Ene Underwood

An adoptive parent, Ms. Underwood is a former member of the Board of the Children’s Aid Society of Toronto. An MBA whose career began as a strategy consultant to large private sector companies, Ene has spent the last 16 years as a senior executive in the health care sector. Most recently, she led the development of health system strategy for the Toronto Central Local Health Integration network where she was instrumental in the launch of a system-wide initiative to increase value and affordability of health care services. Ene’s health system strategy experience began in the mid-1990s with leadership of a major project to make recommendations for restructuring Toronto’s hospitals. In the intervening years, Ene held a number of senior management positions at University Health Network and Bridgepoint Health with responsibilities including: the integration of services across multiple hospital sites; delivery of rehabilitation services to home care clients; provision of medical laboratory services to nine Toronto hospitals; and other responsibilities relating to both strategy and operations.

Barry Lewis

Prior to becoming an independent consultant in 2005, Mr. Lewis was a Managing Director with BearingPoint LP, a partner with KPMG Consulting and a partner at ARA Consulting Group. His commitment to child welfare is both personal and professional. He is the father of four adopted children and has over 35 years of experience working with social service agencies, particularly in the Ontario child welfare sector. As a direct service professional he served as a residential Youth Worker, worked at Catholic Children’s Aid Society as an intake worker, managed a Family Services team, headed the Receiving and Sibling Homes department, and directed Legal and Centralized Services. He was subsequently a Program Supervisor at the Ministry. As a consultant, he has conducted scores of projects and special reviews for CASs and for the Ministry. Barry’s experience working with Aboriginal services includes evaluation/review of Native-run group homes and services, training of Aboriginal social service workers and board members, and evaluation of an agreement amongst 10 First Nations, New Brunswick and the Federal Government. He has also worked on projects for the Ontario Association of Children’s Aid Societies and for other agencies serving children and youth. His experience with other jurisdictions includes engagements for the federal government, other provinces, and municipalities.

Wendy Thomson

Dr. Thomson joined McGill University as Professor of Social Policy and Director of the School of Social Work in 2005. Prior to joining McGill, she had a distinguished career in the UK where she served as former Prime Minister Tony Blair’s Chief Adviser on Public Service Reform, having held senior positions at the Audit Commission and in London local government. She continues to advise governments in Canada and internationally. Her research includes studies on evidence-based management in child welfare, community capability in Nunavik, and Aboriginal social work education. She is affiliated with the McGill Centre for Research on Children and Families, and co-chairs McGill’s international Think Tank on Health Inequality. She serves on several Boards of Directors, including L’Agence de la santé et des services sociaux de Montréal, and the McGill University Health Centre. As an adoptee and an adoptive parent, Wendy’s commitment to child welfare is personal as well as professional.