Canadian Mental Health Association, Windsor-Essex County Branch Announces New CEO

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Dr. Sonja Grbevski

Canadian Mental Health Association, Windsor-Essex County Branch Chief Executive Officer, Claudia den Boer, has announced her retirement planned for April 4th,2022.

den Boer began her over 30-year career in Windsor at the Salvation Army Grace Hospital and has held several executive level positions at both Hotel-Dieu Grace Healthcare and Windsor Regional Hospital prior to beginning her role as CEO of the CMHA-WECB in 2015.

Following an external search, Dr. Sonja Grbevski has been appointed to the position of Chief Executive Officer, commencing March 7th, 2022, allowing for some orientation prior to Ms. den Boer’s retirement.

Dr. Grbevski has over 25 years of experience in the field of Mental Health, in both community and hospital settings. Dr. Grbevski has her doctorate in Counsellor Education, with cognates in Rehabilitation Counselling and Educational Psychology from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan.

Most recently Dr. Grbevski held the position of Clinical Services, Vice President, Mental Health Addictions at Hotel Dieu-Grace Healthcare, Windsor, Ontario. Her portfolio consisted of Adult Mental Health and Addictions, as well as Children & Youth Mental Health programs. In addition, she was an Adjunct Professor in the Rehabilitation Counselling program at Wayne State University.

She has led significant initiatives within the Windsor-Essex community and introduced new levels of service, unique to Ontario, such as the Transitional Stability Centre: Crisis and Wellness, redefined pathways to care and co-led the implementation of a formal collaborative with the CMHA Windsor-Essex Branch, with integrated management positions, in an effort to streamline services to develop a barrier-free client journey.

“It is with great honour and enthusiasm that I join the CMHA-WECB family. To be part of a grassroots and high performing organization, that is embedded in this community, comes with great responsibility and opportunity to continue with the growth and success of the organization. I would like to express my gratitude to the CMHA-WECB Board of Directors for their warm welcome. In addition, I would like to extend my thanks to Janice Kaffer, CEO of HDGH, in-coming CEO of HDGH, Bill Marra, and the out-going CEO of CMHA-WECB, Claudia den Boer, for their support and leadership. I look forward to working with the CMHA-WECB team and our community partners, in continuing to strengthen the care for individuals and families that are faced with Mental Health & Addictions”, stated Grbevski.