Our Team

Margaret Gillis is the founding President of the International Longevity Centre Canada, part of a global alliance of 16 Centers dedicated to the needs and rights of older people. An award-winning executive and innovative leader, Margaret played a key role in establishing the Age-friendly Community program in Canada and internationally, this program is now in over 900 Canadian communities and 26 countries worldwide. Other career highlights include a joint government-NGO project to protect seniors in disasters which was recognized with an individual award by Her Majesty the Queen.

Margaret has strong credentials regarding human rights, working with and speaking at the UN General Assembly on behalf of older people, as Chair of the National Advocacy Working Group at the Global Alliance on the Rights of Older People (GAROP) and at the Working Group on Mainstreaming Aging at the UNECE. With a background in health promotion, protection and programming for the aged, women and children, Margaret is committed to improving the rights of older people.

Dr. Kiran Rabheru is Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Ottawa and Geriatric Psychiatrist at The Ottawa Hospital. He obtained his MD from the University of Western Ontario. He is a Certificant and a Fellow of the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CCFP, FCFP) and a board certified geriatric psychiatrist in Canada and the United States (FRCP, DABPN). Dr. Rabheru is designated as a Founder of the subspecialty of Geriatric Psychiatry by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. He is recipient of the Outstanding Achievements in Geriatric Psychiatry in Canada award by the Canadian Academy of Geriatric Psychiatry (CAGP). Dr. Rabheru is passionate and committed to serving older persons and creating a world in which they can live free from discrimination and able to fully enjoy their rights.

Currently, he is the Chair of the Board of the International Longevity Centre, Canada (www.ilccanada.org). He is a Board member as well as Chair of the Advocacy and Public Awareness Committee of the International Psychogeriatric Association (www.ipa-online.org ). Dr. Rabheru is Chair of the Section of Positive Psychiatry of the World Psychiatric Association (https://www.wpanet.org/) and a member of the National Leadership Team for the Fountain of Health (www.fountainofhealth.ca), which promotes healthy aging, brain resilience and vitality.

In the past, he has served as CAGP’s President and Board member (www.cagp.ca), Chair of the Steering Group for the Global Alliance for the Rights of Older People – GAROP (https://rightsofolderpeople.org), and Co-Leader of the Canadian Coalition for Seniors’ Mental Health (https://ccsmh.ca/).

For a summary of Dr. Rabheru's publications, please click here

FulFull CV CV | Short CV and Bio

Dr. Gutman developed the Gerontology Research Centre and Department of Gerontology at Simon Fraser University (SFU) and was director of both from 1982-2005. She is currently a Research Associate and Professor Emerita at SFU. Dr. Gutman is author/editor of 23 books, the most recent (with Andrew Sixsmith), Technologies for Active Aging (Springer, 2013). Her research interests are wide-ranging; including seniors’ housing, long term care, health promotion, seniors and emergency preparedness, gerontechnology, prevention of elder abuse and neglect and most recently, increasing access and uptick of advance care planning among LGBT seniors and ethnic minorities.

During her career Dr Gutman has held a number of high profile roles including two terms as President of the Canadian Association on Gerontology, President of the International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics, and President of the International Network for Prevention of Elder Abuse. Currently, in addition to being the founding Vice-President of ILC-C, she is President of the North American chapter of the International Society for Gerontechnology, a member of the Research Management Committee of the Canadian Frailty Network, and a member of the Board of Directors of the BC Community Response Network.

In 2007 she was awarded the Order of British Columbia, in 2010 an LLD (honoris causa) by the University of Western Ontario for her work “as an international authority in the field of gerontology” and was named one of Canada’s “best 45 over 45” by Zoomer magazine, in 2012 she was awarded a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee medal and in December 2016, the Order of Canada, the country’s highest civilian honour.

