The Rural Coordination Centre of BC (RCCbc) is pleased to share that Dr. Danette Dawkin will take on the role of CEO, effective Aug. 1, 2026.
The announcement was shared at RCCbc Core, where current and founding leaders reflected on the organization’s growth and the next stage of its work.
Over the past several years, RCCbc has grown significantly in the scope of its work and in the number of relationships it helps hold across rural health care in British Columbia. Today, RCCbc supports a wide range of programs, partnerships and initiatives that connect rural physicians, health-care providers, communities, health authorities, academic partners, the Ministry of Health and other system partners.
The new CEO role adds organization-wide leadership and coordination while maintaining RCCbc’s existing leadership structure. Dr. Ray Markham will continue as executive director, medicine, and Leslie Carty will continue as executive director, operations, working alongside Danette and RCCbc’s directors in their respective areas of leadership.
As the team and breadth of the work have grown, RCCbc has been looking carefully at the structures needed to support distributed leadership, cultural accountability, strong partnerships and continued service to rural patients and communities.
“RCCbc has grown because rural physicians, communities, health-care teams and partners have continued to bring forward the needs, ideas and relationships that shape rural health care in BC. Danette brings deep rural experience, steady leadership and a strong understanding of how care, communities and systems connect. Her appointment will help our network grow while staying grounded in the people and communities we live with and support.”
Dr. Ray Markham
RCCbc executive director, medicine
RCCbc’s next stage also builds on the organization’s founding purpose as a place of connection for rural health care in BC.
“RCCbc was created to connect people and ideas across rural health care, not to become another silo. That purpose still matters. As the work grows, this next stage is about strengthening those connections and supporting the people doing the work across the province.”
Dr. Granger Avery
RCCbc co-founder and former executive director
Danette’s experience is rooted in rural family medicine and health system leadership. She will continue to practise while taking on the CEO role. Her appointment will help RCCbc grow in a way that remains grounded in rural practice, community relationships and the partnerships that shape its work.
“I am honoured to take on this role at an important time for RCCbc and for rural health care in BC. RCCbc’s strength comes from our relationships, from listening to rural communities and from working with partners to support care closer to home. I look forward to helping carry that work forward with care and purpose.”
Dr. Danette Dawkin
Incoming CEO, RCCbc
Leslie Carty, RCCbc executive director, operations, said the change is part of creating the structure and support needed for RCCbc’s next stage.
“There is a lot of good work happening across RCCbc, and there are many people holding important relationships, programs and responsibilities. This new structure builds on that leadership and will help us connect the work effectively as we grow.”
Leslie Carty
RCCbc executive director, operations
Across rural BC, health care is shaped by distance, local context, workforce pressures, community relationships and trust. RCCbc’s role is to stay close to those realities, listen carefully, connect people and help move good ideas through the system.
This next stage of RCCbc’s development is about strengthening the structure and support needed to carry that work forward as the organization continues to grow.
RCCbc will share more about this next stage as the work continues.
