LEADERSHIP
One Voice Can Change a Room
Kerr Street Mission is privileged to have a dedicated and capable board of directors. Together the board and Executive Director provide strong governance and sound financial management for the organization.
Chair of the Board, Chair of the Governance and Nomination Committee
President, Polar Star Advisory Services
Cliff is President of Polar Star Advisory Services Inc., a boutique management consulting firm that advises government and corporate clients on major projects and related financing matters. Cliff retired from CIBC World Markets at the end of 2014 where he was Managing Director and Head of CIBC’s infrastructure advisory and bond underwriting business. Cliff graduated from UBC with a B.A.Sc in civil engineering and an MBA. He is a Chartered Director (C.Dir.) and holds CFA, FCT, FCSI, A.C.C. and P.Eng designations.
He currently serves on the boards of Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement Savings (OMERS), Oakville Enterprises Corporation, JCM Power, Faithlife Financial and BetterPlace International. Previously he served on the boards of CIBC World Markets plc in London, England and Unionville Alliance Church. He and his wife Brenda live in Oakville and have two children and one grandchild.
Chair of the Audit and Finance Committee
Retired – formerly Chief Strategy Officer, OMERS
Patrick was born in Stratford, Ontario and is the third of nine children. He grew up on a dairy farm about twelve miles northwest of Stratford and graduated from the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario in 1974 with an Honours B.A.
He is a Fellow of both the Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario. He has held the position of Chief Financial Officer and Chief Strategy Officer for a number of public and private companies in Ontario, Quebec and the United States during his career, most recently at the OMERS pension plan in Toronto until his retirement in 2016. He is currently a member of the Board of a number of for-profit and not-for- profit organizations.
He and his wife Marilyn live in Oakville and have been married for 43 years and they have four children and four granddaughters. They have been members of St. James Catholic Church in Oakville since 2014, following his ordination as a Permanent Deacon, and prior to that, at St. Andrew Catholic Church, upon their return from the United States.
Chair of the Planning and Resource Committee
HR Consultant
Susan is a human resources professional with broad HR generalist experience working in corporations ranging from small to major public entities. In addition, she was the executive director of a social service agency with accountability for the organization’s strategies through administration, operations, programs, fundraising and emerging initiatives. Susan received her formal Human Resource training from McMaster University and Sheridan College. Additionally she holds Dispute Resolution and Mediation certifications from the University of Toronto and training in Organization and Human Development from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN.
She has extensive crisis intervention, court advocacy training and court volunteer experience which has allowed her to fulfill her passion for helping women and children who find themselves in unsafe situations.
She has both Not for Profit and charity sector board experience in Canada and the USA. She and her husband Paul live in Burlington and attend Chartwell Baptist Church.
Director
Former CEO, Christian Children’s Fund of Canada
Mark is an accomplished leader, director, and senior executive who has achieved significant results in six business sectors as well as the not-for-profit sector. He has 20+ years of board membership as a director, vice chair, chair, committee chair and CEO reporting to the board with profit and not-for-profit organizations. He is currently an independent director and interim executive and consultant with a practice focused on working with senior executives and boards of directors.
Mark is a director and Chair of the Governance/Nominating/Compensation Committee at the National Diabetes Trust Corporation. He is the former Chief Executive Officer of Christian Children’s Fund of Canada where he led the organization’s efforts to develop unique global alliances and advance the organization’s vision of a world where every child has the ability to achieve their full potential.
Mark has MBA and Bachelor of Mathematics degrees, and ICD.D (Institute Corporate Directors) accreditation. Mark was recognized by St. Paul’s University College as “Distinguished Alumnus Exemplary Service to Community”. Mark and his wife Angela live in Oakville and have two adult children.
Director
Business Advisor, SPRUCEGROVE Investment Management
Our family initially became involved with Kerr Street several years ago by volunteering to prepare and serve meals on a couple occasions. Roughly 3-4 years ago, our family commitment grew thanks to a friendly Christmas fundraising ‘cold call’ from Agnes Stassen. She immediately won me over. As I recall, the following year (2014?) we made a financial contribution which coincided with the depths of Kerr’s financial struggles. For what it’s worth, our donations have always been ‘anonymous’, desiring the focus to be on Kerr Street and the underprivileged. In the last couple years my wife and I have had the pleasure of getting to know Gary. We’re most appreciative of his all-out efforts to lead Kerr and serve the poor. Additionally, our daughter, Cameron, has been a summer youth counselor at Kerr Street.
I was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, but my family crisscrossed the country seven times before finally settling in Marietta, Georgia. My wife Cindy and I moved to Toronto in 1998 right after our twin daughters, Cameron and Carter, were born. Cameron attends McMaster and Carter goes to school at Mount St. Mary’s University in Maryland. We have a third daughter, Cyle. We also have a female dog, so I’m massively outnumbered.
