Gateway welcomes new executive director

Dr. Leslie Walker signing her contract with Gateway, featuring Dan Stringer and Gwen Devereaux.

Earlier this month Gateway Centre of Excellence in Rural Health (CERH) welcomed Dr. Leslie Walker as its executive director.

Dr. Walker brings a wealth of international experience, academic excellence, and a strong commitment to rural health innovation.

“It is my pleasure to join Gateway in conducting high-impact research that contributes to objective, intelligent and nuanced discourse within the local community,” said Dr. Walker on her new position.

Gateway is keen to work with Dr. Walker, to lead Gateway into an exciting new chapter of growth and impact.

“We are excited to welcome Dr. Walker to the Gateway team,” said Dan Stringer, Chair of the Board at Gateway CERH.

“Her impressive background in digital innovation, healthcare, and leadership, combined with her deep roots in our region, makes her uniquely positioned to advance our mission to improve the health and quality of life for rural residents.”

Originally from Goderich, Dr. walker holds an Honours Bachelor of Commerce and Pyschology Degree from McMaster University and a Master of International Business Degree from Queen’s University.

During her master’s program, Dr. Walker completed an international MBA exchange at the prestigious Gaunghua School of Management in Beijing, China. This provided Dr. Walker with a global perspective on business and innovation.

According to Gateway, Dr. Walker completed her Doctorate of Social and Economic Sciences at the Vienna University of Technology in Austria, in collaboration with the United Nations (U.N.) and Rotary International.

Dr. Walker’s doctoral research focused on responsible usage of Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) in low-resource settings, with particular emphasis on healthcare. This can be an area of critical importance for rural communities.

With extensive experience in management consulting, Dr. Walker served as a Senior Management Consultant at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). In this role, Dr. Walker worked globally on large digital enablement projects with major technology companies such as Google, and Microsoft.

She also worked with Canadian clients including the Ministry of the Attorney General and NAV Canada.

With a passion for leveraging technology, research and collaborating to empower rural communities, Dr. Walker is keen to bring her expertise and vision to Gateway’s projects and partnerships.

“Let’s not mince words, we’re in the midst of a healthcare crisis with rising rates of chronic illness, an aging population, and shortages of healthcare workers,” Dr. Walker stated regarding thoughts on her new position.

“We need to address the cause of these issues, rather than treating symptoms if we hope to lighten the load on the healthcare system.”