Board Of Directors

Joseph Bonnici is is a partner and the executive creative director of Bensimon Byrne. For the past 8 years he has helped Bensimon Byrne grow into one of the largest independent agencies in Canada. In 2018, Bensimon Byrne was named AdAge’s Small International Agency of the Year. For the past two years he has partnered with Casey House to smash the stigma around HIV. First, with the ground breaking June’s HIV+ Eatery which spawned a documentary currently airing on HBO. And most recently, with Healing House, the world’s first HIV+ Spa. Together, the two campaigns resulted in over 1000 news stories globally and helped make Casey House a leading voice in the fight against HIV stigma.

Lindsay Broadhead is the SVP, communications and public affairs at Toronto Region Board of Trade. She has 20+ years of experience providing clients with corporate communications, campaign, issues and crisis counsel, and project support. This includes eight years in London, England where she led international clients before returning to Toronto to manage a number of large, complex files. She has worked for integrated communications agencies such as H+K Strategies, Ogilvy PR Worldwide, and Counsel Public Affairs, working closely with a broad array of disciplines such as advertising, marketing, government relations, digital and social communications. Providing strategic counsel on all files, Lindsay also loves to roll-up her sleeves and get the work done well, be it writing, planning, media relations, training, or stakeholder engagement. Most recently, Lindsay launched and continues to run her own communications business, Broadhead Communications. Lindsay holds a master of arts in contemporary art history from Goldsmith’s College, University of London, and a bachelor of arts in both international development and classics from the University of King’s College and Dalhousie University. She is honoured to serve on the board of directors.

Stephen Brown, chair is president (partner), FUSE Marketing Group. With extensive experience in brand, social, digital, CRM, and experiential marketing, Stephen has the learning needed to create, strengthen and grow brands across a wide range of categories. His clients include CIBC, Hyundai, Canadian Tire, Cashmere and TO 2015 Pan Am Games. Stephen’s leadership, vision and forward thinking have proven to be key to pushing FUSE – and each of its clients’ businesses – to new, innovative heights. Stephen was recently board chair of the Canadian Marketing Association. And he likes to give back to his community – working on new models of philanthropy through Social Venture Partner Toronto, fundraising for Casey House and Covenant House, and lending his time to numerous start-up NFPs.

Jennifer A. Dewling, vice-chair is a principal at Genova Private Management Inc., a discretionary portfolio management firm. Prior to joining Genova, Jennifer spent over a decade with a top tier Canadian bank where she filled progressively senior roles – these include the corporate credit group covering the bank’s oil and gas lending portfolio as well as several years in commercial banking. Jennifer holds a Bachelor of commerce from Dalhousie University. Her areas of expertise include capital markets, personal finance and risk management. Jennifer is a long-time supporter of Casey House, starting as a recreation volunteer in 2010. She became a non-director member of the finance committee in 2016 prior to joining the board of directors in 2017. Her dedication to Casey House continues to be strengthened year after year from seeing first hand the quality of care provided.

Michael Ghent completed a BSc at the University of Toronto and a post-graduate degree in France before he began his media career by attending the Vancouver Film School. There, he produced and directed his first documentary about long term HIV survivors called A Stretch of Time, followed by a film for the CBC entitled Tested. Michael was appointed cultural program director for the XI International Conference on HIV/AIDS 1996 in Vancouver where he created the Public Forums, an arts program and one of the world’s first AIDS related film festivals, the One World Screen Festival. Michael has had a long association with the Vancouver International Film Festival and remains a member of the international programming committee. Michael was a production executive for Global Television from 2003 to 2008 and was responsible for over 500 hours of factual programming in numerous genres. He won a Gemini in 2007 for best documentary series, Global Currents. He has served on the board of directors for the Whistler Film Festival, the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television and the Compassionate Eye Foundation. Michael returned to Ontario in 2015 where he works in strategic communications and continues to develop factual programming.

Brad Keenan brings strong business and political acumen and leadership from his work in the domestic and global entertainment industry to the Casey House team. With years of experience in operations and business affairs, Brad has specialized capabilities in organizational effectiveness, leadership planning and development, change management, digital transformation, and diversity and inclusion. Brad has held senior leadership roles as an advocate for creators and their talents, with a strong emphasis on performers’ rights and a focus on partnerships and global database development that increased efficiencies and revenue for creators around the world. He has held significant positions in some of the world’s most respected organizations, including Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA), ACTRA, International Federation of Actors (FIA), SCAPR, and Sony Music. Before working in the entertainment industry, Brad worked in various roles in the legal sector. Work-life integration for Brad includes spending time with his husband being foodies, travelling, and spending time with family, including their new grandson.