Majoring in Finance, I received a B.B.A. from Valdosta State in 1982. Initially I chose Valdosta over the more highly regarded Georgia Tech, in hopes of playing college baseball. My father never forgave me for this decision. To add further insult, I didn’t make the baseball team. What I did receive at Valdosta State was career direction and exposure to some terrific professors.
In 1985, I received an M.B.A. from Georgia State.
I’ve spent the past 31 years in the investment management industry, primarily as an equity investment analyst and portfolio manager for Sprucegrove Investment Management. From 2012-2016 I was President of the company.
Other non-profit organizations we are particularly engaged in are Nicaragua-based Amigos for Christ and R3 Inc., in Charleston, South Carolina.
Director
President, Maple Reinders
Mike and his family are longtime residents of Oakville. Married to Colleen, they have 4 adult children and 5 grandchildren. Mike has served on and chaired the Council of Elders of ClearView Church where he attends, has been a board member at John Knox Christian School and Kings Christian Collegiate and leads an Oakville Leader Impact Men’s Group (Power to Change).
As the President of Maple Reinders Group (www.maple.ca), a family and employee owned construction company focusing on buildings and environmental facilities, Mike leads the senior management team responsible for projects from coast to coast in Canada with contract volumes of $400 million and more than 400 employees. The company has been named as one the Best Employers in Canada and one of Canada’s Best Managed Companies.
He has a degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Waterloo and an MBA from the University of Toronto. He has also recently completed the Chartered Director program at The Directors College (Conference Board of Canada and the DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University).
Currently a Board Director of the Canadian Construction Association, Mike has served as a Director and chaired the Board of the Ontario General Contractors Association and has served as a Director on the Board of Health Partners International of Canada (HPIC).
Director
President, Antes Digital, Inc.
Domenic is a Brand, Marketing, Sales and Digital Strategist who partners with CEOs, executives and entrepreneurs to help them grow their businesses. Over his career, he held a number of senior executive roles in multiple industries (the most recent being President, Content Sales, Marketing and Digital Products for Bell Media), where he led and grew successful businesses through solid strategic and creative thinking.
Domenic holds an MBA and Bachelor of Commerce from McMaster University and an ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors. He is a graduate of the Rotman School of Management’s Directors Education Program, the Executive Management Program from Harvard Business School and Queen’s University’s Workplace Mental Health Leadership Program. He served on the CTV Specialty Television, Discovery Canada, Animal Planet and Discovery Science boards, as well as The Harold Greenberg Fund board. He was previously President and Chairman of CTAM Canada and a member of the PromaxBDA board, serving as Chair of the International Committee.
He and his wife Susan live in Oakville and have two sons.
Director
Lawyer, O’Connor MacLeod Hanna LLP.
Evelyn is currently a lawyer at O’Connor MacLeod Hanna LLP, the largest full service law firm in Halton Region. She has been a lawyer for over a decade and practices employment law, shareholder disputes, partnership disputes, contract disputes, libel and slander defamation, malicious prosecution, and enforcement of foreign judgments.
She has appeared at the Court of Appeal for Ontario, the Superior Court of Justice, the Provincial Court of Justice, the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal and the Ministry of Labour.
Evelyn is the author and co-author of over a dozen publications, articles and PowerPoint presentations and is repeatedly asked to speak and teach at various conferences.
Before joining O’Connor MacLeod Hanna LLP, Evelyn articled in Ottawa, and was an associate at three boutique firms where she practiced Criminal, Litigation, and Employment law. Evelyn earned her law degrees from Canada (LL.B.) and the United States of America (J.D.) simultaneously in 2004.
Evelyn is fluent in both Spanish and Armenian, and is involved in both communities. She is conversational in French. Evelyn enjoys spending time with her family and is an avid snowboarder and snorkeler. She enjoys travelling, having visited all continents except Antarctica.
Ex Officio
Executive Director, Kerr Street Mission
Gary has been the Executive Director of Kerr Street Mission(KSM) since January of 2013. During his tenure KSM has taken significant steps forward in both programme offerings and financial stability.
He brings a strong business background to KSM, He has had the privilege of working for Fortune 500 companies renowned for their people development. He is an experienced leader whose passion for helping people has led him to positions focused on performance improvement, training and development, and leadership excellence. His strategic thinking, creativity and practical insights have been keys to his success in the pharmaceutical industry and at KSM.
Gary currently serves on the Halton Food Council and the Leadership team of the Halton Food Security Alliance.
Gary, his wife and 3 children are long-time residents of Oakville and have been active participants within the community in church, amateur sports and schools.
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