Meet Our Speakers
Keynote Speaker Dr. Kenneth Rockwood
O.C., Professor, Dalhousie University. Geriatrician, Nova Scotia Health.
Kenneth Rockwood OC, a clinician-scientist, is Professor of Geriatric Medicine, and Research Professor of Frailty and Aging at Dalhousie University. He is also an active staff internist and geriatrician at Nova Scotia Health, and Senior Medical Director of its Frailty and Elder Care Network. His work on the measurement and management of frailty has been widely adopted across several health care systems, notably including the National Health Service in the UK.
Ken is a long-time advocate for better care of older people who live with frailty. He argues that modern health care systems, have achieved so much by an ever-sharper focus on single system disorders. We must now put the same energy into the challenge of older patients whose complex needs arise from their multiple, interacting, medical and social problems.
Dr. Benoit Lafleur
Dr. Benoit Lafleur completed a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology at Laurentian University and a Master of Science in Kinesiology at the University of Waterloo. He obtained his medical degree from NOSM University (NOSM U) and went on to complete his residency in Internal Medicine in Sudbury. He then pursued subspecialty training in Geriatric Medicine at the University of Ottawa.
Dr. Lafleur is currently an Associate Staff member at Health Sciences North and the Northeast Specialized Geriatrics Centre. He also practices as a locum Geriatrician in Ottawa. His research interests focus on fracture risk assessment in older adults at high risk of falls.
Outside of medicine, he enjoys staying active and adventurous through travel, participating in a variety of sports, and spending time outdoors with his wife Gennie and their dog, Sprout.
Dr. Carmela Tartaglia
Dr. Tartaglia is an associate professor at the University of Toronto. She received her medical degree from McGill University, completed her residency at the University of Western Ontario and did three years of clinical/research fellowship in Cognitive/Behavioral neurology at the University of California, San Francisco Memory and Aging Center. She maintains a cognitive/behavioral clinic within the UHN Memory Clinic where she sees patients with neurodegenerative diseases with a focus on Frontotemporal lobar degeneration-related syndromes. As well, she is interested in the delayed effects of concussions and sees patients with post-concussion syndrome and those with multiple concussions who are at risk of developing a neurodegenerative disease. She holds the Marion and Gerald Soloway Chair in Brain Injury and Concussion Research. She uses novel imaging techniques in conjunction with proteomics, pathology and genetics to better diagnose and understand the pathological substrates that cause cognitive, behavioral and motoric dysfunction. She runs parallel biomarker discovery programs in frontotemporal lobar degeneration and post-concussion syndrome. The ultimate goal of her research program is to develop biomarkers for early detection of disease so as to provide early treatments to her patients.
Biography pulled from: https://tanz.med.utoronto.ca/faculty/carmela-tartaglia
Dr. Kiran Rabheru
Dr. Kiran Rabheru is a Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Ottawa and Geriatric Psychiatrist at The Ottawa Hospital. With over 40 years of experience, he has dedicated his career to caring for patients and their caregivers, first as a primary care physician and later as a geriatric psychiatrist. Dr. Rabheru is a Certificant and Fellow of both the College of Family Physicians and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. He is recognized as a Founder of the subspecialty of Geriatric Psychiatry in Canada. He has received the Outstanding Achievements in Geriatric Psychiatry Award from the Canadian Academy of Geriatric Psychiatry (CAGP), and in September 2024, he was honored with the Distinguished Service to the Field of Psychogeriatrics Award from the International Psychogeriatrics Association (IPA).
Currently, Dr. Rabheru serves as Chair of the Board International Longevity Centre Canada (ILC Canada) and Chair, Advocacy and Public Awareness Committee of the International Psychogeriatric Association. In 2022, under the leadership of Dr. Kiran Rabheru and in collaboration with 14 key national organizations in the field of aging, the Canadian Coalition Against Ageism (CCAA) was launched. Dr. Rabheru serves as the Founding Chair.
Inspired by the World Health Organization's Global report on Ageism the CCAA is a national, cross-sectoral movement dedicated to eliminating ageism in all its forms. Its mission is to protect and promote the human rights of older persons across Canada by driving social change, influencing policy, and fostering inclusive attitudes and systems.
Since May 2023, Dr. Rabheru has co-chaired the Lancet Commission on Long Term Care , based the core principles of WHO’s Healthy Aging model and human rights. He has previously served as: - a Board member and President of CAGP; - co-leader of the Canadian Coalition for Seniors’ Mental Health (CCSMH) ; - Chair, Section of Positive Psychiatry of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA); - the National Leadership Team, Fountain of Health promoting healthy aging, brain resilience and vitality; - chair of the steering group for the Global Alliance for the Rights of Older People (GAROP) with 400 members worldwide, united in the work to strengthen and promote the rights and the voice of older persons globally to live free from discrimination and fully enjoy their rights.
Dr. Rabheru is dedicated to serving older persons and envisions a world free from ageism. Through scientificadvocacy and reframing how society thinks, feels, and acts about aging, he works to ensure that older persons live withoutdiscriminationandfullyenjoytheirrights.Hisgoalis to create an inclusive world where no one is left behind.
