Karen Kinnear

Karen Kinnear has been with The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) for over 30 years, beginning with her career as a staff nurse in the Cancer Centre in 1990. In 2001, she was appointed to a clinical director role and earned her MBA in 2004. She became Executive Director in 2011, and Vice-President of Clinical Operations in 2014. In 2022, Karen was appointed Vice-President, Patient and Family Experience in addition to her clinical operations role.

Kinnear provides strategic leadership to a portfolio that includes departments within the Centre for Innovation and Excellence in Child and Family-Centred Care,  Medical and Surgical Specialties, Ambulatory Programs, Perioperative Services and Medical Device Reprocessing, Diagnostic Imaging and Interventional Radiology Department, Department of Paediatric Laboratory Medicine, Rehabilitation Services, Child Life, Creative Arts Therapy, Communication Disorders, Genetic Counselling and the Ontario, Nunavut and Manitoba Poison Centres hosted by SickKids.

She has responsibility for provincial and national services with high dollar and high impact. Services such as Diagnostic Imaging and Laboratory Medicine are highly regulated, and SickKids hosts one of the most complex and high-volume diagnostic labs in the country, impacting all clinical programs and services across SickKids.

Kinnear also plays a key role as Co-Executive Sponsor, designing SickKids of the future, under Project Horizon, a major capital project spanning the next decade.

Kinnear is co-Chair of the Ronald MacDonald House Mission Committee and on the Board of Directors for the Ronald MacDonald House Charities Toronto.

Education and experience

• 2004: MBA, Schulich School of Business, York University, Toronto, ON
• 1990: BScN, University of Windsor, Windsor, ON

Achievements

• 2011: President’s Circle Award, SickKids
  • Inaugural award given for exemplary leadership