Board of directors

      • Katherine Rethy, Board Chair

         

        Katherine Rethy lives in Toronto. She is an experienced corporate director and executive, having worked more than 20 years in industrial companies. She has extensive general management experience, covering both P&L and functional leadership, with a focus on the areas of supply chain and operations management, logistics, and enterprise risk. She has served as a director of publicly and privately held companies, and as an advisor and mentor to professional organizations, CEOs and high potential managers.

        Throughout her career, Katherine has been devoted to her family and maintained her passion for Canada, the North, and the environment. She has a strong belief in the need to mentor, coach and develop youth to help keep Canada strong and vibrant. She has mentored formally and informally in the workplace, with the Schulich School of Business International MBA program, the Executive Roundtable, and with the Women’s Executive Network, where she is a member of the Toronto Advisory Board.

        Katherine’s formal educational background includes an MBA, a Bachelor of Laws, and a BSc. She is also a graduate of the Institute of Corporate Directors/Rotman Director Education Program. She is currently studying toward a Master’s Degree in Leadership for Sustainability at the University of Lancaster in the U.K.. She is a three-time recipient of the Canada’s 100 Most Powerful Women Award (2004, 2005 and 2006) and in 2007 was named to the Canada’s Most Powerful Women Hall of Fame.

        Katherine is delighted to be part of the Katimavik organization and chair its board of directors.
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        Mr. Ric Charron has a BA in economics and mathematics from Brock University and an MBA from Queens University. He holds an accounting designation as a certified management accountant.

        Mr. Charron began his career in the oil and gas industry in the programs branch of the federal government department of Energy Mines and Resources. He spent 11 years with Energy Mines and Resources, where he acquired considerable experience and knowledge in oil and gas drilling and completion operations. In this capacity, Mr. Charron was involved with the Beaufort Sea exploration and development programs as well as other Canada Lands exploration programs. Mr. Charron spent 20 years in the federal government and retired as an executive director in agriculture.

        Mr. Charron returned to the private sector in 1997 and started Arron Consulting Inc., a private consulting company as its CEO. The company specialized in start-ups, turn-around assignments and financing of companies. In 1998, Mr. Charron joined Net Shepherd Inc. as its CFO, where he remained until the sale of the company in March 2000. From June 2000 until 2002, he acted as CFO of Zedi Solutions Inc., a services company in the oil and gas sector. Meanwhile, he started up Wrangler West Capital Corp. in September 2000, where he was the president and CFO until its merger with Kerr Energy in 2003 to form Wrangler West Energy Corp.

        In April 2003, Mr. Charron became the CFO of ITRES Research Inc., a private company specializing in instrumentation development and services for a broad range of industry sectors including petroleum, environment and mining. In 2004, he started Xtreme Coil Drilling Corp., where he was the CEO and senior VP in business development until July 2008. More recently, Mr. Charron started Latigo Capital Inc. in 2008, which he merged with Cumberland Oil and Gas in January 2010. He also acquired a controlling interest in DI Energy Rentals and continues to operate the company as the CFO. Mr. Charron is a member of Society Of Management Accountants of Alberta.
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        Catharine Johnston is a management consultant on performance improvement, strategy, executive development, mergers and change management. Catharine served as the executive vice president of business effectiveness and human resources at Intrawest Corporation until 2007. Prior to that Ms. Johnston was an executive vice president for Noranda and Falconbridge responsible for strategy, operational effectiveness, change management and human resources. She also worked for CP Rail for a number of years and prior to that spent eight years at the Conference Board, where she benchmarked leadership and management practices in some of the most successful companies in North America, Europe and Asia. She was the director of training for Katimavik from 1983 to 1985. In addition to being a director of Katimavik she is a member of the Planning Commission for Electoral District A for Metro Vancouver. She holds an MBA from the University of McGill and a physical education degree from the University of Manitoba.
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        David Atkinson assumed the position of president and vice-chancellor of Kwantlen Polytechnic University on July 1, 2008. He completed both an MA and PhD in English at the University of Calgary. Prior to joining Kwantlen, Dr. Atkinson was president and vice-chancellor of Carleton University and prior to that, president and vice-chancellor of Brock University.  He has also served as dean of arts and science at the University of Saskatchewan; and in a variety of administrative positions at the University of Lethbridge, including chair of the Department of Religious Studies, associate dean of arts and science, dean of student affairs, and associate vice-president (academic). He was also visiting professor of Canadian studies at Hokkaigakuen University in Sapporo, Japan.

