Dr. Boroditsky is our President. Born and raised in Winnipeg, Dr. Boroditsky got bit by the medical profession bug early, when he began doing research in Women’s Health in the summer of 1991. Since completing his medical training in Obstetrics in Gynecology at the University of Manitoba, he has worked in private practice. He is now an Assistant Professor in the UM Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and works in private practice at the Corydon Gynecology & Family Planning Clinic. He was promoted to Assistant Professor at the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences at the University Of Manitoba School Of Medicine in 2017.

In recent years he has been involved with humanitarian relief efforts abroad. In 2015, he travelled to Nepal with the International Red Cross to help provide medical aid following the devastating earthquake and he has completed two missions with Doctors Without Borders in Africa as a Staff Obstetrician.

Dr. Boroditsky’s involvement with Doctors Manitoba began when he was a medical student. He kept a keen interest over the years and is honoured to be part of a group that supports the whole physician both personally and professionally.

Outside of medicine he enjoys spending time travelling in the winter or at the family cottage in the Interlake with his wife and their two daughters.

FUN FACT: A fitness buff, Dr. Boroditsky is actively involved in the CrossFit Community and recently became certified as a Level 1 Coach.

Dr. Guzman is our President-Elect. He has been working as a Vascular Surgeon at St. Boniface Hospital for over 20 years. He studied at College St. Boniface for his undergrad, completed his medical degree at the University of Manitoba and a specialty in General and Vascular surgery. He also holds certifications as a Registered Vascular Technologist from the ARDMS and Registered Physician in Vascular Interpretation Physician from the APCA and also recently completed a course for Board Governance from the Institute of Corporate Directors and holds the ICD.D designation.

Dr. Guzman is proud to use his role as a board member as an opportunity to contribute, participate and learn about Doctors Manitoba and how it can best serve Manitoba physicians. He hopes that his lessons, experience and education in his roles on the board for the Council for Royal College of Physicians & Surgeons of Canada, the Board of Governors for the American College of Surgeons and as Chair for the National Committee for Vascular Surgery for the Royal College will be put to good use as a member of the Board of Doctors Manitoba.

Outside of his busy career, Dr. Guzman enjoys photography, basketball, table tennis and playing pool.

FUN FACT: En francais s’il vous plait! Dr. Guzman is fluent in French and serves as a French examiner for the Exam Committee in Vascular Surgery the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.

Dr. Desilets serves as the Honourary Treasurer and District Representative for Assiniboine. She earned her medical degree from the University of Calgary and spent the majority of her clinical clerkship in Yellowknife, NWT. Her training also took her to Prince Albert, SK and many small rural communities. Alongside a group of nine physicians in Neepawa, she practices full-scope family medicine. Dr. Desilets is especially interested in family planning, maternity care, surgical obstetrical care, and gastrointestinal endoscopy. She holds a Certificate of Added Competence (CFPC) in Enhanced Surgical Skills.

Her passion for health care administration, advocacy, and leadership has led to many different roles outside of her busy practice. Having represented both the province of Manitoba and the Society of Rural Physicians of Canada at the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) and the ESS Certificate of Added Competency Working Group, and being engaged with physicians from her district as a Practice Supervisor for the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba (CPSM), Dr. Desilets naturally fell into her position on the board. She also makes time for the Doctors Manitoba Mentorship Program, to connect with medical learners. Doctors Manitoba proved to be a reliable and accessible resource when Dr. Desilets moved to Manitoba and she was impressed by the immediacy and accessibility of our work.

In her spare time, Dr. Desilets enjoys being outside with her husband, three step-children, her 2 year old daughter and 5 month old son. They look forward to traveling for family vacations in the not-too-distant future.

FUN FACT: Brrr…Dr. Desilets visited the northern coast of Canada and swam in the arctic ocean before ever visiting the east and west coasts.

Dr. Altman, is our Honourary Secretary and one of two District Representatives for Health Sciences Centre, grew up in Port Coquitlam, B.C. He studied for his undergraduate and medical degrees at the University of British Columbia, did his residency in Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Dalhousie University, and completed his fellowship in Gynecologic Oncology at the University of Calgary. Dr. Altman is a Gynecologic Oncologist and Professor at the University of Manitoba, and the Winnipeg Health Sciences Centre/​Cancercare Manitoba. His clinical research interests involve gestational trophoblastic disease, hormonal management of malignancy, Enhance Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) and postoperative clinical care.

