness find treatment as well as advocating for better treatments for major mental illnesses.