Alliance Leadership

Sarah Hobbs, joined the Alliance for Healthier Communities as the CEO in the fall of 2020.  She is an experienced health care executive and has worked in community health for over twenty years, holding several roles, including Director of Health Services and Executive Director of Planned Parenthood Toronto, a Community Health Centre for youth.  Sarah has extensive experience in strategic planning and execution, governance, non-profit finance, health system transformation, change management, human resources and advocacy.  Sarah is the current chair of the Primary Care Collaborative and is the secretariat for the Ontario Community Health Compensation Committee. Sarah is committed to working from an anti-oppressive and anti-racist framework and over the course of her career has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to health equity, people-centred care and community governance. 

Sarah has a Bachelor of Arts from McMaster University, a Master’s Certificate in Healthcare Management from the Schulich School of Business and a Certificate in Advanced Health Systems Leadership from the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management.

Jennifer Rayner is the Director of Research and Policy at the Alliance for Healthier Communities, where she supports 100+ community based primary care organizations in Ontario. She has worked in the community health sector for over 25 years. She started her career at London InterCommunity Health Centre and has had the opportunity to work in various roles across the province. She is an applied health services researcher with interests in primary health care, interprofessional teams, health equity, and learning health systems.  

Jennifer is also a Research Professor at Western University within the Centre for Studies in Family Medicine; an Associate Professor at University of Toronto in the Department of Community and Family Medicine and the Institute of Health Policy Management and Evaluation; and a scientist with ICES.  She works in collaboration with researchers, evaluators and policy makers to improve care for people with barriers. Her community based primary care experience includes leadership roles in policy, planning, performance, accountability and quality improvement. 

Jennifer received her PhD of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Western and completed post-doctoral training at Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University). 

On leave. 

Marc Gordon is a Certified Health Executive with over 25 years of experience leading innovative healthcare information systems across Ontario. As Director of Information Management at the Alliance for Healthier Communities, Marc leads a ground-breaking program that equips Alliance members with high-quality data, enabling them to make informed decisions about comprehensive primary health care services and supports for people and communities facing barriers.

Marc's extensive project management career began implementing Ontario's electronic land registry system before transitioning to healthcare information management and technology. At the Canadian Institute for Health Information and later the Ontario Telemedicine Network, he spearheaded the initial implementation of Telemedicine across the Province of Ontario, significantly expanding healthcare access for remote communities.

Beyond his professional work, Marc contributes his leadership expertise as a Board Member at Findhelp Information Services. His commitment to community health extends to his 12-year volunteer service with the Canadian Cancer Society, where as an Executive Volunteer, he transformed the Relay for Life event in central Toronto from one of the Society's smallest to the largest Relay for Life event in Canada at that time.