Dr. Robin Moore-Orr, D.Sc., R.D.,
Chair
Until her retirement in August 1999, Dr. Moore-Orr was an Associate Professor in the Division of Community Health, Faculty of Medicine and the Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Memorial University of Newfoundland. She has authored / co-authored approximately 50 articles in refereed journals and government and professional publications.
She has served on a number of National Boards and Committees, including the Canadian Public Health Association, Breast Feeding Committee for Canada, Osteoporosis Society of Canada, Canadian Breast Cancer Research Initiative Management Committee, and the Advisory Committee to the Canadian Breast Cancer Initiative. She has also worked on numerous provincial and federal committees, including the Board of Governors of Cabot College, Provincial Advisory Committee on Midwifery, Nutrition Advisory Committee (Atlantic Provinces), Expert Working Group on Breastfeeding (Health Canada).
Dr. Morre-Orr’s Professional memberships include The American Dietetic Association, Dietitians of Canada, Nutrition Society of Canada, Nutrition Society of Australia, Canadian Public Health Association (Chair of Family Health Division 1988-92). She was awarded an honourary Life Membership in Canadian Public Health Association in 1993.
Dr. C. Robin Walker, MD, ChB, FRCPC, FAAP
Vice Chair
Dr. Robin Walker is currently serving as Vice-President, Medicine at the IWK Health Centre in Halifax, NS and a Full Professor of Pediatrics at Dalhousie University.
He has been Director of Perinatal Pediatrics at The Moncton Hospital, Moncton, NB; Chief of Neonatology at Queen’s University in Kingston, ON; and Medical Director of Critical Care at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario in Ottawa, ON.
Dr. Walker’s research as Co-Principal Investigator of the Medical Information Technology Research Group is in decision-support systems using artificial intelligence tools in neonatal medicine, as well as evidence-based approaches to improving practice in neonatal intensive care.
He is Chair of the Committee on Pediatric Education of the American Academy of Pediatrics and a former Vice President, President and Past President of the Canadian Paediatric Society.
He has been actively involved in a broad range of activities to support the health, well-being and rights of children and youth in Canada at the community, regional, provincial, national and international levels.
The Honourable Judith Erola
Past Chair
The Honourable Judith Erola is a Director of the Canadian College of Family Physicians and of Health Partners International and Chairs the Advisory Board of the University of Ottawa Health Administration Program.
Prior to her current roles she has served as Director, International Nickel Company of Canada; Director Imasco Inc. (1998-2000); President and CEO Rx&D (formerly Pharmaceutical Manufacturers’ Association of Canada)
(1987-1998); Member of Parliament for the Nickel Belt riding (1980-1984) during which time she was Cabinet Minister, Mines (Minister of State), Status of Women, Consumer and Corporate Affairs.
Ms. Erola has received numerous Honourary recognitions including: Doctor of Human Letters Honoris Causa, Mount St. Vincent University (1992); Honourary Doctorate of Laws Degree, Laurention University (1996); Honourary Doctorate, University of Ottawa (1996); Member Board of Directors, College of Family Physicians of Canada; Life Member, Federation of Medical Women of Canada; Life Member, Science North Sudbury.
Mrs. Eleonore Benesch
Treasurer
Mrs. Benesch has more than thirty-eight years’ involvement in Early Childhood Education in Ottawa. She was the Executive Director of the Children’s Centre and Greenboro Day Care Centre since their founding in 1979 and 1989 respectively until 2004 and remains on the Board of Directors as an Honorary Member. During her career she initiated and led the development of two child care centres, from lobbying for government construction grants and acting as key member on the architectural design team and for the construction process.
She was instrumental in initiating the inclusion of the Prime Minister’s Awards for Excellence in Early Childhood Education on the 10th Anniversary of the Prime Minister’s Awards for Teaching Excellence in 2004. Her past professional involvements include serving as President of The Association of Early Childhood Educators, Ottawa Valley Branch and The Ottawa Carleton Day Care Association.
Mrs. Benesch has had extensive involvement in community-related Early Childhood Development issues at the municipal and provincial level, serving on numerous committees over the past 30 years. Mrs. Benesch continues to be involved with the Child Care Council of Ottawa-Carleton as a member of the Accreditation Committee and is a Professional member of the Association of Early Childhood Educators. She is currently a Board Member of the Charlotte Birchard Centres of Early Learning and a Board Member of the River Parkway Preschool Centre.
