Board

Gayle Barr graduated from Queen’s University with a BA in Sociology, following which she worked with young offenders in Cobourg and then in group homes for the Children’s Aid Society in Toronto. After two years of direct service work, she pursued a Master in Social Work degree, concentrating in Social Policy and Administration, at Carleton University.

Once her studies were completed, Gayle was fortunate to obtain a position with the Ontario regional office of Health Promotion, Health Canada in Toronto, ending her time there as Regional Director. The focus of the work was to provide grants for community and academic health promotion projects, projects related to national smoking, alcohol and drug strategies as well as HIV/AIDS education. Much of her work was centred in the area of health promotion for older adults, including leading a national strategy group.

After moving to Kingston in 1989 with her family, Gayle began working with the Ministry of Community and Social Services. Her work there focused on planning, project management and organizational effectiveness. At the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, her most recent position was as Senior Program/Policy Consultant in the area of primary care reform, new methods of payment for family physicians and the implementation of Family Health Teams. The goal of this work was to increase access to family physicians and other health care professionals working in teams to better serve patients.

Since retiring in 2012 Gayle has undertaken a diverse range of volunteer work in the arts, health care and social services including serving as Secretary on the Board of The Kingston Prize Association: Canada’s National Portrait competition. Gayle joined the CFKA Community Grants Committee in 2013 and is honoured to now serve as Chair of this committee comprised of a lively, enthusiastic group of knowledgeable and thoughtful people who work diligently to select worthwhile projects on behalf of the Community Foundation.

For over twenty years, Chris has worked in the financial services industry in Kingston. He is a certified financial planner with Continuum Financial Centres Inc., an independent personal financial planning organization. Chris is a graduate of Concordia University (B.Comm) and Dalhousie University (MBA). In addition, he holds several industry-specific designations.

Chris has been active in volunteering over the years with Kingston Blue Marlins, Kingston Ice Wolves, Kingston Area Minor Hockey Association, the Junior Chamber of Commerce, and the Kingston chapter of Advocis, a professional association for financial advisors.

Chris is married to Dr. Jenn Carpenter, and they have two children, Sidonie and Adam.

Rob Wood is President & CEO of 8020Info, an award-winning Kingston-based consulting firm. As an architect of consensus-driven strategy, his practice is focused on strategy development and planning, public consultation, change management and marketing communications. His clients come predominantly from the public and non-profit sectors — municipal, health care, social services, education, arts and culture. He’s well known as an experienced adviser, facilitator and speaker who has presented at workshops and conferences across the country. 8020Info received the Small Business of the Year Award in 2002, and Rob was also nominated for Business Person of the Year. In 2016 he was inducted into Kingston’s Business Hall of Fame for his mentorship and community leadership.

As a community leader, in addition to his role as Vice-President of the CFKA, Rob currently serves on the board of the Queen’s Family Health Team Advisory Board, and volunteers with Compassionate Kingston and the residential hospice fundraising cabinet. He’s a former chair of the Imagine Kingston Roundtable. In his spare time he studies Mandarin.

Jonathan Warren is a Chartered Professional Accountant and a Tax Partner with a National accounting firm, KPMG LLP. Jonathan has over 18 years’ experience in the public accounting industry, assisting clients in many facets of their accounting, tax and information control systems, ensuring proper governance to oversee their financial operations. In addition, Jonathan has extensive experience with the Income Tax Act and the applicable rules as they relate to charities and foundations. During his career, Jonathan has been invited to be a special lecturer in delivering tax training courses nationally within KPMG and externally with CPA Ontario.

Currently, Jonathan is the Treasurer for the Community Foundation for Kingston and Area and also serves on the Board of Directors for the KPMG Foundation, a national charitable foundation for the Partners of KPMG. Previously, Jonathan has served over 7-years as the Treasurer for the Kingston and Area Branch of St. John Ambulance.

George Wright retired from CGI Group as an Executive Management Consultant in February 2014 after 25 years of full time employment with CGI and 19 years with Alcan. He moved to Kingston with his family in 1977. He has experience in all aspects of managing Information Technology (IT) from strategic planning through project delivery to on-going operations in both the private and public sectors.

