Call for Nominations for National Board and Standing Committees of the National Board
CNIB anticipates the need to fill openings on its National Board of Directors and Standing Committees due to the routine expiration of terms of current members. Applications are invited from interested individuals residing in Canada.
The Board of Directors is comprised of 19 members, including the Chair and Immediate Past Chair. Directors are elected for a three-year term with the potential for a second term. This year, we anticipate the need to fill three positions on the Board.
The Board typically meets four times per year, with additional meetings scheduled when required. Meetings are held in person and via teleconference. Board members are also required to sit on one of the National Standing Committees.
The make-up of the Board shall reflect:
- Skills and aptitudes valuable to the Board in carrying out the Mission
- An equitable representation of clients of CNIB’s services
- The diverse background of the members and clients of the organization
- The national and geographic nature of the organization
This year we are specifically seeking individuals with a technology background, advocacy, and vision care professionals.
In addition to the Board positions, positions are available on our six standing committees for experts in the fields of:
- Audit
- Finance & Risk Management
- Governance
- Marketing and Fund Development
- Programs & Services
- Research
The nominating process takes several months to complete. The first meeting of the Nominating Committee will be late March with recommendations to the Board in June. Candidates will be presented to the membership for vote on September 8th, 2012. We thank everyone for expressing interest.
In order to nominate someone or to self-apply, please send their name and resume, please forward a resume via email to the Nominating Committee c/o Jennifer Knight at Jennifer.knight@cnib.ca no later than end of day Friday, March 9th, or if you have any questions or require additional information, please let me know.
Board of Directors
Chair, National Board of Directors
Ms. Beaumont’s professional career as a librarian began in England and continued at Carleton University Library, where she also completed a B.Sc. in Computer Science. After management positions at Utlas International, a groundbreaking company in the field of shared database and cataloguing services for libraries, she founded Beaumont and Associates Inc. As library and information systems consultants, the Company had clients in all sectors of the library community, including the CNIB Library, and in every province and territory across the Canada.
She joined the CNIB Library Board in 1998 and served as chair from 2004-2007. A member of the National Board since 2005, she is Chair of the Program and Services Committee. Ms. Beaumont is active on a national working group to promote and implement the Initiative for Equitable Library Access, a public/private partnership involving all levels of government, public libraries and CNIB as key stakeholders.
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Al Jameson
Immediate Past Chair
Mr. Jameson’s professional background includes a distinguished 34-year career with IBM Canada in various positions including Vice President of Finance and Vice President of Management Services, retiring in 1987. Later that year, Mr. Jameson joined the Financial Executives Institute Canada as President, a position he held until December 1999.
Mr. Jameson served as Chair of CNIB’s Ontario Division Board from 1999 to 2002, joining the National Board in September 2002. He was a member of the National Finance and Risk Management Committee from 2002 until 2007. Mr. Jameson and his wife Helen live in Toronto and have four children.
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Jean Picard
Honourary Chair
Mr. Picard was born in Levallois, France, and currently resides in Montreal as a consultant. He was Chairman of the Board and CEO of Satexil Inc. (formerly Textile Sales) for 14 years.
Mr. Picard is a member of the Order of Canada. In 1989 he received the Award of Distinction from the Faculty of Commerce and Administration of Concordia University and has received the Chevalier KLJ Military and Hospitaler Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem.
Mr. Picard is active in many cultural and charitable organizations and is also the Founder and President of the J.H. Picard Foundation. He has been a member of CNIB since 1993 and has been the Chairman of the Quebec division since 1994.
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Donna Cookson-Martin
Semi-retired after an extended career of raising her five children into accomplished young adults, Ms. Cookson-Martin is a slightly published freelance writer, a sometimes busy freelance motivational speaker, and a firmly dedicated lifelong learner.
She is trained as a teacher and counselling psychologist. She holds B.A. and B.Ed. degrees in English and a Graduate Diploma in Educational Psychology from the University of Alberta.Legally blind since birth as a result of Leber's congenital amaurosis, Ms. Cookson-Martin has been a client of CNIB from babyhood. She still recalls the sensation created throughout her small local community when the totally blind CNIB Field Secretary paid his annual visit to her parents’ isolated Lougheed, Alberta, farm.
