Executive Leadership Team
BC Mental Health and Substance Use Services provides provincial leadership in several key areas to help people across the province live healthy, meaningful lives.
Meet the executive leadership team
Dr. Vijay Seethapathy
Chief Medical Officer
Dr. Vijay Seethapathy is the chief medical officer at BC Mental Health and Substance Use Services (BCMHSUS) as part of the dyad leadership team with chief operating officer Jennifer Duff.
He provides strategic and operational oversight for medical services across BCMHSUS programs and services including the Forensic Psychiatric Hospital, θəqiʔ ɫəwʔənəq leləm’ (Red Fish Healing Centre for Mental Health and Addiction), Heartwood Centre for Women, Correctional Health Services, forensic regional clinics, and provincial specialized mental health and substance use programs. He is also a clinical assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of British Columbia, where he oversees the psychiatry residents’ addictions program.
Vijay is one of very few psychiatrists in BC who specialize in treating patients with a combination of complex mental health and substance use disorders, known in the mental health community as concurrent disorders. He has a special interest in clinical systems redesign.
Vijay has bachelor’s degrees in medicine and surgery from India, and an executive master’s degree in business administration from Keele University in the UK. He is a diplomat of the American Board of Addiction Medicine, a member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists in the UK, and a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Canada.
Assistant: Rajika Prabhakar, rajika.prabhakar@phsa.ca
Jennifer Duff
Chief Operating Officer
Jennifer Duff is the chief operating officer at BCMHSUS.
Jennifer holds an executive MBA and an Americas MBA for Executives certificate from Simon Fraser University, as well as a master’s degree in health administration and a bachelor’s degree in nursing, both from the University of British Columbia. She also currently serves as adjunct professor in UBC’s School of Population and Public Health.
Jennifer has more than 20 years of experience in progressively senior health care leadership roles spanning clinical, operational, regional and provincial/ministerial levels. These include roles in mental health and/or substance use at Providence Health Care, Vancouver Coastal Health Authority and the Ministry of Health.
Notable projects including the development of the ‘Hub’ and Vancouver Police Foundation Transitional Care Centre at St. Paul’s Hospital; the opening of the Granville Youth Clinic and the multiple joint efforts to open new addiction treatment spaces regionally; assertive community teams; and new acute hospital-based services such as the St. Paul’s Hospital Acute Behavioral & Stabilization Unit. She also led the planning for the implementation of the Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions’ injectable opioid agonist treatment (iOAT) program across BC health authorities.
Assistant: Franca Pitassi, franca.pitassi@phsa.ca
Clinical operations leadership
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Provincial Executive Director, Forensic Psychiatric Services
Blaine Bray is the provincial executive director for Forensic Psychiatric Services. He leads Forensic Psychiatric Services in its mission to balance service to the courts with ensuring public safety, in addition to providing excellent care for clients who receive treatment at the Forensic Psychiatric Hospital and/or the regional clinics.
Blaine is also leading improvements and the development of enhanced quality metrics and outcome measures, in partnership with the respective medical leadership and teams across forensic services provincially.
Blaine has worked exclusively in mental health and substance use for more than 30 years. He is a registered psychiatric nurse and has a master of arts degree in leadership from Royal Roads University.
Early in his career, Blaine spent nine years working clinically as a registered psychiatric nurse at the Forensic Psychiatric Hospital, followed by more clinical work in the Vancouver Jail. Most recently, Blaine worked with Providence Health Care, where he was the program director of acute and tertiary mental health/inner city youth-Foundry Vancouver Granville.
Assistant: Cesar Iglesias Contreras, cesar.iglesiascontreras@phsa.ca
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Executive Director, Correctional Health Services
Shannon is a registered nurse of 38 years, with more than 30 of those years spent working in leadership in a multitude of areas, including human resources, labour relations, and clinical operations. Shannon joined PHSA in the fall of 2022, firstly as a float manager and then as a regional director with Correctional Health Services, prior to assuming the interim executive director role in February 2024.
Shannon is a passionate health care leader with a proven record improving the quality of client care, and developing supportive team environments through collaboration, transparency, and partner engagement.
She has vast experience supporting vulnerable and marginalized clients and building community partnerships.
