Julia Hanigsberg

President and CEO Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital

  • Toronto ON

Champion for children and youth with disabilities & healthcare CEO. Expert speaker and leader on diversity, innovation and inclusion.

Contact

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Biography

Julia Hanigsberg joined Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital as its President and CEO on January 12, 2015. Holland Bloorview is Canada’s largest paediatric rehabilitation hospital and each year serves over 8,000 children and youth with disabilities and complex medical needs. Holland Bloorview is an academic hospital fully affiliated with the University of Toronto. It carries out its academic mission through its research institute, the Bloorview Research Institute, and the Teaching and Learning Institute.

Prior to joining Holland Bloorview, Julia spent nine years at Ryerson University, first as General Counsel and Secretary of the Board of Governors and then as Vice-President, Administration and Finance. She was also interim Dean of the G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education.

Her previous positions included numerous roles with the Ontario government including: Counsel to the Deputy Attorney General; Counsel and Special Advisor to two Secretaries of Cabinet; and Chief of Staff to the Attorney General of Ontario. Julia also led the project teams responsible for two transitions of provincial government leadership.

A lawyer by training, Julia has law degrees from McGill University (where she was Editor in Chief of the McGill Law Journal) and Columbia Law School. Following graduation from law school, she clerked at the Supreme Court of Canada. She has held Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and Fulbright Fellowships.

Julia has served on numerous volunteer boards. Currently, Julia is a member of the boards of the Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital Foundation, the Canadian Association of Pediatric Heath Centres, and Canadian Business SenseAbility. She is on the Council of Academic Hospitals of Ontario, the CEO Committee of the Toronto Academic Health Science Network, the Executive Advisory Board of FIRST Robotics Canada, the Girls in STEM Council, and McGill University’s Women, Leadership and Philanthropy committee.

Industry Expertise

Health Care - Services

Areas of Expertise

Children's Health
Disabilities
Patient Centred Care
Leadership
Women in Leadership
Diversity & Inclusion
Girls in STEM
Women in STEM
Women in Science
Patient Engagement
Healthcare
Health Policy
Social Media for CEOs
Governance & Board Relations
Women on Boards
Childhood Disabilities
Hospital & Health Care
Non - Profit Organization

Accomplishments

Top 100 Most Powerful Women 2021

Inducted into the 2021 Hall of Fame for winning the Top 100 Award for the fourth time

Top 100 Most Powerful Women 2020

Named as a WXN Canada's top 100 most powerful women in the Canada's Most Powerful CEOs category.

Top 100 Most Powerful Women 2019

Named as a WXN Canada's top 100 most powerful women in the public sector category.

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Education

Rotman School, University of Toronto

Certificate

Not For Profit Governance

2007

Columbia Law School

LL.M.

Law

1995

McGill University Faculty of Law

B.C.L./LL.B.

Law

1991

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Affiliations

  • Canadian Business SenseAbility Board of Directors
  • Children's Healthcare Canada
  • Council of Academic Hospitals of Ontario
  • FIRST Robotics Executive Advisory Board
  • International Women's Forum
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Media Appearances

Do vaccine mandates really put health care systems at risk?

Global National  tv

2021-11-04

Julia Hanigsberg speaks to why it was important and necessary to have a mandatory vaccination policy and clarifies that it has not affected its ability to care for its patients.

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Julia Hanigsberg - ON Point with Alex Pierson

Global News Radio  radio

2021-04-07

Alex talks with Julia Hanigsberg, President and CEO of Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, Member of the Children’s Health Coalition about the school closures in Toronto, and how it is negatively effecting the children and not helping to stop the spread of COVID-19

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10-year-old girl encourages others to wear masks

CTV News Toronto  tv

2020-07-17

In response to the mandatory masking bylaw in Toronto and surrounding areas, Pauline Chan speaks with Holland Bloorview ambassador, Gavi, and her parents about the importance of wearing masks to protect those that may not be able to due to a disability or medical complexity. Julia Hanigsberg also comments on the topic – asking everyone to show some “COVID kindness” by either wearing a mask or accepting those that can’t.

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Event Appearances

Remaking Yourself as an Executive After Law

Women General Counsel National Conference  Toronto Board of Trade

2017-01-19

Leading Culture Change in Patient and Family Centred Care

HealthAchieve (Ontario Hospital Association)  Metro Toronto Convention Centre

2016-11-09

Diversity on Boards Panel

DiverseCity on Board Expansion  G Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education, Ryerson

2016-11-07

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Articles

OPINION: Grown-ups, we are failing our children

Toronto Sun

Julia Hanigsberg, Dr. Jeffrey Pernica, Kimberly Moran

2021-01-12

Julia Hanigsberg co-authors an opinion piece with the chief of pediatric infectious diseases at McMaster’s Children’s Hospital and the CEO of Children’s Mental Health Ontario re: importance of keeping schools open during the pandemic.

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Today’s pediatric health-care crisis felt acutely by the most vulnerable

Toronto.com

2020-10-02

An opinion piece about the crisis in health care experienced by kids in Ontario, which has been exacerbated by the pandemic. The Children’s Health Coalition (Holland Bloorview is a member) is sounding the alarm and calling for $375 million to “clear the backlog and seal the current gap in surgeries and procedures, mental health support, child development and rehabilitation services, and home care solutions to those waiting.”

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Health care transformation - the view from the kids' table

Hospital News

2019-08-01

Ontario's health care transformation and its implications for children.

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