Zachary Seymour, Chair, Secretary and Director
Originally from the hamlet of Granum, Alberta, Zach holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Calgary and a Juris Doctor from the University of Victoria. A senior associate lawyer at Dentons Canada LLP, Zach’s practice focuses on construction litigation and arbitration, with an emphasis on complex public infrastructure disputes. As Chair of the Board of Directors, Zach is a senior leader and advisor to the Chair, and as Secretary, he is the custodian of all important records, including the organization’s by-laws and incorporation documents.
Zach joined MitoCanada as part of his commitment to help those suffering from rare, under-diagnosed medical conditions. Two of Zach’s immediate family members suffer from mitochondrial disease, and Zach himself is a brain tumour survivor. Zach hopes to use his platform as a litigation lawyer and his unique background to advocate for others.
In his downtime, Zach enjoys cooking, cycling, all things basketball, and walking his dog, Maisey.
Sean Messing, Past-Chair and Director
Sean is a Senior Wealth Advisor for CIBC Wood Gundy Private Wealth Management. He holds a B.Sc. from the University of British Columbia and the Chartered Investment Manager (CIM®) designation. Sean has provided thoughtful wealth management through multiple market cycles with a respected team of advisors since 1995.
Sean believes everyone is impacted by the trillions of tiny mitochondria that fuel our lives. He is committed to the work MitoCanada is doing to build awareness, support breakthrough discoveries, secure the attention of government, and, most importantly, support and save lives. A long-time supporter of MitoCanada, Sean’s passion for the foundation is driven by the need to introduce strategies to protect healthy mitochondria and a desire to be present when a cure for mitochondrial disease is discovered.
In addition to loving what he does, the people he works with, and being deeply committed to his family, Sean enjoys running marathons, cross-country skiing and volunteering in the community.
Dilek Dag, Treasurer and Director
Dilek is a values-based leader, spending the last 20 years in operations and engineering in highly regulated pharmaceutical and consumer packaged goods companies. She is committed to building relationships to continuously improve and drive innovation.
When not at work, she likes to spend as much time outdoors as possible. She lives in Toronto with her husband, three children and their golden retriever.
Carter Ensign, Vice-Treasurer and Director
Carter was born and raised in Calgary, Alberta, where he also completed undergraduate degrees from the University of Calgary, holding a Bachelor of Commerce in Finance and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics, both with distinction. Carter began his career in Investment Banking at a large global bank, which allowed him to gain experience across capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, and strategy. Since then, he has led finance departments for Private Equity-backed portfolio companies and most recently joined a North American Carbon Capture project developer.
Outside of work, Carter enjoys spending time with his family, friends, and Retriever. Carter is an active individual who loves practicing yoga, running, biking, playing hockey, skiing, hiking, among other activities. He is an adventurer at heart and loves traveling the globe.
David Mosher, Director
David holds a Master of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering and Management from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario.
David’s beautiful daughter Victoria was diagnosed with mitochondrial disease in 2003. Now, his goal is to do everything in his power to make sure that patients get the right diagnosis, treatment, and ultimately a cure so they can lead long and fulfilling lives.
David is currently the Vice President of Business Development for Novari – a firm dedicated to building solutions to reduce surgical wait times, improving access to care and coordination of care.
Dr. Neal Sondheimer, Director and Clinical and Research Advisor
Dr. Neal Sondheimer is a metabolic physician with extensive expertise in therapy development, encompassing basic scientific discovery, investigator-initiated trials, participation as a site investigator in multinational studies, and leadership of clinical development and operations teams. His work focuses on rare inborn errors of metabolism and mitochondrial diseases. Currently, he serves as the Medical Director of Newborn Screening Ontario (NSO), overseeing one of Canada’s premier newborn screening programs.
With over 20 years of experience in pediatrics and metabolic medicine, Dr. Sondheimer has held notable leadership roles, including Head of Metabolism Medicine at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in Toronto and Medical Director of the SickKids Phenylketonuria Clinic. He is also an Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Molecular Genetics at the University of Toronto and chairs the Ontario Task Force on Newborn Screening by Next Generation Sequencing.
Dr. Sondheimer completed his undergraduate studies at Harvard University and earned his M.D. and Ph.D. through the Medical Scientist Training Program at the University of Chicago. He pursued postgraduate medical training in Medical Genetics and Clinical Biochemical Genetics at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
Dr. Michelle Mezei, Director and Clinical and Research Advisor
Dr. Michelle Mezei is a neuromuscular neurologist and Clinical Professor with the Division of Neurology, Dept. of Medicine at the University of British Columbia.
Claudia Aguirre, Director
Claudia’s expertise resides in the development of successful brand strategies. She has lived in Calgary since 2007 and has more than 25 years of experience in strategic planning and market research across different industries and countries. With a specialized degree in Marketing, Communications and Marketing for not-for-profits, Claudia spearheaded the strategy for global and Canadian brands.
An expert at qualitative research and recently in ESG communications, Claudia’s industry insights and brand strategies are insightful and actionable, resulting in creative work that truly hits the mark. Claudia’s passion for the use of marketing to benefit social causes made her get involved where she could make the most of her experience, and MitoCanada is that cause. Claudia’s heart is now green!