Dr. Mamta Gautam is a psychiatrist at The Ottawa Hospital and in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Ottawa, and President and CEO of PEAK MD.  She is a pioneer in the area of physician health and well-being, and has been hailed as “The Doctor’s Doctor”. She is the founding director of the University Of Ottawa Faculty Of Medicine Wellness Program; as well as the Canadian Medical Association Centre for Physician Health and Wellbeing, where she served as the Chair of the Expert Advisory Group. She created the Canadian Psychiatric Association Section on Physician Health; and in 2008, she founded the International Alliance on Physician Health, bringing together experts worldwide to collaborate on work in this area.  She is a Past President of the Ontario Psychiatric Association and the Federation of Medical Women of Canada.

Dr. Gautam is an internationally renowned consultant, speaker, researcher and author in the areas of Physician Health and Physician Leadership. She has a special interest in the health of her older colleagues, assists them as they transition to retirement or embark on an encore career, and advocates for their specific interests and needs. She has written two bestsellers – Irondoc: Practical Stress Management Tools for Physicians and The Tarzan Rule: Tips for a Healthy life in Medicine. She is the recipient of numerous prestigious awards for her innovative work in physician health, and has been awarded Distinguished Fellowships in both the Canadian and American Psychiatric Associations.

Scott Fletcher is a senior partner in Gowling WLG's Ottawa office, practising in general corporate and commercial law with significant emphasis on telecommunications, technology, energy and government relations.

He is one of the firm’s authorities in providing corporate and commercial advice relating to commercial alliances, strategic and policy Board advice and privatizations, as well as in general corporate and commercial matters. Scott also provides advice on a number of regulatory matters in the telecommunications, energy and gaming/lotteries industries. In addition, he routinely provides strategic counsel to corporate clients on telecommunications industry-based matters, the divestiture of government departments and programs into the private sector, and other corporate and commercial issues.

Scott is the firm client team leader for several major firm clients in the telecommunications and energy sectors. He has served as a director of a number of federal Canadian corporations, and has represented numerous federal Crown corporations. Scott also serves as an executive team member for a number of firm clients.

Ovide Mercredi is a Cree, born in the northern community of Grand Rapids, Manitoba in 1946. A graduate of the University of Manitoba’s Robson Hall Faculty of Law in 1977, he practiced criminal law and later specialized in constitutional law as an advisor to Manitoba Chiefs.

In 1989, Ovide was elected Regional Chief of the Assembly of First Nations for Manitoba as well as appointed a member of the Manitoba Human Rights Commission. He became a key strategist for the Assembly during the time of the Meech Lake Accord constitutional reform discussions. He had an active leadership role in helping to resolve the Oka Crisis in 1990.

On June 12, 1991, Ovide was elected National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, a role which he held for two terms from 1991 to 1997.,

He served his community as Chief of Misipawistik Cree Nation from 2005 to 2011 and acted as a counsellor for three years after his terms as Chief.

Ovide became the first chancellor of Manitoba's University College of the North in 2007. For his work as an advocate of non-violent methods for change, he was nominated by the Government of India for the Gandhi Peace Prize.

He has received honorary law degrees from Bishop’s University, St. Mary’s University, Lethbridge University, Athabasca University, Cape Breton University, The Law Society of Ontario and The University of Manitoba.

In 2005 he was awarded the Order of Manitoba. Ovide became an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2022 in recognition of his advocacy for Indigenous people in Canada.

Dr. Olive Bryanton is an advocate for older persons, a lifelong learner, and an action orientated agent of change. As an agent of change, Olive was instrumental in the establishment of the University of Prince Edward Island’s Mature and Part-time University Students Association (MAPUS) (1982); the Seniors Active Living Centre Seniors (1993); the Seniors College of Prince Edward Island (1997); and the PEI Seniors' Safety Program in (1999).

As an OPSIMATH or lifelong learner Olive obtained her bachelor’s degree in Sociology 1984, master’s in education in 2009 and doctorate in philosophy in education in 2019 all from the University of Prince Edward Island. Her 2019 PhD dissertation, titled, Pioneers in Aging: Voices of women 85 years and older aging in place in rural communities, and 2009 Masters thesis titled, Driving cessation: Older women's experiences shows her passion for defending the best interests of older people. During the last year and a half of her PhD journey, Olive was the subject of a CBC Documentary called “Never Too Old”.