Extensively involved in volunteer work at community, national and international levels, she has served on the national Board of La Leche League Canada (LLLC) and the international Board of Directors of La Leche League International (LLLI). She spent many years with LLLC as Associate Co-ordinator of Leader Accreditation. She has long been active with parent groups in pre-school, elementary and secondary education, and served on the Flagstaff County Board of Education. She continues to be active in the Edmonton Lifelong Learning Association and various community, writers and church organizations. She volunteers as a facilitator with a CNIB Northern Alberta tele-support project for seniors.
Ms. Cookson-Martin, who lives in Edmonton, was elected to the National Board of Directors in 2008 and currently serves on the Programs and Services Committee.
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Dr. Cheryl Crocker
Dr. Cheryl Crocker has a B.Sc. in Elementary and Special Education from the University of South Dakota, a M.Ed. from the University of Alberta and a Ph.D. from the University of Victoria. Her doctoral dissertation was a policy to practice analysis of a provincial program supporting families and children with disabilities.
Cheryl is an instructor at Grant MacEwan College in Edmonton, Alberta, and program co-chair for the Disability Studies: Leadership and Community program. She also lectures at the University of Calgary in the Community Rehabilitation and Disability Studies program and Athabasca University in the Centre for Nursing and Health Studies.
Cheryl consults to various government and non-government organization primarily in the areas of program evaluation, policy development, board governance and staff development.
Cheryl currently sits on the CNIB Alberta Board, chairs the client services committee and is a member of the national programs and services committee.
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Greg Dimmer
Mr. Dimmer is a Senior Vice President of MMV Financial Inc., with responsibility for business development, identifying new investment opportunities in the technology and life sciences sectors. Greg has 20 years of experience in the technology sector where he has held senior positions in sales, marketing and general management. His focus has been in software and solutions for the financial services industry in Canada and the United States.
Greg is the immediate Past Chair of CNIB’s Ontario Division. He is presently chairing the Task Force for the CNIB Lake Joseph Centre renovations and is the liaison with the Campaign Cabinet.
Greg has a Masters of Business Administration from York University and a Bachelor of Applied Science Degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Toronto.
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Lorne D. Janes
Mr. Janes is President of Continental Marble of Canada, a company he founded in 1978. From 1994 to 2002 he was the Provincial Chairman for the Alliance of Manufacturers & Exporters Newfoundland and was the first Newfoundlander to be elected the National Chairman of the Canadian Manufacturers Association. During his term as the National Chair he led the merger of the Canadian Manufacturers Association and the Canadian Exporters Association to form the new Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters Canada where he remains on the National Board as one of the founding chairmen.
Mr. Janes has served with the CNIB NL Division Board for 18 years and is currently the Provincial Chair of the NL Division. He has also represented the Newfoundland and Labrador Division on the National Board of CNIB. He has also served on various CNIB committees: Finance, Fund Development, Communications and the Caterplan Trust.
Mr. Janes has served with the St. John’s Board of Trade as director of manufacturing and is a past president of both the Newfoundland and Labrador Homebuilders Association and NL Construction Association. He is the current Chairman of the Newfoundland Council of Industry Associations.
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Charles Mossop
Charles Mossop retired in 2000 after a 32-year career in post-secondary education that culminated with the position of Executive Director: International, at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, British Columbia. After retirement he established a consulting business specializing in organizational development, international marketing, communications and project design and management. He also provides editorial services, and is a published author of non-fiction and fiction. Charles holds a Masters Degree (1969) from the University of British Columbia in Anthropology, with specializations in East and Southeast Asian Cultural and Social History. Diagnosed in his late teens with a rare form of early-onset macular degeneration, Charles has been a client of CNIB for 45 years and has been an active leadership volunteer for the organization at the local and divisional levels since 1999.
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Dr. Rand Simpson
Dr. Simpson is the Director of Ocular Oncology at the Princess Margaret Hospital/University Health Network in Toronto. He is on the Assessments Board of the International Council of Ophthalmology, and is the President and Director of Programs for the International Congress of Ophthalmology. Dr. Simpson has also been affiliated with such organizations as the Royal College of Surgeons of Canada, the Canadian Ophthalmological Society, and the American Academy of Ophthalmology, to name a few.
