Executive Team

Melanie Kohn
Melanie Kohn
President & Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

Melanie is a talented, compassionate and dynamic health system leader with more than 20 years of progressive experience leading transformational projects benefiting patients, families and communities in Toronto and Ontario.

She comes to MGH from the Ontario Ministry of Health (MOH), where she served as Assistant Deputy Minister of Hospitals and Capital Division. In this role, she oversaw multi-billion-dollar budgets supporting the operations and capital funding of Ontario’s hospital sector, including all 144 hospitals in the province.

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Melanie was the Assistant Deputy Minister of Mental Health and Addictions at the MOH. In this role, she was responsible for the implementation of critical mental health investments supporting Ontario communities.

Prior to joining the Ontario Public Service, Melanie spent most of her career working in acute care hospitals. Most notably, she worked at St. Michael’s Hospital for over 12 years in operational and strategic roles, including strategy and corporate planning, project management and research administration.

Melanie holds a Master of Business Administration, with a specialization in Health Services Management, from McMaster University, and a PhD in Evidence-Based Strategic Decision Making from the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation.

She is highly regarded for her ability to develop meaningful and collaborative partnerships with colleagues and valued stakeholders across the health sector.

Dr. Carmine Simone
Dr. Carmine Simone
Vice President, Medical, Strategic Clinical Partnerships and Innovation

Dr. Carmine Simone obtained his medical degree from McMaster University in 1998 and he completed his Adult Critical Care Medicine fellowship and Thoracic Surgery Residency Program at the University of Toronto in 2004. He joined Michael Garron Hospital (MGH) in July 2004 as the Medical Director of the newly formed ICU and as a staff thoracic surgeon. Dr. Simone is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery at the University of Toronto.

He has held many leadership roles at MGH, including Head of the Division of Critical Care, Chief of the Department of Surgery and, most recently, Medical Director of Integrated Programs in collaboration with Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. In his role of Vice President, Medical, Strategic Partnerships and Innovation, Dr. Simone provides oversight of strategic partnerships and innovation, which includes MGH leadership representation for East Toronto Health Partners (ETHP), the Ontario Health Team (OHT) serving East Toronto, and the hospital’s Information Management and Technology Department.

Kevin Edmonson
Kevin Edmonson
Vice President, Clinical Programs and Quality

Kevin Edmonson is the Vice President, Clinical Programs and Quality at Michael Garron Hospital (MGH). Kevin is responsible for clinical programs at the organization, as well as the Quality Improvement and Operational Excellence portfolio.

Kevin is a steadfast and seasoned leader, most recently leading MGH’s Emergency, Critical Care and Cardiology Services, and Clinical Strategy. Prior to this, he held progressive leadership roles across the hospital in Support Services, Medicine, the Nursing Resource Team, and Diagnostic Imaging.  Kevin also worked as the Vice President, Community Care at WoodGreen Community Services, a large community social services provider in Toronto, where he led the expansion of supportive housing and seniors assisted living services. 

Kevin played an instrumental role in MGH and East Toronto Health Partners’ (ETHP) integrated, community-based response to the COVID-19 pandemic. With Kevin as a co-lead, MGH and ETHP opened one of Canada’s first COVID-19 Assessment Centres and set new world records for the most COVID-19 vaccines administered at a single-day clinic in one location.

Kevin takes pride in helping to mentor new leaders and support people exploring healthcare management. He co-facilitates a course at the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation (IHPME) at the University of Toronto.

Mikki Layton
Mikki Layton
Vice President, Professional Practice, Programs, Scholarship & Chief Nursing Executive

Mikki Layton is the Chief Nursing Executive at Michael Garron Hospital (MGH) and a practicing Nurse Practitioner. Her career spans 34 years at MGH in various nursing and leadership roles, including Manager in Medicine Health Services and the Hematology Oncology Clinic during the clinic’s redevelopment in 2009, as well as opening the first inpatient unit under the Coordinated Care Team model.

As Vice President, Professional Practice, Programs, Scholarship & Chief Nursing Executive at MGH, Mikki provides leadership for professional practice in nursing and health disciplines, and champions the hospital’s key health human resources efforts. She also provides clinical program leadership of Infection Prevention and Control, Pharmacy and Laboratory Services, in addition to Patient Relations and Ethics.

Mikki holds an undergraduate degree from Toronto Metropolitan University and a Master of Nursing from the University of Toronto. She also maintains two Canadian Nursing Association certifications: Hospice Palliative Care Nursing and Oncology Nursing. She holds an adjunct clinical appointment with the University of Toronto's Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing and is part of the faculty with Centennial College's Bridging to University Nursing Program.

Mikki’s career has been dedicated to advancing nursing practice and advocating for high-quality and safe person- and family-centered care.

Phillip Kotanidis
Phillip Kotanidis
Vice President, People & Chief Human Resources Officer

Phillip Kotanidis has a master’s degree in Human Resource Management and a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Psychology, both from York University, as well as a Post-Graduate Human Resources Management Diploma. Having worked in Human Resources for 20 years, Phil has developed a focus and passion for ensuring that the full potential of all employees is nurtured and realized.

Throughout Phil’s career, he has focused on areas such as employee development, safety, engagement, labour and employee relations, wellness and mental health initiatives, as well as diversity and inclusion. Phil has been with Michael Garron Hospital (MGH) for 17 years, initially as the Manager of Human Resources, Labour and Employee Relations, then as the Director of Human Resources, Occupational Health and Safety, Organizational Development, Wellness and Volunteers Services. He has held the role of Chief Human Resources Officer at MGH for six years.

Previous to MGH, Phil worked at University Health Network (UHN) in Labour and Employee Relations. Phil also works closely with the Ontario Hospital Association (OHA), providing support on a number of provincial human resources matters.

