Board of directors
Cal Crocker, B. Comm, CPA, CMA, CHE and ICD.D
Chair of the Board
Calvin (Cal) Crocker is Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer at the Royal Ottawa Health Care Group.
Cal has 35 plus years of experience in Healthcare Leadership in Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and Ontario.
He was a member of 1st Regional Leadership Teams in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Halifax, Nova Scotia when the government introduced Regional Health Authorities in both Provinces. Cal has always been an advocate for operating within resources and being financially viable. He was recruited to both QEII in Halifax and The Royal Ottawa Health Care Group in Ottawa due to financial challenges at both organizations.
Cal has been a strong advocate for mental health over his career, starting with his first health care position at the Waterford Hospital in St. John’s, Newfoundland and now at the Royal. He is a past President of CMHA National Offices. He has served on the boards of health associations and provincial pension plans.
Craig Dalton
Craig Dalton was commissioned into the Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery in 1990 and over the course of a 25-year Army career, had the distinct pleasure of serving alongside Canadian soldiers, sailors, airmen and airwomen, as well as whole-of-government partners, both here at home in Canada, and abroad on operations, in Cyprus, Bosnia-Herzegovina and, most recently, Afghanistan. During his time in uniform, Craig served in a wide variety of staff appointments and had the privilege to lead teams from the troop to formation level including command of the 2nd Regiment Royal Canadian Horse Artillery and command of 5th Canadian Division Support Group/Canadian Forces Base Gagetown.
Since his release in 2014, Craig has had the opportunity to serve at all three levels of government initially joining the Government of New Brunswick where he had privilege of serving as the Deputy Minister of Public Safety and subsequently as the Deputy Minister of Social Services. Craig then joined the Government of Prince Edward Island where he served as Deputy Minister of Family and Human Services before appointed as Canada’s Veterans Ombudsman. More recently, he has worked at the local government level as the City Manager with the City of Lethbridge and in his current position as the Chief Administrative Officer with the Squamish – Lillooet Regional District.
Craig holds a Bachelor’s Degree from the Royal Military College of Canada and holds Masters Degrees from Central Michigan University (Strategic Leadership), the United States Army Command and General Staff College (Strategy), and from Deakin University, Australia (Policy).
Inspector (Ret’d) Baltej Dhillon Hon LLD., C.Dir.
Raised in Malaysia, Baltej and his family move to British Columbia in 1983 after which they settled in Surrey. He studied criminology, and though initially interested in practicing law, he volunteered with the RCMP and acted as an interpreter so that the RCMP could communicate with recent Asian immigrants.
In 1988, Baltej decided to formally apply to join the RCMP. Though he met all the entrance requirements, he encountered one significant problem: the dress code forbade beards and wearing a turban in place of the uniform hat. In 1989, Baltej appealed to the RCMP Commissioner, who recommended new RCMP uniform regulations that would include an RCMP turban and the ability for members of the Sikh community to maintain their unshorn hair. After months of debate, the federal government announced new changes to the RCMP dress code in March of 1990 — including the freedom for observant Sikhs to wear beards and turbans. As a result, Baltej was able to join the RCMP, train in Regina and then graduate to active duty in 1991.
Inspector Dhillon’s career with the RCMP started off in Quesnel BC where he started off as Constable serving the community . He then went to serve in other units including the Air India Task Force, Pickton serial killer investigation, Polygraph Unit, established the first Provincial Intelligence Centre in BC, served as the Non Commissioned Officer in charge of Intelligence Section, RCMP – Federal Serious Organized Crime and retired in 2019 after serving as the Officer in Charge, RCMP – Operational Readiness and Response & Protective Technical Services Section.
Baltej has been awarded two honorary degrees of the Doctor of Laws by Kwantlen Polytech University in May 2014 and McMaster University in 2021, as well as the Distinguished Alumni Award from Kwantlen Polytechnic University. Inspector Dhillon is also the recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal and the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal and earned a Commanding Officer’s Commendation for Excellence in Policing for his work on the Pickton serial killer investigation
He is a Director with WorkSafeBC, Dan’s Legacy, Coast Mental Health BC, and Chair of the Canada India Education Society and continues to serve in law enforcement as a member of the Organised Crime Agency of BC in the role of Program Manager – Crime Guns Intelligence and Investigations Group for the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit in BC.
Lisa Klco
Lisa joins Atlas representing multiple perspectives: as a Veteran, Family member and service provider. Lisa spent almost 25 years in the military in various roles, both as a non-commissioned member (NCM) and as an officer. She retired as a military social worker, a role in which she was able to see first-hand the importance of mental health supports to our Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members and their Families. Throughout her career, she was a part of various initiatives such as the Defence Women’s Advisory Organization, working as a harassment investigator and mediator in addition to being the mental health team lead.
