Mary Lynn VanTassel, CPA, CA, serves as the Executive Lead, Health System Sustainability at IWK Health, where she brings a wealth of expertise in financial management, operations, project and change management. In this role, she is responsible for developing, translating, and implementing IWK Health’s sustainability strategy, which is aligned with both provincial transformation efforts and the organization’s strategic goals. She also oversees Environmental Services and Waste Management. Before assuming her current position, Mary Lynn held several key leadership roles at IWK Health, including Director of Financial Services & Treasury and Acting Chief Operating Officer (COO). During her time as Acting COO, she co-led the strategic initiative focused on environmental sustainability, which sparked her passion for sustainability and played a pivotal role in the creation of the Health System Sustainability portfolio. Before joining IWK Health, she spent 12 years in a range of financial and operational leadership positions at McInnes Cooper.
Mary Lynn earned a Bachelor of Business Administration with a major in accounting from St. Francis Xavier University. She obtained her Chartered Accountancy (CA) designation, now Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA), in 1999 while working at Grant Thornton LLP. It was during her time at Grant Thornton that Mary Lynn developed her connection with IWK Health, as she was involved in the annual financial statement audit for IWK Health and the IWK Foundation.
Outside of her professional work, Mary Lynn is actively engaged in her community, contributing to minor hockey, supporting her children’s schools, and participating in various non-profit organizations. She currently serves as a Board Member and Chair of the Financial Oversight and Risk Committee for the North End Community Health Center, as well as a Board Member and Secretary for the Nova Scotia Chapter of the Financial Management Institute (FMI). Additionally, she is a representative on the Governance & Nominating Committee of the Institute of Public Administration of Canada (IPAC) NS. Mary Lynn lives in Halifax with her husband Bruce, their two sons, Alexander and Joshua, and their dog, Cooper.
