When people think of lawyers, they often picture courtrooms and combative trials. The image of a trusted partner and advisor who enables collaboration , operational efficiency and accountability might not come as easily to mind. But that is precisely the role Lauren Black plays. As General Counsel and Chief Legal, Privacy and Compliance Officer at VHA Home HealthCare (VHA), she actively supports improvements in how health care is delivered across Ontario.

“Lauren is an outstanding leader and colleague, whose legal expertise and strategic insight has meaningful impacts in all areas of our work and across the sector,” says Dr. Kathryn Nichol, VHA’s President and CEO.

Lauren is the go-to for VHA’s Board of Directors on all matters related to governance, risk management and mitigation. She is a vital member of the senior management team and plays a pivotal role in all VHA’s significant business decisions and transactions. She is also a key resource for staff and service providers across our teams.

“Lauren is a person you can call no matter who you are in the organization,” says Kelley Myers, Vice-President, Human Resources and Organizational Development. “Whether you are a board member making decisions about governance issues or a front-line health care worker struggling with an ethical or legal dilemma at the bedside, she always makes herself available with empathy, professionalism and sound advice.”

In addition to her legal, compliance and privacy functions, Lauren chairs VHA’s interprofessional Ethics Committee, helping team members navigate the sometimes complicated ethical challenges of delivering publicly funded health care directly in people’s homes.

“Home care is unique because it happens in such a personal setting where the health care provider is on their own delivering care to vulnerable individuals in their home environment ,” Lauren says. “Our teams are dedicated to person-centred care, and a key part of my role is to support them and the organization so that VHA can continue to provide safe, high quality and personalized care while feeling confident in their decisions.”

Lauren’s influence extends far beyond VHA. She has become a recognized leader across Ontario’s health care sector, particularly through her work with Ontario Health Teams (OHTs). OHTs bring multiple organizations together to deliver integrated care, making the governance and legal frameworks that guide their work complex. Her cooperative approach with colleagues in multiple organizations has earned her a reputation as someone who gets the job done. She finds creative approaches to enable innovation, collaboration and data sharing while also mitigating risks. Lauren also launched and continues to lead the OHT Privacy Community of Practice, now a multi-region forum that includes government representation and provides guidance to OHTs and seeks to develop standardized legal and privacy tools that are used widely across Ontario.

“Lauren has a real ability to turn complexity into clarity,” says Hemjot Mal, Senior Director of Health System Solutions and Partnerships at VHA. “She brings people together, finds common ground and creates practical tools that let us move forward as a sector.”

Lauren has been appointed to government advisory tables on Electronic Health Records and OHT Governance, where she represents both VHA and the broader home care perspective. She is frequently consulted on privacy legislation and health system transformation, including contributing feedback on recent updates to Ontario’s Personal Health Information Protection Act. Currently, Lauren has been appointed by the Ministry of Health to co-chair the province’s Working Group for OHT Data Sharing Supports.

Lauren is a forward-looking thought leader, keen to share her knowledge and learning to support the broader health system. She has organized cross-sector webinars on health care governance models and integrated care reform, drawing together ministry leaders, health-care professionals and legal experts. These forums have helped build trust across organizations and accelerate system change.

Colleagues and partners say her impact is felt not just through her technical expertise, but through the way she works.

“Lauren is known for her strategic insight, but also for her humility and generosity,” says Naomi Margo, a Toronto health lawyer who has worked closely with her. “She has a collaborative approach that makes people want to work with her. That is a big part of why she has been so successful in driving change.”

Through her leadership at VHA and her contributions to Ontario’s broader health system, Lauren Black is helping to build a more integrated, ethical and collaborative model of care—one that benefits providers, system partners and, most importantly, the people who rely on home and community care every day.

“Lauren’s contributions are helping to advance Ontario’s home care sector and the government’s agenda to integrate care across the health system. And she is deeply committed to VHA’s purpose and its people. Her astute legal guidance, ingenuity, collaborative approach, ready smile and high ethical standards make her a one- of-a-kind leader. We are lucky to have her,” Kathryn added.