Board
Executive

Gayle Barr
Chair
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.

Chris Chard
Past Chair
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.

Robert Wood
Vice-Chair
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
Treasurer
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
Secretary
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.
Directors

Sue Bates
Director
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
Director
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
Director
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.

Dr. Ian Gemmill
Director
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
Director
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
Director
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.

Monica LaBarge
Director
Dr. LaBarge’s research interests centre around public policy issues in marketing and how marketing can positively affect consumer well-being. Her research examines topics including charitable giving and non-profit marketing, health promotion and health systems, food insecurity and waste, as well as how vulnerable populations (such as older adults) cope with and overcome vulnerability in the marketplace. She is a frequent speaker on these topics to practitioner groups and media outlets including CBC Radio and Television, the Globe & Mail, the National Post, CTV, Global TV, Huffington Post, and other news outlets across Canada.

George Thomson
Director
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.
Honorary Life Members
Honorary Life Members are individuals who have made significant contributions to the Foundation. They are non-voting Board members.

Michael Bell
Honorary Life Member
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
Honorary Life Member
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.

Michael Davies
Honorary Life Member
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.
Greg Fisher
Honorary Life Member
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.

Eveline Flint
Honorary Life Member
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.

Virginia Gordon
Honorary Life Member
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.
Legal Counsel

Brian Gillingham
Legal Counsel
Brian is experienced in will and trust planning; incapacity planning; blended family planning; advising executors, beneficiaries and trustees in connection with the administration of estates; advising parties on contentious estates and estate litigation matters; and advising business owners on business succession planning.
Brian regularly advises high net worth individuals, professionals and private company owners on an array of complex estate planning issues to help clients achieve various goals, including tax minimization, creditor protection, support of disabled beneficiaries and family law planning. Brian’s previous experience as a business law lawyer acting on the sale of family businesses means that Brian is experienced in the complex issues relating to business succession planning, farm succession planning and ongoing wealth transfer.
In the context of his estate planning work, he uses many techniques to meet the particular needs and objectives of his clients and to minimize tax consequences. Approaches include multiple wills, testamentary and inter vivos trusts, life estates and rights of survivorship, marriage or co-habitation contracts, powers of attorney for property and for personal care, and charitable donations. Brian regularly liaises and works with tax and other financial professionals where such involvement is merited. He also routinely advises individuals with fiduciary duties (e.g. executors, trustees, guardians and attorneys) on the administration of estates, trusts and powers of attorney for property and for personal care, offering direction and assistance on the nature and scope of those duties. He also assists fiduciaries with the passing of their accounts.
Brian is a co-author of the book Drafting Wills in Canada: A Lawyer’s Practical Guide, 2nd Edition (LexisNexis, 2016) and regularly presents on estates and trusts topics in the community.
Brian was raised in the Kingston region and returned to the area to practice following his call to the bar.
Investment Advisor

Marc LeBlanc
Investment Advisor
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.
PROFESSIONAL ADVISORS
For Professional Advisors
Benefits of Working With Us
Tools and Resources
How to Set Up a Fund
275 Ontario Street Suite #100
Kingston, ON K7K 2X5
Phone: 613.546.9696
Fax: 613.531.9238
Email: info@cfka.org
