HAVE A CUP OF JOE WITH JOE – The Year 2022: A Time Of Bowie-like “Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes”
After two plus years of pandemic house arrest and varying degrees of restrictions, this year should have residents of Windsor and Essex County emerging from their isolation faster than Wiarton Willie’s prognostication of an early spring after not seeing his shadow!
Do you want change? Then buckle up your seat belts because it is change you will be getting!
However, for change to occur, YOU NEED TO BE the change you want by exercising your civic duty to vote when Ontarians head to the polls twice this year, within months of each other, to change the political landscape provincially and municipally. And, if you wish to change our current situation regarding COVID-19, follow the advice of the science and healthcare specialists.
For residents of Windsor and Essex County, three of this region’s important community care and service organizations are changing their leadership at the highest level — Canadian Mental Health Association, Windsor-Essex County Branch represented by Dr. Sonja Grbevski; the Multicultural Council of Windsor and Essex County represented by Fred Francis; and Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare represented by Bill Marra.
Let’s meet these three individuals now (all pictured on the front cover of this issue) and learn a bit about their past experiences, their qualifications and the strengths they “bring to the table”.
Dr. Sonja Grbevski, The New CEO For The Canadian Mental Health Association, Windsor-Essex County Branch
Since March 16, 1971, the Canadian Mental Health Association, Windsor-Essex County Branch (CMHA-WECB)has been the lead provider and advocate of specialized community mental health and addiction services, integrated with comprehensive primary healthcare services, in the area.
For the past seven years, Claudia den Boer has held the title of Chief Executive Officer (CEO), completing her 30 year career in health care that included the Salvation Army Grace Hospital and executive positions at both Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare and Windsor Regional Hospital.
CMHA-WECBBoard of Directors Chair Barb Davis acknowledgesden Boer’s 30 years of contributions in the statement: “The Board is grateful to Claudia for her visionary leadership since 2015. She has been a true advocate for the organization. Her well earned reputation, community wide, as a strategic thinker and trusted collaborator has garnered CMHA-WECB a higher visibility and leveraged opportunities for partnerships and integrated services to better serve those in our community.”
On April 4, 2022 den Boer officially retires, but to allow for some orientation on March 7, 2022, Dr. Sonja Grbevski commences her new position as CEO of the CMHA-WECB.
Most recently, Dr. Grbevski held the position of Vice President, Clinical Services, Mental Health and Addictions at Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare. Her portfolio consisted of Adult Mental Health and Addictions, as well as Children and Youth Mental Health programs.
With over 25 years of experience in the field of mental health, in both community and hospital settings, she has led significant initiatives within the Windsor Essex community and introduced new levels of service unique to Ontario, such as the Transitional Stability Centre: Crisis and Wellness.
Furthermore, she redefined pathways to care and co-led the implementation of a formal collaborative with the CMHA-WECB, with integrated management positions, to streamline services to develop a barrier free client journey.
With an established symbiotic relationship between Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare and CMHA-WECB — a relationship she helped to create — Grbevski is well positioned to hit the ground running. She has been instrumental in the many community partnerships CMHA-WECB has established with the City of Windsor, Windsor Police Services and a host of other community organizations and stakeholders.
Grbevski received her doctorate in Counsellor Education with cognates in Rehabilitation Counselling and Educational Psychology, from Wayne State University. And, until recent years, she was an Adjunct Professor in the Rehabilitation Counselling program at Wayne State University.
She begins this latest chapter of her career with these words: “It is with great honour and enthusiasm that I joined the CMHA-WECB family. To be part of a grassroots and high performing organization that is embedded in this community, comes with great responsibility and opportunity to continue with the growth and success of the organization.”
Dr. Grbevski adds: “I look forward to working with the CMHA-WECB team and our community partners, in continuing to strengthen the care for individuals/families that are faced with Mental Health and Addictions.”
With her extensive clinical background and expertise in mental health and addictions in our community, Grbevski will continue an environment that inspires, empowers, and transforms all individuals into a culture that embraces the provision of optimal care.