Dr. Bryanton received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Prince Edward Island in 2000; the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2013; the Order of Prince Edward Island in 2020; and the Queen’s Platinum Medal in 2022

Olive Bryanton has been appointed as a member of the National Seniors Council for a term of three years, beginning December 15, 2022, and is actively involved with Canada’s technology and aging AGE-WELL Older Adults and Caregivers Advisory Committee (OACAC) since 2018.

Dr. Bryanton is currently working with Dr. William Montelpare engaging in a Post Doctoral Fellowship doing research for two non-profit organizations who are developing a veterans success centre with a focus on women and diverse gendered veterans.

Intergenerational activities and travel are her passions.

Peggy Edwards is a health promotion consultant, an activist for the rights of older people, researcher and author on healthy aging. She is a former policy analyst with Health Canada, the Canadian Public Health Association and the World Health Organization (WHO). Peggy has co-authored several best-selling books on healthy aging, including one on grandparenting and regularly contributes to other publications, scholarly works and magazines. In 2016, she was awarded the Governor General’s Sovereign Medal for Volunteers in recognition of her work with the Council on Aging of Ottawa, The Stephen Lewis Foundation Grandmothers Campaign, and the Grandmothers Advocacy Network.

Dr. Satya Brink holds a multidisciplinary Ph.D. from Purdue University (USA). She is a policy research expert, experienced in social policy, with a career spanning over 30 years in a range of senior roles in the Canadian government, academia and international organizations such as the OECD. She currently works as a consultant advising developing countries.

She has been active in the field of gerontology. She served on the board of the Canadian Association of Gerontology for 1988 to 1992. She was on the Board of the Perley and Rideau Veteran’s Health Centre from 1995 to 2007. She was an adjunct professor at the Simon Fraser Gerontology Research Centre from 1986 to 2017. She served on the Barrier-free Committee of the Canadian National Building Code for five years. She is widely published, has lectured internationally and has provided evidence to legislatures. She has presented comparative international aging policy approaches for the Governments of France, Sweden, Australia and New Zealand. She authored “Improving the quality of life of elderly and disabled people in human settlements - a resource book for policy and programmes from around the world” for UN-Habitat in 1993. Dr. Brink was the book editor of “Housing Older People: An international perspective”, Transaction Press, 1998. Her most recent publication is “75 years and over in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic”, in Social Canada in Oct 2020.

Dan Levitt is an acclaimed international speaker, elder care leader, writer, and gerontologist, specializing in helping others to create better lives for seniors. Dan’s purpose is to teach people how to transform the lives of older adults across the globe. As a popular professional speaker, he has delivered inspiring keynote speeches impacting thousands of people on four continents. Dan doesn’t tell people where to go but guides them in the direction of where they need to go. His talks leave the audience with a new mindset on ageing needed to thrive in the 21st century.

As the Chief Executive Officer of KinVillage, Dan Levitt shepherds the enhancement of social, physical and care needs for more than 300 older persons, inspiring a team of over 400 employees and volunteers with a commitment to continuously improving the quality of life. Dan is an Adjunct Professor in Gerontology at Simon Fraser University an Adjunct Professor, School of Nursing, University of British Columbia and a Sessional Instructor, British Columbia Institute of Technology. He is also a Board Member of the International Federation on Ageing and CommonAge.

Dan’s adventure exploits have taken him from Africa’s highest peak Mt. Kilimanjaro to the Caribbean Sea’s coral reefs, from canoeing across the Yukon to racing in the six World Marathon Majors.

Louise Bélanger-Hardy, B.A., B. Sc. Soc., J.D.., LL.M., is a full professor at the Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa where she has been Vice-Dean (1996-1999, 2013-2014 and 2020). She teaches Tort Law (common law and Québec civil law) and Medical Law. Her current research interests include human rights of older persons, the rights of caregivers and patients in long-term care, liability issues and private home care, consent in the medical and research settings and professional responsibility. She is a member of the Life Research Institute and of the Centre for Health Law, Policy and Ethics, both at the University of Ottawa. She is an associate with the International Longevity Center – Canada. For over ten years, she held cross-appointments to administrative tribunals dealing with health professions and health services in Ontario. She has been a member of research ethics boards at the University of Ottawa, Canadian Blood Services and Health Canada. She is a member of the Bar of Ontario.

