Board of Directors

Susan M. Armstrong, Board Chair, is President of CDSPI , a non-profit organization providing no-cost financial planning advice, insurance, investment and other programs exclusively for the Canadian dental profession. She has been a resident of Etobicoke for over twenty years. In addition to The George Hull Centre, Sue serves on the Board of Directors of McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd. and the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute. Sue has the professional ICD.D designation granted by the Institute of Corporate Directors.

Anne-Marie Vanier, Board Vice-Chair, is a Senior Vice President and Chief Actuary at RBC Insurance. She has held similar positions with Lombard Canada and Guardian Insurance. Anne-Marie is a Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries and has an MBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business. She also served as the strategic advisor on insurance issues for the Business and Economic Roundtable for Mental Health in 2001-2003.

Jane Waechter, Board Secretary-Treasurer, is a litigation lawyer with the Ontario Securities Commission. Prior to joining the OSC, Jane was a partner in the law firm Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP, with a commercial litigation practice. Jane also qualified as a Chartered Accountant after completing her Bachelor of Commerce degree.

Jasmine Akbarali is a partner and co-chair of the Appellate Advocacy Group with the firm Lerners LLP. She was the gold medallist of her law class at the University of Windsor, and also holds a Bachelor of Arts from McMaster University. Jasmine is a former law clerk to the Honourable Puisne Justice J.C. Major of the Supreme Court of Canada. Jasmine is a member of the Advocates’ Society and the Toronto Lawyers’ Association, and sits on the Board of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association. She is a contributing author to “The Lucky Ones: Our Stories of Adopting Children from China” by Ann Rauhala (Editor), ECW Press, 2008.

Chander Chaddah is a licensed real estate broker, active in the Roncesvalles Village community of Toronto. In addition to being a top listing agent, he volunteers weekly with Meals On Wheels, supports local school initiatives and hosts the community website www.roncesvallesvillage.com. He also serves as a Board member of the Wabash Building Society.

Ben Colabrese is Vice President – Corporate Development and Planning for Rogers Communications Inc. He has been with Rogers for five years and previously held a similar role with Call-Net / Sprint Canada which was acquired by Rogers. Ben has had a wide and varied career in the Canadian telecommunications industry for the past 18 years. He holds an MBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario and a BA in Economics from the University of Waterloo. Ben is a resident of Oakville where he lives with his wife and three children.

Lori Evans is General Counsel of Birch Hill Equity Partners, the leading Canadian mid-market private equity firm. She has practiced law with prominent Canadian law firms and Canadian and US businesses since 1994. Lori received her Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Victoria and her B.A. (Economics) degree from the University of Calgary. She has been actively involved in a number of charitable and non-profit organizations focused on children and the arts. Lori has the professional ICD.D designation granted by the Institute of Corporate Directors.

Jill McCutcheon is a partner in the Toronto law firm, Blaney McMurtry LLP. She practices corporate insurance and regulatory law. Prior to joining Blaney McMurtry in 2000, Jill was in-house counsel at a large Canadian life and health insurer. Jill received her Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Civil Law and Bachelor of Laws degrees from McGill University. In addition, to The George Hull Centre, Jill is presently a Director and the Secretary of the Crestwood Preparatory College Scholarship Foundation.

Liga MiklasevicsLiga Miklasevics is an elementary school principal with the Toronto District School Board. She is actively involved in augmenting learning opportunities for both children and educators by forming professional learning communities, partnering with Institute of Child Studies Libratory School (inquiry-based learning), University of Toronto Speech and Language Department's "From 3 to 3” Project (a language reasoning and acquisition project). In her work with diverse communities, she continues to advocate and promote math initiatives that allow all children to realize their mathematical potential (JUMP Math). She is also a council member (former director) of the St. Andrew's Evangelical Lutheran Latvian Church, where she leads the youth group's participation in the "Out of the Cold" program (feeding and socializing with the homeless). In her spare time, she enjoys singing, gardening, sailing and baking!

Helena Moncrieff is a communications consultant and writer who began her career as a radio broadcaster and journalist in Thunder Bay, Ottawa and Toronto. She rounded out her experience on the other side of the microphone working in a variety of public relations roles at Queen’s Park and in the property and casualty insurance industry. As a consultant, Helena has worked with governments, the financial services and healthcare sectors, community colleges, and teachers’ federations, among others. She is co-author of The Insurance Book, a consumers’ guide to insurance products in Canada.

Pamela Rimmer is the Secretary-Treasurer of Classic First Aid & CPR, a company she co-founded in Newmarket in 2006. Pamela holds multiple business administration diplomas from Sheridan and Seneca College and currently is the Office Manager for Pond House Holding Limited and provides financial services for the Richmond Hill Curling Club. In addition Pamela is an active volunteer to the Newmarket Chamber of Commerce, the Canadian Red Cross and the Region of York Quilters Guild. More personally, Pamela is the mother of a son Jeffrey, who has suffered from a Bi-Polar Mood Disorder for 17 years. Taking a leadership role, Pamela participated in individual and family counselling at the George Hull Centre, Clear Direction Programme, Southlake Hospital in Newmarket, Ontario Disability Programme and the Canadian Mental Health Association for Family Members and Care Givers. This active involvement with these programs coupled with the personal day to day experiences of living with a son with a Bi-Polar Mood Disorder has provided Pamela keen insights and the skills to successfully support her son and the other members of her family.

Paul Simonetta is a chartered accountant and a partner with KPMG LLP. Paul has been with KPMG LLP for over 15 years and is KPMG Canada’s National Industry Leader for the Communications and Media practice. Paul received his Bachelor of Business Administration from York University’s Schulich School of Business.

Anne Sonnen is Associate General Counsel, Litigation at the Bank of Montreal. Prior to moving to BMO, Anne was a litigation lawyer in the Enforcement Branch of the Ontario Securities Commission and in private practice. Anne is a member of several professional organizations and has been involved in several non-profit and advocacy groups.

Alan Stewart is a partner with Deloitte & Touche LLP and leader of their Forensic and Disputes Services practice in Toronto. Alan is a chartered accountant, qualified in both Canada and Scotland, which he attained after graduating from the University of Glasgow. Alan lives in Toronto with his wife and 3 children.

Jane Wong Ferris has more than 10 years communications and marketing experience, primarily in the financial services industry. She has worked for large multinational corporations as well as small start-up companies. Most recently, she worked as the Director of Internal Communications for an international financial services company, and was highly involved in a large-scale cross-border merger. She is active in a number of volunteer activities. Jane is a graduate of the University of Western Ontario and holds a post-graduate diploma from Humber College.

Darryl Yates is the Director of Mental Health, Obstetrical and Paediatric Services at Trillium Health Centre. Darryl has worked as both a clinician and in various formal leadership roles in Mental Health since 1989, including 16 years at the Centre for Addiction & Mental Health (CAMH). Darryl is a Registered Nurse with a Bachelor of Science degree from Ryerson, and holds a Master of Science in Health Administration from the Department of Health Policy Management & Evaluation in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto. He also has achieved a Certified Health Executive designation with the Canadian College of Health Leaders.