Dr. Simpson has received the Award of Excellence on numerous occasions for the “Collaborative Ocular Melanoma Study.”
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Eric Hanna
Eric Hanna, Chair of the Ontario Advisory Board, is the past Chair of the Ottawa District Advisory Board, as well as the most recent Vice Chair of the Ontario Advisory Board. He served on the 2003/04 CNIB Ontario Division Governance Task Force, CNIB National Program and Services Committee and a member of the National Finance and Audit Committee.
Eric is Chief Executive Officer at the Arnprior and District Memorial Hospital in Arnprior, Ontario. He has over 24 years of health care experience obtained in hospitals across Ontario and as a Director of one of Canada’s largest consulting firms. Eric has a M.B.A. from the University of Toronto and received his C.A. designation early in his career. He is a Certified Health care Executive with the Canadian College of Health Care Executives and a Fellow with the American College of Health Service Executives. As an active community volunteer he has been involved with the community boards of Durham Community Care Access Centre and Victorian Order of Nurses.
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Rob Sleath
When Rob Sleath developed diabetes at the age of 11, he didn’t anticipate it would change his life much. Growing up on the west side of Vancouver, the articulate youngest child of a physician father and nurse mother, Rob simply took his illness in stride. Even when, as a young adult, his dream to pursue a career in law enforcement was cut short as a result of the diabetes, Rob chose not to dwell on his disappointment and took a different path.
His warm manner, quick wit and innovative spirit resulted in an exceptional ability to “sell ideas” and influence others. “Just do it” was Rob’s personal slogan long before Nike laid claim to it. Yet despite a successful career in sales, marketing and business development, Rob’s life continued to be punctuated with loss, profound at times, including the loss of sight in 1992. He was 36 and the father of three.
Hemmingway once wrote that “The world breaks everyone, and after, they are stronger at the broken places.” Rob Sleath knows this to be true. Today, Rob volunteers much of his time and life experience to lobby for improved access and equality for the disabled community. He maintains that it is not his disability that challenges him, but rather the environment around us.
Currently serving as Chair of the CNIB, BC-Yukon Division Board, he is an active participant on a number of other CNIB committees. In addition to his work with CNIB, Rob is founding member, President and Chair of Advocates for Sight Impaired Consumers and President of ComPACT (a Committee for the Promotion of Accessible Conventional Transit). He facilitates the Provincial Organizations in the Field of Blindness, a coalition of provincial organizations that provide rehabilitation, recreational and educational services to the visually impaired and deafblind, and as a member of BASICS (Blind and Sight Impaired Consumers) Rob also provides disability awareness seminars to transit operators. And in their spare time, Rob and his golden retriever, Lombardi, continue to act as ambassadors for the guide dog movement, raising funds, increasing public awareness and officially representing Guide Dogs for the Blind Incorporated as their graduate agency representative for British Columbia.
It is no surprise to anyone who knows Rob that he has become such an accomplished advocate. He has simply discovered how to bring about positive social change by pursuing something he is passionate about – “selling ideas” and “influencing others”.
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Sam Fulton
Educated as an urban planner, Mr. Fulton worked in Ireland and New Zealand before moving to Canada where he had a twenty-five year career with the City of Ottawa as a city planner, and held a number of senior management positions with that organization. Following the amalgamation of thirteen municipalities in the Ottawa area, he was responsible for the new City’s community facility infrastructure planning and development. He has continued using his professional skills as a consultant to non-profit organizations, and as a volunteer to others. Mr. Fulton has been an adjunct professor at both York and Carleton universities and a full time lecturer at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology in Edmonton.
A client of CNIB since losing his sight to retinitis pigmentosa in 1994. He joined the Ottawa District CNIB Advisory Board in 2002. Since2007 , he has been a member of the CNIB Eastern Ontario Regional Leadership committee, and as its Chair since 2011. As a volunteer he has been a peer leader to groups of individuals experiencing early stages of sight loss.
He is the client representative on the Canadian Library Association’s Initiative for Equitable Library Access, and has been a juror for the Dr. Dayton M. Forman Memorial Award Selection Committee.