Mr. Wright is a graduate of McGill University (B. Eng – Electrical). He was awarded an Athlone Fellowship and attended the Imperial College of Science and Technology at the University of London (M.Sc. in Control Systems). He was elected to the status of Fellow of the Institute of Certified Management Consultants of Ontario in March 2003 in recognition of his service to the profession of Management Consulting. He is authorized to use the designation Fellow Certified Management Consultant (FCMC). Through his working career (and more recently, during retirement), Mr. Wright has contributed to several volunteer organizations. These include:

• Community Foundation for Kingston & Area: Project Manager, Vital Signs® report from 2014 through 2018;
• The Kingston Prize, Canada’s Portrait Prize: providing business expertise for planning and finance to the Board;
• Canadian Association of Management Consultants: Chair, Eastern Ontario Chapter;
• Kingston Technology Council: founding Board member and subsequently Chair;
• Thyroid Foundation of Canada: founding Board member (1980) and subsequently Chair.

He has built two boats from kits using the “stich and glue technique” – a kayak and a rowing boat.

Household renovations, whacking garden weeds and the challenges of a MGB also consume his leisure time.

Born in Kingston, Sue graduated from Queen’s University in 1991 and immediately moved across the pond and settled in Scotland, after seven years moving to the Bahamas followed by the Turks and Caicos Islands. With each move, Sue brought her commitment to community, serving in leadership positions with many charitable organizations, including the British Red Cross.

Sue returned to Kingston in 2005, and immediately began volunteering in support of several local organizations, including the Kingston Symphony, the United Way, Awesome Kingston, and Queen’s University – having served most recently as the President of the Alumni Association. When not volunteering her time, Sue works as a licensed assistant to a financial advisor, a job she loves.

Julie Burch graduated from Western University with a BA in Psychology, following which she worked in a province wide non-profit community development organization in the design, coordination and delivery of a comprehensive community capacity-building project across southern Ontario. She was part of the team that championed the launch of a micro loan fund (secured funding partners; developed loan criteria; facilitated the loan process) that helped over 300 people launch rural based business.

She moved to Kingston in 2000 from southwestern Ontario and has been part of the Queen’s community since that time. Before assuming her current role as project manager at the Canadian Institute for Military and Veteran Health Research Institute she worked as a Relationship Manager in Executive Education at Queen’s School of Business; managed the research and outreach activities at the Centre for the Study of Democracy and was the Policy Forum Coordinator at Queen’s School of Policy Studies.

In addition to her work with CFKA, her volunteer experiences in Kingston include working with the United Way’s Fare for Friends, coaching under-6 rugby with the Kingston Panthers Rugby Club and serving on three Kingston International Rugby Organizing Committees.

Peter Finnegan is Vice President and Branch Manager of the Kingston office of BMO Nesbitt Burns. BMO Nesbitt Burns is one of the largest investment advisory firms in Canada which forms a core part of the success of Bank of Montreal Financial Group, Canada’s oldest bank founded in 1817. Peter has over 25 years of experience in the financial services industry and in addition to managing the Kingston/Brockville/Perth offices, he leads a team that advises and manages investment portfolios for individuals, families, charities and corporations. He has a degree in Economics (Carleton University 1989), and holds designations as a Certified Investment Manager, Portfolio Manager and Professional Financial Planner.

Peter has held volunteer board/cabinet positions with the Business Improvement Association of Belleville (1995-1998), United Way of Quinte (1996-2004), United Way of Peterborough (2005-2007), Providence Care Corporation (2011-2014) and was an inaugural member of the Investment Advisor Advisory committee to senior management of BMO Nesbitt Burns (2014-2015).

Peter is married to Marisa and they have two children, Julia and Ethan who attend Regiopolis Notre Dame high school. Julia will be attending Queens next year.

Ian Gemmill is the former Medical Officer of Health for Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox & Addington Public Health, where he served from 1997 until his retirement in 2017.  From 1981 to 1997, he was the Associate Medical Officer of Health for Ottawa Public Health, and practised family medicine in Brampton, Ontario, before beginning his career in public health.