Ms. Lynne Westlake
Secretary
Lynne Westlake has devoted her working life to policies and programs for children. She began working in a variety of community services for children in Ottawa in the 1970s and 1980s, including years in supervised family home child care as a home visitor and manager (Gloucester Family Day Care Services and Andrew Fleck Child Care Services), and in child welfare (Ottawa-Carleton Children’s Aid Society)...
Following a growing interest in social policies for families and children, Lynne assumed responsibility in 1984 as the first coordinator of the Canadian Day Care Advocacy Association (now the Child Care Advocacy Association of Canada). After four years managing this national organization, she moved to work in social policy with the federal government. In her career with the Government of Canada, Lynne has worked in a range of program and policy areas, including funding programs that support national-level social research and development. Her primary work with the federal government, however, has been in the area of children’s policy, where she participated in the negotiation of federal-provincial-territorial agreements in early childhood development and early learning and child care. She was serving as director of Children’s Policy in Human Resources and Social Development Canada when she retired from the federal public service in the spring of 2008.
Lynne has also served in a number of volunteer roles in Ottawa, including participating in boards of directors for the Children’s Village of Ottawa Carleton and the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, and providing board workshops through the Volunteer Leadership Development Program.
Lynne is married to Brian Westlake, and has two grown daughters and three grandchildren.
Board Members
Dr. Angus A. Bruneau, O.C., Ph.D., P.Eng.
Dr. Bruneau was the Founding Dean of Engineering (1967 – 1974) and Vice President of Professional Schools and Community Services (1974 – 1978) at Memorial University, Newfoundland. He created the Centre for Cold Ocean Resources Engineering in 1973.
In 1986 he joined Newfoundland Light & Power as CEO. In 1987 he created Fortis Inc. serving as CEO from 1987 to 1996 and as Chairman from 1988 to 2006.
He has served on numerous commercial Boards of Directors, including in recent years Canada Life Assurance, SNC-Lavalin Group Inc., Inco, Petro-Canada, and currently serves on Aurora Energy Resources.
Dr. Bruneau served in a volunteer capacity on Federal advisory bodies and Boards including National Research Council, the Science Council of Canada, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, Canadian Foundation for Innovation, and recently chaired the National Advisory Panel on Sustainable Energy Science and Technology which published “Powerful Connections” in 2006.
He is a Director of Sustainable Development and Technology Canada and serves on the National Round Table for the Environment and the Economy.
He was the founding Chair of Festival 500: Sharing the Voices in Newfoundland and Labrador. He was appointed Officer of the Order of Canada in 1983, was awarded the Canadian Council of Professional Engineers Gold Medal in 1988, and received honorary Doctorates from both Memorial University and Dalhousie University.
Dr. Joseph Byers, Bsc, PhD
After completing a Bachelors degree in Biochemistry and Microbiology at the University of Sheffield, UK, Dr. Byers pursued a PhD at the University of Cambridge’s Department of Biochemistry. Dr. Byers was the recipient of a Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council award which funded his doctoral research. Findings from his doctoral research, where he used genome sequences to identify alternatives to antibiotics, were published in Microbiology, the Journal of Bacteriology and Antonie van Leeuwenhoek.
Dr. Byers then pursued a post-doctoral fellowship at the Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology at the University of Ottawa, in the area of heart disease and development. Findings from his post-doctoral research on heart disease were published in 2009 in the publication BMC Cell Biology.
Dr. Byers has consistently been highly involved in extra-curricular activities, often in a leadership role. During his PhD, he served as the Chairman of the Cambridge University Graduate Soccer League, the Social Secretary Sidney Sussex College Graduate Student Committee, and as Founder and Treasurer of the Cambridge Biochemistry Graduate Student Committee. During his post-doctoral studies, he served as the VP Finance of the Faculty of Medicine Postdoctoral Association. Beyond his involvement on the Board of the CICH, Dr. Byers also currently serves as the National Tournament Coordinator for the Canadian section of the NAF, a global fantasy football board game association.
Ms. Shannon Coombs
Shannon Coombs has been with CCSPA since 1998. As President, she is the association’s spokesperson, responsible for the implementation of effective government relations’, regulatory strategies and public affairs on the critical issues for member companies.
CCSPA is a national trade association representing 46 companies across Canada. Our member companies manufacture, process, package and distribute consumer, industrial and institutional products such as soaps and detergents, domestic pest control products, antimicrobials, aerosols, deodorizers and automotive products.
Our mission is to enhance the ability of member companies to conduct business fairly, ethically and effectively by fostering industry cooperation, providing a national voice for communications and developing effective partnerships with governments, other stakeholders and the public.