        Dr. Atkinson received the Queen's Jubilee Medal, and was named a Paul Harris Fellow by the St. Catharines Rotary for contribution to the community. He has also been the editor of Religious Studies and Theology, and an external reviewer for CIDA, SSHRC, the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute, and the Japan Foundation. He chaired the finance committee of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada, and was a member of the Board of Governors of Ridley College.
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        David Israelson is a well known communications expert – a writer, editor and manager with extensive experience in the corporate, public policy, not-for profit and media sectors. A non-practising lawyer who became an award-winning journalist, environment specialist, author and public relations executive, he is a skilled problem solver with a strong record of project leadership and delivery.

        David provides strategic counsel, message development, mentoring, media and social media relations and content development, from concept to final product. He is known for his ability to analyze complex issues and make them easy to understand.

        David founded Eon Communications and Research after more than a decade as a senior executive at one of Canada’s largest independent public relations firms, based in Toronto. Throughout his career he has worked extensively, across the country, on environment/sustainability and energy conservation issues, with First Nations and in many other policy and issues management areas.

        David also enjoyed an exciting career as a journalist, primarily with the Toronto Star. From 1983 to 1990, David served as The Star’s environment reporter, covered national and local housing issues, was a business writer specializing in trade, marketing, transportation and energy and served on the Star Editorial Board. He is author of the critically acclaimed book, Silent Earth, on environmental politics, co-author (with Dr. Angela Mailis-Gagnon) of Beyond Pain, published in 2003, and an academic paper on Alberta’s oil sands, published in 2008.

        From 1990 to 1993 David was based in England, where he was the newspaper’s Western Europe bureau chief and where he also worked for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and other individual clients. He returned to Canada in 1994; from then until 1998, David’s reporting and columns in the Toronto Star’s business section included his popular Marketing column and analysis pieces on international trade.

        David serves on the Board of Directors of Canadian Lawyers for International Human Rights, the Conservation Council of Ontario and Katimavik, and he has been an active volunteer with the Education for Sustainable Ontario (EASO) Working Group. In his spare time he writes songs and plays in a rock band. He lives in Toronto and Niagara on the Lake.
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        Duncan Smith believes in “giving back”. In his fundraising capacity for Camp Trillium during the last 10 years, he supported the strategy that brought in over $1.5 million to this worthy not-for-profit organization. He has been actively involved, in the Mood Disorder Association of Ontario and has acted as a member of the Finance and Administration Committee of the North York General Hospital Foundation. Furthermore, over the course of a dozen years, he coached his three boys in minor hockey.

        Being a member of Katimavik’s Board of Directors is now another opportunity to give back by bringing to the Board his valued skill set acquired in his roles as a senior executive and CA.

        Duncan achieved his Chartered Accounting designation while with PricewaterhouseCoopers. He earned a MBA from the Schulich School of Business, York University and a HBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business, The University of Western Ontario.

        A Chief Financial Officer for twenty years now for both public and private companies, he is an experienced senior executive. Duncan has a successful track record of creating value for shareholders by restructuring businesses, contributing to their growth, improving their profitability, and expanding their reach in international markets.

        Duncan and his wife Janet, have four grown children and are avid sailors and travellers.

         

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        Ehsan Monfared is currently a law student at the University of British Columbia and hopes to practice in the fields of Air and Space Law. In 2011, he graduated Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University with a Bachelor of Science in Technical Management. Throughout his undergraduate degree, Ehsan maintained Dean’s list standing and was a two time recipient of the Chancellor’s Scholarship. Previous to this he obtained a Commercial Pilot Licence and is a graduate of the Airline and Flight Operations program at the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT).

        He graduated high school as an honours student and was selected as a National Scholar of the Garfield Weston Merit Scholarship. Ehsan was also the recipient of the BCIT President’s Entrance Award.

        In 2007 Ehsan participated in a Youth Challenge International program in Mombasa, Kenya where he worked with local youth to increase HIV/AIDS awareness, promote civic participation, and support gender equality. In Canada, he also volunteers for the Lions Gate Hospital Foundation and the Canadian Cancer Society among other local organizations and events. He is an avid volleyball player who coaches and is also a certified referee. He organizes an annual volleyball tournament in Richmond, BC that serves as a fundraiser for his former high school.

