Ron Beleno

Ron Beleno is a Mentor-in-Residence at the TRP as a Patient and Caregiver Engagement Advisor.

Ron Beleno is a consultant, coach, and mentor recognised for his leadership in healthcare, patient and caregiver engagement, ageing, and innovation. Drawing on over a decade of lived experience as a family caregiver for his father with Alzheimer’s disease, he has helped shape technologies, policies, and community initiatives that improve the quality of life for ageing adults, caregivers, and their care networks. 

As a patient and caregiver engagement leader, Ron works at the intersection of innovation, research, and lived experience. He has served in advisory roles with Healthcare Excellence Canada, the CIHR Institute of Ageing, the Canadian Centre for Caregiving Excellence, and the Ontario SPOR SUPPORT Unit (OSSU). Through OSSU, part of Canada’s Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research (SPOR), he has advanced a culture of partnership where patient and caregiver perspectives inform health research. 

For six years, Ron co-chaired AGE-WELL’s Older Adult and Caregiver Advisory Committee, ensuring lived experience guided research, policy, and innovation. He also collaborates with healthcare, universities, start-ups, and community organisations to advance initiatives in dementia care, care technologies, and patient engagement. 

His leadership has been recognised with the Ontario Caregiver Organization’s Janet Beed Impact Award, celebrating his impact on caregivers and caregiving, and the AGE-WELL Honorary Fellow Award for his contributions to technology and ageing. 

A frequent speaker and mentor, Ron supports students, researchers, and emerging innovators in developing inclusive, scalable solutions grounded in lived experience. He is committed to building a culture of healthcare patient and caregiver engagement where students, researchers, and innovators partner directly with patients and caregivers to drive meaningful change. 

Patient and Caregiver Engagement Advisor 

The Patient and Caregiver Engagement Advisor will support students in developing approaches that meaningfully integrate the perspectives of patients, caregivers, and those with lived experience into research and innovation projects. Drawing on extensive experience in engagement, ageing, and health innovation, this advisor will help students design solutions that are inclusive, practical, and responsive to the needs of end users. They can offer guidance on partnership building, co-design methods, ethics of engagement, and translating lived experience into impactful outcomes. The advisor will be available by appointment for students to seek advice, mentorship, and feedback on integrating engagement into their work.