MEDIA RELEASE – Oct. 5, 2026 — R0090
Throughout her career, Mary Jo Haddad’s work has been centred on care.
From her time as a nurse to her progressive leadership roles over four decades with the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), she has made it her mission to support families in the most vulnerable moments of their lives.
When Haddad retired as the long-standing President and Chief Executive Officer of the nation’s top pediatric hospital in 2014, she didn’t rest on her laurels.
Instead, she used her expertise to create further impact, providing strategic leadership and advisory services to health-care systems around the world as President of MJH & Associates and also lending her expertise as Corporate Director at Telus and past Director at TD Bank Group.
Haddad will share lessons in leadership with Brock University’s graduating class when she delivers the address at Fall Convocation on Friday, Oct. 16 at 10 a.m. During the ceremony, she will also be recognized with an honorary Doctor of Laws for the indelible mark she’s left on Canadian health care and beyond.
“I am truly honoured and grateful to be receiving an honorary degree from Brock,” Haddad says. “It’s a great honour to share my congratulations and address the graduates at such a pivotal time in their lives. I hope to bring them a heartfelt message of inspiration and optimism on all that the future holds at this incredibly exciting time.”
Haddad says she’s learned much over her rewarding career, with one of the most profound takeaways being that “leadership matters.”
Enabling people to be their best self in their working environment begins with strong leadership — no matter the field, she says. She hopes to inspire Brock’s graduates to see themselves in leadership roles, whether civic or professional, and reflect on ways they can have a positive impact on the world, including in their local communities.
Haddad has been recognized for her innovative leadership and contributions to children’s health care, being named a Member of the Order of Canada (2010) and receiving the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (2014), among her many accolades.
Now residing in Niagara-on-the-Lake, she maintains a strong commitment to giving back as a mentor and leadership coach and as an advocate for children and youth through her volunteer work as past Director of the Board of Kids Health Links Foundation, as former Director at Capitalize for Kids, with the SickKids capital campaign and as founding Chair of Children First Canada, a not-for-profit organization committed to helping make Canada the best place for kids to grow up.
Brock’s 120th Convocation will include two ceremonies held Friday, Oct. 16 at 10 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. in the Ian Beddis Gymnasium of Brock’s Walker Sports Complex.
All ceremonies will be livestreamed online at brocku.ca/livestream
For more information and a full schedule of Brock’s Fall Convocation, visit brocku.ca/convocation
For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:
*Melinda Cheevers, Communications Specialist, Brock University, [email protected] or 289-241-5855
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