        Ehsan completed the Katimavik program in 2010 having volunteered in three distinct Canadian communities; Drummondville QC, Rigolet, NL, and Sault Ste Marie, ON. For him, the experiences that he obtained in these communities were life altering and inspirational. He is now more thoughtful of environmental concerns and about the importance of youth engagement in local communities.

        His talents as a pilot and a future lawyer have provided him with a unique skillset of risk management, ingenuity and problem solving, and a clear understanding of organizational behaviour. Ehsan’s educational and organizational background coupled with his work experience has imbued him with abilities that will help further the objectives of Katimavik and support the functioning of its Board of Directors.

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        When Heather took part in a Katimavik program in 2001-2002, it was her first time living outside of Nunavut. Her volunteer experience built up her confidence and enabled her to pursue post-secondary studies in southern Canada. She studied biology at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia and is now completing a Masters in Child Study & Education at the University of Toronto.
         
        While Katimavik broadened her horizons, it also allowed her to discover new areas of her homeland as she worked as a Katimavik Project Leader for a group of 11 young volunteers. Her recent experience in Iqaluit has given her an in-depth perspective on the realities of the Katimavik program and the volunteer experience.

        Heather has a deep understanding of Canada’s northern reality. She held various positions with the federal and territorial governments in Nunavut and worked closely with key organizations in Nunavut such as municipal governments and Inuit organizations.

        The depth and breadth of her volunteering experience includes having worked with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities as well as making a difference for children and animals throughout Canada, Europe and the Caribbean. In her free time, she also enjoys travelling, learning new languages, and music.
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        Nick taught in England and Northern Ireland before coming to Canada in 1970. After teaching French for 6 years in Toronto, he went north in 1976 and for thirty years taught in small Inuit communities in the Eastern Arctic. He has published numerous materials on the Canadian North, including a documentary film, photographs, articles, poetry, three books of photographs on Iqaluit and Nunavut and a large number of manuals for Nunavut teachers. He has given workshops on teaching methodology and program development, and for 17 years ran a program for at-risk Inuit teenagers in Iqaluit. In 2003, he was awarded a $250,000 grant to produce teacher resource manuals emphasizing Northern content and an English-as-a-second-language (ESL) approach covering most of the Nunavut junior high program. He was then sent by the Nunavut government to every community to in-service the staff on teaching Inuit children from a cross-cultural, Northern perspective. Since the start of his involvement in Northern education, he has raised over one million dollars for various educational projects in Nunavut.

        He holds a BA and diploma in education from The Queen’s University of Belfast and an MA in Northern and Native studies from Carleton University in Ottawa. He is a recipient of the NWT Government Excellence in Teaching Award (for work with at-risk northern children), the Canada 125 Medal (for work with the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award in Nunavut) and the Roy C. Hill Award (for innovative program development).

        He and his wife retired to Nova Scotia in 2005. He now teaches courses on the Canadian North at Mount Saint Vincent University where he has established a scholarship fund for students interested in a Northern classroom orientation experience prior to taking up a teaching position in Nunavut. He also gives public lectures on the North to groups in the Halifax area. He returns to Nunavut on a regular basis, which includes providing support to the Katimavik group in Iqaluit!
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        Peter lives in Toronto.  He is a financial executive with a successful track record of financial leadership, decision-making and staff development, with over 20 years of experience in the banking, insurance and energy industries.

        Peter’s formal education includes a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Toronto and a Masters of Business Administration from the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario.  Peter is also a member of the Ontario Institute of Chartered Accountants and holds the Chartered Accountant (CA) designation.

        In addition to being a Member of the Board of Directors for Katimavik, Peter sits on the Audit and Finance Committee for Katimavik, providing oversight over financial reporting, external audit, internal controls and compliance with financial obligations.

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        Robert has been working in the staffing and recruitment industry since 2005. He is a recognized expert in employment trends in the accounting and finance industry and a highly praised leader in the business community. Robert can be described as a well-established recruiter who has contributed to the success of many important not-for-profit organizations as well as private and public corporations in Quebec. His success can be attributed to the values he holds dear, namely authenticity and integrity, which he demonstrates when serving his clients toward their personal success.

        Robert also sits on the board of directors for the following organizations: École supérieure de ballet contemporain de Montréal, artsScene Montreal – Business for the Arts and the Héma-Quebec Foundation. He was also involved with the CMA – Montreal Chapter for five years where he served the last two as president, which led to his acknowledgment as “CMA of the Year” in 2009 by his colleagues.  In all his endeavours, he aspires to trigger positive change as is demonstrated in his undertakings to help individuals connect work purpose with lifelong passions.

