Board of Directors

The Board of Directors is the governing body of the OPHA — a voluntary association of individuals and Constituent Societies from various sectors and disciplines who have an interest in promoting and optimizing the health of the people of Ontario. The Board of Directors is responsible for managing the affairs of the OPHA according to by-laws and a Strategic Plan approved through voting by the membership.

The OPHA Board of Directors consists of a maximum of 24 directors each of whom is either a member of the organization elected to the board by the membership or is appointed to the Board as representative of a Constituent Society of the OPHA. The membership of the board consists of: A President, Vice-President or President-Elect, Past President, Secretary, Treasurer, Constituent Society Representatives and up to six Members-at-Large.

The Board is presently composed of five officers, six Members-at-Large and 11 Constituent Society Representatives. Refer to Structure in the side menu for a diagramatic representation illustrating the relationship of the Board and the Association's various elements.

To download a list of current Board members, refer to the red "Links" box on the right of your screen.

Standing Committees

The Board of Directors fulfills the mandate and manages the affairs of the OPHA through these four Standing Committees — Executive Committee, Membership Committee, Audit Committee, and Advocacy Committee — that are each chaired by a member of the Board.

  • The Executive Committee

    Chaired by the President of the OPHA, the Executive Committee acts as the senior management committee for the areas of advocacy, membership and finance/audit functions of the OPHA. The Executive Committee receives reports from the Advocacy, Finance and Membership and provides advice and direction to the Executive Director with respect to the implementation of action plans. The Executive Committee initiates and approves policies within constraints set by the Board of Directors.

  • The Membership Committee

    The Membership Committee, chaired by the OPHA Secretary, consists of half of the representatives of the constituent societies, at least one member at large, the Executive Director (non-voting) and the Communications and Public Relations Officer (non-voting). Directly responsible for maintaining an active membership system, the membership committee also pursues strategies to ensure the positive growth in OPHA membership and ensures that the membership reflects the diverse public and community health community.

  • The Audit Committee

    The Audit Committee, Chaired by the OPHA Treasurer, is responsible for maintaining the OPHA’s standards of fiscal conduct, financial reporting and its financial control systems. It ensures on behalf of the board that the auditors conduct an independent and objective assessment of management’s performance in these areas. In addition to the Treasurer, the Audit Committee consists of: one Member at large appointed by the Board, one OPHA member with specific financial expertise (e.g. professional accountant etc) as appointed by the Board, the Executive Director and the Financial Officer.

  • The Advocacy Committee

    The Public Relations and Advocacy Committee is assigned to the role of co-ordinating all position papers, resolutions, and motions for the Annual General Meeting, following up on the implementation of approved resolutions and service as a general resource for OPHA’s advocacy issues.

    At the Annual General Meeting held on November 20, 2007, the membership endorsed three position papers and four resolutions:

    1. Position Paper on Oral Health Promotion
    2. Position Paper on Informed Decision-making and Infant Feeding
    3. Position Paper on Breastfeeding (revision of 1993 paper)
    4. Resolution on Public Health System Renewal in Ontario
    5. Resolution Reaffirming the Importance of Strict Firearm Regulation to Prevent Firearm Deaths and Injuries
    6. Resolution Advocating for a Provincial Strategy on Alcohol and Other Drugs
    7. Resolution on Access to a Nutritious Diet for All

    OPHA also addressed the following advocacy issues in 2007-2008:

    1. Support for proposed legislative reforms to alcohol and drug-impaired driving
    2. Response to “Reducing Alcohol-Related Harm in Canada: Toward a Culture of Moderation, Recommendations for a National Alcohol Strategy”
    3. Support for the Ontario Ministry of Environment re: EBR Posting PA06E0013 – Discussion document for the development of a regulation on source protection committees made under the Clean Water Act, 2006
    4. Submission to Senate Standing Committee on Human Rights re: Physical punishment of children
    5. Communication with Medical Officers of Health re: Diversity Competent Public Health Professionals Resolutions
    6. Communication with Standing Committee on Social Policy re: Bill 171, Health System Improvements Act, 2007

    In addition to this, the Committee has focused on the development of a strategic advocacy plan for OPHA. With the guidance of consultants, the Committee worked with the Executive Director and the Board to establish strategic priorities in advocacy for the next few years. The plan, adopted in June, 2007 includes a commitment to increasing OPHA’s capacity to pursue public health system advocacy. The committee will now work to ensure that the advocacy plan is implemented.

    For the 2008-2009 fiscal year, OPHA will focus its advocacy efforts on implementation of the recommendations of the Capacity Review Committee on Public Health Renewal, health inequities and the social determinants of health, healthy school food policy development as a step towards reducing childhood obesity, a provincially legislated ban on the cosmetic use of pesticides and a toxic use reduction strategy.

Constituent Societies

Constituent Societies are associations or voluntary organizations based in Ontario that are granted membership in the OPHA because their goals and objectives are Compatible with those of the OPHA. The Constituent Societies that are currently members of the OPHA are as follows:

To download a list of contact information for Constituent Society Representatives on the Board, click on the link in the Red box on the right of the screen.

Members-at-Large

As Directors of OPHA, Members-At-Large act in a position of trust in the organization and are responsible for the effective governance of the organization. Members-At-Large are expected to have knowledge and skills in one or more areas of governance: policy, finance, programs, or personnel.

Workgroups

Workgroups are formed and supported by the Board to undertake topic-specific advocacy and program activities, and network functions. The work and mandate of each workgroup is featured in the Our Voice in Action section under their own web page.