Elizabeth Kidd is an undergraduate student at Carleton University in the Faculty of Public Affairs, specializing in Global Politics, Human Rights and Social Justice. As an active member of Carleton's United Nations Society, Elizabeth participates in conferences across Canada as both a delegate and a chair. She has been volunteering with ILC Canada since 2020, helping the organization apply for consultative status at the United Nations Economic and Social Council. Elizabeth has previously worked in Indigenous programming at Employment and Social Development Canada, using a human rights lens to help improve employment disparities in Canada.

Shain Raichura is currently an undergraduate student at Carleton University where he is completing an Honours degree in Neuroscience and Mental Health. With a strong interest in healthcare, particularly involving older patients, Shain has previously worked at the Queensway Carleton Hospital, and Marketplace Medical Centre. During the early stages of the pandemic, Shain also worked with Masks Unlimited, a volunteer-run organization that produces PPE for long-term care homes. Shain has been involved with ILC Canada as of May 2021.

Chloe Allaham is a lawyer and holds a Master of Arts in International Affairs with specialization in International Organizations and Global Public Policy. Her areas of interest and expertise are in research, analysis, and writing at the nexus of law and policy.

She also has extensive experience in corporate and not-for-profit governance. Chloe is a volunteer at the Perley Health long-term care facility in Ottawa, where she spends several days a week assisting residents with meals, activities, and appointments, and playing lively games of chess and euchre with the Veteran residents.

She was a member of the Perley Health Foundation Campaign Cabinet for innovation and excellence in seniors and veterans care. She is a passionate advocate for the rights and well-being of older persons.

Marie Howell worked as an elementary school teacher with the Upper Canada District School Board for twenty years.

Upon retirement, Marie was actively involved within the community, volunteering her time at both the Shepherd’s of Good Hope and the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario. Since 2006,

Marie has been a member of the Grandmothers to Grandmothers campaign which supports Grandmothers in sub–Saharan Africa.

In recent years, after having experienced ageism during her late husband’s medical treatment, Marie has become an advocate for greater advances in patient and family centered care. Marie currently volunteers as a member of the Ottawa Hospital’s Patient Family Advisory Committee.

Daniel is a student at Xavier High School in New York City. He has an interest in original research and human rights. Daniel is inspired by his grandmother and intergenerational solidarity, particularly during the experiences from the pandemic.

Leah Clement joined ILC Canada in 2021 after retiring from the Canada Revenue Agency where she spent the last 18 years of her government career. She gained experience in many administrative roles. With a focus on supporting the CRA’s Board of Management, as well as the Corporate Finance and Administration Branch.

Her experience includes preparation and review of briefing notes, strategy papers, and issue sheets.

She also gained extensive experience supporting the Board of Management meetings, as well as the Corporate Finance and Administration Branch’s meetings both in the preparation and follow up functions, including creating meeting minutes.

Her role with ILC Canada is to utilize her organizational skills as well as provide administrative support to the ILC Canada members with their meetings, events, and functions that help to push for the rights of older persons both on the national and international stage.

Leah holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Concordia University.

Tim is an associate of ILC-Canada with specialization in LGBTQ2+ policy and programs. Mr. Hutchinson has an appreciation of complex systems thinking and is formally educated in Social Work and Public Administration at the Masters level. He brings a wealth of program and policy experience of more than thirty years that encompasses the health, social service and government sectors. For over thirty years, Mr. Hutchinson has been actively engaged in a variety of community development and voluntary activities that have included co-Chairing a Regional Task Force on Elder Abuse as well as board positions with the Ottawa Public Health Department, Pink Triangle Services Ottawa, SAGE Ottawa, Psycho-Geriatric Community Services Ottawa, MAX-Ottawa Gay Men’s Health Initiative, Canada Africa Community Alliance, Alzheimer Society of Ottawa, Palliative Care Association Ottawa, and the Canadian Public Health Association. He is an active contributor to the Ottawa Senior Pride Network (OSPN).