Board of Directors

Susan M. Armstrong, Board Chair, is President of CDSPI , a non-profit organization providing no-cost financial planning advice and administering insurance, investment and other programs exclusively for Canadian dental professionals and their families. She has been a resident of Etobicoke for over twenty years. In addition to the George Hull Centre, Sue serves on the Board of Directors of McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd. and Toronto Rehabilitation Institute. Sue has the professional ICD.D designation granted by the Institute of Corporate Directors.

Jasmine Akbarali, Board Vice-Chair, is a partner and co-chair of the Appellate Advocacy Group with the firm Lerners LLP. She was the gold medallist of her law class at the University of Windsor, and also holds a Bachelor of Arts from McMaster University. Jasmine is a former law clerk to the Honourable Puisne Justice J.C. Major of the Supreme Court of Canada. Jasmine is a member of the Advocates’ Society and the Toronto Lawyers’ Association. She is a contributing author to “The Lucky Ones: Our Stories of Adopting Children from China” by Ann Rauhala (Editor), ECW Press, 2008.

Jane Waechter, Board Secretary-Treasurer, is a litigation lawyer with the Ontario Securities Commission. Prior to joining the OSC, Jane was a partner in the law firm Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP, with a commercial litigation practice. Jane also qualified as a Chartered Accountant after completing her Bachelor of Commerce degree.

Darlene Cade is the Principal of Cade Associates Insurance Brokers Limited, a general insurance brokerage in Etobicoke. A lifetime resident of Etobicoke, Darlene graduated with a BSc (Physiology) from the University of Guelph. She held a research position at the Hospital for Sick Children prior to turning her attention to her insurance career. She is a member of the Board of the Etobicoke Youth Band and the Crane Lake Association.

Lori Evans is General Counsel of Birch Hill Equity Partners, the leading Canadian mid-market private equity firm. She has practiced law with prominent Canadian law firms and Canadian and US businesses since 1994. Lori received her Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Victoria and her B.A. (Economics) degree from the University of Calgary. She has been actively involved in a number of charitable and non-profit organizations focused on children and the arts. She has also been a Canadian General Counsel Awards finalist in the Mid-Market Excellence category.

Larry Foy is a longtime resident of Etobicoke and a partner at Miller Thomson LLP specializing in insurance litigation. He has practiced law since 1979. Larry has been a Big Brother and worked as a volunteer in Guatemala numerous times building schools and children's feeding centres. He has served as a secretary of a non-profit corporation.

Cathy A. Martin is Manager, Policy and Regulatory Initiatives, RBC Personal Lending, Royal Bank of Canada, having held numerous similar positions within RBC for approximately thirty years. She is the current President of the George Hull Parents’ Association.

Jill McCutcheon is a partner in the Toronto law firm, Blaney McMurtry LLP. She practices corporate insurance and regulatory law. Prior to joining Blaney McMurtry in 2000, Jill was in-house counsel at a large Canadian life and health insurer. Jill received her Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Civil Law and Bachelor of Laws degrees from McGill University. In addition, to The George Hull Centre, Jill is presently a Director and the Secretary of the Crestwood Preparatory College Scholarship Foundation.

Liga Miklasevics is an elementary school principal with the Toronto District School Board. She is actively involved in augmenting learning opportunities for both children and educators by forming professional learning communities, partnering with Institute of Child Studies Libratory School (inquiry -based learning), University of Toronto Speech and Language department's "From 3 to 3Ó” project (a language reasoning and acquisition project). In her work with diverse communities, she continues to advocate and promote math initiatives that allow all children to realize their mathematical potential (JUMP Math). Presently, she is a member on one of the Toronto District School Board’s Assessment and Review Committees, whose mandate is to improve schools and better meet the educational needs of communities. She is also a council member (former director) of the St. Andrew's Evangelical Lutheran Latvian Church, where she leads the youth group's participation in the "Out of the Cold" program (feeding and socializing with the homeless). In her spare time, she enjoys singing in the choir, gardening and baking!

Helena Moncrieff is a communications consultant and writer who began her career as a radio broadcaster and journalist in Thunder Bay, Ottawa and Toronto. She rounded out her experience on the other side of the microphone working in a variety of public relations roles at Queen’s Park and in the property and casualty insurance industry. As a consultant, Helena has worked with governments, the financial services sector, community colleges, and teachers’ federations among others. She is managing editor of Seneca College’s alumni magazine and co-author of The Insurance Book, a consumers’ guide to insurance products in Canada.

Anne-Marie Vanier is a Senior Vice President and Chief Actuary at RBC Insurance. She has held similar positions with Lombard Canada and Guardian Insurance. Anne-Marie is a Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries and has an MBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business. She also served as the strategic advisor on insurance issues for the Business and Economic Roundtable for Mental Health in 2001-2003.

Jane Wong Ferris has more than 10 years communications and marketing experience, primarily in the financial services industry. She has worked for large multinational corporations as well as small start-up companies. Most recently, she worked as the Director of Internal Communications for an international financial services company, and was highly involved in a large-scale cross-border merger. She is active in a number of volunteer activities. Jane is a graduate of the University of Western Ontario and holds a post-graduate diploma from Humber College.