Board of Directors

Penelope (Penny) Smiley is currently Principal Consultant at People and Strategy Consulting. She has worked as a human resources/labour relations executive in the public sector for over thirty years, most recently as a Senior Director at the Waterloo Regional Police Service and as Commissioner of Human Resources for the Region of Waterloo. Penny also has experience in the education and health fields.

In her management roles, Health and Safety has been part of Penny’s responsibility since the mid 1990s.. Penny has initiated and championed improvements to better protect the health and safety of workers, including systematic health and safety audits, safety management systems implementation and wellness programming.

In addition to her professional employment, Penny has held a variety of governance board appointments. At present, Penny is Chair of the Board for Empowered Kids Ontario (EKO), an organization which represents publicly funded organizations which provide rehabilitation and development services to children in Ontario. Penny has been a board member and Board Chair at KidsAbility Center for Child Development; Eastern Lake Ontario Branch of Victorian Order of Nurses and Kingston And District Immigrant Services. Penny has also been a Board Member on the Kitchener Waterloo Symphony Orchestra Board and on the VON Ontario Board. Penny enjoys contributing to the vision, mission and strategy of organizations and bringing people together to effect positive change.

Penny holds a BA, an LLM, and a Master of Industrial Relations as well as a Certificate in Mediation and Dispute Resolution. In her leisure time Penny enjoys travel, golf and cooking.

Anna Fitzsimmons was born and raised in North Bay and attended Nipissing University for her undergraduate studies. She was recognized with the Dave Marshall Leadership Award, and Valedictorian of her class. After graduating, Anna was also recognized with the Dr. James Jamieson Influential Alumni Award.

Anna was a member of the Charter Class of the Bora Laskin Faculty of Law, in Thunder Bay. Here she served as the Founding President of the Law Students’ Society.

Upon graduation, Anna worked for the Treasury Board Secretariat, where she advised many ministry clients in labour and employment relations issues. She has experience representing clients at the Grievance Settlement Board in mediation and negotiation.

In 2019, Anna returned to her hometown as an Associate Lawyer with the C. John D’Agostino Law Professional Corporation where two of her main areas of practice are labour and employment and not-for-profit law. She is a member of the Nipissing Law Association and the Canadian Bar Association. She currently serves as the Vice President and Director on the Capital Centre Board of Directors.

Shannon Brooks is a seasoned executive with over 23 years of leadership experience in the post-secondary education sector. As Assistant Vice-President, Budgets and Asset Management at York University, she leads the strategic development, oversight, and management of the university’s financial resources. Her role ensures York’s fiscal sustainability while supporting the institution’s academic and research priorities.

Prior to joining York University, Shannon served as Vice-President of Finance and Operations at Algoma University, overseeing all non-academic functions, including finance, human resources, facilities, and IT. She also held the role of Associate Vice-President, Corporate Services at Centennial College, where she directed strategic planning and operational efficiency, driving key initiatives that aligned with the institution’s mission.

Shannon brings deep expertise in Enterprise Risk Management and has actively contributed to several sector-wide initiatives in Ontario, collaborating closely with the Ministry of Colleges and Universities on pivotal projects that shape the future of post-secondary education.

Academically, Shannon holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) from McMaster University and an MBA. She is a Certified Professional Accountant (CPA) and has completed elite executive leadership programs, including the Ivey Leadership Program (Western University) and the CFO Leadership Program at the Rotman School of Management (University of Toronto).

A respected leader, Shannon is known for her strategic vision, operational acumen, and dedication to advancing excellence and innovation in higher education.

Adam Eckhart is a seasoned Fire Chief with 27 years of experience in fire services and over a decade in municipal emergency services leadership. He currently serves as the Fire Chief and Community Emergency Management Coordinator for Welland Fire and Emergency Services, overseeing resources exceeding $68 million. His tenure is marked by successful project management, including the construction of three fire stations and a training center, all completed on-time and within budget.

Adam holds a Master of Public Safety from Wilfrid Laurier University and a Bachelor of Public Safety Administration from the Justice Institute of BC. His extensive education includes certifications in Workplace Mental Health Law, Labour Law, Disaster and Emergency Management, and Fire Service Executive Management, among others.

Throughout his career, Adam has demonstrated expertise in emergency planning, community risk reduction, and cyber risk management. He has authored critical documents such as the master fire plan and vehicle life-cycle strategy. His leadership has fostered positive labour relations, harmonizing operations between bargaining units and promoting a modern workplace culture.

In his personal life, Adam is an avid reader with interests in leadership growth and psychology, an outdoor enthusiast, and a foodie focused on health and well-being. His comprehensive approach to leadership and unwavering commitment to safety and excellence make him a respected figure in the fire service community.

