Gateway Centre of Excellence in Rural Health welcomes new executive director

The Gateway Centre of Excellence in Rural Health (CERH) has appointed Dr. Leslie Walker as its Executive Director. 

 

Dr. Walker brings a wealth of international experience, academic excellence, and a strong commitment to rural health innovation to lead Gateway into an exciting new chapter of growth and impact.

 

Dr. Walker completed her Doctorate of Social and Economic Sciences at the Vienna University of Technology in Austria, in collaboration with the United Nations and Rotary International. Her doctoral research focused on the responsible use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in low-resource settings, with particular emphasis on healthcare, an area of critical importance for rural communities.

 

Originally from Goderich, Dr. Walker holds an Honours Bachelor of Commerce and Psychology Degree from McMaster University and a Master of International Business Degree from Queen’s University. During her Master’s program, she completed an international MBA exchange at the prestigious Guanghua School of Management in Beijing, China, gaining a global perspective on business and innovation.

 

Professionally, Dr. Walker has extensive experience in management consulting, having served as a Senior Management Consultant at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). In this role, she worked globally on large digital enablement projects with major tech companies such as Google and Microsoft, and nationally with Canadian clients including the Ministry of the Attorney General and NAV Canada.

 

“We are excited to welcome Dr. Walker to the Gateway CERH team,” said Dan Stringer, Chair of the Board at Gateway CERH. “Her impressive background in digital innovation, healthcare and leadership, combined with her deep roots in our region, makes her uniquely positioned to advance our mission to improve the health and quality of life for rural residents.”

 

Leslie shared some words regarding her new position by saying, “Let’s not mince words. We’re in the midst of a healthcare crisis with rising rates of chronic illness, an aging population and shortages of healthcare workers. We need to address the cause of these issues, rather than treating symptoms, if we hope to lighten the load on the healthcare system. It is my pleasure to join Gateway CERH in conducting high-impact research that contributes to objective, intelligent, and nuanced discourse within the local community.”

 

Dr. Walker is passionate about leveraging technology, research, and collaboration to empower rural communities and looks forward to bringing her expertise and vision to Gateway’s projects and partnerships.