The NW Pain Foundation is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors who are committed to improving care for people with pain.
Elizabeth Ball served for 3 terms as a Vancouver City Councillor. She has a wealth of experience in arts, heritage and business and is known as a champion for tourism, economic, and health initiatives in the City. A tireless cultural advocate, she is the founder of the renowned Carousel Theatre Company and School, the co-founder of the Waterfront Theatre on Granville Island, and has inspired many students at UBC as a Theatre in Education instructor. Elizabeth is a committed volunteer who works to improve the lives of artists, youth, seniors and persons with disabilities.
Louise Malysh obtained her Registered Nurse Diploma from the Victoria General Hospital in Halifax and her BScN and MSN from UBC. Her extensive clinical work at St. Paul’s Hospital has included Emergency, HIV and AIDS, Education, Administration, and Research. The latter part of her career was as a Clinical Nurse Specialist for the Interventional Pain Clinic, specializing in therapies for complex pain conditions. She has done volunteer work in the field of pain in Rwanda. Prior directorships include the Canadian Neuromodulation Society, the Health and Home Care Society of BC, and the Registered Nurses Association of B.C. She has been on various advisory committees including the Vancouver Community College Practical Nursing Program and the Registration Committee for the B.C. College of Dieticians.
William McDonald obtained his undergraduate and medical degrees from UBC and is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons (Canada) in both Anaesthesiology and Internal Medicine. He worked in the area of pain management at St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver for 25 years where his main practice interest was interventional therapies for severe pain conditions. Dr. McDonald retired in 2015 but remains active in several non-profit organizations and as Chief Examiner (Vancouver) for the LMCC exam. He is Clinical Professor Emeritus in the Department of Anaesthesiology, Pharmacology, and Therapeutics, UBC.
Deborah Roitberg has had extensive experience in both business and the arts. She cofounded The Lazy Gourmet in 1979, and the (Coastal) Vancouver International Jazz Festival in 1985. More recently, she has worked with the BC Cancer Foundation on their Inspiration galas, and is currently very active helping to bring music into the lives of marginalized children through Instruments Beyond Borders. She comes to the NW Pain Foundation via the Pain Clinic at SPH where she has been a patient intermittently during the past 10 years.
