Ottawa - The Canadian Lung Association's Board of Directors is pleased to announce the appointment of Debra Lynkowski as President and Chief Executive Officer effective November 12, 2013.
"The CEO recruitment committee was very impressed with Ms. Lynkowski's breadth of experience and expertise. We are confident that through her leadership, she will advance the revitalization of the Lung Association federation," says Dean Karakasis, chair of the Board of Directors for the Canadian Lung Association.
Ms. Lynkowski has served more than 20 years with various organizations at both the provincial and national levels in the not-for-profit sector. Most recently, Ms. Lynkowski was the Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Public Health Association (CPHA). During her time with CPHA, Ms. Lynkowski led the organization through a process of revitalization and refinancing.
Ms. Lynkowski received her law degree from the University of Alberta in 1986. Following this, she began a career in the non-profit sector and has worked at all levels within the system: local, provincial/territorial and national. With an initial focus on fund development and volunteer development, Debra worked for both the Youth Emergency Shelter Society and the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada in Edmonton, Alberta, managing diverse portfolios.
From 1993 to 1999, Ms. Lynkowski served as Executive Director of the Canadian Diabetes Association (Alberta/NWT Division) and later took on a national role with the association in Ottawa as the Director of Public Policy and Government Relations, establishing a national public policy and advocacy office for the organization. From 2002 to 2004, Ms. Lynkowski was a Senior Policy Advisor in the Centre for Chronic Disease Prevention and Control. She then served as the Director of the Canadian Stroke Strategy, creating and leading the first national strategy for stroke prevention and care.
Ms. Lynkowski and her husband, Marc, just returned from an eight month journey around the world.