Mr. Fulton was a member of the Cabinet of the United Way of Ottawa from 2005 to 2010, and served on many of its project and funding allocation committees. In 2008, he was awarded Volunteer of the Year by Citizens Advocacy of Ottawa for his contribution in supporting organizations serving persons with disabilities.
As a consumer, advocate and supporter of CNIB’s services over the past decade, he has always striven to have the organization embrace the technological advances which allow blind and partly sighted clients to better compete in the world of business and community affairs. He has also been a strong advocate of peer support as a means of empowering individuals as they adapt to their vision loss.
Mr. Fulton joined the National Board of CNIB in 2009, and serves on it’s Marketing and Fund Development Committee.
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Caroline Cole, BBA, MBA, M Ed, CHRP
Caroline is the current Academic Chair, School of Business at NSCC. She was the former Associate Program Director, Chang School of Business at Ryerson University and CEO for Canadian HR Solutions, Inc. Caroline also had a successful corporate financial risk management and human resources career with BMO Financial Group most recently as a Vice President in the Personal and Commercial Banking Division.
Prior to joining BMO Caroline was Vice President of Halton/Niagara at the Business Development Bank of Canada, where she had executive responsibility for districts in Burlington, Hamilton, Kitchener and St. Catharines. Caroline began her career with General Electric and after a number of years in the Canadian operation where she provided leadership to financial risk management teams in Ontario and the Maritimes was transferred to headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut as Assistant Vice President.
While in Stamford, Caroline participated in a number of General Electric’s proprietary leadership development programs in Financial Risk Management, Quality, and Human Resources. She worked collaboratively with teams in Canada, Australia, Japan, and India to manage projects across functions, time zones, and cultures. Caroline holds a Master of Education degree in Adult Education from the University of Toronto, an MBA in Corporate Finance from Wilfrid Laurier University, a Bachelor of Business Administration in Human Resources Management from York University (Schulich), the CHRP designation, Six Sigma certification, the Canadian Securities Course, Myers Briggs certification, and she has completed a post graduate executive development program at University of Western Ontario’s Richard Ivey School of Business.
Caroline is a travel enthusiast and divides her time between residences in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia and Toronto, Ontario.
Patricia Ann MacCuspie
At present, Dr. MacCuspie is an adjunct professor at Mount Saint Vincent University as well as an instructor for courses in the education of children who are blind or visually impaired at the University of British Columbia. She recently retired from the position of Director, Programs for Students who are Blind or Visually Impaired with Atlantic Provinces Special Education Authority, Halifax, N.S. after 33 years of service.
From 1979-1995 Ann was Co-ordinator of Provincial Services (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island), Atlantic Provinces Special Education Authority Resource Centre for the Visually Impaired, Halifax, N.S. where she was responsible for developing services and resources to support students in the inclusive setting. Earlier in her career she worked as both an itinerant teacher and a classroom teacher at the former Halifax School for the Blind.
Throughout her career Ann has been devoted to the establishment of teacher training programs for teachers of students with visual impairments. She continues to work toward this goal through participation in provincial, national and international organizations and committees.
Dr. MacCuspie has many publications on the education of the visually impaired to her credit, and has received several awards. She has been active in AER, CEC and the CBA Board where she is a member of the CBA Braille Teaching and Learning and UEB Implementation Committees. She is a peer reviewer for the Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness and an Executive Editor for RE:view.
Dr. MacCuspie is also a member of the BANA Early Literacy Committee.
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Ken Holland
Ken Holland obtained a B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering in 1963 and a M.Sc. in 1968 both from the University of Manitoba.
He has been involved in the manufacturing and consulting business for the past 45 years working for Federal Pioneer (now Pauwels) for 13 years followed by 17 years as President of Carte International Inc. For the past 15 years he has been a consultant and advisor to a number of companies and organizations in the manufacturing, financial, education and health sectors including a term as Interim President of Red River College.
Ken in the past has served on many Boards, Advisory Boards and Committees including various positions with The Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters Association, Chair of the Winnipeg Community and Long Term Care Authority, Chair of Age and Opportunity Inc. and various positions with the National Quality Institute.