Dr. Altman’s strong interest in undergraduate and postgraduate education and research has led to his involvement in multiple university, national and international committees. He is the president elect for the Society of Gynecologic Oncology of Canada (GOC), the program director for the department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, chair of the University Medical Group (UMG), vice chair for the Medical Management Safety Committee (MMSC) at CancerCare Manitoba, the previous co-chair of the Canadian Obstetrics and Gynecology Review program (COGRP) and the Canadian representative for the FIGO scientific planning advisory committee. 

Dr. Altman joined the board from his role as UMG chair and is proud to serve our members alongside the other amazing clinicians and leaders on the board. He values the board members being open, approachable and committed to improving the lives of physicians in Manitoba. 

Dr. Altman has been married to his beautiful wife, Cheryl, for 14 years and together they have 6 children: 3 amazing human children and 3 amusing canine children. In his spare time you can find him camping, running, and chasing children or, on some weekends, meandering the aisles at Home Depot or Costco.

FUN FACT: When time allows, Dr. Altman enjoys painting, diving, rock climbing, and theatre, but these have taken a backseat for the time being.

Dr. Bradshaw, our Past President was born and raised in Winnipeg. She completed her education and medical training at the University of Manitoba. She practices comprehensive family medicine as a Family Physician at the Tuxedo Family Medical Clinic, which she co-owns.

Her passion about issues that affect physicians as a whole, prompted her to join the Doctors Manitoba board. She believes the medical profession has unique needs, and when decisions need to be made that impact doctors’ practices and personal lives, physicians themselves should play an integral role in that process. She feels she can help influence change more effectively in her role on the board, where she can be a part of making changes in legislation, regulation, and fee negotiations. Being in the role has proven to be more challenging than she initially thought and has given her a new appreciation for people in leadership roles.

As a fitness and nutrition junkie, Dr. Bradshaw has tried many different fitness programs, from Barre to CrossFit and she seeks out new ways to eat healthy, including paleo, keto, intermittent fasting, and keto fasting. She and her husband, whom she met while on a rural rotation in Russell, love watching the Jets and spending time with their two (nearly grown) children. She proudly wears the Hockey Mom badge of honour.

FUN FACT: Dr. Bradshaw is a bit of a neat freak. She worked as a hotel chambermaid in Banff one summer and ahead of celebrities’ arrivals, she was called in to clean the bathrooms.

Dr. Kaiser graduated medicine from the University of Pretoria Medical School in 1994 and did her residency at the HF Verwoerd Hospital in Pretoria. She began her career in private practice in Empangeni — KwaZulu Natal, South Africa and worked at a TB Clinic and Cardiac clinic at a rural Ngwelezana Hospital. In 2000 she moved to Canada to work in private practice. She worked at the Addictions Foundation of Manitoba for 7 years as their in-house physician and was trained in Methadone for Addictions and recently completed a course in Methadone for Palliative Care. Since moving to Brandon, Dr. Kaiser has started the Methadone Clinic, becoming the first physician in Manitoba to prescribe Methadone for addictions outside of Winnipeg.

In 2008, she started working as a part-time hospitalist, but in 2010 left AFM to work exclusively as a hospitalist specializing in internal medicine in Brandon. With many family physicians in Brandon and surrounding areas without hospital privileges, hospitalists are responsible for these patients.

Dr. Kaiser joined the board to advocate for family physicians and hospitalists. Both, she believes, are undervalued. She sees that we are heading towards a crisis in family medicine as fewer and fewer graduates want to practice family or hospital medicine. Family physicians and hospitalists are the constant in patient care, pulling together all of the different pieces and making sure that nothing is forgotten or missed. 

In her spare time Dr. Kaiser does cross fit four or five mornings a week with her husband. She enjoys skiing, gardening, boating, and fishing with her husband, but her biggest passion is reading. Any chance she gets, her nose is in a book. She and her husband have three daughters and a son, ranging in age from 12 to 23. As the general handy-person/accountant/gardener/pool person/​organizer/​finder of lost things of her family, there is not much Dr. Kaiser cannot do. If she finds there is something she has not done before, she does her research and gives it a try!

Fun Fact: Her daughter’s horse, named CJ, is Dr. Kaiser’s ​“therapy animal” and she finds it relaxing to visit the barn. 

