Chairperson

Meg Sears (PhD) has advanced environmental health for decades, and as Chair of Prevent Cancer Now she works to “make least-toxic the norm.” She was trained in Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry (University of Toronto) and biochemical engineering (PhD, McGill), and has diverse laboratory experience including energy research.

With skills in scientific analysis and writing, she later gained associations with medical researchers. Some highlights include: the “Medical Perspective on Environmental Sensitivities” for the Canadian Human Rights Commission, leading to a policy under the Canadian Human Rights Act; a CIHR and SSHRC funded review of environmental, public health and medical approaches for toxic elements; three guidance documents addressing toxicants, indoor environments, and COVID-19 with the Canadian Committee on Indoor Air Quality; and rich collaborations with Canadian environmental health and policy organizations.

When she is not working, you’ll probably find Meg roaming the outdoors, or “playing in the mud,” gardening.

Vice Chair

Michelle Meyer (ND) has practiced naturopathic medicine in Ottawa since 2000, having graduated from the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine. Her practice embraces her belief in food as medicine, and the vital importance of food quality including the need for organically grown crops as essential for optimal health, and reducing the likelihood of cancers and many other health disorders and illnesses. With post-graduate training in counselling, Michelle’s practice is distinct in its integration of naturopathic medicine with psychotherapy techniques to support patients with acute and chronic physical and/or mental health challenges.

Michelle is a well-established public speaker, writer and workshop facilitator. She created the radio program The Well Street Journal, pioneering broader media coverage of natural and holistic health care approaches. Michelle is a long-time community activist, having worked with indigenous communities, community health, environment and co-operative organizations.

Her passions include canoe tripping, biking and hiking, storytelling and singing.

Treasurer

James (Sandy) Hamilton, (CA, CPA) is a Chartered Professional Accountant with more than 25 years of senior financial leadership experience at a big 5 Canadian Bank. Throughout his career, he has held senior finance and operations roles overseeing financial reporting, budgeting, strategic planning, governance, risk management, internal controls, and organizational transformation.

Sandy has led large, high-performing teams and provided strategic financial advice to executive leadership across a wide range of business functions. His expertise includes financial stewardship, audit, operational governance, capital planning, and process improvement. He has successfully led complex initiatives, strengthened governance frameworks, and improved financial transparency and operational efficiency.

In his spare time time he enjoys, tennis, biking, skiing and travelling with his family

Secretary

Erin Zimmerman is a mother, wife, veteran and former public servant, who now advocates for environmental health and occupational illness awareness. Following a diagnosis with a condition that is rare in young women, and that is often linked to environmental factors, she discovered she had worked at a contaminated site. Erin now applies her background in administration, procurement, contracting and finance to understand how contamination data and health risks may become obscured in bureaucracies.

Erin supports Prevent Cancer Now with volunteer administrative work, enabling the scientific and policy experts to focus on driving evidence-based change. She is committed to helping to protect future generations by improving transparency and accountability in environmental health oversight. In her spare time, Erin paints landscapes and portraits, teaches art in the community she lives, and displays her work in art shows throughout Saskatchewan.

Members

Julian (Jay) Branch comes from a background in journalism and strategic communications. His interests in these areas led him to take a close look at the millions of kilometres of old asbestos cement (AC) water pipes around the world, and the issue of ingested asbestos. There has been a gradual, grudging acceptance that drinking asbestos from deteriorated water pipes is likely not the best thing for humans. Asbestos is regulated in water in the United States. It is not regulated in water in Canada, and in several other countries around the globe. That needs to change. Jay strongly believes that persistence pays off, and democracy dies in darkness. When he isn’t busy with the asbestos file, he can be found enjoying the great outdoors, and time with his family.

