Jess Rogers is the Chief Executive Officer of the Association of Family Health Teams of Ontario (AFHTO), where she leads a dynamic, member-based organization representing interprofessional primary care organizations across the province.

Jess is a respected health system leader with more than 20 years of experience advancing evidence-informed innovation and meaningful system change across Ontario and Canada. Grounded in primary care, she is known for her ability to navigate complexity and turn it into clear, practical strategy. She works at the intersection of research, policy, clinical practice, and lived experience — ensuring that the perspectives of patients, providers, and communities meaningfully shape decision-making.

Throughout her career, Jess has focused on moving beyond promising pilot projects toward lasting, measurable impact. She brings a strong track record in aligning strategy, partnerships, operations, and advocacy to strengthen organizations and drive system improvement.

Before joining AFHTO, Jess held senior leadership roles including Vice President at the Lung Health Foundation, and leadership positions with the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer and for 10 years at the Centre for Effective Practice leading its evidence, guidelines and implementation work. In these roles, she led large-scale, multi-stakeholder initiatives that translated evidence into real-world action — from implementing clinical guidelines and supporting practice change, to advancing integrated knowledge translation and system-level planning. This work included provincial lead for the provinces primary care low back pain strategy and program; director of CEP’s Academic Detailing Program in LTC and primary care, development and deployment of interprofessional clinical protocols to support team based primary care (FHT’s), facilitating clinical practice guideline development and training health care professionals in critical appraisal skills among many more.

Jess has extensive experience advising governments and national organizations, contributing to committees and working groups, and supporting the development of transparent, evidence-based approaches to care delivery. She is equally committed to building strong internal cultures, fostering operational excellence, and supporting teams to do their best work.

As CEO, Jess is focused on strengthening the collective voice of Ontario’s primary care teams, advancing integrated, team-based care, and ensuring members are equipped to meet the evolving needs of communities across the province.