He is a graduate of the Faculty of Medicine at Queen’s University at Kingston, Ontario, a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada in Public Health & Preventive Medicine, an honorary member of the Canadian Paediatric Society, an Honorary Life Member of the Canadian Public Health Association, and a Fellow of the College of Family Physicians of Canada.  He is an Associate Professor in the Departments of Family Medicine and of Public Health Sciences at Queen’s University.

Ian has served on a number of provincial, national and international committees on communicable diseases and immunisation.  Amongst others, he is the past chair of the National Advisory Committee on Immunisation (NACI) and was a member for over 14 years.  He is currently the chair of NACI’s working group on influenza vaccine.  He is a member of the World Health Organisation’s Immunisation Practices Advisory Committee and is the liaison member to its Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety.  In Kingston, he is delighted to be a member of the board of the Community Foundation of Kingston and Area and of the board of the Museum of Health Care.

Kalen Ingram is lawyer with Cunningham, Swan, Carty, Little, & Bonham LLP in Kingston. Her practice is focused primarily on labour/employment law and civil litigation. Kalen assists employers with matters relating to employment law including wrongful dismissal claims, reviewing employment contracts and policies, and human rights, Ministry of Labour, and labour arbitration proceedings. In addition, Kalen acts as prosecutor for municipalities and Public Health Units under a variety of by-laws and statutes.

Kalen is a graduate of Harvard University and Queen’s University Law School. In addition to her new role with the Community Foundation for Kingston & Area, Kalen serves on the Board of Directors for the Y.M.C.A. of Kingston and the R.K.Y. Camp, and volunteers with many of her daughters’ sporting activities. .

Richard Kizell is a graduate of Queen’s University. He has spent many years managing several successful family businesses and their holdings. Currently he is the owner of a local Investment Planning Council office in downtown Kingston with six professional financial planners and five support staff. Richard has been a financial planner since February 1986 and is a Certified Financial Planner, Registered Financial Planner, and Chartered Life Underwriter.

Richard has played a leading role in the Kingston community and has served on many boards and committees including Rotary, Kiwanis, Red Cross, Downtown Kingston Association, Chamber of Commerce, and Queen’s medical school fundraising committee. Richard served in many different capacities at Beth Israel Congregation including President, Secretary, and Finance Chair for over 25 years. Richard has also been involved with a leadership role in the local B’nai Brith fundraiser for over 40 years.

Richard has been married to his wife, Cheryl, for 33 years. They have two married daughters. Valerie lives in Calgary with her husband, Matthew, and Erin lives in Vancouver with Marcus. Cheryl and Richard are very excited that their first grandchild Isaac, was born in April 2017 to Valerie and Matthew.

Mr. Thomson received his B.A. and his LL.B. from Queen’s University, and his LL.M. from the University of California. His career in law and public service began at the University of Western Ontario, where he taught law and became Assistant Dean of the Law School. In 1972, Mr. Thomson was appointed a judge of the Provincial Court for the Province of Ontario.  Subsequently, he was appointed Associate Deputy Minister of Community and Social Services, responsible for children’s services.

Mr. Thomson returned to the bench, and then, from 1985-1989, he was the Director of Education for the Law Society of Upper Canada and also chaired a provincial committee on social assistance reform.  In 1989, he became Deputy Minister of Citizenship for the Province of Ontario, followed by appointments as Deputy Minister of Labour, and Ontario Deputy Attorney General.  Mr. Thomson was then Deputy Minister of Justice and Deputy Attorney General of Canada from 1994-1998.  After a term as Skelton-Clark fellow at Queen’s University, he assumed the position of Executive Director of the National Judicial Institute in 2000. In 2006, he became Senior Director, International Programs for the Institute and has worked on justice reform in over 10 countries. He also chaired Ontario’s Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform.

Mr. Thomson has chaired or been a member of several boards including but not limited to Justice Studies Centre of the Americas, Kingston General Hospital, Toronto Hospital for Sick Children and the Community Foundation. He recently led a working group on income security reform for the provincial government and assumed the position of Chair of the Southeastern Ontario Academic Medical Organization.