        Robert is a member of the Society of Management Accountants of Quebec (CMA) and is a graduate of HEC Montréal.

      • Roman Oryschuk lives in Montreal, Canada and London, England and holds Canadian and British nationalities. Prior to retiring from General Electric, Roman was based in London for 7 years where, as President and CEO of GE Capital Solutions Europe, he led a multicultural team dispersed throughout 15 countries. Prior to this role, he was President & CEO of GE’s Equipment Financing business in Canada. 

        Being well-versed in the management of multinational companies, he recently founded Global Change Leaders, which brings together over 25 experienced leaders in North America and Europe who offer their global experience in driving change initiatives, organizational integrations and business mergers and acquisitions.

        Roman is also an Adjunct Professor at HEC Montreal for the MBA and Executive Education programs where he contributes his extensive CEO experience and his focus on leadership, change management and strategy.  He will bring this same expertise to Katimavik’s Board of Directors.

        Roman has participated in numerous fundraising activities for, among others, the Canadian Cancer Society, Hôpital Sainte-Justine, Montreal Children’s Hospital and Centre Pierre-Péladeau.

        Roman is, together with his wife, the proud parent of three outstanding young adults who are fluently bilingual and as open to the world as their parents are.

      • Sharon Lee is a practiced fundraiser and mentor with over 15 years’ experience working in the voluntary and philanthropic sectors.

        She holds an honours BA from the University of Toronto in communications and sociology as well as a MA in philanthropy & development from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota.  She is the author of “Fundraising in Diverse Cultures, Using the Chinese Community as an Example”.

        Sharon is a certified fundraising executive (CFRE), having graduated in 2010 from the AFP Faculty Training Academy and the Canadian Association of Gift Planners Original Course.

        She embraces her passion regarding cross-cultural and diverse fundraising practices through her involvement with Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) International.

        A member of AFP Greater Toronto, Canadian Association of Gift Planners (CAGP) and Canadian Society of Association Executives (CSAE), Sharon sits on the boards of not only Katimavik but also Health Nexus (Ontario’s leading bilingual health promotion organization) and AFP Foundation for Philanthropy Canada (the philanthropic arm of AFP).

      • A strong believer in developing youth leadership, Sylvie Mercier has been actively engaged as Chair for the Board of Directors of Montreal’s Women’s Y- YWCA and for the Westmount Youth Orchestra. She brings to Katimavik her extensive experience in board works, corporate governance as well as strategic development.

        After a well-rounded career in international economic marketing and investment, Sylvie founded Masia Group, a firm that offers consulting services, coaching and executive training in strategic planning, development & governance in mandates involving complexity, transformation, major projects and stakeholder management.

        Sylvie is an Economist and Certified Corporate Director (ASC) from the Corporate Director College at Laval University. She holds Graduate Studies in Project Management and Economics from the Université du Québec à Montréal. She is a lecturer at McGill’s Executive Institute on Collaborative Governance and Stakeholder Management for the Director’s Education Program.

        Sylvie enjoys outdoor sports, karate, music and reading in her free time. She lives in Montreal and is a proud mother of two accomplished youngsters.
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        Willy Fournier is a facilitator and coach in the field of general and personnel management, organizational effectiveness, and business and succession planning. He is the founder of Ajawaan, a resource to organizational leaders. He also assists organizations and individuals in building alliances and generating consensus on ecological, social, economic and cultural issues. He works extensively with Canadian First Nations involved in comprehensive claims, education, and organizational improvement.

        His experience with aboriginal communities dates back to 1967 when he opened the first school in the then new community of Turner Lake, in northern Saskatchewan, teaching grade one to 44 Dene and Metis students. He was also an Adjunct Professor at Trent University for 10 years where he taught organizational behaviour in aboriginal organizations in the Native Studies Department as well as human resource management in the Administrative Studies Department.

        An experienced fundraiser, Willy was involved as a board member and chair with two arts organizations in Montreal and was formerly a member of the Campaign Board for CENTRAIDE in Montreal. He also chaired Domtar’s Donations Committee for 8 years. With First Nations, he has guided a number of successful funding proposals.

        A graduate of the Senior Executives Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.), his prior experiences include 18 years at Domtar in management positions including Vice President of Human Resources; General Manager, Eastern Region, Corrugated Containers Division; and Director of Environmental Affairs, Packaging Group.

        He lives in Montreal with his wife Joan. They have three grown children who now live and work in Canada, Europe and China.