Board of Directors

Sylvia Brachvogel

Chair, Quality, Safety and Risk Committee

Sylvia Brachvogel is Director of Operations for the Veterans, Palliative Care, and St. John’s Rehabilitation Programs at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. In her role, Sylvia leads the design and implementation of innovative and person-centred programs across the continuum of health care to achieve safe and effective care. She is a Registered Nurse with a Master’s Degree in Nursing Science from the University of Toronto.

Nely Amaral

Nely is Vice President of Quality, Patient Experience, and Awards of Distinction at Sinai Health and Magnet Program Director for Mount Sinai Hospital—the only hospital in Canada to achieve Magnet designation. Under her leadership, the hospital achieved its third Magnet re-designation in 2026, receiving Distinction for the first time. Magnet is a prestigious, voluntary recognition from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) that signifies excellence in patient care and is among the highest honours a healthcare organization can receive.

Nely’s portfolio includes Accreditation, Health Equity, Patient Relations, Interpreter Services, and Patient Experience, as well as leadership of quality reviews for Serious Safety Events. She plays a pivotal role in advancing a culture of continuous improvement and patient safety across the organization.

With more than 30 years of experience at Sinai Health, Nely has progressed through increasingly senior leadership roles, building on her front-line clinical experience in the NICU. A recognized champion of transformational leadership, she fosters curiosity, innovation, and excellence through continuous improvement, reflective practice, and the integration of best practices across clinical and operational areas.

Nely is a graduate of the Veterans Affairs Quality Scholars (VAQS) Fellowship Program and was the first nurse in Canada to complete the program. She now supports the development of future leaders as Director and Faculty for VAQS through the Centre for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety (C-QuIPS).

Nely also serves on the International Learning Collaborative (ILC) Management Committee, supporting a global initiative that advances the Fundamentals of Care framework. The framework strengthens therapeutic relationships between patients and healthcare professionals and embeds essential elements of care—including communication, dignity, and respect—into everyday practice.

Dr. Chaim Bell

Dr. Chaim Bell is the Physician-in-Chief at Sinai Health. He is a hospital-based general internist at Sinai Health and Professor of Medicine and Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the University of Toronto. Dr. Bell is an adjunct scientist at the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (IC/ES) in Ontario and a Core Member of the University of Toronto Centre for Patient Safety. He is also a member of Cancer Quality Council of Ontario (CQCO), an expert in the areas of health systems policy and administration, performance measurement and health services research. Dr Bell was a member of the Pan-Canadian Oncology Drug Review (pCODR). He has sat on multiple Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care expert advisory panels. He was also medical consultant to the Policy and Innovation Branch of the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. Dr. Bell received his medical degree from the University of Toronto and completed his specialty training in Internal Medicine and Clinical Investigation at the University of Toronto. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Harvard School of Public Health and then received his PhD in Clinical Epidemiology and Health Services Research from the University of Toronto. Dr. Bell’s research focuses on patient safety and the quality of patient care in hospitals as well as the transition from hospitals to the community. For the past ten years he has been the Research Director for the Mount Sinai Hospital-University Health Network Antimicrobial Stewardship Program.

Arthur Gans

HON. ARTHUR GANS was appointed a Judge of the Superior Court of Justice in 1997, having received his B.A. in 1969 at the University of Michigan and LL.B. in 1972 at the University of Toronto. Restricting his practice to all aspects of litigation, Art began his legal career with the firm of Miller, Thomson, Sedgewick, Lewis & Healy and subsequently joined Fogler Rubinoff in 1987. He retired from the Superior Court on Canada Day, 2021. He is currently a member of the UJA Social Services and Seniors Committee, an advisory committee to 11 Federation Agencies and spends some of his time conducting projects for the Ontario Jewish Archives and the Osgoode Society.

Dr. Lynn Mikula

Dr. Lynn Mikula is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Sinai Health. She assumed the role in October 2026 following more than a decade in progressive health care leadership, most recently as President and CEO of Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC).

Dr. Mikula has deep experience in organizational transformation, digital health, clinical operations, and physician engagement. At PRHC, Dr. Mikula led the development of a five-year strategic plan and advanced priorities in health equity, digital health, enterprise analytics, workplace well-being, and academic partnerships. During her tenure, PRHC became one of the first hospitals in Canada designated as an Age-Friendly Health System by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. It was also named one of Canada’s Best Employers by Forbes in 2025 and 2026.

Her previous executive roles include Chief of Staff, Chief Medical Executive, Executive Vice President, and Chief Medical Information Officer. She played a leading role in the procurement and implementation of a seven-hospital clinical information system and developed a comprehensive physician engagement strategy. She also provided local and regional leadership throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dr. Mikula serves on the Board of Directors of the Health Insurance Reciprocal of Canada (HIROC) and the Ontario Clinical Imaging Network (OCINet) and is a member of the Ontario Ministry of Health’s Provincial Planning and Action Table. She previously chaired the Hospital at Home Task Force for Ontario Health atHome and is past Chair of the Board of Directors of ENHANCE Ontario, a shared Epic platform serving more than 1.5 million patients.

Dr. Mikula earned her MD CM from McGill University and completed her residency in general surgery at the University of Toronto. She is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. She also holds a Master of Science from the University of Toronto. obtained at the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, and a Master of Management from McGill University. She has advised graduate students pursuing careers in health-care administration and regularly speaks at national and international conferences on data, AI, and leadership. She is passionate about innovation and engagement within the complex environment of health care.

Bernice Royce

Honorary Member

Bernice was the co-founder and CEO of Intracor Inc, an international trading company working with Eastern Block Embassies. Prior to that she spent over 30 years in the cosmetic and health and beauty industry in both Europe and North America holding senior executive positions for several major international companies such as Christian Dior, Erno Lazlo and Max Factor / Revlon of which she was General Manager. As a member of the Markham Animal Care committee Bernice was instrumental in the creation of what is now a unique facility in Canada, the Animal Adoption and Education center in Thornhill. A longtime supporter of both the National Ballet of Canada and Temple Sinai she has been the liaison on several projects with Circle of Care. At Circle of Care, Bernice helped to establish both the Transportation and Phone Pals programs, and she has been an active volunteer in most of the programs and currently volunteers with the Adult Day Program. Bernice continues to advocate on behalf of both seniors and animals.