Maria joined Pain BC in June 2010 as the inaugural Executive Director. With two decades of experience in community development and systems change, Maria has worked to bring Pain BC from concept to reality. Her work has involved mobilizing communities, engaging patients in organizational decision making, and advancing progressive agendas through policy change and program development. She is one of 15 Principal Investigators in the CIHR-funded Chronic Pain Network, the first national pain research network in Canada, and is the co-lead for patient engagement in the Network. Maria is also the co-chair of the Canadian Pain Task Force, which was formed by the Government of Canada in March 2019 to assess the current state of pain in Canada and to recommend an improved approach to addressing pain in our country.

Linda Wilhelm is the President of The Canadian Arthritis Patient Alliance, a national, volunteer, patient driven organization that has worked to improve the lives of people living with arthritis since 2002. She is co-chair of the Steering Committee for the Chronic Pain Strategy for Patient Oriented Research (SPOR) Network, as well as a member of the networks patient advisory committee. She is also a member of The Evidence Alliance (SPOR) Network. Linda has participated in past Health Canada expert advisory panels and numerous conferences concerning treatment access and drug safety issues. She is a former member of both the Expert Advisory Committee for Vigilance of Health Products and the Drug Safety and Effectiveness Network's steering committee and a current member of The National Pain Taskforce.