Shannon has an honours degree in Political Science from Carleton University, as well as extensive experience in government and political arenas. Prior to joining CCSPA, she worked for the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, and Agriculture Canada. Shannon lives with her family in Ottawa.
Mr. Gerald W. Doyle
Gerald Doyle started his professional career as a banker and mortgage broker which proved to be a solid foundation for his present day role of an investment and financial consultant of the last fourteen years. Over the years Gerald has been exceptionally active in the community. He has held positions which range from Board
Member or Chairperson for numerous charities and foundations, fund raiser for many more, founder of new
initiatives as well as Manager / Trainer for his kids’ hockey, baseball and soccer teams. Beyond his community support Gerald also provides pro bono assistance to financially distressed individuals and families in the community as a result of his position as a well known and respected financial planner and advisor. In 2005, Gerald donated his left kidney to his cousin. Today she enjoys exceptional health and is dialysis free. Gerald is the proud father of three children who are each pursuing their respective post-graduate studies in law, medicine and earth sciences.
Dr. Victor Goldbloom C.C., O.Q.
Victor C. Goldbloom, M.D. is a pediatrician. He was very much involved in the origins of Medicare in the early 1960s. He was Quebec’s first Minister of the Environment (1970-1976) and represented Canada at two United Nations conferences on the environment (1972 and 1976). He was president of Quebec’s Environmental Public Hearings Board, and then Executive Director of the Quebec Health Research Foundation. He serves on the Board of the Regional Council on Health and Social Services of Montreal, and is involved in autism research. He was Canada’s fourth Commissioner of Official Languages. He is a Companion of the Order of Canada and an Officer of the Ordre national du Québec. He has honorary degrees from five Canadian universities. He serves as Chair of the CICH National Advisory Council.
Dr. Mary D. Jerrett, B.N., M.Sc., Ph.D
After her retirement in 1999 as a full time Associate Professor in the School of Nursing, Queen’s University where she taught paediatric & family nursing at undergraduate and graduate levels. Dr. Jerrett continued in an active role in health studies and education as Associate Professor Research until 2004. Dr. Jerrett was a co-principal researcher on an international collaborative project titled Asthma Education Programme. This programme with primary school children in Barbados was developed, implemented and evaluated on site in Barbados. This was a co-initiative of Queen’s University, the Ontario Lung Association, Asthma Association of Barbados and Ministries of the Barbados government. Dr. Jerrett’s international experience also includes working for the World Health Organization (WHO) in mother and child care nursing programs in both Sudan and Egypt. Additionally Dr. Jerrett spent time with the Nursing Research Unit, University of Edinburgh, Scotland.
Dr. Jerrett received her B.N. from McGill University, M.Sc. Nursing from Boston University and Ph.D Education from the University of Toronto.
The author of articles, papers and book chapters Dr. Jerrett’s focus of research has been in the area of families with a chronically ill child, with a particular interest in chronic pulmonary illness such as asthma.
Dr. Jerrett has had a long involvement with the Lung Association of Ontario including serving as a Board Member for Kingston. She has also served as a Board Member of the Ontario Respiratory Care Society (ORCS). Dr. Jerrett has participated on various committees’ of both the national and provincial nursing associations. This brief synopsis highlights Dr. Jerrett’s education, nursing experience and research activity.
Ms. Brenda Swick
Ms. Brenda Swick is a partner in the Litigation Group and a member of McCarthy Tétrault’s International Trade and Investment Law Group.
She is recognized as a leader in the field of international trade law in the 1008 Chambers Global Directory and in Martindale Hubbell Legal Directory and the 2005 Canadian Legal Expert Directory as consistently recommended for her expertise in international trade matters.
Ms. Swick is Vice-Chair of the Trade Law Committee of the International Bar Association and Past Chair of the International Law Section of the Canadian Bar Association. She is a member of the American Bar Association, International Law Association and American Society of International Law and a member of the Board of Editors of Regulatory Boards and Administrative Law Litigation and a contributing editor to the North American Corporate Lawyer.
She is a frequent speaker and the author of numerous published articles on international trade. At the 2005 International Bar Association annual conference in Prague, Ms. Swick co-chaired the Trade and Customs Law panel on "The Impact of Regional Trade Agreements on Business." She recently delivered a speech on "WTO Dispute Settlement, Making the Remedy More Effective" at the 2006 Annual Meeting of the International Law Association.
Ms. Swick received her Bachelor of Social Sciences (Honours, Economics) in 1981, and Bachelor of Law from Queen’s University in 1985. She was awarded the David Sabbath Prize for the Taxation of Trusts and Estates. She was called to the Ontario bar in 1987.