Assistant: Jamie Walker, jaime.walker1@phsa.ca
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Provincial Executive Director, Adult Mental Health and Substance Use
Kathryn Embacher is the executive director responsible for adult mental health and substance use (AMHSU) at BCMHSUS. This includes θəqiʔ ɫəwʔənəq leləm’ (Red Fish Healing Centre for Mental Health and Addiction), Heartwood Centre for Women, Provincial Assessment Centre, and Provincial Specialized Substance Use Treatment Program for Adults.
Kathryn is a registered nurse and chartered professional in human resources, with a master's degree in human resource management from Edinburgh Business School at Heriot-Watt University. Kathryn has 20 years of direct care and leadership experience in acute and tertiary mental health and substance use services.
Kathryn is dedicated to high quality, patient-centred, and innovative mental health and substance use care. She has significant experience leading her clinical teams through change and transformation with the successful roll-out of electronic health records and model-of-care redesigns to best meet changing patient needs. Kathryn was a leader in the development of the Joseph and Rosalie Segal Family Health Centre during her time as patient services manager for acute psychiatry at Vancouver General Hospital, and she led the operational planning for the BCMHSUS Red Fish Healing Centre that opened October 12, 2021.
Kathryn has dedicated her career to the development of accessible, innovative, patient-centred programs that meet the needs of complex clients with concurrent mental health and substance use challenges.
Assistant: Franca Pitassi, franca.pitassi@phsa.ca
Medical leadership
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Person in Charge, Forensic Psychiatric Services
Dr. Rakesh Lamba is the person in charge, Forensic Psychiatric Services, at BCMHSUS. He is responsible for providing senior medical leadership and operational oversight to medical services in Forensic Psychiatric Services.
Rakesh has almost 25 years’ experience providing assessment and treatment services in a variety of community and custodial settings. He completed his bachelor's degree in medicine and surgery in India and his psychiatry training at Dalhousie University before becoming a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Canada.
Since completing further training in forensic psychiatry at Queens University, Rakesh has been actively involved in post-graduate training in forensic psychiatry. He is a clinical assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of British Columbia.
Assistant: Carly Bath, carly.bath@phsa.ca
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Medical Director, Correctional Health Services
Dr. Ashok Krishnamoorthy is the medical director at Correctional Health Services. He is also the clinical professor, UBC Department of Psychiatry, and program director, Postgraduate Geriatric Subspecialty.
Dr. Krishnamoorthy has a postgraduate degree in psychiatry from India and is a holder of postgraduate psychiatry from the Royal College of Psychiatrists, London. He is a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Canada and a diplomat of the American Board of Addiction Medicine.
He specializes in community psychiatry, cognitive disorders in both older adults and working-age individuals, rural and remote psychiatry, Indigenous mental health, substance use-related brain damage, Huntington's Disease, acquired brain injuries, and the innovative models of care for managing severe mental illnesses. Additionally, Dr. Krishnamoorthy is focused on health promotion within the medical workforce.
In addition to his extensive research and teaching experience, he has held key management and leadership positions in various organizations in Canada and the UK. His aim is to bring mental health and substance care in correctional health settings to be on par with community psychiatry.
Assistant: Thara Nair, thara.nair@phsa.ca
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Medical Director, Complex Concurrent Disorders
Dr. Nickie Mathew is the medical director for complex mental health and substance use services with BCMHSUS. His portfolio includes θəqiʔ ɫəwʔənəq leləm’ (the Red Fish Healing Centre for Mental Health and Addiction), and the Heartwood Centre for Women.
A psychiatry fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, Nickie completed an addiction psychiatry fellowship at Yale University and a forensic psychiatry fellowship at the University of British Columbia. He is board certified in addiction psychiatry, addiction medicine and forensic psychiatry. He is also a clinical associate professor at the University of British Columbia and has won awards for teaching and research.
Nickie endeavours to bring evidence-based, cutting-edge treatments to the concurrent disorder population in BC. He is a strong advocate for health care improvements for this often-marginalized population through his clinical and committee work.
Assistant: Monique van Oord, monique.vanoord@phsa.ca
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Medical Director, Correctional Health Services, Lower Mainland Sites
Dr. Annabel Mead provides medical leadership to the Lower Mainland Correctional Health Services sites.
