CHEO saddened by the loss of board member Karen Green

Ottawa, Ont. - Jan. 17, 2025 - CHEO is deeply saddened by the loss of Karen Green, a cherished member of our Board of Directors since 2020. From Tyendinaga First Nation, Karen championed the rights of Indigenous people, especially women and children, and made an immeasurable impact on our community. With the CHEO board, she chaired our strategy and connected care committee and co-led our strategy renewal launched last spring. Her tireless efforts and leadership also extended to her work as co-chair of CHEO's equity, diversity, inclusion and Indigeneity (EDII) taskforce that paved the way for us to establish our I-IDEAS Framework. Karen was an example of humble leadership as an active member of CHEO’s Indigenous Circle, mentoring Indigenous staff and non-Indigenous allies alike.

Karen's contributions extended beyond her professional achievements. She was a beacon of hope, a source of strength for those who knew her, and she inspired all of us. Her commitment to justice and human rights was evident in all her work and every role she took on. A lawyer by profession, she contributed nationally through numerous leadership positions at the Department of Justice, as CEO at the Native Women’s Association of Canada, and as the main writer and advisor for the women’s chapter of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples Report. She made an equally valuable impact at the local level. She served as director on numerous boards and built bridges between many communities through her amazing work as Relationship Coordinator for the Ottawa Aboriginal Coalition, a valued partner organization to CHEO.

As we remember Karen, we celebrate her life and the profound impact she had on all of us. She so generously shared her perspectives and wisdom with us for which we are grateful. Her legacy will live on through the countless lives she touched and the positive changes she affected. In her honour, CHEO deepens its commitment to embrace a strength-based approach towards engaging respectfully with, and recognizing the distinct rights of, Indigenous Peoples in Canada. We will work tirelessly, as Karen did, to support their well-being and provide appropriate, culturally aware and excellent health-care services to Indigenous children and youth. Karen will be deeply missed by the entire CHEO family. 

Lindy Samson Jo-Anne Poirier

President and CEO, CHEO (Interim) Chair, CHEO Board of Directors