Most recently Ken has been involved in developing criteria for effective Board governance for the Manitoba Quality Network and has delivered numerous seminars and information sessions on the use of the Board Governance Criteria..
At present he is the President of Ken Holland Corporation, Chair of the Manitoba Quality Network (QNET) and member of the Advisory Board of the Manitoba – Saskatchewan Division of the Canadian National Institute for the Blind.
Asha Seth
A pioneer in the medical field, Dr. Asha Seth has always determined success as waking up every morning ready for a new adventure to undertake. Riding against the traditional grain of remaining an Obstetrician and Gynecologist within family practice, Dr. Seth has successfully morphed into an embodiment of hope through her involvement in innumerable charities serving local and international communities. Generous personal contributions, proactive fundraising and the establishment of a Foundation that strives to disseminate the latest in medical education and humanitarian activities, define the calling of the “Physician-Philanthropist.”
There are citizens and there are citizens of Canada. Since 1974, Dr. Asha Seth has carried the Maple Leaf with élan. And just as the length of the flag is twice its width, Dr. Asha Seth’s philanthropy has grown twice as large as her roaring medical practice.
Distinguished Canadians such as The Hon. Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada, The Hon. David C. Onley, Lt. Governor of Ontario, The Hon. Dalton McGuinty, Premier of Ontario, among many other national heavyweights invariably grace her numerous fundraising events.
After medical school in India, Dr. Asha Seth moved to the U.K. She was accepted at Belfast University Hospital, the University of London Hospital and the Queen Charlotte Hospital - one of the most prestigious hospitals for Obstetrics and Gynecology in the world. She began training at Queen Charlotte Hospital and concluded at Royal Berkshire Hospital, Reading, U.K.
When Dr. Asha Seth moved to Canada she continued her training at St. Joseph’s Health Centre and Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. Since 1976, not only is Dr. Seth a celebrated staff at St. Joseph’s Health Centre but also began operating her private family practice in Obstetrics and Gynecology. Over three decades, Dr. Seth has delivered thousands of babies and offered professional medical service to hundreds of families.
Education is close to Dr. Asha Seth’s heart and fostering the curiosity of a new generation of minds form part of her philanthropic agenda. As a speaker and mentor, she has delivered several instructional sessions on Obstetrics to Family Practice residents at St. Joseph’s Health Centre and invited by McMaster University in Hamilton to conduct a lecture and workshop on, “How Youth Deal with the Cultural Clash, Between the Traditional and Western Mindset.”
Since 1997, Dr. Seth’s donation of an annual scholarship helps fund an academically outstanding student of Ontario to further education beyond high school.
In 2008, Dr. Seth was elected as a Chair of the Continued Medication Education (CME). Proving that all great teachers are also great learners, Dr. Seth organized a conference that helped physicians to keep abreast and benefit from developments in medical education by presenting information on new research, medical breakthroughs, studies and related subjects.
Mary Lou Jackson
Dr. Mary Lou Jackson is an ophthalmologist with a keen interest in vision rehabilitation. She has conducted the Vision Rehabilitation Clinic at the Royal Jubilee Hospital in Victoria, British Columbia, together with CNIB staff, since 1990. She is currently the Director of Vision Rehabilitation at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary in the Harvard Department of Ophthalmology and is the current Chairperson of the American Academy of Ophthalmology Vision Rehabilitation Committee. She has research interests in contrast sensitivity and the visual hallucinations experienced by patients with low vision.
Gilles Rivard
PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES
Director and Secretary of the Quebec Junior Bar for many years.
1966 – 67 President of the Quebec Junior Bar Association.
1966-68 and ’74-76 Member of the Board of Directors of
the Quebec Provincial Bar Association.
1966-67 and ’74-76 Member of the General Council of
Directors of the Quebec Provincial Bar
Association.
1974-76 Member of the Executive Committee of the Quebec
Bar.
1975-76 President of the Quebec Bar.
PARA-PUBLIC FUNCTIONS
1969-71 Legal Advisor to the Commission on the
administration of the “Societe des Alcools du
Quebec”.
1985/86 Member of the Airport Task Force established by
the Minister of Transport.