Annabel has been practicing addiction medicine for over 20 years, with expertise in women’s health, concurrent psychiatric disorders and pain management. Originally trained in Australia, she has lived and worked in Vancouver, Canada for over 20 years, providing care to patients in many community, inpatient and outpatient treatment settings. Annabel is a fellow of the Australasian Chapter of Addiction Medicine, a diplomat of the American Board of Addiction Medicine and clinical assistant professor, University of British Columbia, Canada.
Annabel consults on the addiction medicine consult service at St Paul’s Hospital, and is the senior medical director for the BC Provincial Perinatal Substance Use program. She is an established teacher, mentor and educator. She is past director of the BCCSU Addiction Medicine Fellowship training program, speaks widely at conferences and continues as an education committee member of the International Society of Addiction Medicine.
Assistant: Thara Nair, thara.nair@phsa.ca
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Interim Senior Medical Director, Forensic Psychiatric Services
Dr. Emlene Murphy is a Royal College-certified forensic psychiatrist who has worked in forensic practice with youth and adults in both inpatient and outpatient care settings for 40 years, with 20 years of experience working in provincial Corrections.
She has prepared reports for the courts on not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder (NCRMD), fitness, dangerous offenders, and sentencing. Her other areas of expertise include ER psychiatry, where she has worked part-time for 13 years, as well as addictions.
Assistant: Carly Bath, carly.bath@phsa.ca
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Interim Medical Director, Correctional Health Services
Dr. Nooshin Nikoo (she/her), an MD since 2000, has been serving the health of the vulnerable in B.C. since 2010.
She joined BCMHSUS in 2018, and is currently one of the medical leaders promoting relational medicine in Correctional Health Services as a medical director and physician education lead.
Dr. Nikoo is a wife, mother, sister, daughter, and a friend who aspires to carve time to spend with family and loved ones, taking good care of roses growing on xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) land and having long ocean walks. She is a grateful settler who is committed to Indigenous-specific anti-racism.
Assistant: Thara Nair, thara.nair@phsa.ca
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Interim Medical Director, Forensic Regional Clinics
Dr. Santoch Rai is the interim medical director for the Forensic Regional Clinics, BCMHSUS. He is also currently assisting with some medical director oversight at the Forensic Psychiatric Hospital.
Dr. Rai trained in the UK and worked in Alberta before moving to B.C., and he has forensic psychiatry subspecialty qualifications in Canada and the UK. He has over 20 years’ experience of working as a forensic psychiatrist in Canada and has been extensively involved in teaching, service development and innovation, including projects to improve risk management of patients under the criminal code Review Board.
He is currently on the board of directors of the Canadian Academy of Psychiatry and the Law (CAPL) and is a teaching member of the Forensic Psychiatry Division, University of British Columbia.
Dr. Rai’s special interests include developing safe and effective pathways for complex forensic patients, engaging and building cohesive teams, service innovation, and the development of forensic psychiatry in B.C. and Canada.
Assistant: Carly Bath, carly.bath@phsa.ca
Corporate leadership
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Executive Director, Drug Toxicity, Prevention and Response
Kacey Dalzell, executive director of Drug Toxicity, Prevention and Response, is a curious and compassionate leader with extensive experience across clinical service delivery and government policy.
In partnership with key operational and medical leaders, medical health officers, and peer and community partners, Kacey is responsible for setting the strategic direction and vision of PHSA’s escalated drug toxicity prevention and response, in alignment with provincial priorities, and the development and coordination of an implementation, monitoring, quality improvement and evaluation strategy.
Kacey leads the development, implementation, and evaluation of emerging and innovative strategies to reduce and prevent drug toxicity deaths. Kacey works collaboratively across the organization, establishing and leveraging relationships, internal capacity, and data assets to inform and monitor the PHSA provincial response, ensuring high quality, evidence-informed substance use and addictions care for all persons who come into contact with PHSA services and for priority population.
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Executive Director, Professional Practice and Learning
Justine provides inter-professional practice leadership at BCMHSUS, strengthening the focus on evidence-based practice and improving models of care, clinical practice standards and collaboration across practice and operations.
A registered psychiatric nurse for over 25 years, Justine worked in the field of complex mental health and substance use in both the UK and the Channel Islands before moving to BC in 2009. During her time with BCMHSUS, Justine has held a number of leadership positions, including program director, adult mental health and substance use services and senior director, inter-professional practice.
