Teams category: Leadership

Dr. Zygun is a professor and past first chair of the Department of Critical Care Medicine at the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta. He practises neurocritical care medicine at the University of Alberta Hospital.

In his most recent leadership role, Dr. Zygun served as the Zone Medical Director, Edmonton Zone, for Alberta Health Services. In this role, his responsibilities included oversight of the Edmonton Zone’s approximately 3,000 physicians, including quality and safety, physician workforce planning, recruitment, appointments and credentialling, and physician leadership development. As part of a dyad, he also shared decision-making and accountability for the Edmonton Zone’s overall health system planning, operations, and performance.

Dr. Zygun previously held other leadership roles with AHS including the Acting Associate Chief Medical Officer (ACMO), Strategic Clinical Networks (SCNs), where he had co-leadership of the continued development, support, and oversight of all SCNs. His responsibilities included integration between SCNs, provincial programs, and clinical operations, and strategic and outcome measures planning per the AHS mandate and the AHS Health and Business Plan.

Dr. Zygun has also served as the Senior Medical Director of the Critical Care SCN, and Adult Critical Care Edmonton Zone Clinical Department Head. Prior to his roles in Edmonton, he practised in Calgary for almost a decade, primarily at Foothills Medical Centre, and served as the Medical Director, Foothills Multisystem Intensive Care Unit and Associate Professor in the Department of Critical Care Medicine at the University of Calgary.

Dr. Zygun trained at the University of Toronto (Internal Medicine) and University of Calgary (Critical Care Medicine, MSc Clinical Epidemiology) prior to completing a neurocritical care medicine fellowship at the University of Cambridge, in Cambridge, England.

In his academic capacity, Dr. Zygun has researched clinical, epidemiological, and translational issues relating to neurocritical care, particularly traumatic central nervous system injury and infection. His focus now involves health services operations and research. He has published more than 150 peer-reviewed scientific articles.

As Executive Director, Communications & Engagement, Lisa advises and collaborates within Health Quality Alberta to ensure the organization maintains its positive reputation for transparency, credibility, and objectivity. With expertise in strategic communications and planning, media relations, writing and editing, issues management and stakeholder communications, Lisa has oversight for all communication activities within the organization, ensuring its healthcare partners and the public are engaged in Health Quality Alberta’s work in a way that is meaningful and appropriate.

Prior to joining Health Quality Alberta, Lisa held a variety of communications roles spanning 15 years in several organizations including FortisAlberta and the Alberta Electric System Operator. Lisa holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communications Studies from the University of Calgary and is an Accredited Business Communicator through the International Association of Business Communicators.

As Executive Director, Health System Improvement, Mollie oversees a team focused on improving the quality of Alberta’s health system. This involves developing and implementing new initiatives using innovative approaches to enhance health system quality and patient safety.

As Executive Director, Health System Analytics, Markus oversees Health Quality Alberta’s measurement and analytical functions, as well as many of the monitoring and reporting functions such as population-level surveys and health system performance reporting. This involves survey and administrative data analytics, and survey development, methodology, and reporting. Markus plays a key role in Health Quality Alberta’s use of objective information to drive actionable improvement that enhances quality healthcare.

Markus joined the Health Quality Alberta in 2009 following a career with Statistics Canada’s Research Data Centre at the University of Calgary where he was responsible for managing and coordinating daily operations, and conducting population research. He collaborated with other multidisciplinary teams from across Canada to identify and implement strategic and systematic changes to the program.

Markus holds a PhD in sociology with a specialization in health research from the University of Calgary and a Master of Arts from Lakehead University. He has training in both quantitative and qualitative methods.

Jessica is Director, Financial Services with Health Quality Alberta, and has accountability for all financial systems and controls within the organization. She is a Chartered Accountant with more than 10 years of work experience in a variety of industries. Prior to joining Health Quality Alberta, Jessica spent seven years with an oil and gas service company working in a variety of financial roles and for a number of different projects. Her career also includes time with Ernst & Young providing assurance and advisory services to both public and private sector enterprises.

Jessica holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Calgary and she has her Chartered Accountant designation through the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Alberta.