Donald Lepp

Donald Lepp is a speaker, author, and advocate for patient- and family-centred care in the healthcare system. He has been a relentless patient advocate, sitting on healthcare committees and boards. He is currently on the Board of Directors of the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority and chairs the board’s Quality, Patient Safety, and Innovation Committee.

He is a project manager and human resources professional who has worked in both the public and private sectors. His professional aspirations took a drastic turn when life-threatening disease struck his family. Now healthcare and caregiving are part of his everyday life. To cope with the many challenges his family faced, he began speaking publicly and getting involved in patient advocacy. He advocates for greater involvement of patients and caregivers in their health care and has a passion for fathers of medically complex children.

Donald began writing under adverse conditions when he started to chronicle his family’s hospital experiences after his wife and son were diagnosed with congenital heart disease. Being encouraged to share their story to a broader audience, Donald submitted a manuscript for the Word Alive Press Publishing contest and, in 2019, was shortlisted in the non-fiction category.

He lives with his family in the Winnipeg area, where he enjoys his space and working on some kind of project around his home, claiming to be “handy.” He enjoys quality time with his quad, his chainsaw, and lighting things on fire. He will die having never owned a minivan.