An enthusiastic learner, she undertook various degree programs to support her work, as well as extensive training in intensive short-term dynamic psychotherapy (ISTDP), direct neurofeedback (DNF) and behavioural approaches such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT), making her highly effective in working with disorders such as anxiety, depression, borderline personality disorder, addictions, pain and medically complex conditions. She bring many years of experience working with diverse populations, including various gender and romantic minorities (GRM) and multicultural identities, as well as with Families with complex care needs.
During her work in various care systems, she encountered different models of care and vacancies in the communities related to supporting people’s needs. She knew from there that she wanted to help close this gap and became one of the founders of a program focused on supporting those with complex mental health disorders.
Lisa identifies as a mom first, and as a partner to a service member. She is now on the other side of the care relationship, navigating the complexities of the ongoing needs related to support for military Families. She deeply appreciates the sacrifices and the hardships the military community experiences, as well as the beautiful bonds, and remains grateful to her military Family for helping her own Family through some of their greatest struggles.
James MacRae
James is the President and CEO of verTerra Corp., an Ottawa based real estate development and infrastructure management company. Incorporated in 2009 by James and his late partner Judy Klenik, verTerra Corp., provides management and advisory services to public and private sector clients in the investment and delivery of real estate and infrastructure assets, specializing in Public Private Partnerships. Since incorporation, verTerra has successfully managed over $1 billion dollars of capital real estate projects in Canada and the United States.
Prior to establishing verTerra, James held Senior Management positions with national and international design and construction companies. James is an Architectural Technologist, Project Management Professional, LEED Accredited Professional and a Certified Risk Management Analyst.
James is a passionate and dedicated advocate for advancing mental health care in Canada. His father, two of his uncles and both grandfathers were war veterans and James’s sister suffered from mental illness from her childhood to her passing in 2018. James respects and understands the impact of mental illness on the people affected their families and the systemic challenges faced by mental health care organizations. James has served as an Independent Board Trustee of the Royal Ottawa Hospital Group (ROHGC) since 2018 and served on the Board of the Royal Ottawa Volunteers Association from 2009 to 2018, including a term as Board Chair.
Colonel Telah Morrison, OMM, CD
Colonel Telah Morrison, OMM, CD, retired from the CAF in March 2022 after 35 years of service in both the Regular and Reserve forces.
Telah joined the CAF in 1986 and went to Royal Military College Saint-Jean to complete a Bachelor of Arts in social sciences.
A year later she did her first United Nations tour in Croatia. On her first posting to Valcartier, Que., she served in the 5 Service Battalion, the Reserve Brigade Headquarters and as the first woman logistics officer in the 3e Battalion, Royal 22e Régiment and deployed on her second UN tour to Haiti with them.
After Valcartier, she moved to Gagetown, N.B., serving in the technical services branch as the Operations Officer. She became the first woman and first logistician to teach at the infantry school, teaching Phase 2 Infantry. In addition to her day-to-day work, she was the Aide de Camp for the Lieutenant Governor, as well as a member of the Board of the Military Family Resource Centre (MFRC), and finished her first master’s degree.
She was then posted back to Valcartier, to the Reserve Headquarters and then the General Service Battalion. In 2005, she was posted to the Joint Operational Support Group in Kingston and deployed to Kabul as the Camp Julian Closure Team Operations Officer, followed by a quick deployment to Lebanon to help support the evacuation of 15,000 Canadians under Operation LION.
In 2007, at 20 years of service, she was released from the Regular Forces and immediately joined the Reserves. She worked at the Army Simulation Centre, completed the Joint Command and Staff Program (JCSP) before taking command of 35 Service Battalion in Quebec City. She became the Vice President of the National Military Family Council and worked for nine years as an academic advisor on JCSP.
In 2011, she moved to Ottawa and completed her education degree. She became a schoolteacher while continuing to serve in the Army Reserve. She was inducted into the Order of Military Merit as an officer.
In 2015, she followed her spouse to Washington, D.C. for a year where she worked at the Canadian Embassy with the Defence Liaison staff. In 2016, she returned to the Regular Forces and worked as the Director of Transition Services and the Deputy Director of Casualty Support Management in the CAF Transition Group. She also completed a year as the Director of Logistics Programs, before ending her career as the Director/Vice President of Military Family Services.
Now retired, it is time for her to perfect her passion of photography, travel with her spouse who has recently retired from service and visit their four sons, three of whom are in the CAF.
