Executive Management 

President & CEO

Christopher Mazza, MD, FRCPC, MBA

Dr. Christopher Mazza is the president, chief executive officer, and driving force behind the creation of Ornge. Under his leadership Ontario’s aero medical transport program has been transformed from a disparate series of air ambulance programs into an organization with a clear mission, vision, and values. Dr. Mazza’s combined expertise in the fields of health care and business has been a key component of Ornge’s success thus far.

An accomplished emergentologist, he has acute care experience in two of the country’s leading teaching hospitals, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and Mount Sinai Hospital. He has more than a decade of experience in transport medicine, having formerly served as medical director of air ambulance programs at Sunnybrook.

Dr. Mazza is an Ivey Scholar for Scholastic Excellence in the Masters of Business Administration Program at the University of Western Ontario. He is also an Associate Professor at the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine, and is frequently called upon to advise governments on a variety of matters related to transport medicine, emergency medicine, critical care surge capacity and pandemic planning.

Chief Operating Officer

Tom Lepine, CCP(f), MBA

With more than 20 years of experience as a paramedic and educator, and a decade in progressively senior management roles at Ornge, Tom Lepine capably oversees the service’s highly complex day-to-day operations. His practical knowledge of both medicine and business allow him to provide efficient oversight of the multi-disciplinary teams at Ornge.

In addition to his comprehensive grasp of the many factors that go into running a safe, patient-focused and successful transport medicine operation, Tom regularly helps departments across the organization in taking the service to new levels of excellence. His many achievements include developing the first critical care flight paramedic program accredited by the Canadian Medical Association, launching Ornge’s innovative mobile patient simulator program, and enabling the transfer of the province’s air ambulance services into a single, transport medicine organization

Executive Vice President, Corporate Services

Maria Renzella, CA

With years of experience in progressively senior roles as a financial analyst and operational strategist, Maria Renzella has been able to turn the vision for excellence at Ornge into a reality. As the head of Ornge’s back office, she ensures that decisions made on a daily basis make sound sense strategically, not just today but also for the future. Maria’s broad-based experience spans industries including the healthcare sector, telecommunications and natural resources. She has worked in both the public and private sectors, designing and implementing complex projects including cost control programs, the development of IT infrastructure, and the integration of corporations post-merger.

Her unique skill set allows her to be both creative and innovative while operating within a controlled environment. She is able to assess the Ornge of today to work out the many moving parts that must be put into place and developed to allow the service to get where it must be in the future. She is dedicated to industry-leading governance practices, ensuring that decisions made at Ornge will pass the most rigorous scrutiny. The altruistic approach she has developed during her years in the hospital sector guides Maria’s work at Ornge, allowing her to truly combine her business and financial acumen with her strong compassion for Ornge’s patients.

Vice President, Organizational Development

Rhoda Beecher

Rhoda Beecher brings to Ornge an extensive background in Organizational Development and Human Resources. Her experience in education, labour relations and human resources with both the private and public sectors are invaluable to the organization as it evolves and grows.

Vice President, Operations

Steve Farquhar

Steve began his career in 1982 with Toronto Emergency Medical Service. In 1991 he joined the air program where he earned certification as a Critical Care Flight Paramedic. He went on to serve as the Advanced Life Support Coordinator for the Peterborough Base Hospital program before returning to the Ontario Air Ambulance Base Hospital Program to oversee the newly created Critical Care Transport Program.

Steve was appointed Director of Operations for Ornge in 2004 and is now the Vice President Operations.

Chief Operating Officer, Ornge Air

Rick Potter

Rick Potter’s extensive background in aviation ranges from flying as a bush pilot in Northern Ontario to serving as Dean of the Aviation Centre at Thunder Bay’s Confederation College. A former air traffic controller and systems manager, Rick has developed a wealth of knowledge in the highly-specialized field of aviation infrastructure.

He provides Ornge with a great depth of knowledge in the design of airspace management systems. Rick is able to evaluate and find solutions to the infrastructure deficiencies that exist in some of the most remote parts of the world – which are also amongst those in the greatest need of connection to the healthcare system through transport medicine services. His aviation knowledge and project management skills have allowed him to solve complex dispatch and logistics issues for stakeholders both in Canada and internationally.

Vice-President, Regulatory & Legal Affairs

Catherine Rosebrugh, LLB

Catherine Rosebrugh brings eight years of legal experience in regulatory law to her position at Ornge, many of which were spent at Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP, one of Canada’s largest law firms. Prior to joining Ornge, Catherine worked at an international law firm in Vienna, Austria and, from 2003 to 2005, served as Chief of Staff to the Honourable Leona Dombrowsky, Minister of the Environment of Ontario.

Catherine was also a special assistant to the Honourable Allan Rock when he was Minister of Justice and Attorney General for Canada.

Vice-President, Finance

Bruce Tavender, CA

Prior to joining Ornge in September 2009, Bruce was a SVP and CFO at a large organization in the construction sector. He has also held a number of senior financial positions in the Food Services and Health and Life Science Sectors.

Bruce received his chartered accountant designation while working at Ernst & Young. He was born and raised in Brampton Ontario and attended the University of Toronto.

Vice-President, Clinical Affairs

Jo-Anne Oake-Vecchiato, RN BScN, MHSc.

Jo-Anne is an experienced healthcare executive with diversified strategic and operational experience at both corporate and clinical levels in tertiary and community hospitals. Jo-Anne has dedicated her 25+ year career to ambulatory, in-patient and community based healthcare services. She joined Ornge in January 2009, wishing to expand to this new area of Transport Medicine and contribute to a progressive new organization.

A nurse by profession, Jo-Anne also has a Master of Health Science from the University of Toronto. She has led numerous quality initiatives and best practice projects. She is passionate about patient and family centred care, as well as professional practice. As a healthcare leader, Jo-Anne has had the opportunity of supporting traditional and non traditional staff, physician, student and physician initiatives for the benefit of advancing patient care.

Executive Director, Ornge Foundation

Valerie Molloy

Valerie Molloy comes to Ornge with over 20 years experience in the not-for-profit sector as a resource development and communications professional. Valerie has held senior executive roles with a number of healthcare organizations including Bloorview Childrens Hospital, the Royal Ottawa Health Care Group and the Royal Columbian Hospital in Vancouver. Her background includes leading major capital campaigns for the Siemens Institute for Advanced Medicine in Winnipeg and the community portion for the Art Gallery of Ontario’s $254M Transformation AGO campaign. Valerie’s other arts experience includes senior management roles with the Shaw Festival and Toronto International Film Festival.

A seasoned communicator, Valerie garnered First Prize in AHP’s National 2008 Hygeia Awards for a $6.5M campaign to build new Children’s Treatment Center in North Bay, Ontario.

Valerie is looking forward to building the capacity of the Ornge Foundation across the province through the strategic engagement of key corporate and individual stakeholders.