Superintendent Maria Ahrens

Superintendent, York Regional Police

Maria Ahrens joined York Regional Police in September 1988.  She holds the rank of Superintendent and is currently the Officer in Charge of Information Services which includes Information Management and Court Administration and Operations. 

 
Throughout her career Maria has been assigned to all facets of the organization including Uniform Patrol, Traffic Collision Reconstruction, the Drugs & Vice Bureau, and the Intelligence Bureau. She was also an Undercover Operator for several years and an instructor on the course along with being a qualified Undercover Operative Handler and Mentor. 
 
She has held leadership roles in the Operations Branch (1 and 3 District, Criminal Investigations), the Support Branch (Operational Command, Support Services, and Community Services), the Investigative Services Branch (Organized Crime and Intelligence Services) and the Administrative Branch (Corporate Development). 
 
Maria holds a Diploma for Law & Security from Georgian College, a Leadership Diploma from Seneca College, a Leadership Development Program Certificate through the Gaski Performance Group, a Police Leadership Program Certificate from the University of Toronto - Rotman School of Management and is actively continuing her education in Human Resource Management at Seneca College. 
 
Maria believes in paying it forward by being heavily involved in volunteering and she currently serves as a Board Member for Victim Services of York Region and has done so for the past 12 years.  She was also the Chair for Special Olympics Law Enforcement Torch Run for 10 years and sat on the Executive Committee for the Law Enforcement Torch Run for the Province.

Dr. Fareen Karachiwalla

York Region's Associate Medial Officer of Health

Dr. Fareen Karachiwalla is a Public Health & Preventive Medicine physician working as an Associate Medical Officer of Health with the Regional Municipality of York. Fareen primarily works in the area of communicable disease control (including case and outbreak management, TB, and vaccine preventable diseases) and has helped lead the COVID-19 case and outbreak management response as well as the COVID-19 health equity group. Previous to joining York Region, she worked as an Associate Medical Officer of Health at KFL&A Public Health in Kingston Ontario where her main portfolios included: Chronic Disease & Injury Prevention, Primary Care engagement, Health Equity, and Social Determinants of Health. Her main interests include health equity, healthy public policy, and working across sectors to address the Social Determinants of Health. Fareen completed her Public Health & Preventive Medicine residency program at the University of Toronto, her Master's in Public Health degree (with a focus on health systems and policy) at Johns Hopkins University, as well as Family Medicine training at St. Michael's Hospital. Throughout her career, she has maintained a part time clinical role primarily serving the general health needs of vulnerable populations including the homeless and under-housed. Fareen currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Inner City Health Association (ICHA) serving the health needs of the homeless in Toronto and recently co-authored the 6th edition of Shah‘s Public Health & Preventive Health Care in Canada – a leading Canadian public health textbook.