In addition to her registered psychiatric nursing credentials, Justine has earned an honours bachelor degree in forensic mental health care from the University of Sheffield, a post graduate diploma in addiction from the University of Leeds, and a master of science in nursing leadership from Oxford Brookes University.
Assistant: Laura Accili, laura.accili@phsa.ca
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Executive Director, Patient and Staff Experience and Measurement
Rebecca Hahn is the executive director of patient and staff experience and measurement for BCMHSUS, where she is responsible for patient experience and community engagement, and strategic information management including analytics and reporting. She also supports the BC Mental Health Foundation and a number of other special projects in BCMHSUS.
Rebecca has held various senior leadership positions at Vancouver Coastal Health, PHSA and the University Health Network in Toronto. Prior to her current role, she was the chief transformation officer for the CST implementation at PHSA, Vancouver Coastal Health and Providence Health Care. She has a unique combination of IT, clinical, and project management knowledge and more than 20 years experience in progressive leadership roles leading system change initiatives.
She has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Waterloo.
Assistant: Angelina Monteiro, angelina.monteiro@phsa.ca
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Senior Director, Digital Innovation and Capital Planning
Kim Korf-Uzan is the senior director, digital innovation and capital planning. Kim’s portfolio includes all virtual and digital health initiatives, special projects, capital planning and capital projects, as well as clinical informatics.
Kim has been working in the field of mental health and substance use since 2010. Through her background in public health, Kim brings a collaborative, system-level lens to her work, and enjoys engaging in projects that enable large-scale, meaningful, and innovative change across the system of care. Kim started with BCMHSUS in March 2016 in the position of manager, provincial programs and health literacy. She provided leadership as project director for the Correctional Health Services (CHS) transition in October 2017. During her time with BCMHSUS, Kim has held responsibility for a number of other initiatives, including the Crisis Line Enhancement Project, the CHS PHN project, the CHS Pharmacy Review, and the implementation of the first five correctional health services community transition teams, among others.
Kim is passionate about driving excellence in health care and ensuring that service delivery is culturally safe, inclusive, accessible, and responsive to the needs of the communities and populations we serve. Some of Kim’s core competencies include project management, clinical program development, strategic planning, communication and engagement, and operational leadership.
Assistant: Julia Mikl, julia.mikl@phsa.ca
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Senior Director, Medical Administration and Project Management Office
Aazadeh Madani is the senior director, medical administration and project management office at BCMHSUS. She provides strategic and operational oversight for these two portfolios, which includes working closely with medical and operational leadership, medical staff, and key PHSA partners, including PHSA medical affairs, physician compensation, and other ministries and regional health authorities.
She has extensive project management, research, and leadership experience through her work at BCMHSUS, BC Children's Hospital, BC Cancer and the Centre for Health Evaluation and Outcome Sciences (now Centre for Advancing Health Outcomes). She has led and supported a wide range of projects both large and small, in areas of strategic planning, provincial mental health and substance use literacy and knowledge exchange, patient experience and engagement, and mental health system improvement.
Aazadeh has a BA in criminology from Carleton University, an MA in sociology from Simon Fraser University, and 15 years experience in diverse settings within the BC health care system.
Assistant: Rajika Prabhakar, rajika.prabhakar@phsa.ca
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Executive Director, Indigenous Health & Cultural Safety
Rose Melnyk is responsible for providing leadership and support to BCMHSUS in our work to eradicate Indigenous-specific racism, advance cultural safety and support a collective commitment to reconciliation. She leads a team of Indigenous health leaders to expand Indigenous thought leadership and focused, impactful Indigenous-specific anti-racism work.
With Sťuxtéwsemc (Secwépemc) and mixed white settler ancestry, Rose is informed by Secwépemc ways of knowing and being and holds a bachelor of nursing from Thompson Rivers University and a master's degree in nursing with a focus on Indigenous nursing leadership and research. Rose brings 15 years of health care experience, with eight years of progressive Indigenous leadership experience working with health systems, First Nations, Métis and urban Indigenous organizations.
Assistant: Rohayda Tolentino, rohayda.tolentino@phsa.ca