2026 Halifax Regional Symposium

Ryan Baxter 

Board Member, Partner
McInnes Cooper

Ryan’s practice is primarily focused in the areas of health law and the regulation of professions, extending to administrative law and litigation. He currently serves as a member of McInnes Cooper’s Board of Directors. As general counsel to a number of regulators, Ryan provides opinions on professional conduct processes, including investigations, complaints and discipline, and is often involved in the drafting and interpretation of governing legislation, regulations, by-laws and policies. 

Further demonstrating his expertise, Ryan recently assisted in the development of the regulatory framework for a new professional health regulator, providing support with the drafting of by-laws and acting as general counsel. He also has a unique perspective of regulators’ internal operations, having recently worked in-house on a secondment basis with a leading health regulator.

Ryan is a previous Chair of the Canadian Bar Association-Nova Scotia Health Law Section and a prior member of the Discipline Committee of the Law Society of Nunavut. Ryan is an engaged participant in McInnes Cooper’s pro-bono, collective social responsibility, and diversity and inclusion efforts. A published author, he most recently co-authored a chapter entitled “Regulation of Dental Professionals” in the third edition of the leading Canadian dentistry text Dental Law in Canada, LexisNexis, 2019. In 2023, Ryan was named as a Lexpert Rising Star: Leading Lawyers under 40.

An avid world explorer, Ryan has volunteered with the Canadian Civil Liberties Association and interned with an HIV/AIDS NGO in Swaziland, Africa. Most recently, he spent a month in Mongolia, providing training and advising on human resources issues. Ryan has lived on four continents and travelled to over 40 countries.

Jennifer Best

 Senior Director Legislated Services
and Deputy Registrar
Nova Scotia College of Nursing

Jennifer Best, BScN, RN, MN, FRE, has over 28 years of nursing experience. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Saint Francis Xavier University in 1998 and her Master of Nursing from Athabasca University in 2009. During the first 14 years of her career, Jennifer worked in acute care in a variety of roles, including staff nurse, nurse educator, and nurse manager. This diverse clinical and leadership experience provided a strong foundation for her transition into nursing regulation. Since 2012, Jennifer has worked in nursing regulation, where she draws on her clinical background and advanced education to provide leadership and support to nurses across Nova Scotia. Her work focuses on promoting safe, competent, and ethical nursing practice in the public interest.

A committed lifelong learner, Jennifer continually seeks opportunities to strengthen her regulatory expertise and leadership capacity. She is dedicated to supporting regulatory teams in their work to protect and serve the public of Nova Scotia.

Clare Bikel

Legal Counsel
Chartered Professional Accountants 
of Nova Scotia

Marlon Brown 

Director
Michigan Department of Licensing 
and Regulatory Affairs

Dr. Marlon I. Brown was appointed by Governor Gretchen Whitmer to serve as director of the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) on February 23, 2024. In this role, he leads the state agency responsible for licensing and regulating nearly two million individuals and entities covering health professionals and facilities, skilled-trades and other professional occupations, corporations and securities, construction services, cannabis businesses, and fire services. LARA also supports the work of Michigan’s Public Service Commission, Liquor Control Commission, Indigent Defense Commission, Unarmed Combat Commission, Tax Tribunal, and Office of Administrative Hearings and Rules.

Prior to his appointment as director, Marlon served as LARA’s chief administrative officer and director of policy and legislative affairs. In addition, he has held positions at the Michigan Supreme Court, the Michigan Department of Transportation, and the State Budget Office.

Marlon earned a bachelor's degree in political science from American University, a master's degree in public administration from the University of Delaware, and a doctorate in public administration from Valdosta State University. He is a fellow in the National Academy of Public Administration, and he serves on the National Council of the American Society for Public Administration as well as the Board of Directors for the Council on Licensure, Enforcement, and Regulation.

Janet Fogarty 

Director Registration & Deputy Registrar
College of Nursing of New Brunswick

Janet Fogarty is the Director of Registration and Deputy Registrar. Janet received her nursing degree from University of New Brunswick and a master’s degree in organizational management from Crandall University. Joining CNNB in December 2023, Janet brings experience from a background working as a staff nurse in surgical, intensive care, and emergency department settings, as well as nurse educator, community nurse, telehealth nurse, and manager in both New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Janet also worked as a subject matter expert with an organization providing assessments for our internationally educated nurses coming to Canada.

