BY J.M. LEE
Dr. Victoria Lee completed her medical degree from the University of Western Ontario, her Family Medicine training and the Royal College Fellowship in public health and preventive medicine from the University of Toronto, and her postgraduate degrees in Public Health and Business Administration from Johns Hopkins University. She is currently Fraser Health’s President and Chief Executive Officer. Prior to that she served as Fraser Health’s Chief Medical Health Officer and Vice President, Population Health.
Before joining Fraser Health, Dr. Lee’s diverse professional journey includes:
- Working as a primary care clinician and researcher in low-income settings in Indigenous communities of Chile to inner-city clinics in Toronto.
- Collaborating with non-governmental agencies such as Terralingua to intergovernmental agencies such as the United Nations Environmental Programme in global development and eco-cultural health.
- Improving comparative healthcare performance, financing, and sustainability by working with organizations such as the World Bank.
All career decisions made by Dr. Victoria Lee were based on her values of equity, justice, and fairness. The driving factor that guided her was to fulfill her desire to
make a significant positive societal impact. “I had the privilege to work in diverse settings with talented teams and fantastic mentors, which has been the driving force for me to continue my work in solving global problems in local settings.” she says. “I feel very fortunate to have a loving and supportive network of family, friends, and colleagues that have encouraged me to do what I love which is to help lift people up and find innovative solutions to wicked problems.”
As Fraser Health’s President and CEO, Dr. Lee executes the overall strategic direction and operations of Canada’s second-largest and the most diverse health system serving 20 municipalities, 32 First Nations, and 6 Metis chartered communities. She is proud to work alongside over 45,000 committed and caring staff, medical staff, and volunteers. When Dr. Lee was appointed as the President and CEO, she heard from many people in the community and the organization that they can see themselves and their children in the leadership role.
Health Minister Adrian Dix had this to day about her: “With an extensive background with Fraser Health, we are excited Dr. Victoria Lee will step into the role, where she will continue to drive the positive progress championed by the organization. Well known for her compassionate, focused approach in her prior role as Fraser Health’s Chief Medical Health Officer, I am confident in her leadership.”
As a female minority leader, Dr. Lee has learned that resilience, grit, hard work, and optimism are essential for success. “Throughout my career, there have been many role models and strong mentors that have inspired me,” she admits. “My ongoing inspiration is my parents, who came to Canada from South Korea and worked hard to provide me and my sisters with broader opportunities. Their love, sacrifices, perseverance, and sage advice are central to who I am and what I have accomplished.
According to Dr. Lee, developing leadership confidence and voice is an ongoing process that requires knowing oneself and continuous self-reflection. “I developed my leadership confidence and voice by challenging myself to step outside my comfort zone. Taking risks to pursue opportunities that align with my passions and values and learning from setbacks and failures. I continue to rely on my personal network of people that I trust to provide me with honest feedback so that I am true to myself.”
Dr. Lee finds collective solutions that address a problem’s deep roots and core issues. “I love seeding innovation to pioneer new solutions, architecting strategic partnerships to deliver results, and galvanizing system-level transformation in complex settings,” she asserts. “I am passionate about the interplay between technology and data-driven results; enjoy advising start-ups/new entrepreneurs and am relentless in pursuing a social change to deliver global impact.”
Dr. Lee often refers to the 45,000 people working or volunteering at Fraser Health as her Fraser Health Family. The health authority fosters trust and collaboration through its “we” culture, working as one united team to build trust and partnerships to contribute collectively to drive change.
“To the next, younger generation of leaders, I would advise you to embrace challenges as opportunities to learn and grow, seek mentors and sponsors and let your values and passions be your compass.”
