The CNIS Team
Dr. Ronald Lett
CEO & Director of Curriculum Development
Founder of the Canadian Network for International Surgery (CNIS), Dr. Ronald Lett did his undergraduate medical training and post-graduate surgical training at the University of Alberta. He completed his Masters in Injury Epidemiology at McGill University and has appointments as Adjunct Professor of Surgery at McGill University and at the University of British Columbia. He has led CNIS in various capacities since 1995 and has completed 14 Canadian government-funded projects in 7 African countries. These projects have focused on surgical and obstetrical skills training, injury prevention and surgical information transfer.
Dr. Jan Christilaw
Director of Women's Health
As President of BC Women’s Hospital, Dr. Christilaw is a powerhouse for advancing women’s health in British Columbia and a global leader in maternal care. Her 25+ years of accomplishments include: Appointed Member, Order of Canada (2017); President of BC Women’s Hospital; Expert Advisor, Canadian Institute for Health Information for Maternity; UBC Clinical Professor; Founding Chair, Aboriginal Maternity Committee; and Chair, BC Consensus Panel on Cesarean Birth – all while delivering thousands of babies in British Columbia.
Vimi Sian, BA
Office Manager
Vimi Sian brings a background in communications and administration as well as experience as an event planner, world traveller, researcher, writer and editor, to her work at CNIS. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in English from UBC, and worked with children and families in the non-profit sector for 12 years before shifting her focus to the global health sector. She is passionate about making a sustainable impact on improving health access for marginalized populations, both at home and abroad.
Susan Milne, CPA, CA
Gavin Thornton
Chief Technology Officer
Gavin is developing the CNIS technology initiative including the CNIS MOST project. Also about to release the first CNIS app, a KTS calculator tool and learning application for use by African doctors and surgeons.
Gavin has also taken on the task to regenerate the CNIS website.
Adrian Soltani
IT Support
Adrian is responsible for the Canadian Network for International Surgery website. He completed his Social Media Marketing degree at British Columbia Institute of Technology in 2015. With over five years of experience in web development and internet marketing, he provides technical services for editing content and debugging code.