Dr. Cynthia Wesley-Esquimaux
Dr. Cynthia Wesley-Esquimaux served as Vice Provost Indigenous Initiatives at Lakehead University for three years and was appointed as the 1st Indigenous Chair for Truth and Reconciliation for Lakehead University in 2016.
She was inducted as a “Honourary Witness” by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada in 2014 and is Chair of the Governing Circle for the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation at the University of Manitoba.
Cynthia is a faculty member at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity and continues to offer public education and training on Indigenous history, governance and healing across Canada.
She is a member and resident of the Chippewas of Georgina Island First Nation and has dedicated her life to building bridges of understanding. She sees endless merit in bringing people from diverse cultures, ages, and backgrounds together to engage in practical dialogue and applied research initiatives.
Laura Tamblyn Watts
Laura Tamblyn Watts stands at the nexus of law, public policy, and advocacy for older adults. As CEO of CanAge, she champions systemic change for seniors across Canada and has emerged as a global voice on longevity and aging. A lawyer called to the British Columbia Bar in 1999, Laura combines legal expertise with academic research as an assistant professor at the University of Toronto’s Factor Inwentash Faculty of Social Work and a Fellow at the Institute for LifeCourse and Aging. Her research spans dementia, elder financial abuse, artificial intelligence in health care, social inclusion, and governance.
Laura’s #1 international bestseller Let’s Talk About Aging Parents resonates with families worldwide and underscores her ability to translate complex issues into practical guidance. Recognized with awards such as Queen’s University’s Global Citizenship Award, she regularly briefs parliaments, appears in media interviews, and advises organizations ranging from the World Health Organization to national insurance regulators. She serves on boards including the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization and AGE‑WELL, ensuring regulatory frameworks keep pace with demographic change. At home, Laura and her husband Michael Tamblyn, CEO of Rakuten Kobo, juggle family life with three children while supporting their own aging parents.
Dr. Sophiya Benjamin
Dr. Sophiya Benjamin is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences at McMaster University and holds the Schlegel Chair for Mental Health in Aging. She is the Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director of GeriMedRisk, a publicly funded, not-for-profit organization that optimizes medication use in older adults through clinical consultations across Ontario and the education of clinicians both nationally and internationally.
She completed her adult and geriatric psychiatry residency training at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina and obtained further training in research methods through the Duke -National Institute of Health Clinical Research Training Program.
Dr. Benjamin’s work is dedicated to addressing system-level challenges in the care of older adults, focusing on implementing and integrating evidence-informed solutions for issues such as polypharmacy and insomnia. She was the inaugural Co-Medical Director at Provincial Geriatrics Leadership Ontario, where she served as a system leader in geriatric psychiatry. In her role as Co-Chair of the Health Quality Ontario Quality Standard Advisory Committee on Insomnia, she contributes to advancing sleep care standards across the province.
Her research focuses on adapting behavioral interventions for sleep to meet the unique needs of special populations, such as individuals living with dementia and residents of long-term care homes. In addition to her clinical practice in the Waterloo region of Ontario, she actively mentors resident physicians, providing guidance in both clinical training and research.
Heather MacLeod
Heather MacLeod is currently the Director of Programs and Partnerships at the Provincial Geriatrics Leadership Ontario Office. She has spent the majority of her career in specialized geriatric services, first as a clinician, then manager and then as knowledge translation specialist. While she is passionate about facilitating capacity building for clinicians and the implementation of best practices for organizations, she is most grateful for all the things that her older adult clients have taught her about what matters most to them! Wanting to be a better clinician in supporting living with risk led her on a 16-year research journey on this topic with the hopes that when the time comes, her risk taking will be supported!
Jo-Anne Clarke
Dr. Jo-Anne Clarke completed her undergraduate degree in Biology and Pharmacology and obtained her M.D. from McMaster University in Hamilton. She went on to complete Internal Medicine and Geriatric Medicine training at the University of Western Ontario in London.
Dr. Clarke is the Medical Director of the North East Specialized Geriatric Centre at Health Sciences North and practices full-time as a geriatrician. Her clinical work spans outpatient care, inpatient consultation, telemedicine, regional capacity building, and clinical outreach. She also serves as Medical Director of the Community Paramedics - Long-Term Care program and as Specialized Geriatric Services Clinical Lead for Ontario Health North East.
She works alongside an interdisciplinary team to provide specialized geriatric consultations across Northeastern Ontario. Teaching and mentoring trainees in geriatrics is a central and fulfilling part of her role. Dr. Clarke contributes to system leadership as a member of the Provincial Geriatric Leadership Office advisory committee and the Canadian Geriatrics Society awards committee.
In 2024, she was appointed to the Order of Ontario in recognition of her contributions to geriatric care. Outside of medicine, she enjoys spending time with her husband, their three sons, and their dog, Bandit. She is an avid runner and is continually seeking balance in her professional and personal life.