Elaine Kierans is a lawyer whose career has included both the private practice of law and government service. Ms Kierans was a lawyer in the Toronto office of McCarthy Tetrault, specializing in restructuring and insolvency law. She subsequently served as vice chair and a director of the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario and as acting chair and CEO of the Canadian Artists and Producers Professional Relationship Tribunal, a federal labour relations tribunal focussed on the Canadian arts community. She holds degrees in business, common law and civil law, all from McGill University. She is a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada. She had served on the boards of directors of both publicly traded and private not-for-profit organizations including Brighter Minds Media Inc., The Toronto French School and Granite Golf Club. She is currently a director of Alliance Française de Toronto. She has an ICD.D designation from the Rotman School of Business at the University of Toronto and the Institute of Corporate Directors. She is fluent in English and French.

Kirk LeMessurier serves as chief, strategic communications at the Ontario Hospital Association, where he oversees corporate communications, marketing and advocacy in support of Ontario’s hospitals and their work to build a better health care system. As director, corporate planning & strategy at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), Kirk helped implement an eight-year transformational strategic plan, leading the hospital’s priority-setting and organization-wide corporate planning at all levels. Kirk served as director, operations & planning of the Medical Psychiatry Alliance, managed CAMH’s public affairs department, and as communications manager at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital. Kirk has also served as a local news reporter and editor, worked extensively in teaching journalism, media writing and public affairs. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Memorial University of Newfoundland and a Master of Science in journalism and mass communication from Boston University’s College of Communication.

David McIsaac, treasurer is an accomplished C-suite leader and CPA with 25+ years of experience driving performance in for-profit and not-for-profit organizations. David is CFO of Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation, one of Canada’s largest cancer charities raising critical funds for Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, a world-renowned cancer research, teaching, and treatment hospital. He was formerly CEO of Toronto Botanical Garden, where he led transformation and a critical expansion project after guiding the cultural institution through a period of significant transition and financial stabilization as CFO and COO. David also served as CFO at TransUnion Canada and Northern Trust Canada, VP Finance at Aviva, and held senior leadership positions at Manulife, CIBC, and RBC. A long-standing supporter of not-for-profit organizations, David has been a member of the boards of the Arthritis Society and Victorian Order of Nurses and key committees at Prostate Cancer Canada and Financial Executives International (FEI) Canada. In his role as treasurer, David is also chair of the finance committee.

Susan Mullin is a professional fundraising executive with more three decades of experience. She is currently president & CEO of Southlake Regional Health Centre Foundation. Susan has worked on development teams that ranged in size from one to 45. In her previous role, Susan led a $200 million campaign for the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) Foundation. Susan has a commitment to giving back to the community. She served in various leadership roles with the Greater Toronto Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, including as chapter president. She was actively involved for close to a decade in the LGBT community as a board member for Community One Foundation. Susan is thrilled to be ‘back’ at Casey House where she spent close to eight years in the 1990s as executive director of Casey House Foundation.

Victor Ng is a practicing family medicine and emergency medicine physician. He completed his medical degree at the University of Manitoba and residency at Western University, and is a faculty member at both the University of Toronto and Western University. His academic and research interests are primarily in medical education, health systems innovation and quality improvement. He currently serves in a senior leadership role as the associate director, programs and practice support at the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC). Additionally, he is the associate medical director, emergency medicine at Scarborough Health Network. He has served on the CFPC board of directors and the Foundation for Advancing Family Medicine. Victor is a member of Casey House’s quality committee.

Stephen Ranger has been involved in the auction and fine art business for 35 years and has held leadership positions in major Canadian auction houses since 1995. Educated at the University of Toronto, he established the first commercial wine auctions in Canada and partnered with Sotheby’s Canada for the sale of important Canadian art, realizing record setting price records for both new and established artists. Stephen lends his expertise to over twenty-five non-profit and philanthropic organizations each year, raising over $3 million annually through fundraising events. He is past board president of the Dreamwalker Dance Company and an ambassador for Swim Drink Fish Canada. For 25 years, Stephen has been the lead auctioneer for Casey House’s Art With Heart. Stephen maintains a private art consultancy offering advisory and appraisal services to leading corporations, individuals and institutions and in 2020 founded a new venture Ranger Wine.