Dr. Sheila Laredo
Dr. Sheila Laredo
Vice President, Academics & Chief of Staff

Dr. Sheila Laredo received her Doctor of Medicine (MD) from the University of Toronto in 1991 and specialized in endocrinology and metabolism. She holds a PhD in clinical epidemiology. She is an associate professor at the University of Toronto in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine. Her clinical interest is in women's reproductive health and the role of insulin resistance and obesity on reproductive health outcomes. She is an enthusiastic teacher; has mentored many trainees, physicians and leaders; and has been the recipient of several research and teaching awards.  

In her role as Vice President, Academics and Chief of Staff at MGH, Dr. Laredo leads the hospital’s vision to continue to grow research and education excellence. This includes MGH’s role in education with the University of Toronto in addition to being an anchor partner of the Scarborough Academy of Medicine and Integrated Health. She also oversees the continued development and implementation of the hospital’s research mandate.

Dr. Laredo has used her background to advocate for effective evidence-based interventions for children and adults with developmental disabilities on a provincial and national level. She advocates and participates in the creation of public policy that provides appropriate evidence-based services and support. She is teaching medical trainees about public health policy advocacy and has supervised social justice initiatives annually with these students. She created and chaired a multi-hospital committee that developed a domestic violence training manual that has been used province-wide in Ontario.

As a former clinical lead at Women’s College Hospital (WCH), Dr. Laredo implemented lean process change initiatives that improved clinical documentation, improved effectiveness and reduced wait times. She was Chief of Staff at WCH from 2013 to 2019, focusing on physician engagement and improvement, and quality initiatives that improve patient safety and care. She was also responsible for a refresh of the hospital medical bylaws. Dr. Laredo worked for two years at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO), leading the Medical Advisory and Quality Management Teams. In this role, she successfully designed and implemented a province-wide hospital quality improvement partnership program, which is now being used at Michael Garron Hospital (MGH) to support physician wellness.

Using a strengths-based and collaborative approach, Dr. Laredo has undertaken change management in several of her roles, including co-leading leadership teams to improve cross-departmental collaboration, enabling her teams at CPSO; and as Chair of the Board at Kids Brain Health Network, a national Networks of Centres of Excellence, promoting a focus on evidence-based impact.  

Sarah Chow, Vice-President Corporate Support & Chief Financial Officer at Michael Garron Hospital
Sarah Chow
Vice President, Finance & Chief Financial Officer

In Sarah Chow’s role, she is responsible for Finance, Decision Support and Supply Chain. Sarah joined Michael Garron Hospital (MGH) in 2016. 

Prior to joining MGH, Sarah was Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer at St. Michael’s Hospital for 15 years. She has also held senior roles at Princess Margaret Hospital at University Health Network (UHN) and Ernst and Young.  Sarah is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA), Chartered Accountant (CA) and a chartered director.

Sarah sits on the Board of the Healthcare Insurance Reciprocal of Canada (HIROC) and is Chair of the Audit Committee. In addition, she is a member of the Toronto Academic Health Science Network (TAHSN) Sustainable Health System Community of Practice and is a member of the Sustainable Procurement Working Group. 

Tony Khouri
Tony Khouri
Vice President, Facilities, Planning, Redevelopment and Support Services

Tony Khouri is Vice President, Facilities, Planning, Redevelopment and Support Services at Michael Garron Hospital (MGH). He is a licensed member with Professional Engineers Ontario, and holds Master's and PhD degrees along with health service management and administration and LEAN Six Sigma Black Belt certifications.

Tony has more than 27 years of hospital strategic, operational and capital planning leadership experience. He previously served as Vice President of Facilities, Capital Planning, Development and Operations at some of Canada’s leading community, academic, teaching and research, acute, complex continuing care, rehab, long-term and mental health hospitals.

He was a capital planner with Alternative Financing and Procurement (AFP), Infrastructure Ontario (IO), and the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care's capital planning branch procurement. He has extensive redevelopment expertise with a track record of successful project delivery of a total of $4 billion. These projects involved organizations such as St. Joseph’s Health Care London, Hennick Bridgepoint Hospital and Sinai Health System, and Michael Garron Hospital)

Tony also has corporate and clinical support services direct-line management experience, including with quality management, Medical Device Reprocessing Department (MDRD), facilities operations, security, biomedical engineering, food services, housekeeping, leases and retails. He leads by example and models shared leadership within an organization.

Tony also demonstrates the ability to lead profound organization-wide, value-based change. He has spoken locally and internationally on complex capital project planning and implementation using evident-based design and patient-centred care.

Mitze Mourinho, President, Michael Garron Hospital Foundation
Mitze Mourinho
President, Michael Garron Hospital Foundation

Mitze Mourinho is an accomplished fundraising executive with more than 20 years of healthcare fundraising experience. Mitze is a strategic leader with a strong record of success in building long-term relationships with donors and volunteers.

Before coming to Michael Garron Hospital Foundation, Mitze spent close to 17 years with St. Michael's Hospital Foundation, most recently holding the position of Vice President, Major Gifts and Planned Giving. She played a pivotal role in the hospital's successful capital campaigns and in securing the hospital's largest individual and corporate gifts.

Prior to joining St. Michael's Foundation, Mitze was Manager, Development at Wellesley Hospital. Mitze is passionate about healthcare fundraising and, in 2013, earned the designation of fellow from the Association of Healthcare Professionals. This professional distinction recognizes dedication, continual advancement and demonstrated commitment to ethical standards of professional practice in healthcare resource development. Mitze is one of only 20 Canadians to hold this professional designation.

Was this page helpful?