Leadership Team

Suzanne Solven, RPh

Registrar and Chief Executive Officer

Suzanne Solven is the Registrar and Chief Executive Officer and brings over 25 years of leadership experience across a broad range of organizations within BC’s health system. Before joining the College as its Registrar and CEO, Suzanne has held various positions such as the Associate Vice President of Audit, Investigations and Quality Assurance at Pacific Blue Cross, where she led both the Fraud Investigation Branch and the Internal Audit Branch; as well as both Executive Director and Senior Pharmacist of the BC PharmaCare program. Suzanne also served as the College’s Deputy Registrar for over nine years.

Suzanne is a current member of the Alumni UBC Advisory Council and UBC Therapeutics Initiative Oversight committee, past member of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC Prescription Review Panel, past Co-Chair of the National Pharmaceuticals Strategy, and past chair of the Advisory Committee on Pharmaceuticals, Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technology in Health. 

 

Heather Biggar

Deputy Registrar

Heather Biggar is the Deputy Registrar. Prior to joining the College Heather has been in leadership positions for the past 15 years with the last 12 years as Deputy Registrar, and a period as Acting Registrar, for the College of Dental Hygienists of BC (CDHBC). Heather has led the Registration, Complaints and Investigations, and the Quality Assurance Departments at CDHBC.

Heather has a Bachelor of Science in Dental Hygiene, Masters of Science in Oral Pathology and a Certification in Change Management from the UBC Sauder School of Business.  She has extensive experience in leading numerous stakeholder engagement initiatives with varied objectives and has developed influential relationships with stakeholders both provincially and nationally. 

Daryl Beckett

General Counsel

Daryl Beckett is the General Counsel. He is a practising member of the Law Society of BC and has worked in the field of health profession regulation for 20 years. Most recently he served for seven years as Legal Counsel in the Executive Office of the BC College of Nurses and Midwives and several of its predecessor colleges. Daryl was previously the Director of Professional Regulation in the BC Ministry of Health for more than 10 years, with responsibility for development and administration of the Health Professions Act and for oversight of all self-governing health profession regulators in BC. He has also previously served as the Director of Legislation in the BC Ministry of Health.

Zachery Solomon, CPA, CRM

Chief Operating Officer

Zachery Solomon is the Chief Operating officer. Before joining the College, Zachery was the Director of Grants Administration at the Ministry of Government Relations in Regina, SK. Prior to that, he held the positions of Director of Finance and Property Management for 10 years with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment and the Executive Director of Finance and Infrastructure, Executive Director, Health Services and the Director of Finance for the Keewatin Yatthé Regional Health Authority in Buffalo Narrows, SK.

Zachery is a Chartered Professional Accountant with a Canadian Risk Management designation.  He also has a Master Certificate in systems design and project leadership from Cornell University, NY.  He has over 20 years experience in leadership management and operations in various organizations including the health sector. 

Jamie Chisholm

Executive Director of HPOA Transition

Jamie Chisholm is the Executive Director of HPOA Transition for the next two years (2024 to 2025). She has been in leadership roles in business strategic development, tactical business plan execution, product management and operations. Before joining the College, Jamie also oversaw a large, unique First Nations client program and provided strategic direction in line with Indigenous cultural safety and humility and respect for Indigenous ways of being in delivery of health benefit services.

Ashifa Keshavji, RPh

Senior Director of HPOA Transition

Ashifa Keshavji is the Senior Director of HPOA Transition for the next two years (2024 to 2025).  Her role at the College has been the Director of Practice Reviews & Quality Assurance for several years, and she brings over 20 years of pharmacy experience. She has worked in community pharmacy for many years and began working at the College on the OnCall Line and conducting inspections. She has also been a Director for the Canadian Council on Continuing Education in Pharmacy since 2005.

Mark Chan, RPh

Acting Director of Practice Reviews & Quality Assurance

Mark Chan is the Acting Director of Practice Reviews & Quality Assurance. He brings over 10 years of community pharmacy experience. He has been the manager for the Practice Reviews & Quality Assurance department as well as a Compliance Officer since 2016. Over the years while working at the College, he has contributed to work such as the NAPRA Model Standards of Practice, medication incident reporting, COVID-19 communications, the PHO order, and other projects.

Doreen Leong, RPh

Director of Registration & Licensure

Doreen Leong is the Director of Registration & Licensure. She brings over 20 years of pharmacy experience from hospital, community and administrative practice. She has worked in every department within the College and has expertise in the area of assessment, certification and the development of standards, competencies and policy.

Colin Wong

Director of Communications & Engagement

Colin Wong is the Director of Communications & Engagement. He brings over 20 years of experience in communications, public affairs, media relations advertising and business development.  As a senior communications leader in a wide cross section of private sector industries and government agencies, he has a proven track record in project management and the development, implementation and evaluation of strategic plans. 

Camelia Toghiani-Rizi

Director of Policy & Legislation

Camelia Toghiani-Rizi is the Director of Policy and Legislation. Before joining the College, Camelia worked in various roles for the Government of Nunavut’s Department of Health, including Manager and Acting Director roles in the areas of policy and planning.  She also had the privilege to have five years learning, living, working and travelling throughout Inuit Nunangat, the Inuit homeland.  Camelia is experienced in developing and driving policy and legislative initiatives and has an extensive knowledge of Canada’s federal, provincial, territorial health landscape.