National Leadership for Enhanced Surgical Recovery
The Enhanced Recovery Canada™ Board of Directors provides strategic leadership and governance to advance safer surgical care across Canada. Drawing on expertise from across the healthcare system, the Board helps guide the national implementation of evidence-informed surgical pathways.
Through oversight and collaboration with partners, the Board supports initiatives that reduce surgical complications, shorten hospital stays, and improve system sustainability. This work is especially important in the context of growing pressures on hospitals and healthcare providers nationwide.
By strengthening governance and accountability, the Board plays a key role in ensuring enhanced recovery approaches continue to deliver meaningful benefits for patients, clinicians, and the healthcare system as a whole.
Board of Directors
Geoff Schierbeck
ERC Chair
Geoff Schierbeck is the current chair of Enhanced Recovery Canada. He is a registered nurse and experienced quality leader in the hospital and healthcare industry. Since joining Doctors of BC in 2018 as a Specialist Services Liaison in Surgery, he has led the development and implementation of prehabilitation programs across 27 sites in British Columbia.
Prior to this role, Geoff served as a quality leader with the BC Patient Safety & Quality Council. His surgical quality career began in 2008 as a quality improvement consultant for Interior Health, where he implemented surgical checklists region-wide. Passionate about empowering frontline staff, he co-developed the Teamwork and Communication Action Series, coaching teams to enhance non-technical skills and improve patient care.
Geoff also serves as the Collaborative Director for the Surgical Patient Optimization Collaborative (SPOC), an initiative aimed at improving surgical care throughout British Columbia. Under his leadership, SPOC has successfully implemented prehabilitation programs that have led to improved patient outcomes and experiences.
Erin Ballah
BSc, MSc, MBA
Erin Ballah is an Executive Board Member of Enhanced Recovery Canada. Erin graduated with a Bachelor of Science, a Master of Science (Physiotherapy), and a Master of Business Administration (MBA). She spent over 10 years involved in operational health system leadership across acute care, mental health and addictions, community, and primary health care
She is currently the Executive Director of the Borealis Family Practice Network, supporting physicians to drive primary care renewal. She is deeply passionate about value-based health care, iterative quality improvement, and intersectoral partnership to drive innovative health system reform.
Gregg Nelson
MD
Dr. Gregg Nelson is Professor and Chair of Gynecologic Oncology at the Arthur J.E. Child Comprehensive Cancer Centre, University of Calgary, in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. His principal research interest is the development and study of Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) protocols in OB-Gyn and cancer surgery. Dr. Nelson was instrumental in bringing ERAS to the gynecologic oncology discipline, as lead author of the ERAS Society Guidelines for Gynecologic/Oncology published originally in 2016, followed by updates in 2019 and 2023. These publications have been downloaded collectively nearly 300,000 times and cited well over 1000 times.
Dr. Nelson has been involved in numerous other ERAS Society Guidelines including senior author for the cytoreduction/HIPEC guidelines and Cesarean Delivery guidelines. He holds the position of Physician Lead for ERAS Alberta, along with previous roles as Secretary and Treasurer for the ERAS Society, and is currently Associate Editor for the journal Gynecologic Oncology. Dr. Nelson has received over $10,000,000 in grant funding, authored >200 peer-reviewed publications and 12 book chapters, including lead editor of the ERAS Society Handbook for Obstetrics & Gynecology, and has presented on ERAS more than 130 times (80 times internationally).
Dr. Nelson recently received the Award for Outstanding Achievement in Gynecologic Surgery from the International Gynecologic Cancer Society (IGCS) for his work on ERAS. This award recognizes individuals who have had a sustained career in academic surgery and have made seminal contributions in clinical surgery or surgical education that established new benchmarks or paradigms.
Debbie Watson
(MN)
Debbie Watson has been the ERAS care pathway coordinator at the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC)-Montreal General Hospital site since 2008. She completed a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Montreal and a master’s degree in nursing from Athabasca University. In 2022, she also joined the Quebec health’s Ministry (MSSS) to help implement « Récupération améliorée après la chiurgie » surgical program also known as the RAAC.
Her understanding of the role, tasks and responsibilities of the nurse coordinator in the creation, implementation and sustainability of an Enhanced Recovery program can encourage and inspire those who want to expand on an existing program or for those who are new to the concept of Enhanced Recovery.
Chesia Gillis
MSc, PhD, RD, CNSC
Chelsia Gillis is an Assistant Professor in the School of Human Nutrition at McGill University and an Associate Member in the Departments of Surgery and Anesthesia.
She holds a Tier II Canada Research Chair in Perioperative Nutrition and serves as Director of Medical Research at the PeriOperative Program at the Montreal General Hospital.
Dr. Gillis is a Registered Dietitian and Certified Nutrition Support Clinician®, with an MSc in Human Nutrition from McGill University and a PhD in Epidemiology from the University of Calgary.
Sandra LeClair Lavigne
RN, BN
Sandra LeClair Lavigne has been the Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) Regional Coordinator for the Vitalité Health Network in New Brunswick since 2018. She completed a Bachelor of Nursing from the University of New Brunswick (Bathurst campus).
Sandra has always been passionate about supporting and promoting wellness in her community as a volunteer and organizer. In 2008, she was recognized by the University of New Brunswick with an induction into the Sir Howard Douglas Society as a scholar exemplifying the society’s motto, “Non Nobis Solum: Not for Ourselves Alone”.
Sandra now continues her passion professionally by promoting surgical best practices. As the first ERAS coordinator in New Brunswick, Sandra and her team have sparked remarkable outcomes at their hospital, the entire health network, two regional health authorities and New Brunswick’s provincial policy.
Leah Gramlich
MD, FRCRC
Leah Gramlich is a physician, nutritionist specialist and gastroenterologist. She is a professor in the Faculty of Medicine and Department of Medicine at the University of Alberta with a cross appointment in Agriculture Life and Environmental Science. She is also Provincial Medical Advisor for Nutrition Services in Alberta Health Services.
She is dedicated to patient care and has an evolving interest in food for health and in empowering health practitioners with the tools to meet patient needs relative to food and activity for health. She developed "Wellness Rx" an educational approach for undergraduate health professionals focused on nutrition and activity.
Leah is the medical co-lead for Enhanced Recovery After Surgery in Alberta. Her other research interests include nutrition and cancer, nutrition in critical illness, nutrition therapy in the home and nutrition education. She is past president and founding president of the Canadian Nutrition Society. She is on the board of directors of the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition and is currently chair of the Canadian Malnutrition Task Force.