Geoff Strong (PhD) is an atmospheric/climate scientist by profession, having obtained his PhD (1985) in thunderstorm dynamics at the University of Alberta (UofA). He is a 50-year member of the Canadian Meteorological & Oceanographic Society, as well as a Fellow of and former national President, recipient of several awards, past chair of local Centres in Halifax, Saskatoon, Edmonton, and Victoria and also chair of the Science Committee for CMOS Congresses in 1997, 2004 and 2013. Geoff taught environmental courses at UofA, Kings University in Edmonton, and VIU in Nanaimo.
Geoff’s career started as a weather forecaster for ECCC (1966-76), atmospheric scientist with Alberta Research Council (1976-88) and with ECCC (1988-98). Following retirement, Geoff continued contract field research on thunderstorms, evaporation, and drought while supporting several graduate students. By the early 2000s, Geoff recognized the increasing threat of climate change, and started devoting most of his time to this, providing public education on climate change through invited public lectures, writing newspaper and magazine articles, and writing novels on climate change. Geoff is active in several climate-related organizations, including the Canadian Association for the Club of Rome (CACOR), advocating for climate mitigation and adaptation. In 2024 Geoff joined the Prevent Cancer Now board, to support more attention to human health impacts.

Ellen Sweeney (PhD) (she/her) is a health researcher who has been working in spaces of environmental health, cancer and primary prevention for more than 20 years. She completed a PhD in the Faculty of Environmental Studies at York University and an MA in Social Anthropology at Dalhousie University. Ellen is the Research Director at the Atlantic Partnership for Tomorrow Project (Atlantic PATH) at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She is an active volunteer and represents Prevent Cancer Now on the Environmental Noxiousness, Racial Inequities and Community Health (ENRICH) Project and the Canadian Coalition for Environmental and Climate Justice (CCECJ). She has also worked with the National Network on Environments and Women’s Health, Canadian Women’s Health Network, Nova Scotia Health Research Foundation, Dalhousie University, and on CIHR team grants on environmental contaminants and reproductive health.

Richard van der Jagt (MD, FRCP Internal Medicine and Hematology) was a staff hematologist at the General Hospital in Ottawa for 28 years. He achieved a BSc (Hon) majoring in pharmacology and physiology at the University of Toronto, and worked in neuroscience prior to medical school. At McMaster University, Dr. van der Jagt studied Medicine and Internal Medicine, as well as Clinical Epidemiology. Dr. van der Jagt’s education was completed with a hematology fellowship at University of Toronto and a stem cell transplant fellowship in Seattle. Dr. van der Jagt founded and chaired the Canadian Leukemia Studies Group, efficiently completing the largest Canadian clinical trial to date, and which served as the model for today’s Canadian Clinical Trials Coordinating Centre. Since 2002, his clinical practice and research efforts focused largely on lymphoma and myeloma — diseases that have been linked to environmental toxicants. Richard has had a longstanding interest in links between the environment and health and continues to work in this area. He is working with PCN and many others to develop national infrastructure to enable scientific linkage of environmental exposures to adverse health effects.

Advisor

Chrys Mendes (MBA/PMP) (he/him) is a senior banking/finance systems Program/Project manager who has worked on Bay Street and in New York for more than 25 years. He has an honours degree in Computer Science from York University and an MBA in Finance from Fordham University in NYC, as well as a project manager designation (PMP). He has worked extensively in risk and regulatory programs as well as with trading systems implementations with the major banks in Toronto and NYC.

Chrys has served more than 5 years on the board of Epilepsy York, Ontario, serving on several committees such as fundraising, programs and marketing. He has a personal interest in cancer prevention and would like to dedicate more of his time to this cause.

In his free time Chrys enjoys tennis, squash, golf and travel with his family and friends.

Founding Honourary Directors

Sharon Batt
Dr. Warren Bell, MD
Mae Burrows
Dr. Graham Chance
Michael Gilbertson, PhD
Ruth Grier
Dr. Trevor Hancock
Henry Lickers
Elizabeth May
Ann Phillips, PhD
Larry Stoffman
Dr. David Swann

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