Michael Bell is a retired art history professor and art museum director. Michael has been at one time or another Curator of Prints and Drawings at the Public Archives of Canada; Director of the Agnes Etherington Art Centre (Queen’s University); Visual Arts Officer, Ontario Arts Council; Assistant Director (Public Programs) and Acting Director, National Gallery of Canada; Director and CEO, McMichael Canadian Art Collection; and Founding Director (Associate Professor), Carleton University Art Gallery. In 1973 his book, Painters in a New Land, was recognized with the Governor-General’s Literary Award for Non-fiction.

Since coming to Kingston in the early 1970s, Michael has maintained a residence in the region almost continuously even though his work took him elsewhere. He now lives in Kingston.

During the late 1980s Michael served on the Board of the National Museums of Canada and the National Gallery of Canada. Locally, Michael served on the Board of the Cataraqui Conservation Foundation in numerous capacities. He joined the Board of the Community Foundation for Kingston & Area in 2011 and retired from the Board as Past President in June 2019.

Michael operates an amateur radio station with the call signs VE3NOO and VA3MBT.

Florence Campbell is a retired senior executive from positions such as Vice Principal, Advancement, Queen’s University; Vice President, Conference Board of Canada (Ottawa); sales/services, public affairs and government relations management portfolios in IBM Canada Ltd (Toronto and Ottawa). She is currently a member of the Advisory Council for the Health Services and Policy Research Institute in the Faculty of Health Sciences, Queen’s University and Chair of the volunteer committee leading the Compassionate Communities Kingston initiative.

Previous board of directors’ involvement in Toronto, Ottawa and Kingston include: Queen’s Family Health Team Advisory Committee; Kingston Frontenac Lennox and Addington Public Health Board of Directors; Past President of the Community Foundation for Kingston & Area; Carleton University, Elmwood School, Canadian Clubs of Toronto and Ottawa (and President of the Ottawa Club), Couchiching Institute on Public Affairs, Advisory Board of the Ottawa Heart Institute, Rideau Club, Five Lakes Club, Kingston Symphony Association, Kingston General Hospital (Chair, Planning and Research Development Committees and member Governance Committee), Founding Vice-Chair of the South East Local Health Integration Network (and Chair of Governance Committee, Co-Chair Collaborative Governance Development Team); Community for Excellence in Health Governance.

In 2012 Florence received the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee medal for community engagement and in 2013 the Ontario Medical Association Community Service Award for her contribution to the health and welfare of the population of Kingston.

Life-long resident of Kingston, Michael Davies is the Founder and President of The Davies Charitable Foundation. He is the former owner and publisher of the Kingston Whig-Standard Co. Ltd. (1969-90).

Michael has been active in arts and other cultural activities in Eastern Ontario for many years. He has served in various capacities with the Ontario Federation of Symphony Orchestras, the Kingston Symphony Orchestra, the Stratford Shakespearean Festival, the Grand Theatre Board, the Marine Museum of the Great Lakes, Queen’s University Board of Trustees, the Kingston Rowing Club, and The Trillium Foundation.

Michael is a founding member/President of the Community Foundation of Greater Kingston. As Past-President, Michael now sits on the Board of Directors as an honourary lifetime member, and continues his role a Chair of the Fund Development Committee.

Michael has received numerous awards for community services including the Order of Canada, he is a Paul Harris Fellow and he holds an honorary doctorate from Queen’s University as well as an honorary diploma from St. Lawrence College.

He is married to Elaine and has five Children and twelve grandchildren (aged two to twenty). His recreational pursuits include piloting, sailing, music, and tennis.

After almost 35 years in public accounting Greg retired from his role as an Associate Partner with KPMG in the summer of 2009 at which time he continued with KPMG in a consulting capacity. At the same time, Greg took on the role of Treasurer of the Community Foundation for Kingston & Area. He served as President from 2012-2014 and Past President until June 2017. With over 40 years of public accounting experience in Hamilton, KPMG National Tax and for the past 30 years with KPMG in Kingston, Greg has provided specialist tax services in a variety of areas that include individuals, corporations, charities and not-for-profit organizations. Prior to his retirement, Greg was responsible for the tax group in the Kingston office of KPMG which included 10 full time tax professionals.

