June 29, 2022

RMHC Canada welcomes new Chair and Vice Chair to its Board of Directors

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Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) Canada is excited to announce the appointment of Karima Karmali as President and Chair of the Board of Directors, and Ross Betteridge as Vice Chair, effective June 2nd 2022.

RMHC Canada’s Board of Directors includes a diverse and dynamic group of 18 members, from the pediatric / medical, business, and community sectors. Together, our Directors provide leadership, counsel, partnership and expertise to ensure that RMHC Canada continues to live into it’s vision of creating a Canada where families can stay close to their sick children. 

As Karima and Ross expand their leadership of our organization in service to families, we are deeply grateful for their dedication and championing of RMHC’s mission. Their contributions continue to make a lasting impact on RMHC, and families going through a most unexpected and challenging time.

As we welcome our new Board leadership, we’d also like to acknowledge and thank our outgoing Chair, John Davis, for his commitment and support to our mission and families with sick children.

Karima Karmali, RN, MBA

Karima is the Director of the Centre for Innovation & Excellence in Child- and Family-Centered Care at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. Karima has over 20 years of leadership experience in health care and professional practice with a strong background in leading organization and system-wide change. In her current role, Karima provides strategic leadership to advance child- and family-centred care using innovative programs to meet the complex needs of patients and families. Karima has served as a Director on the RMHC Canada Board of Directors since 2017 and has been part of a team that helped the RMHC network of essential support grow to include 33 programs, serving families from 3,400 communities across Canada. 

“Families play such an integral role in the health and wellbeing of children, and RMHC provides a home-away-from-home for families so they can access critical medical treatment. I have seen first-hand the compassion and care RMHC provides seriously ill children and their families and I look forward to continuing my support for the RMHC mission through my position as Board Chair."

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Ross Betteridge, CPA, CA, ICD.D

Ross recently retired from full-time employment after a career spanning 30+ years in Canada’s property & casualty insurance industry. A CPA CA, he held various C-suite roles including Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer at some of Canada’s largest insurance organizations. Ross has served as a Director on the RMHC Canada Board since 2017 and assumed the role of Board Vice-President in June 2022. 


“Providing families with a seriously ill child, a place to stay where they can sleep, have a home cooked meal and be supported by other families to help make their journey a little easier is incredibly important,” shares Ross. “The opportunity to give back to our communities and support the Mission of RMHC Canada as a Board member is an incredible honour. As I step into my Board Vice-President role, I look forward to continuing to work with my fellow Board members and the rest of the RMHC Canada team to significantly grow the capacity of our Houses and Family Rooms across Canada.”


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