Learning from disruption: Building stronger health systems

Dr Sally Abdel Raof

Seasoned Healthcare Operations Leader with a proven track record at the Egypt Healthcare Authority, overseeing 330 facilities across all levels of care. Spearheaded the implementation of a universal health coverage system, enhancing access to quality care nationwide. Established a comprehensive monitoring system that improved financial performance and operational efficiency. Adept at strategic planning, policy execution, and driving systemic improvements in healthcare delivery.

Mr Augustin Hérault

Augustin Hérault is Chief of Staff of the French Hospital Federation.

He was previously Director of Medical and Non-Medical Human Resources at the AP-HP’s (Assistance publique – Hôpitaux de Paris) Agence des équipements et des produits de santé (AGEPS), and has chaired the AP-HP’s disciplinary boards since 2023. He was previously deputy Human Resources’ Director at Henri Mondor Hospital Group.

As Chief of Staff, he is responsible for developing and implementing the Federation’s strategy under the authority of its President and Chief Executive Officer, and in coordination with all its areas of expertise. He is also responsible for managing public affairs and the FHF’s relations with the public authorities.

Ms Shannan Saunders

Shannan Saunders is a healthcare emergency management leader and academic researcher specializing in organizational resilience, climate adaptation, and business continuity in Canadian hospitals. Drawing on more than two decades of experience across emergency medical services, public policy, and hospital operations, she currently advances integrated resilience, sustainability, and continuity programs that bridge clinical care, infrastructure, and community partnerships. Her work focuses on embedding climate-informed risk assessment, low‑carbon care models, and robust continuity of operations into everyday hospital governance and quality improvement. She holds a Master’s degree in Disaster and Emergency Management and is pursuing a Doctor of Business Administration with a focus on industrial-organizational psychology and healthcare resilience.

Ms Elena Slominski

Elena holds a Ph.D. from the University of California Irvine as well as a master’s degree from the University of Oslo in Norway. Over the past 8 years, she has delivered actionable, data-driven insights on sustainability transformations based on empirical scientific research involving 40+ hours of stakeholder interviews, surveys with 960+ patients and healthcare providers, extensive field observations, and spatial analyses of 300+ geographic data points.

Elena has published numerous research papers and book chapters on healthcare sustainability and the health impacts of climate change, including a forthcoming solo-authored book on climate-smart healthcare (currently in press). She has also presented her research at top-tier conferences around the world in front of a combined audience of 4,500 industry leaders, scholars, students, and decision-makers. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, traveling, and competitive ballroom dancing.

Ms Wan Yan Karen Tam

Ms. Karen Tam is a Senior Clinical Psychologist and the Centre Head of Oasis – Centre for Personal Growth and Crisis Intervention and the Corporate Clinical Psychology Services of the Hospital Authority of Hong Kong. In this role, she leads the strategic development and delivery of comprehensive psychological services and system-wide mental health promotion campaigns tailored for staff across all public hospitals within Hong Kong. She drives initiatives to enhance long-term workforce wellbeing, establish robust organizational support systems, and cultivate a compassionate and resilient institutional culture across the public healthcare sector.

In her clinical practice, Ms. Tam brings extensive experience to providing specialized, evidence-based therapeutic treatments and clinical training courses designed to support healthcare workers navigating psychological distress. She is also committed to equipping both frontline staff and hospital management with the practical skills and frameworks for effectively managing critical incidents, such as workplace violence and staff sudden death. Leveraging technology advancements, she actively incorporates the use of mobile applications and short video reels to make mental health promotion engaging and easily accessible. She looks forward to participating in the World Hospital Congress to exchange practical, scalable approaches for safeguarding the mental wellbeing of hospital staff with global health leaders.

Dr Zuriyati Zakaria

Dr. Zuriyati Binti Zakaria is a medical doctor and healthcare administrator with 14 years experience in Malaysia’s public health system. As Senior Principal Assistant Director and Clinical Administrator at the Ministry of Health’s Medical Development Division in Putrajaya, she involves in national policy and programmes in hospital governance, healthcare financing, and lean healthcare transformation.

Read medicine at the University of Leicester (UK) and master in health management at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, she is currently a PhD candidate (Health Systems) at Universiti Sains Malaysia. Her research develops and validates the Hospital Autonomy Readiness Index (HARI), a first-of-its-kind framework that tests whether MOH Malaysia Cluster Hospitals are genuinely ready for autonomy before reform begins.

Dr. Zuriyati is also a lead author of several national policy instruments, including the Lean Healthcare Implementation Guideline and the 2023 Lean Operational and Sustainability Guideline, and co-author of the National Policy on Quality in Healthcare (NPQH) 2022–2026. A certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, she has represented MOH Malaysia on international benchmarking missions across the United Kingdom, Thailand, Singapore, and Morocco.

She combines frontline clinical insight with system-level policy expertise and remains actively engaged in professional and humanitarian service.