During his career, Greg has been involved with writing and editing KPMG tax publications that focused on current tax matters and potential tax planning strategies for clients. He has been involved in preparing and presenting a variety of firm training courses encompassing a wide range of personal, corporate, charity and not-for profit income tax issues.

Greg is a member of the Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada, the Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario and the Canadian Tax Foundation.

Originally from British Columbia and a graduate of UBC, Eveline Flint pursued various reporting and editing jobs until 1965, and then spent five years in London, England, before moving to Kingston with her husband and son. She was employed at Queen’s University for 12 years, lastly as Employment Manager, before becoming a Life Underwriter with the Canada Life Assurance Company, Kingston Branch.

While at Queen’s, Eveline was founding president of the University Staff Association and a member of the first two Principal’s Committees on the Status of Women. She was on the selection committee for the first Equal Employment Opportunity Officer, an organizer for the 1985 Courage to Dream Conference (which planted the seed for the creation of the community foundation) and a board member of The Ban Righ Foundation for Continuing Education for Women.

Among past community activities, Eveline includes past president of The Kingston Arthritis Society, Medic Alert Chair for Kingston Life Underwriters, and member of the Grand Theatre Summer Festival Advisory Committee for several years. Eveline was the last president of The Martello Tower Society, and led the reorganization into The Community Foundation of Greater Kingston.

She is an Honorary Life Member of the Community Foundation for Kingston & Area.

Originally from Western Canada, Virginia moved to Kingston in 1975 with her husband John and family. John accepted a teaching position at the Business School at Queen’s.Virginia and her friend Katie Carmichael established a successful kitchen shop in downtown Kingston called Kitchen Cargo, which they ran for over ten years. It was a great business education and through it their commitment to Kingston was established.

Virginia views the Foundation as a resource for future generations of Kingstonians. Planning for the future and working with other established charities is a very satisfying way to know your community. You are laying the ground work for continued good things happening. An established Community Foundation can be the safety net in good times and bad.

Virginia has worked with the Resource Development Committee and is an Honorary Life Member of the Board of Directors.

Mary-Alice Thompson is a Partner with the law firm Cunningham Swan Carty Little & Bonham, LLP, Kingston’s oldest and largest law firm. Mary-Alice Thompson practices law in the areas of wills, estates, and trusts, as well as personal and estate planning. She is certified as a specialist in Estate and Trusts Law by the Law Society of Upper Canada, and is a full member of the Society of Trusts and Estate Practitioners (STEP).

Mary-Alice obtained her law degree from Queen’s University in 1992, and was called to the Ontario bar in 1994. She has worked as in-house lawyer, for a large firm in Toronto, and in her own private practice, before joining Cunningham Swan in 2010. She has taught Wills and Trusts at Queen’s University Law School, Succession Law at St. Lawrence College and Estate Planning and Administration and Legal Writing for the Law Society of Upper Canada’s Bar Admission Course.

Mary-Alice speaks often at public seminars on will and estate planning matters, including charitable giving. A new edition of her book “Will Drafting in Canada: A Practical Guide for Lawyers” (with Robyn Solnik and Brian Billingham) was published by LexisNexis in 2016. She has also lectured and written about estate planning, estate administration, and charities law.

Mary-Alice has been involved with the Community Foundation for Kingston & Area in a number of capacities since the first organizational meeting!

Marc LeBlanc, VP, CIM, FCSI, Portfolio Manager. As head of LeBlanc Investment Group, Marc is a Chartered Investment Manager (CIM) with 25 years of experience. Fluent in French, Marc also earned an MBA from Queen’s University in 2017 and is a Fellow of the Canadian Securities Institute (FCSI).

Trust, honesty and hard work are values that Marc embraces passionately in his professional life. He is particularly proud of the relationship he has built with his clientele which is primarily established on providing superior and timely advice.

Within the community, Marc currently sits on the Board of Directors for Providence Care Hospital and is also the Portfolio Manager for the Community Foundation for Kingston & Area. Over the years, he has also been involved in several other local charities either in a governance capacity or as benefactor.