CNIS Staff
Dr. Ronald Lett
CEO and 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. In 1996, Dr. Lett co-founded the Injury Control Centre – Uganda, the first lead-agency for injury control in sub-Saharan Africa and the Injury Prevention Initiative for Africa (IPIFA), a 10-country network. He is currently the International Director of the CNIS, residing in Ethiopia. Dr. Lett is co-chair of the African Canadian Committee for Essential Surgical Skills (ACC-ESS), Scientific Associate of the Injury Control Centre-Uganda (ICC-U) and ICC-Tanzania, honorary member of the IPIFA steering Committee and Adjunct Professor of Surgery at McGill University and at the University of British Columbia.
Vimi Sian, BA, RHN
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.
Sung Yang, MBA
Accountant
Sung Yang is responsible for all CNIS accounting matters. He completed his Masters of Business Administration at the University of Victoria in 2000. With over ten years of accounting experience, he is devoted to providing outstanding accounting services to both internal and external customers by maintaining accurate accounting records and the financial health of the organization.
Dr. Jan Christilaw
Obtetrical Associate and 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.
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.