Zulie is the General Counsel and Chief Legal Officer and a member of the Executive Leadership Team at the Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA) in Vancouver, British Columbia. PHSA has a budget of $4.5 billion, a staff of 30,000 and 4,000 medical staff professionals and a mandate to provide specialized health care services to residents of British Columbia. Zulie has the responsibility of supporting the President and Chief Executive Office and the Executive team in the overall management of the organization. Zulie is responsible for overseeing the legal, risk, patient care quality and technology development office at PHSA. With a staff of 70 individuals, including lawyers, risk professionals, clinical and administrative staff, she leads a team that provides the full spectrum of legal services and advice, enterprise risk management, monitors regulatory compliance, investigations, addresses patient care concerns and complaints; safeguards privacy and personal information throughout PHSA and supports leaders and managers in fulfilling their responsibilities.
As Corporate Secretary, Zulie supports the Directors of PHSA, the Forensic Pyschiatric Services Commission and the BC Emergency Health Services Commission in fulfilling their governance responsibilities.
Zulie is an active community volunteer and recently completed a six-year term as a Governor of the Law Foundation of British Columbia, an organization with the legislative mandate to fund access to justice initiatives, support law reform and public legal education. As the former Chair of the Ismaili International Conciliation and Arbitration Board, she led this global dispute resolution organization, which provides mediation services in 20 jurisdictions across the world.
Zulie served as a Member of the Immigration and Refugee Board for almost 10 years. Appointed by the Cabinet of the Government of Canada to hear applications for Convention refugee status and to determine whether the applicant meets the definition of a Convention Refugee under s.2(1) of the Immigration Act which adopts the 1951 UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees. This adjudicative position entailed conducting hearings in accordance with the principles of administrative law, applying and interpreting the governing statutes and case law. assessing evidence with respect to conditions in the applicant’s country and providing written reasons in a timely manner. During the course of her tenure, she decided hundreds of refugee claims annually and was routinely assigned ground breaking and complex cases with many decisions catalogued as a resource for colleagues.
She has served on numerous boards of non-profit and civil society organizations and in 2018, Zulie was the recepient of the Woman of Distinction Award by the YWCA for her contribution to Public Service.
In summary, Zulie brings to to the Senior Fellow role a unique experience in health administration and the law with a special interest in governance, equity and social justice.