After spending many years enjoying her 4 sons’ activities in school drama productions, music recitals, hockey rinks, baseball fields, and basketball, it was time to get back into her own activities of coaching running clinics and teaching spin classes. She’s also been known to challenge herself with cardio-kickboxing and horseback riding lessons. Janet also enjoys helping in the community with fundraisers and charitable events. Janet’s downtime is often spent at home with her husband and three dogs.

Sam Lanctin

Consultant
Sam Lanctin

Building on more than 25 years of experience, Sam Lanctin helps leaders thrive in their careers, navigate change, lead diverse teams and build healthy, effective organizations.

Sam’s expertise ranges across coaching, strategic planning, organization design and transformation, governance advice and leadership development. His industry experience encompasses professional regulation, healthcare, retail and non-profit. In addition to his tenure at the New Brunswick College of Pharmacists as Registrar, Sam has owned and operated multiple pharmacies and possesses extensive experience navigating the ups and downs of an organization.

Sam received a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy degree from Dalhousie University. Sam also obtained his MBA from the Université de Moncton and has earned the ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors after completing the ICD-Rotman Directors Education Program.

Jillian Mosher 

Director of Registration & Deputy Registrar
PEI College of Nursing & Midwifery

Victoria L. Rees K.C.

Counsel, Professional Regulation
Pink Larkin

With an extensive career spanning over three decades, Victoria stands as a distinguished authority in the realm of professional regulation, garnering recognition locally, nationally, and internationally. Operating from the Pink Larkin office in Halifax, she brings forth a wealth of experience in professional regulation complaints resolution, investigation, administrative law principles and governance best practice, as well as proficiency in investigator and adjudicator training, alternate dispute resolution, ethics guidance, and regulatory reform. 

Victoria is a leader in cultivating and integrating best practices in governance, self-regulation, and ethical frameworks to support competent and ethical practices, having authored numerous papers on these topics. She has been a regular presenter at national and international conferences of legal and other professional regulators on subjects ranging from regulatory risk identification and management, restorative approaches to complaints handling, best practices in adjudication, and adopting proactive and principled approaches to regulation.

Having obtained her Certified Association Executive certification over two decades ago, Victoria has not only served as the Chair of the Canadian Society of Association Executives (CSAE) Nova Scotia Chapter but has also held a position on the National CSAE Board. She currently serves on the NS Capital Health Research Ethics Board, and is a member of the Discipline Committee for the Chartered Accountants Association of Nova Scotia. 

A member of the Nova Scotia Bar since 1988, Victoria was honoured with the Queen’s Counsel designation in 2020, a testament to her outstanding contributions to the legal profession, the public, and the community at large. Her illustrious career and commitment to excellence continue to set the standard in the realm of professional regulation and association leadership.

Daniel Roukema 

CEO
MDR Strategy Group

Tamara Richter has worked in health regulation for over 25 years and currently serves as Executive Officer for the College of Licensed Practical Nurses and Health Care Aides of Alberta (CLHA). In her role, she directs and achieves strategic outcomes across business operations, including finance, information technology, communications, and human resources management.

Tamara oversaw the transition of more than 40,000 Health Care Aides into regulation under the Health Professions Act. This work has required building new regulatory infrastructure, aligning governance and operational systems to support an expanded mandate, and guiding large-scale organizational change to ensure effective oversight and public protection.

A senior executive with extensive regulatory and non-profit leadership experience, Tamara has led diverse teams and driven business sustainability, operational excellence, and growth through strong strategic planning and regulatory innovation. She has served as a director on several boards and committees and holds a Master of Business Administration and the designation of Project Management Professional.

Brad Walsh 

Director of Regulatory Services
NL College of Nurses

Dr. Kennedy Stewart (PhD, LSE) is an Associate Professor at the SFU School of Public Policy and a former Member of Parliament (2011–2018) and Mayor of Vancouver (2018–2022). As an MP, he served as the Official Opposition Critic for Science and Technology. As Mayor, he led a $1.7‑billion organization through the COVID‑19 pandemic. Kennedy is President of Policy Matters Ltd., which supplies Policy Coach AI to help organizations securely accelerate the production of reliable internal and public‑facing policy reports.

Beverley Zwicker

CEO & Registrar
Nova Scotia Pharmacy Regulator

As CEO and Registrar, Beverley is dedicated to ensuring the public receives optimal care from pharmacy professionals and the pharmacies where they receive care. She leads with a commitment to continuous improvement, fostering a modern regulatory approach that champions innovation, collaboration, and engagement in pharmacy practice.