Shirlee M. Sharkey

Shirlee Sharkey is president and CEO of Saint Elizabeth Health Care (SEHC), an internationally-renowned leader in home and community care known for its social capital, strong financial performance and track record of innovation. As a diversified not-for-profit charitable health services organization, SEHC employs approximately 4,000 staff and delivers 3.3 million visits annually.

With a century of experience and a powerful vision for the future, SEHC is dedicated to changing the way care is experienced in urban centres, remote communities, health care institutions, living rooms, boardrooms, and rooms on wheels - touching countless lives throughout Canada and
around the world.

Shirlee's commitment to community is illustrated through her leadership and involvement with many not-for-profit boards. She is a past chair of George Brown College in Toronto and a director of Ontario's Smart Systems for Health Agency. On a national level, she is a former president of the Canadian Home Care Association and a past director of the Canadian Society for Telehealth. Internationally, she is chair of the World Homecare and Hospice Organization. She is also a past president of the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario (RNAO). In 2007, she was appointed by the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care to act as an expert advisor on staffing and care standards for long-term care homes in Ontario.

Academically, Shirlee is cross-appointed to the Faculty of Nursing and the Faculty of Medicine
(Department of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation) as an adjunct professor at the University of Toronto. She has presented and published widely on issues related to nursing, home and community-based health care and the need for system change.

Shirlee believes that leadership is a responsibility that belongs to us all and when we embrace it as such, extraordinary things are possible. Her philosophy of building a collective wisdom from diverse perspectives is manifested in the awards SEHC has received, including being named one of Canada's 50 Best Employers, Best Workplaces, and a Best Practice Spotlight Organization.

Shirlee's vision and leadership have most recently been recognized with the Award of Excellence in Nursing Leadership, Ontario Hospital Association, in 2005; a Golden Jubilee Medal of Queen Elizabeth II in 2003; and a Who's Who in Healthcare award (Healthcare Provider category) in 2000.