The Best Medicines Coalition’s Board of Directors is comprised of representatives of the coalition’s member organizations. Board members share a common passion for improving pharmaceutical care for Canadian patients and ensuring the patient voice is heard in health policy discussion. They all serve as volunteers on the Board of Directors.
Wendy Gerhart, Chair – Wendy was elected as Chair of the Board of Directors in 2026. She is the Executive Director of BMC member organization Migraine Canada, a nationally registered charity dedicated to improving the lives of all Canadians living with migraine and other headache disorders. Migraine Canada was founded in 2018 and joined the BMC in 2021. Wendy joined the Board of the BMC in 2021. She is a strong believer in the power coalitions have in bringing communities together to create change through strength in voice and support.
Following a lengthy career in the pharmaceutical industry in stakeholder engagement and market access, Wendy has spent the last decade working with a number of diverse patient organizations in senior management roles shaping public policy, building strategic partnerships among stakeholders to improve the health outcomes of Canadians and maximizing operational growth and capacity. Her experiences working with the NFP sector and in the pharmaceutical industry gives her a unique perspective of the reimbursement environment, issues in care and landscape from diverse perspectives. Wendy looks forward, as a board member and as Chair to bringing her skills, knowledge and experience to support the BMC in achieving its business objectives.
John Adams, Vice-Chair – John was elected as Vice-Chair of the Best Medicines Coalition in 2025 following a term as Chair since 2017. He joined the Board in 2015, and has also served as Treasurer. He has an adult son with PKU, a rare genetic disorder, and is the President, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Canadian PKU and Allied Disorders. He is also the volunteer co-chair of the Disability Tax Fairness Alliance, which focuses on ensuring the fair administration of the disability tax credit by the Canada Revenue Agency. John is a senior fellow of the Macdonald-Laurier Institute and is a published author on a range of policy issues including newborn screening for specific inherited conditions, as well as principles of good governance applied to health technology assessment. In addition, he is a past member of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Organization of Rare Disorders. John is a seasoned management consultant and has worked as a Globe and Mail reporter, chief of staff to an Ontario Cabinet Minister, and was elected to Toronto City Council three times.
Laurie Proulx, Treasurer – Laurie was elected to the Board of Directors in 2025 following several years of involvement with BMC. She is the Managing Director of the Canadian Arthritis Patient Alliance (CAPA) and a long-time patient partner with over 30 years of lived experience with juvenile idiopathic arthritis. She has led national initiatives on access to medicines, drug shortages, and biosimilars, while building a strong community of patient partners across Canada. Laurie has contributed to submissions to the Canadian Drug Agency, served on advisory committees, and briefly worked with the Canadian Drug Agency Transition Office at Health Canada as its first patient advisor. Fluent in English and French, Laurie recently facilitated the launch of CAPA’s Francophone Education and Advisory Committee. Her work focuses on strengthening patient engagement, advancing equitable access to medicines, and ensuring the patient perspective is embedded in health policy and research.
Sarah Rogers, Secretary – Sarah was elected to the Board of Directors in 2024 after several years of involvement with BMC. She is the Advocacy and Information Specialist at Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada where she has led the advocacy portfolio since 2021. Working closely with BTFC’s CEO and Advocacy Committee, Sarah is responsible for ensuring that the advocacy priorities of the organization are carried out appropriately, ethically, with the support and input of the brain tumour community.
Sarah has driven the success of several of BTFC’s most impactful advocacy initiatives including sending letters to and facilitating meetings with government representatives, participating in drug reimbursement reviews, collaborating on HTA submissions and studies, as well as co-authoring associated journal articles. Sarah also manages the communication of BTFC’s advocacy impact to the community to share the collective successes and learn from the challenges. Sarah plays a pivotal role in advocating for issues of importance to the brain tumour community, and in ensuring patient, caregiver, and family needs are considered to the fullest extent in discussions with government and other stakeholders.
Sarah is a Registered Social Worker with the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers (OCSWSSW) and holds a Bachelor of Social Work degree from King’s University College. She spent the first few years of her career working with youth experiencing homelessness at Youth Opportunities Unlimited as a Youth Transition Worker as well as a Youth Development Counsellor leading the Anti-Human Trafficking program.