having previously completed a BSc at the University of Toronto in 1977. Early on, he focused on building his practice, having a family and becoming involved with the Southern Alberta Chiroprac-tic Society. In time, he reached a point where he felt it was time to give back, so he joined the Alberta College and As-sociation of Chiropractors, becoming its president from 2005-2007. Eventually, Dr. Warren began to work on a more na-tional level, becoming a member of the CMCC board (1993-1997), director of the Canadian Federation of Chiropractic Regulatory and Educational Accrediting Boards (2005-2006) and a board mem-ber with the CCA, where he progressed to his current position as chair. When asked how his history of en-gagement within the profession provides direction for his current role, Dr. War-ren notes, “At every stage of involve-ment with the profession, meeting with various decision-makers across Canada, I have learned that dialogue and rela-tionship-building are key. Good rela-tionships create momentum to move the profession forward.” working in this area of health care, the guidelines will include a comprehensive knowledge transfer component. Translating the research into practice protocols is essential for truly making the most of this work in research. “The goal is for current research proj-ects to yield clinically-based outcomes that can be put into practice,” says Dr. Warren. “Of course, we would also like to gain more support for this research: increased funding, endowment funds, etc. Finally, we would like to increase our international relationships with re-spect to the work being done in Canada. For example, Canada’s clinical practice guidelines for the management of head-aches in adults were adopted by Norway in 2010 – we would like to see more of this collaboration on an international scale, and work is already underway at the CCA to facilitate this process.” board,” explains Dr. Warren. “One that will be nimble and action-oriented to meet the challenges that we face in the profession. Within this framework, the Chair and the board work with the CEO to help move strategies forward.” RESEARCH Dr. Warren is particularly dedicated to supporting Canada’s chiropractic re-search agenda. A lot of good work has already been done, and currently, there are chiropractic research chairs in nine out of the 10 provinces. “The value of these chairs,” says Dr. Warren, “lies in fostering the profes-sion’s integration into a collaborative model of health care, side by side with other partners in the system to provide optimal patient care.” The chairs represent work done by chiropractors in capacities ranging from basic science research to clinical studies to epidemiology networks. “We are amassing data in muscu-loskeletal health and chiropractic care across the country and internationally,” continues Dr. Warren. “In Canada, this includes the establishment of Dr. André Bussières, DC, PhD, who, as research chair at McGill University, will be fo-cused on the formation of internation-ally-informed, evidence-based clinical practice guidelines. “To ensure that the guidelines are usable in everyday practice by chiro-practors and possibly other professions www.canadianchiropractor.ca GOVERNMENT/MARKETING One of the CCA’s missions is to be a resource for provincial associations particularly with respect to govern-ment relations, advocacy and marketing the profession to the public. Dr. War-ren strives for collaboration to explore new opportunities, to showcase each province’s strengths and bring those strengths forward to their governments and the public. He is looking forward to working with Ms. Dantas to build a clear strategy for developing CCA’s programs to the next level of excellence to create a stronger national presence for the pro-fession in Canada and internationally. NEW GOVERNANCE MODEL In order to meet these demands, Dr. Warren and the CCA developed a new governance model beginning in 2013. The principle-based governance mod-el endorsed by the Organization for Eco-nomic Co-operation and Development focuses the board’s attention on strategic direction and accountability. The man-agement of operations is delegated with clear authority to the chief executive of-ficer and there are clear charters in place to govern reporting and behavior of all parties within the organization. This model will take the CCA to a new level of responsiveness and effectiveness in-cluding building a strategic plan to help guide the activities of the organization. “It is a move to a strategically-focused ALISON DANTAS: FOCUSED ON POSITIVE CHANGE Alison Dantas comes to the CCA with more than 20 years of experience work-ing in the not-for-profit sector, building upon and increasing the capacity and strengths of organizations through stra-tegic collaboration, the establishment of sound governance and strong stakehold-er engagement. This approach helps to ensure optimal return on investment for its constituents and members. Within the healthcare association sector, specifi-cally, she has worked provincially with the professions of midwifery and naturo-pathic doctors, focusing her attention on regulatory changes to improve scopes of practice, developing strong stakeholder awareness and engagement, respond-ing to members’ needs for support and implementing innovative programming and organization development. She has worked tirelessly to build relationships and partnerships and to ensure innova-tion and high performance within the organizations she has served. She states that her responsibility as CEO of the CCA is to help the profes-sion meet its potential through the cre-ation and strategic execution of inno-vative programs that promote clinical excellence and inter-professional col-laboration, while optimally improving the public’s awareness of the profession. Working with the provincial associa-tions, national and international chiro-practic stakeholders and the federal gov-ernment to improve the opportunities for chiropractors to be recognized as the cultural authority for musculoskeletal health is key to her role. “My experience, and my commitment, is to work with people to get ideas on the table so that we can develop innovative solutions to address the needs of the profession.” Ms. Dantas’ excitement for the de-velopments currently underway at the CCA stems from her belief in the poten-tial for chiropractors to be recognized as strong contributors to patient-centred care and the health of Canadians. She CANADiAN CHiROPRACTOR | FEBRUARY 2013 • 13
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