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Return to the Program

Opening International Keynote

Exploring System Complexity in Health Workforce Planning, Policy and Action

The opening keynote at the Health Workforce Canada Connects 2025 conference will feature Crispin Scotter from the World Health Organization, Asa Olsen from Sweden’s Health Human Resources Planning Division and E. Benjamin Puertas Donoso from the Pan American Health Organization. Together, they will explore the theme of embracing complexity in health workforce planning around the world. The session will highlight international lessons in leadership, decision-making, data, and building strong networks to support system transformation for the future, while working within ever changing political and economic environments. Attendees will gain insights from real-world innovations in Sweden and hear about overall international approaches that will offer valuable lessons for Canada's evolving complex health workforce systems.

Crispin (Cris) Scotter

Cris is currently the policy advisor for Human Resources for Health at the World Health Organization. He is an experienced health workforce professional and a strategic leader in health workforce development with extensive experience advising WHO Member States, the United Kingdom Department of Health and Social Care, the European Union and national governments.

Cris has proven experience in leading workforce planning, policy development, labor market analysis, emergency planning and strengthening health systems to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC). He has demonstrated success in mentoring government and corporate leaders, serving as an advisory board member to social impact organizations, and contributing to health workforce policy and guidance.

Cris is skilled in strategic planning, capacity building, and governance with strong operational leadership. He was the former Head of Strategic Supply at the UK’s Department of Health (now the Department of Health and Social Care) and was responsible for multiple programs, from the procurement of IT solutions for the NHS in England and NHS Wale to managing the activities of the Centre for Workforce Intelligence and Skills for Care to managing all cross boarder health workforce policy advice and activity.

Cris holds a Master’s in Health Policy from Imperial College London and an accredited MBA.

Åsa Olsson

Health Workforce Planning Leader - Sweden

Åsa Olsson has worked at the National Board of Health and Welfare for nearly five years and was appointed Subject Specialist in Human Resources for Health (HRH) in 2025. She leads the transition in workforce planning from traditional stock-and-flow models to a backcasting approach. By integrating a capabilities perspective with human-centered methodologies, she collaborates with stakeholders to explore how resources can be deployed to promote equitable care outcomes. Her work is dedicated to using resources most effectively to improve population health while making healthcare an attractive and sustainable place to work.

Åsa has built her career through roles at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), UNESCO, the University of Melbourne, and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency. She draws on a strong background in higher education, research, and innovation policy, and holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration.

E. Benjamín Puertas Donoso

Unit Chief, Human Resources for Health, PAHO/WHO

Born in Quito, Ecuador, Dr. E. Benjamín Puertas earned his degree in Medicine and Surgery from the Central University of Ecuador. He later pursued a Master’s in public health at the University of Illinois at Chicago and a Doctorate in Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Dr. Puertas has held key leadership roles in global health, serving as regional director of health in refugee camps in Malawi and Mozambique with the American Refugee Committee (USA) and Médecins Sans Frontières (France). He was the founding dean of the School of Public Health at Universidad de San Francisco de Quito and conducted Ecuador’s health reform process from 2009 to 2011, working at the Ministry of Health.

His career at PAHO/WHO began as a Subregional Advisor for Human Resources for Health in South America, based in Lima, Perú. He later served as a Health Systems and Services Advisor in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, and as a Subregional Advisor for Human Resources for Health in Central America and the Dominican Republic, based in El Salvador, and for the Caribbean, based in Barbados. He currently holds the position of Unit Chief for Human Resources for Health at PAHO, based in Washington, D.C.

Register

Dates:
October 15 and 16, 2025

Location:
Vancouver BC, Sheraton Wall Centre

Rates
Regular

In person $499.00
Virtual $350.00

Students, Patients and Caregivers

In person $150.00
Virtual $100.00
Taxes: In person registration fees are subject to 5% GST. Virtual registration fees are subject to Taxes accordance with the tax rates of the province or territory of the purchaser.


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