Lynda Kushnir Pekrul holds a BScN from the University of Saskatchewan, a Master of Science in Administration from Central Michigan University, and a Diploma in Critical Care Nursing from the Health Sciences Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba. She has worked in nursing and the health care system for more than 40 years and has held senior management and leadership positions with regulatory bodies and professional associations, corporate, provincial and federal employers.
Ms. Kushnir Pekrul’s professional and volunteer commitments are wide-ranging, including provincial, national and international activities. Most notably, she served eight years on the Board of the Canadian Nurses’ Association (CNA), and held the position of CNA President from 1998-2000. While CNA President, she represented Canada on the Board of the International Council of Nurses. From 2000 to 2005, she represented the North and South American Region on the Board of the Commonwealth Nurses Federation, London, England.
In addition, Ms. Kushnir Pekrul has participated in a variety of international projects, including projects for WHO-PAHO in the Caribbean, lecture tours with the Brazilian Nurses Association, and health agency assessments for the Canadian Partners-in-Progress Projects, Ukraine. Her research, presentation and publication focus has been on workplace violence in the health care system.
She served nine years on the Discipline Committee of the Saskatchewan Registered Nurses’ Association and Board Co-Chair, Circles of Support and Accountability, Southern Saskatchewan: this is a Restorative Justice initiative, funded by Corrections Canada, and aimed at reintegrating sexual offenders into the community following parole/release from correctional facilities. In April 2018, she accepted a Social Services appointment as a public representative on the Board and Discipline Committee of the Saskatchewan Association of Social Workers.
Ms. Kushnir Pekrul’s appointment as a public representative/Bencher to the Law Society of Saskatchewan began in 2019.