Geoff Rawle sits on the Foundation committee. He joined the Casey House board of directors in 2017 and previously volunteered on the foundation committee in 2016-2017. Geoff practices law at Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP. Formerly, he was counsel at Bloomberg LP and a lawyer with Shearman & Sterling LLP. In 2005-2006, Geoff volunteered with CUSO and Voluntary Services Overseas at an HIV/AIDS clinic in Cameroon. He holds a degree in law from the University of British Columbia and systems design engineering from the University of Waterloo. Geoff lives in High Park with his husband.

Kathleen Sheehan is a staff psychiatrist with the medical psychiatry program at University Health Network and an assistant professor in the division of consultation-liaison psychiatry at the University of Toronto. She is a principal investigator on research projects funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada. Prior to her medical training, Kathleen obtained both her Masters in neuroscience and Doctorate in social psychiatry at the University of Oxford. She is a graduate of the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine at McMaster University and completed her psychiatry residency at the University of Toronto. Her clinical work and research work focuses on the care of individuals with co-occurring physical and mental illnesses, with a special interest in quality of care.

Gillian Stacey advises on a broad range of acquisitions, financings and technology transactions. Public and private companies and private equity funds, in Canada and internationally, trust her to advise on their critical mergers, acquisitions and dispositions, and fund structuring. They value Gillian’s extensive technology knowledge and experience and, as one client noted, “incredibly solid knowledge of underlying law.” (Chambers Global 2014) Gillian acts as general counsel for companies of all sizes and in various industries, in matters ranging from technology transactions to shareholder disputes and general corporate issues. She regularly advises on specialty technology matters, including CASL, outsourcing, e¬commerce, online gaming, and on privacy issues ranging from devising comprehensive cybersecurity and privacy policies to advising on data breaches and global compliance programs. Her clients include both technology companies, from start¬ups to established players, and non-technology clients who require expert advice on their technology and privacy matters.

Eric Turner is vice president, commercial financial services at RBC. In this role Eric Turner leads a best in class commercial banking team with a mandate of maximizing RBC’s position in the market. He joined the Casey House Board in 2018 having volunteered on the Foundation committee since 2016. Eric has a passion for giving back and has been actively involved in supporting his community for many years. He currently serves as the co-chair of the Ontario Royal Eagles, RBC’s Indigenous employee resource group and is the immediate past co-chair of RBC’s GTA Pride employee resource group, a position he held for three years. Outside of RBC, Eric has also been involved with numerous non-profit organizations and charitable initiatives, volunteering his time with Fife House, Junior Achievement, Community One, the Princess Margaret Ride to Conquer Cancer, and many others. In 2018, Eric along with 45 of his colleagues from around the world were awarded the RBC Global Citizen Award for their ongoing and inspirational dedication to community service. Eric holds an MBA from the Schulich School of Business and a B.Comm from McGill University in Montreal.

Dean Valentine CD, is a veteran of The Royal Canadian Navy and his professional competencies were gained through over 25 years of dedicated service to the Canadian Forces logistics branch. He has been employed in a vast spectrum of working environments domestically and internationally, providing human resource management and financial support services. Dean is a current member of the Minister of Health’s Patient Family Advisory Council, and is actively involved with the development of the Downtown East Toronto Ontario Heath Team as a patient partner core group member and co-chair of its community engagement working group. Dean wishes to disclose and identifies as a person living with and affected by HIV/AIDS. It is his personal journey, both successes and challenges, since being diagnosed in 2008, which inspires a commitment to community building through engagement with initiatives that improve navigation of our health care networks. He has participated with a variety of peer support programing in mental health and addictions, and is a passionate advocate of establishing mindful approaches to patient-centred care. He brings this energy to Casey House to advocate for the empowerment of the lives of those living with HIV and AIDS.

Anne Wagner is a clinical psychologist and researcher committed to helping understand and improve trauma recovery. She is the founder of Remedy, a mental health innovation community. She is an adjunct professor in the department of psychology and an associate member of the Yeates School of Graduate Studies at Ryerson University. She is the past-chair of the Traumatic Stress Section of the Canadian Psychological Association. She has presented and published extensively in the use of trauma-informed care, trauma treatment, stigma and interpersonal factors. Anne has a particular focus on innovating mental health interventions, for example by using different treatment formats (e.g., with couples), and facilitators of treatment (e.g., MDMA).