Team

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Wendy Zatylny is a seasoned executive who brings 30 years’ experience spearheading issues on the federal and provincial-territorial landscapes—including policy development and roll-out, reputation stewardship, issues management, and advocacy to advance member interests.

Wendy has represented Canadian issues on the world stage, and led national stakeholder engagement and government relations programs developed in concert with effective media and advertising strategies. Born in Quebec and charged with Canada-wide program initiatives, Wendy brings a bilingual and truly national perspective to her work.

Wendy brings extensive leadership experience across key sectors of the Canadian economy, including life sciences, logistics, telecommunications, and marine transportation. Before joining BIOTECanada, Wendy was Canadian Country Manager for a global telecommunications infrastructure provider, during which time she led a $7.5 million project to upgrade the company’s passive infrastructure.  Prior to that, she spent nine years as President at the Association of Canadian Port Authorities (ACPA), advocating on behalf of the marine transportation system.  On the life sciences front, she spent eight years at Rx&D, the national association representing Canada’s research-based pharmaceutical companies where she held several senior positions in public affairs and government relations.  

Outside of the office, Wendy is a proud mom to her 28 year old son, as well as an accomplished  competitive ballroom dancer. Active in her community, she is a recipient of the Governor General’s Commemorative Medal for the 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada, and was recognized by the Supply Chain Management Association as one of 100 Influential Women in Canadian Supply Chain in 2019.

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With fifteen years of practical experience in the field of communications and public affairs Cate McCready joined BIOTECanada in November of 2001 and currently serves in the role of Vice President, External Affairs.

Her current role with BIOTECanada encompasses the development of national programs designed to inform and highlight the value of biotechnology innovation in Canada. This includes leading advocacy, media relations, and public awareness activities of the association to showcase the industry.

Her experience includes more than eight years of service within the federal government. This included roles for federal ministers and to the Prime Minister of Canada. Prior to her federal government experience she served in corporate and non-profit roles for national organizations.

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Dr. Ron Boch is the Vice President, Biotechnology and Industry Affairs with lead responsibility for BIOTECanada’s policy development reflecting the diverse nature of Canada’s health, industrial and agricultural biotechnology sectors.

He brings a wide range of scientific, research and commercialization expertise in his work with emerging companies, vaccine manufacturers and global pharmaceutical companies, having worked for over 25 years with industry particularly regarding biopharmaceutical, biotechnology, and vaccine products. In 2021, Ron was awarded the Canadian Society for Pharmaceutical Sciences Award of Leadership in Canadian Pharmaceutical Sciences and in 2023 was awarded a Fellow of the Society, for demonstrated leadership in advancing the cause of pharmaceutical research and development in Canada. As a named inventor of over 60 US and international patent applications including nine different patent families, Dr. Boch developed new technologies for business opportunities and managed relationships with key opinion leaders in the biotechnology and biopharmaceutical industry. At QLT Inc., he contributed to the development of Visudyne used for photodynamic therapy of age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in people over 60. He led pharmaceutical development and formulation activities of a wide variety of preclinical and clinical products. In 2022, Ron was invited to join the Academy of Translational Medicine, and the Regulatory Advisory Council, serving as an innovation hub to connect people from diverse sectors and accelerate the translation of scientific discoveries into the clinic.

Dr. Boch serves advisory Boards including the Canadian Society for Pharmaceutical Sciences  and Industry Advisory Committee of the Drug Development and Innovation Centre at the University of Alberta.  He completed postdoctoral studies at the University of British Columbia, a Ph.D. in Chemistry and B.Sc. in Biochemistry, earned from the University of Ottawa.

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Pascale brings over ten years of experience in healthcare policy, clinical programs, digital health technology, and population health research.

Before joining BIOTECanada, Pascale was Senior Engagement Manager at Think Research, a health technology company, where she led the Client Success team’s long-term care initiatives, the data strategy team, and managed strategic partnerships. Prior to this work, Pascale acted as Senior Funding Specialist at Cancer Care Ontario (Ontario Health), where she leveraged her skills in health policy analysis, stakeholder engagement, and project management to lead numerous initiatives stemming from the province’s Health System Funding Reform.

Pascale holds a Graduate Diploma in Population Health Risk Assessment and Management from the University of Ottawa and a Master of Science Degree in Epidemiology from Queen’s University. Throughout her graduate studies, she held the role of Technical Master’s Student at the International Agency for Research on Cancer in Lyon, France. Her peer-reviewed publications focused on the study of hazards of cancer and occupational risk factors of cardiovascular disease. 

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With 15 years financial experience in non-profit organizations, Janice Burke joined BIOTECanada in January 2004. In her current role as Director, Finance and Operations Janice manages the day-to-day fiscal and physical resources of the association. Other responsibilities include administration of group benefits and human resources, overseeing capital acquisitions and service contracts, facilities management as well as some business solutions benefiting our membership.

Prior to joining BIOTECanada, Janice served for nine years as Information Systems Manager for South Asia Partnership Canada, a non-profit organization working in human development. In this capacity, she managed financial reporting as well the LAN and IT systems for the Partnership and was responsible for government and partner reporting for several overseas development programs. Janice also oversaw database design and maintenance.

Janice has also served as board director of a national non-profit, has extensive experience in organizational restructuring, strategic planning, information technology management and working with volunteers. She has training in conflict resolution and human rights.

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With over 18 years of Association experience Shaely joined BIOTECanada in June 2019. Her role with BIOTECanada comprises of using her past experience to lead the Association’s identification, outreach and recruitment of new members. To seek out sponsorship opportunities and nurture partnership while growing and maintaining the savings and services program that supports BIOTECanada’s members.

Shaely is the lead facilitator for the Canadian presence at the annual BIO International Convention and coordinates the planning and execution of our annual BIOTECanada Investor Summit in Whistler.

Prior to joining BIOTECanada, Shaely served for 9 years as the Manager of Member Relations for the Canadian Association of Medical Radiation Technologists where under her stewardship efficient membership processes were put in place to enhance the overall member experience.

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Emily Meyers joined BIOTECanada in August 2013 and currently serves in the role of Manager, Business & Policy Development. Emily supports BIOTECanada’s member outreach programs and leads on the association’s presence at several key international industry events.

She manages the Business Development Fund available through BIOTECanada in partnership with the Trade Commissioner Service, and implements business solutions offered to members. Emily supports a number of policy files, especially within environmental, industrial, and agricultural biotechnology. She also assists with communications, including website maintenance, events, and marketing.

Emily holds an MSc from the University of Ottawa in Environmental Sustainability, and a BSc from Queen’s University in Biochemistry.

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Nina joined BIOTECanada in August 2023 as the Communications Manager. In her role, she is responsible for media relations, communications strategies, and digital outreach ensuring all communications effectively engage BIOTECanada’s diverse audiences.

Nina comes to BIOTECanada from the not-for-profit sector having held communications and revenue development positions at MediaSmarts, Families Canada, and Scouts Canada. Nina was a political assistant to Members of Parliament and served as a Communications Officer in the Office of the Leader of the Official Opposition.

Nina also brings federal project management experience from Environment Canada where she coordinated project approvals, briefings, regulatory, and communications packages for Managers, Directors, and the Director General in the Chemicals Management Division. She was also the recipient of Environment Canada’s Citation of Excellence.

Nina holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and English from Carleton University.