1987 Member of the Advisory Committee for the National
Postal Museum.
1988-91 Member of the Committee for Devolution of Airport
in Canada.
1992/93 Chairman of the National Transportation Act Review
Commission.
1993-96 Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the
National Transportation Agency of Canada.
COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES
1973/74 President of the Quebec Rotary Club.
Member of the Board of Trade
1970-75 Member of the Board of Directors of the Laval
Hospital
Since 1990 Founder and President of P.P.M.C. – Laval
Hospital Member of the Board of Directors of the
Laval Hospital Cardiology Institute.
Member of the Board of Directors of Ducks
Unlimited.
Member of the International Committee of Ducks
Unlimited.
1985-93 President de Hydro-Pontiac Inc.
1993-96 Member of the Board of Directors of the Council of
Canadian Administrative Tribunals.
John Matheson
Educational Background:
Dalhousie University – B. Commerce 1962
Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants – CA - 1965
Professional and Employment Background :
40 year career in Public Accounting all with KPMG and predecessor firms.
Sept. 2002 – retired as a senior partner in KPMG LLP Summer 2000 -2002 – Partner in Charge of KPMG North York Office
Fall 1998 – summer 2000 Partner in Charge of KPMG Markham Office which was consolidated with North York in 2000.
Sept. 1994 – 1999 in charge of KPMG St. Clair office ( I ran both offices for part of year till we split St. Clair Office between Markham & North York).
During the years 1996 to 2002 I served as Chair of the Firm’s Human Resources National Committee During the above years also served on the GTA management committee of KPMG June 1990 – Sept. 1994 – partner in charge of Entrepreneurial Business group in Toronto Office.
1996- 1999 – served 3 year term on KPMG Board of Directors.
1998-99 - Chaired Task Force to review and implement changes to Firm’s Governance structure.
1989-1990 – Co-chaired Task Force to implement the merger of Thorne Ernst & Whinney and Peat Marwick.
1983- 1989 – Chief Financial Officer of the Firm and served as Secretary to the Executive Committee and Partnership Board Chaired Firm’s Education Foundation – 1986 – 2002 Served on Firm’s Pension Committee – 1990 - 2002 Oct 1971 – April 1983 – audit partner in Ottawa office of the Firm, acted as administrative and personnel partner as well.
July 1962 – July 1971 – audit staff and audit manager in Montreal Office of the Firm July 1971 – elected to partnership
During my professional career, except the years 1983-1990 when I was Firm CFO, I was also an audit partner serving clients in the public, government , entrepreneurial business and the Not for Profit sectors.
Community Involvement :
Knox College – 2004 – 2010 , Board Member (Chair 2008-2010) , Chair of Executive Committee , past Chair Development Committee
CNIB - Member of National Board of Directors, 2010-present
Member Investment Committee 2003 to2008, Chair 2006 -2008 Chair/Member, Finance & Risk Management Committee 2006 to present Member Governance Committee 2004 to 2010
GO Transit- Member of Board 2006 -2009, served on Governance and Compensation Committee, Served on Audit Committee 2006-2009
St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church (downtown Toronto) – member of Session 2001 to present Member of Board of Managers 1998 to present. East Toronto Presbytery – representing St. Andrew’s 2004 to present Convener – Presbytery Trust Fund 2006 to present
St. George’s Golf & Country Club - 1992-1998 – Board member, including two years as President and Chair of the Board. Currently serve on Governance Committee. Host Club Tournament Chair of the 2010 RBC Canadian Open at St. George’s
1973 to 1983 in Ottawa served as Member of the Board, Executive Committee and two years as Chair of the Board – then known as The Commercial & Industrial Development Corp of Ottawa Carleton (CIDC)
1978- 1983- Team manager – Gloucester Minor Hockey Association
1976 – 1978 Cub Leader – Blackburn Hamlet, Ottawa
1976- 1978 Board member, Treasurer, Executive Committee – Consumers’ Association of Canada
1977 – received Queen Elizabeth’s Jubilee Medal
1962 -1983 active in my church in both Montreal and Ottawa serving on Session and the Board
Memberships in professional organizations:
Member of the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario Member of Quebec Order of Chartered Accountants