Board of Directors

NEW, INCOMING ACMRP DIRECTORS

Jim Karahalios has a Bachelor and Master's in Civil Engineering from the University of Toronto. He is a licensed lawyer called to the Law Society of Upper Canada having graduated law school from the University of Ottawa. After working at a downtown law firm and as legal counsel for one of Canada's largest construction contractors, specializing in Public-Private Partnerships, he moved into the homecare and medical equipment industry as part of the management team of AGTA Home Health Care located out of Vaughan, Ontario.

Dr. Philip Palmer is a Board Certified Specialist in Rehabilitation as a diplomate of the American Chiropractic Rehabilitation Board (DACRB). He is also a member of the International Society of Clinical Rehabilitation Specialists (ISCRS), and Internationally Certified in Impairment and Disability Rating. He has completed a peer review journal article and has lectured as a guest speaker for the ACRB Diplomate program. He has worked with AC Milan and the New York Rangers using the Optogait dynamic movement assessment tool. He continues to perform specialized dynamic movement assessments for professional teams and for specialized rehabilitation programs. He is also a collaborator for Sick Kids Exercise Medicine Research Lab – Optogait Clinical Research. He has performed examinations on behalf of insurers and claimants throughout his practice. He is currently a Member of the Canadian and Ontario Chiropractic Associations as well as a fellow of the American Chiropractic Rehabilitation Board. In private practice since 1997, he has been Clinical Director at Genesis Rehabilitation, Physiotherapy and Sports Injury Clinic since 1998.

RETURNING ACMRP DIRECTORS

Nick Gurevich is the co-founder and Executive Director of FunctionAbility Rehabilitation Services. In this capacity he oversees operations and sets the strategic direction of the company. Prior to founding FunctionAbility, Nick spent over a decade in the Investment Banking and Private Equity sectors. He has completed numerous investments and acquisitions on behalf of a subsidiary of Scotiabank and TD Bank. While in the financial sector, Nick served on the Boards of Directors of over a dozen companies. Nick is a past Chair of Brain Injury Society of Toronto (BIST), Member of the ABI Network Advisory Board, and a Member of the Finance Committee at the Ontario Society of Occupational Therapists (OSOT). Nick is the current President and founding member of the Alliance of Community Medical and Rehabilitation Providers (ACMRP), a group which has been actively advocating on behalf of clinicians working within MVA sector with respect to proposed regulatory changes.
In the community, Nick is involved with the Hospital of Sick Children’s Leaders Program and acts as a mentor for students at the Schulich School of Business at York University.

Justine Hamilton has been a speech-language pathologist for 18 years. She returned to Ivey to get her MBA when she got fed up with the Canadian healthcare system and wanted to work in any sector other than healthcare. However, upon graduation in 2000, the entrepreneurship bug hit and she opened a private SLP clinic. With her business partner, Jeff Lear, they have now expanded to 3 locations in southern Ontario and 50-60% of their clients are funded with auto insurance dollars. Justine sits on the Advisory Board of the Canadian Association for People-Centred Health. She was on the board of Ontario Association for Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists for a few years and was the President for 2 of these years. She and Jeff were co-chairs of OSLA’s auto insurance interest group from 2000-2012, which involved face-to-face meetings with government and IBC reps and writing gazillions of responses to FSCO announcements. Justine has received numerous awards, including OSLA’s highest, the Honours of the Association. Justine joined the Alliance and then the Board of the Alliance because she believes strongly in the value of bringing private health practice owners together in the province

Patricia Howell

Patricia graduated with a B.Sc.O.T. (Occupational Therapy) from Queen's University in 1982 and subsequently completed a Masters in Business Administration at York University in 1990. She received her Life Care Planning Certification in 2011.Patricia has worked in various acute care and rehabilitation facilities, including (now named) Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital where she specialized in pediatric neurology. Since joining NRS in 1995 she has provided community based Case Management and Occupational Therapy services for adults and children with acquired brain injury and other serious injuries. Patricia’s experience also includes program management, clinical research, staff and intern supervision and organizing, chairing and presenting at major symposia. As Manager of Development and Communications at NRS, she is also responsible for ensuring that the company is responding to the needs of its various community partners.

David Frake
David Frake is a physiotherapist clinician and owner/director of Balance Physiotherapy. Balance Physiotherapy is a neurological and orthopedic practice serving adults and children in clinic, community and home settings. Balance Physiotherapy employs the services of eight physiotherapists and a massage therapist. Balance is clinically affiliated with the University of Toronto. David’s educational background is in Science (physiology/kinesiology) (Waterloo) and Physiotherapy (Ottawa). He has taken numerous post-graduate clinical courses including Bobath normal movement studies and acupuncture (AFCI). Clinically, his expertise was developed at the ROHCG- Ottawa Rehabilitation Centre, TRI- The Lyndhurst Centre and several private orthopedic practices. His clinical experience includes work in Asia, Africa and the UK. He has an affiliation with the University of Toronto as a clinical facilitator. He is also a member of Canada’s National Triathlon Team both as a physiotherapist and athlete. David brings with him to the Alliance Board of Directors, a membership in the Canadian Physiotherapy Association, five years as a member of the Ottawa District Executive of the Ontario Physiotherapy Association (OPA), 3 years as a voting delegate at the OPA’s annual general meeting and a delegate to the first OPA Planning and Priorities Assembly.

Carmen Martino
Has been practicing Speech-Language Pathology for 20 years. She has worked in TBI since 1995 and has had her own sole practitioner private practice since 2000. Her practice has been 100% TBI since 2005, working exclusively within the auto insurance sector. Carmen brings with her varied volunteer experiences, including supporting the work of Amnesty International as an executive member of the U of T chapter as an undergraduate, Habitat for Humanity, World Vision, and the Toronto Food Bank. She believes passionately in the mission of the Alliance to represent business owners and practitioners in TBI to act as a strong, united voice at the policy-making table. She is interested in raising public awareness of the implications of the recent auto insurance reforms and she would like to represent and increase membership of sole practitioners in the Alliance.

Pat Gaughan
Pat Gaughan is presently the President and CEO of Bartimaeus Inc and has been with the company since its inception in 1988. Pat has 27 years of experience working with children, youth and adults in the Children’s Mental Health, developmental, addictions and rehabilitation sectors. Pat is the past president of the GTA branch of the Ontario Association of Child and Youth Counselors and past member of the OACYC Board of Directors. He is currently the President of the Board for the Reach Out Centre for Kids (R.O.C.K.), an accredited Children’s Mental Health Centre located in the Halton Region.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (Part-time)

Laurie Davis was is a founding Alliance Board member and was Executive Director of Therapacc Inc. now a Division of Closing the Gap Healthcare Group, from 2001 to 2012.. She currently serves as Chair of the Board of Governors of Ross Memorial Hospital in Lindsay, Ontario. She lives in Peterborough.
 Prior to joining Therapacc Inc., Laurie operated a consulting practice focussing on program and organizational development, pay and employment equity, human resources and communications. She is also an occasionally published freelance writer.