Keynote Speaker
Marlies van Dijk, RN, MSc.
(she/her)
Healthcare Innovator and Strategic Change Leader
Marlies launched her career as an ICU nurse before diving headfirst into the world of change and innovation. Marlies has worked across national and provincial health systems to drive innovation, safety, and system transformation in some of Canada’s most complex organizations. She played a pivotal role in Safer Healthcare Now! with the former Canadian Patient Safety Institute and helped lead the rollout of NSQIP in British Columbia.
In 2016, she made waves by launching The Design Lab at Alberta Health Services, boldly introducing design thinking and innovation into a 110,000-person organization. Today, she leads her own boutique consultancy, The Pivot Group, helping healthcare teams across the country reimagine how they work—one bold idea at a time. Keynote speaking has been part of her fabric since 2015 and she has delivered dozens of keynotes and TED-style talks that cut through the noise for physicians, nurses, allied health pros, and healthcare leaders.
Marlies brings a bold, casual speaking style — she says the things most people won’t, but everyone relates to. Her most popular talks reveal how to hack the system, outrun red tape, and make real change from inside the healthcare trenches. Whether it’s rethinking how you lead, reorganize and work differently, Marlies leaves audiences energized, laughing, and ready to act.
Keynote Speaking Experience
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Canadian Conference on Physician Leadership
May 23-24, 2025
Vancouver, British Columbia
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Catalyst for Change: Leading Healthcare Transformation. Canadian College of Health Leaders
April 9, 2025
Virtual
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Map the System: System Mapping. University of Calgary Hunter Hub for Entrepreneurial Thinking.
February 28, 2023
Calgary, Alberta
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Unconference: Specialist Response to the Primary Care Challenge, Doctors of BC
April 27, 2023
Vancouver, British Columbia
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Design Sprint, Quality Forum Workshop
June 1, 2022
Vancouver, British Columbia
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Canadian College of Medical Education Annual Conference
April 20, 2021
Ottawa, Ontario
Topics of Expertise
Moving Fast in a Slow System
Future Proofing
Redesigning Healthcare
Innovation using Design Thinking
Co-design and patient engagement
Chair Canadian Conference on Physician Leadership Conference, May 2025
Thanks again for having provided this superb keynote on which we closed the conference. It was a pleasure to hear and brought forth new perspectives to change approaches in our work.
Dr. Constance LeBlanc, CCFP(EM), MAEd, CCPE, MBA
Professor and Director of Education, Department of Emergency Medicine
Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, CA