Our Representative for the Central District is a transplant who is making roots in Manitoba. An Orthopaedic Surgeon, Dr. Gordey has a special interest in knee and shoulder arthroscopy. She works at the Boundary Trails Health Centre and at the C.W. Wiebe Medical Clinic in Winkler. She obtained a Bachelor of Science with Honours in Biology (BScH) at Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, and then moved back to her home town of Edmonton for medical school at the University of Alberta. She completed her orthopaedic surgery residency at the University of Toronto and a Sports Medicine and Arthroscopy Fellowship at Dalhousie University in Halifax.

When she first started practice, Dr. Gordey found that, despite several years of training, she was unprepared for some healthcare system challenges that are part of being a physician. She joined the board to take a more active role in the organization that supports other Manitoba physicians and gives them a voice.

Dr. Gordey and her husband live in Morden with their two dogs. After all the moving around for school and medical training, they are very happy to finally be settled.

Our District Representative for Concordia, Dr. Tunovic, works in primary care as a Family Physician at Concordia Community Clinic and as a consultant at Bethania and Pembina Place personal care homes. He spent part of his career as a hospitalist at the Concordia Hospital. 

The significant health care restructuring that involved Concordia Hospital prompted Dr. Tunovic to join the Board at Doctors Manitoba. Dealing with regional politics and seeing the effects of experienced physician opinions being disregarded made him realize just how valuable a role family doctors can play in their community and at all levels of healthcare. He decided to take his passion to a place where he could make a difference for his colleagues.

He grew up in Winnipeg and studied medicine at the University of Manitoba. In his spare time, Dr. Tunovic plays soccer and basketball and whenever possible he loves to travel and spend time outdoors with his wife. 

FUN FACT: Dr. Tunovic enjoys daily Jeopardy competitions with his wife.

Dr. Papetti, Honourary Secretary and Board Representative for Eastman, studied at Collège universitaire de Saint-Boniface and attended the University of Manitoba for medical school and her Family Medicine Residency. Elle a étudié en français et en anglais et est complètement bilingue. She works as a Family Physician at the Lac du Bonnet Medical Group, does home visits and works at the Whitemouth Personal Care Home. She is also on the MAiD (Medical Assistance in Dying) team for the province. While she holds no professional training or designation in the discipline, she has acted as COO of her household during a pandemic, with a toddler and infant twins. 

Joining the board was a natural choice as she has always been impressed with the work done by the staff at Doctors Manitoba. She also felt that, for a long time, women’s voices were missing from the board. She is excited to share her perspective as a rural Family Physician and parent. She loves hearing from members, regardless of the region of the province in which they practice. 

Dr. Papetti used to have hobbies but, sadly, does not anymore. She and her partner are busy parenting three small children and she hasn’t slept through the night in nearly four years. Most days she counts herself lucky if she finds the time to shower. 

FUN FACT: Dr. Papetti once got locked in the RM of Whitemouth dump.

Dr. Heather Diamond graduated from medical school at the University of Western Ontario in 1997, and completed her residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Manitoba in 2002. She has a full-time practice at the Manitoba Clinic and has worked as a surgeon at the Women’s and Grace hospitals since the beginning of her career 19 years ago. 

Dr. Diamond is a clinical educator at the University of Manitoba and the past site director of the Grace Hospital, section of Gynecologic Surgery. She is chair of the Gynecologic Surgery Audit at the Women’s Hospital and is an active member of the Grace Hospital Gynecologic Surgery audit. She has been an examiner for the Royal College Fellowship Examination in Obstetrics and Gynecology for the last 7 years. She is also a clinic advisor/​mentor for graduating Ob/​Gyn residents, helping them transition into practice. 

Her current practice focuses on General Gynecology, Colposcopy and Minimally Invasive Surgery.

Dr. Diamond has also been providing gynecologic care to remote communities in Northern Manitoba and Nunavut since 2007. She has a passion for helping underserviced communities, ensuring they receive the care they deserve.

In recent years, Dr. Diamond has incorporated medical aesthetics into her practice on a part time basis. She has combined her years of experience as a surgeon and her knowledge of anatomy with her artful eye for aesthetics to help people achieve optimal results. 

Outside of medicine, Dr. Diamond and her husband are busy with their 3 boys, 2 dogs and 1 cat. She enjoys working out, taking long walks, having Zen time at the lake, and watching the Jets.

Dr. William Li is one of two District Representatives for Health Sciences Centre. He was born in Beijing, China, but grew up in Edmonton. After attending Medical School at the University of Alberta, he decided to move East (but not too far East) to do his Residency in Pediatrics at the University of Manitoba. He loved Winnipeg so much, he decided to stay.

