Our Leadership

Multiracial business team having a meeting in office

Dynamic leadership to take on a devastating disease

Pancreatic Cancer North America is led by a dedicated group of professionals and thought leaders, with the collective aim of raising the rate of survival for those facing pancreatic cancer. Together, they steer our research investments, fundraising endeavors, and champion the thousands of North Americans that will face a pancreatic cancer diagnosis.

Meet Our Leaders

Michelle Capobianco

President & CEO

Over the last two years while the charitable sector has grappled with the COVID-19 pandemic, Michelle has kept her eyes on the future, spearheading the development of Pancreatic Cancer North America and championing a bold approach to improving pancreatic cancer treatment options and care through unexpected partnerships and collaborations. Prior to being with Pancreatic Cancer North America and our sister organization Pancreatic Cancer Canada, Michelle was a senior staff member of the MS Society of Canada, preceded by a long-term tenure with the Easter Seals Research Institute. At these organizations, she provided leadership on numerous national new business development ventures, resulting in revenues in excess of $1M per year for the charities and a clear increase in brand recognition, employee engagement and a positive charity affiliation for corporate partners.

Amanda Jodoin

Chief Operating Officer

Amanda has been aligned with the pancreatic cancer movement since 2017. Having spent 20+ years in the not-for-profit sector with incredible organizations like the MS Society of Canada, Three to Be and Pancreatic Cancer Canada, she brings knowledge, experience and insights that will help PCNA elevate our outreach efforts and the achievement of our mission. Amanda is particularly committed to changing the outcomes for people affected by pancreatic cancer because she does not accept that this deadly disease has seen little to no meaningful progress over the span of decades. She is passionate about sharpening our focus on raising survival rates through novel and multi-sector approaches while not turning our backs on those who face the likely outcomes of this disease as it stands today. This means a call for greater access to palliative care and more humane interventions for those at the end of life stage. Amanda is a very proud mom, wife and friend which inspires her dedication to this work.

ajodoin@pancreaticcancerna.org

Christina Halladay
VP, Mission and Innovation

Christina joined Pancreatic Cancer Canada in May 2024. With over 20 years in the not-for-profit sector, and 10 years in leadership roles in community-based health services, she brings knowledge and vast experience to the role. Christina is passionate about creating and developing innovative programs and services that meet the needs of the client population. Her goal is to ensure that the programs and supports are efficient and innovative, changing and evolving with the times and the populations we serve. Christina has a deep-rooted and personal passion for improving the cancer care experience for both patients and caregivers.

challaday@pancreaticcancerna.org

Leigh Godbold
VP, Philanthopy and Business Development

Leigh joined Pancreatic Cancer Canada in March 2024. Over the course of her 20+ year career, Leigh has held leadership roles across the healthcare and social service sectors. Raising funds and awareness at the community and national levels has taught Leigh that real change comes when people are inspired to work together toward a shared vision. Driven to build relevant, financially sustainable, and impactful organizations, Leigh is excited to be a part of the leadership team at PCC – an organization whose goal is to boldly change the outcome for the world’s toughest cancer while ensuring that those affected by this disease are supported to live with agency and dignity.

lgodbold@pancreaticcancerna.org

Our Board of Directors

Jonathan Paul

Chair

Mr. Paul is a Vice-President, Client Wealth Management at Gluskin Sheff + Associates Inc., a member of the Firm’s Asset Mix team and a registered Portfolio Manager. Mr. Paul received an Honours Business Administration degree, with distinction, from the Richard Ivey School of Business at Western University. He has also earned his Chartered Accountant (CPA, CA) designation and Chartered Investment Manager (CIM®) designation. Prior to joining Gluskin Sheff in 2009, Mr. Paul was a Senior Associate with Deloitte & Touche, Corporate Finance Canada Inc. Mr. Paul is a member of the Toronto Hebrew Memorial Parks Investment Committee.

Michael Gilbert
Vice Chair

Michael is a Partner at Ernst & Young LLP, Canada with responsibility for leading the management and technology consulting businesses in Central Canada. He has over 25 years of experience managing, designing, implementing, and supporting complex process and technology solutions, providing senior executive oversight on some the largest transformation projects in North America.

Lauren Israel

Lauren Israel is Executive Director, Business Management at the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) in New York City. Her current responsibilities include coordinating employee giving, sponsorships and donations for the US Capital Markets team. Prior to her role with CIBC, Lauren held several positions at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch where she served as Director in several Technology departments over her 12 year tenure, including Global Markets and Risk Technologies, Legal and Compliance Technology and Finance Technology in New York and London. She obtained her Masters of Business Administration and Bachelor of Science at the University at Buffalo, with concentrations in finance and international business. Lauren has also been a dedicated volunteer on the United Way of New York City Campaign Council since 2017.

Russell Browne

Russell Browne is a Managing Director Sales and Structuring, Metals Trading FICC, providing metals risk management solutions and structures to clients in the Mining, Energy, Chemical and Institutional Investor sectors. Russell recently joined BMO in November 2018, having previously worked at Scotiabank (ScotiaMocatta) for 10 years, as a Director in Precious Metals Sales and Trading. Prior to working in metals, Russell worked 7 years in Currency Sales and Structuring. Russell began his career in Montreal, working as an open-outcry Pit Trader at the Montreal Exchange, trading futures on 5 and 10 year Canadian Bonds and 3 month Bankers Acceptances. Russell has a B.A. in Economics from Concordia University (Canada).