He works as a Community Pediatrician at the Winnipeg Clinic and at the Women’s Hospital as a Newborn Hospitalist. He is pediatrics-trained with interests in Population Health.

When he is not busy with work he enjoys hockey, food (cooking and eating it) and technology. His partner is a Pediatric ID-trained physician in Winnipeg.

FUN FACT: During his residency, Dr. Li had an active food blog that became nationally ranked on a list of food bloggers.

Dr. Emerson, a Métis family physician, is the District Representative for the Interlake. She completed medical school at the University of Manitoba and spent her Family Medicine Rural-based Residency at the University of British Columbia. She primarily works in emergency medicine in Selkirk but also works half-time for Keewatinohk Inniniw Minoayawin (KIM) as a medical advisor. KIM is a new health entity tasked with transforming health and wellness services in Northern Manitoba First Nation communities. Dr. Emerson has also provided remote care in Northern B.C., North Western Ontario, Nunavut and fly-in communities in Manitoba. She has a special interest in Indigenous wellness and harm reduction. Her love of learning has her currently enrolled in Western University’s Master of Clinical Science Program and keeps her busy with courses in First Nation and Métis history, philosophy and physics. She is currently learning about the concept of character in leadership.

Dr. Emerson believes that physician involvement in leadership positions is essential to a healthy and functioning health system. Three years ago she saw the positive changes happening at Doctors Manitoba, and as part of her own turning 50 year of challenges, she put her name in for the Board elections.

Dr. Emerson lives in Stonewall where she enjoys tabletop games like Pandemic and Risk with her 12 year old son and takes her dog Barley for long walks on the Prime Meridian Trails. Her 21 year old son studies Mathematics at the University of Waterloo.

FUNFACT: Goats & Veggies…In the summers you’ll find Dr. Emerson in her vegetable garden or at Steep Rock Beach kayaking and reading on the weekends.

Dr. Creek practices comprehensive community-based family medicine at Tuxedo Family Medical in Winnipeg. After completing her BSc at the University of Winnipeg and her MD at the University of Manitoba, she completed her family medicine residency at the University of Toronto/​Women’s College Hospital. After completing her residency, Dr. Creek started a family practice in downtown Toronto where she served a predominantly inner city, marginalized population. She has been back home in Winnipeg since 2016. She has a special interest in gender affirming care, women’s health, and medical assistance in dying. She has been a member of the provincial MAID team since 2017. Dr. Creek is currently completing a Masters in Public Health at Johns Hopkins University. She has trained and worked in Africa, South America, and Japan. When she is not practicing medicine she enjoys spending time with her husband Josh and their three children Miles, Archie, and Stella. Kristen is an avid runner, gym enthusiast, traveler, and gourmand. She is excited to be on the board of Doctors Manitoba to help give back to our inspiring medical community.

Born in Nigeria and educated at the University of Calabar, Dr. Chukwuma Abara is a family physician in Thompson where he works in primary care, provides healthy newborn care at the hospital nursery, and works as a hospitalist medical officer on the Internal Medicine ward. Dr. Abara also travels to other Northern remote hospitals and health centers and works part time as Medical Director for Primary Care clinics for Thompson and area at the Northern Health Region. Before moving to Canada, he completed his residency in Obstetrics & Gynecology. He is passionate about helping to bridge the gap in health inequity in the North. 

Dr. Abara became involved with our board because his experiences working in the North as a frontline family physician and as the Physician Champion for the Physician Health and Wellness Community of Practice have highlighted the unique needs of Northern physicians. He wants to ensure they don’t feel left behind because of their geographical isolation, scope of practice and other unique needs.
Outside of medicine, Dr. Abara love to spend time with his wife and two children studying the bible, gardening, and nurturing indoor plants and he enjoys fishing- especially for trout. 

FUN FACT: Dr. Abara is a devout Christian.

Dr. Bittoo Malik is a diagnostic radiologist at the Dauphin Hospital. Originally from the Parkland Region, she moved home to develop and advance the diagnostic imaging program. She obtained a Bachelor of Science degree and Doctor of Medicine at the University of Manitoba. Dr. Malik completed a residency in Family Medicine at the University of Toronto and a residency in Diagnostic Radiology at the University of Ottawa. 

Dr. Malik is an advocate and champion for health equity, particularly as it applies to individuals living in rural Manitoba, and is deeply committed to her colleagues and community. She is honored to serve as a board member for Doctors Manitoba, an organization supporting physicians as they provide essential medical care for their patients. 