Bryan Nese

Bryan Nese is an aspiring rock star and current partner in the DC office of the law firm of Mayer Brown LLP. Bryan’s practice focuses on high-stakes patent litigation, particularly in helping clients monetize patent portfolios large and small. Bryan has spoken in the U.S. and in Asia on U.S. patent law, trade secrets, and the nuances of Section 337 practice at the U.S. International Trade Commission. He has also donated hundreds of pro bono hours to asylum, special education, and child custody matters.

A former legal research/writing adjunct professor at the George Washington University Law School, Bryan has a passion for helping current students and recent grads avoid some of the mistakes he’s made. He regularly lectures on the topics of networking, legal writing, and how to succeed as a young attorney. Since 2019, he has mentored first-year law students through the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity’s mentoring program.

Bryan earned mechanical engineering degrees from Rowan University (B.S.) and the Pennsylvania State University (M.S.), and obtained his J.D. from the George Washington University Law School. In his sparse spare time, Bryan enjoys hobby boardgaming, cooking Italian food, and snowboarding while simultaneously not injuring himself.

Our Board Advisory Committee

Hilen Wong

Hilen leads the TELUS Stores and Koodo Shops teams. In this role, he supports over 2,700 team members across Canada delivering technology solutions backed by an exceptional customer experience. Hilen and his team also proudly support TELUS’ commitment to Give Where We Live by actively volunteering and fundraising in the local community. The TELUS team is proud to support PCC with an annual fundraising drive in memory of a beloved colleague who lost his battle with pancreatic cancer. Hilen was a member of the Pancreatic Cancer Canada Board of Directors from 2019 through 2023, before shifting to the Advisory Committee in 2024.

In over 15 years at TELUS, Hilen has held various leadership roles at TELUS including positions in Business Intelligence, Product Development, Pricing and National Retail. Trained as an electrical engineer, Hilen worked as a management consultant supporting clients primarily in the communications sector prior to joining TELUS.

Hilen and his wife Karen have two wonderful children. In his spare time, Hilen enjoys spending time with his family

Jason Roberts

Jason is a commercial litigation lawyer with McEwan Partners in Vancouver, where his practice focuses on securities law matters. He holds a law degree from the University of Manitoba and has completed all of the requirements for his Master of Laws in securities law from Osgoode Hall Law School (York University), from which he will formally graduate in June, 2024. In 2012 and 2013, Jason lived in Ottawa while working as a Law Clerk for the Honourable Justice Louis LeBel of the Supreme Court of Canada. Jason joined the Pancreatic Cancer Canada Board of Directors in 2019 (a position he held through 2023 before shifting to the Advisory Committee in 2024), shortly after he lost his mother to pancreatic cancer. In his spare time, Jason enjoys spending time with his young family and is also an avid amateur golfer.

Marc St-Onge

Marc St-Onge is currently consulting with Element Fleet Management in their finance area. Prior to joining Element in 2023, he was employed by CIBC for nearly 25 years and held various progressively senior positions within CIBC Capital Markets, including most recently as Managing Director and Global Head of DCM where he was responsible for the origination and syndication of investment grade, high yield and government fixed income products globally.

Prior to this, Mr. St-Onge was Managing Director and Head of Corporate Banking Canada, where he was responsible for the bank’s Canadian corporate loan portfolio and oversaw the bank’s lending activities with corporate, government and financial sponsor clients across all major industries.

Mr. St-Onge holds a Bachelor of Business Administration (Finance) from l’Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales and was awarded the Chartered Financial Analyst designation in 1998. Mr. St-Onge chairs the Shaw Festival Boxing Evening, a fundraising event for The Shaw Festival Theatre in Niagara-on-the-lake.

Ricky Ray Butler

Ricky Ray Butler is a 15 year digital veteran who has been at the forefront of reimagining the advertising landscape in a world of ever growing digital content. He found Plaid Social Labs in 2009 which was later acquired by BEN. Today BEN is leading the way in connecting brands to the right audiences in non-ad supported media across social, streaming and traditional platforms, and with the recent acquisition of TubeBuddy, has expanded that mission to help the 6M+ creators on the platform.

Butler serves as an advisor and investor for entrepreneurs and charities who share his relentless quest for disruption and deep learning, including applications of natural language generation in gaming with AI Dungeon and powering automated machine learning using unstructured data with Zeff (acquired by DataRobot). As one of AdAge’s 40 Under 40, and a member of Forbes Agency Council, Butler is serving as the catalyst for the next generation of data driven entertainment and advertising. Like any true digital nerd, Ricky spends his free time creating art no one should see and reading about the myriad of ways data has and can improve the 21st century.

Our Chief Medical Advisor

Anish Kirpalani

Dr. Kirpalani is a radiologist, medical educator, and healthcare entrepreneur with over 15 years of broad practice experience in both academic and private/community settings in Canada and the USA. He has been a staff radiologist at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto since 2009, where he is also the Head of Abdominal Radiology, Chair of Medical Imaging Research at St. Michael’s, and Associate Professor in the Department of Medical Imaging at the University of Toronto. In addition to maintaining a busy clinical practice, Anish has authored over 50 peer-reviewed journal articles and has given over 40 invited lectures in radiology, focused mostly in MRI. Anish has a background in both engineering and medicine. He lives in Toronto with his wife and two young children.