When not working at the hospital, she can be found nurturing a garden or two, or practicing a new-found interest of yoga flow and tai chi qigong. An outdoor enthusiast, kayaking and skiing are among her favorites. She enjoys classical and jazz music, and architecture and design. 

Dr. Anthony Battad is an internal medicine specialist at St. Boniface hospital and senior faculty in the Max Rady College of Medicine. He completed both his undergraduate and medical education at UM and has a Masters in Public Health from the University of Liverpool and a Diploma in Tropical Medicine from the University of Peru. He is a former Canadian Forces physician, where he gained experience providing critical care for extensive battlefield trauma patients. He is passionate about medical education, international health, and health equity.

An avid sports fan, Dr. Battad loves golfing, cycling, and is a self-declared below average ​“beer league” hockey goalie but a decent tennis player. He dabbles in music, playing mainly piano and guitar. He and his partner have two fantastic daughters who have both graduated from university, leaving the empty-nesters to dote on the family’s 12-year-old ​“puppy”.

Fun fact: Dr. Battad is qualified in dive and aerospace medicine and is a banana chip addict, making him known by name at his local Bulk Barn.

Dr. Kurt Skakum is a psychiatrist at the Health Sciences Centre. He graduated from medical school at the University of Manitoba in 1994 and completed his psychiatry residency at UM in 1999 and has been on staff at HSC since then. His clinical work consists of work with CancerCare Manitoba patients and as Medical Director of the Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry Service at HSC providing psychiatric consultation to the admitted medical and surgical patients.

He has been involved in residency education and administration since his involvement with PARIM as Vice-President and President in 1997. Dr. Skakum was the Program Director of the Psychiatry Residency Program from 2008 to 2016 and Program Director of the Geriatric Psychiatry Residency Program from 2018 to 2020. He is currently the Assistant Dean PGME in the Max Rady College of Medicine, managing the recent CanRAC Accreditation On-Site Review preparations. Dr. Skakum is also involved with Royal College Accreditation processes in Canada and with Royal College International, having participated in accreditation activities for several programs in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. He has had previous experience with Doctors Manitoba when he sat on the Board of Directors as PARIM President. He has been a member of the Psychiatry Block negotiations committee for several of the last negotiations and is currently a member of the Special Committee on Virtual Tariffs. He joins the Board now in his role as President of University Medical Group and will work to prioritize support to university GFT members.

Dr. Skakum is a new cottage owner and has been developing fishing and navigation skills and is an avid BBQer. He is a life-long Manitoban except for a brief five years from the age of 1 – 6. He is married to a family physician, has two children who are in university.

Fun Fact: Dr. Skakum spent time in a quarantine hotel in China.

Dr. Alexis Botkin is a dermatologist who is originally from Manitoba, growing up partly in Winnipeg, and partly in Springfield, where her family has a small farm and apiary.

She completed a Bachelor of Sciences at the University of Manitoba after taking a small wandering break to become certified as a Primary Care Paramedic, as well as Ski Patrol and Rescue, in British Columbia. She returned to the University of Manitoba for medical school and subsequently went on to complete the 5 year dermatology residency at the University of Toronto. She now practices general medical dermatology spanning across all age groups. 

She recently was appointed to the Examination Board for the Royal College Dermatology exams and as the lead for dermatology for the undergraduate medical education at the University of Manitoba. 

In her spare time, Dr. Botkin enjoys the magic that is being at lake Winnipeg, where she can mostly be found under a very large ​“Supra-brella” wearing a big hat and a lot of SPF. She has two children whom she is actively encouraging to take up triathlon, a covid puppy named Ella-snore (Eleanor), a boxer/​catahoula cross who is a daily motivation for setting land speed running records, and is married to the world’s most wonderful person imaginable.

Dr. Botkin is humbled to be a part of an outstanding group of physicians here in our province and has a particular interest in physician wellness.

Fun Fact: Dr. Botkin turned whole food plant based (WFPB) just over a year ago, and is now certified in Plant-based Nutrition from Cornell University.

Dr. Matthew Thiessen is entering his 4^th year of residency as a fellow of Rheumatology. He is a proud life-long Manitoban, having completed all of his training at UM. He is excited to be representing resident interests on the board in his position as PARIM president. His priority will be addressing resident burnout and the mental health crisis. Dr. Thiessen is passionate about equity, diversity, inclusion and decolonization.
His hobbies include singing in the Horizon choir, competitive board gaming (he competes internationally annually) and baking.

Fun fact: Dr. Thiessen is obsessed with sneakers and has large collection.