Dr. Andréane Chénier is a CUPE National Representative specializing in Health and Safety. She assists CUPE members in Ontario with a wide range of occupational health and safety issues ranging from workplace violence and harassment to working alone, shiftwork to joint health and safety committees and psychosocial hazards. In this role, she presents the public sector worker perspective as a representative on many committees, including the Ministry of Labour’s Prevention Council, as the Labour co-chair on the Section 21 committee for health care. Andréane has participated in the research, writing and publication of health and safety tools to help workers find answers to their workplace problems. She is a certified instructor for Mental Health First Aid and for the Workers Health and Safety Centre.

Prior to her work as health and safety specialist, Andréane was a scientific researcher in the health sciences fields of HIV, immunology and cancer metabolism, is a published author and has presented her research at provincial, national and international conferences. She holds a Biochemistry degree and a Masters in Immunology from the University of Ottawa and a doctorate in Biomolecular Sciences from Laurentian University.

Avinesh currently holds a position with Mackenzie Investments as the Assistant Vice-President of Internal Audit in Toronto. Avinesh started his career at Ernst & Young but has also held positions within Bank of America Merrill Lynch, and BMO Bank of Montreal.

Avinesh holds a Bachelor of Commerce Degree from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. Avinesh also holds a Canadian Chartered Accountant (CA), Canadian Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) and Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designations. He is also completing a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from University of Toronto.

Originally born in Trinidad and Tobago, Avinesh migrated to Canada with his parents at a young age. Avinesh now resides in Burlington, Ontario with his wife Andrea and daughter Nikki. Outside of work Avinesh is an avid baseball player playing at the provincial, national and university levels. He also enjoys coaching baseball, golfing and attending sporting events.

Devon has over 18 years of diverse experience in health care, having worked in hospitals, the community, seniors living, clinics, eHealth, and as part of provincial programs. Devon is currently Principal Consultant at Dartridge Group where he specializes in supporting public health agencies and private operators through business development, transformation, and strategic planning initiatives.

With an extensive background in Canadian home care, Devon has worked for government, not-for-profit, and for-profit agencies, previously leading a portfolio of over $210 million dollars and 4200 indirect reports across 4 provinces. In addition to his extensive leadership experience with private operators, Devon has completed numerous high-impact home care modernization projects for health authorities in ON, MB, AB, and BC and believes in leveraging technology to increase access and quality.

An ambassador of best practice, Devon has led projects, teams, and initiatives delivering safe and successful surgery, nursing, therapy & rehab, and unregulated care to tens of thousands of Canadians in populations ranging from complex pediatrics to palliative seniors for nearly 20 government agencies. As an operations lead he has been extensively involved in OH&S at both regional and national levels, always ensuring that safe care delivery for patients, clients, and employees is placed at the forefront of decision-making.

Devon received his MHA from the University of British Columbia and BA from the University of Manitoba. In his free time, he enjoys traveling throughout Western Canada visiting family and catching any live sporting, concert, or theatre event that he can.

Geoffrey Ren is the Chief Information Office at the Canadian Red Cross. A distinguished Cross-culture international IT &Digital leader with more than 21 years of extensive experience and business acumen mainly in the Life Science/Healthcare sector. Geoffrey’s passion is using digital technology to bring a larger social impact to the Society.

The professional achievements he is most proud of -, when he started with Novartis Pharma China with a mandate to build the $250 Million R&D and Manufacturing site from a technology standpoint. Not only that delivered the state of art IT Infrastructure and Applications, but also learned how to perform in the matrix organization. Later on, When he moved to Novartis Canada in PEI. Three months after arrival, it became part of Eli Lilly because of the acquisition. The biggest challenges are how to quickly transform IT to the new environment, on top of the technology, how to manage the change management and drive adoptions.

As for personal interests - he started the woodwork during the pandemic, really enjoying building things by his own hand. He also likes to take a quick morning run, whether it is +30 degrees or -30 degrees.

Gerald Wu is a Vice President, Human Resources with the TMX Group, responsible for providing strategic and day-to-day human resources and organization effectiveness support to business leaders across various business units and functional groups.

He has over 25 years of human resources experience in the hospitality, financial services, and entertainment industry. Most recently, he served as a Vice President, Human Resources at Cineplex and had previously held leadership roles at companies including Foresters Financial, CIBC and HSBC.

In addition to his industry experience, he is also currently a visiting research fellow with The Inclusion Initiative at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). Gerald was an instructor in Organizational Behaviour and Human Resources Management at the University of Toronto, School of Continue Studies.

Gerald holds an undergraduate degree in Hotel and Catering Management from the University of Dundee, a master’s degree in Human Resource Management from Edinburgh Napier University, an MBA from the University of Warwick, a master’s degree in Health Economics, Policy and Management and a master’s degree in Behavioural Science, both from the LSE. He is currently a Certified Human Resources Leader (CHRL) in Canada and a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development in the UK. He is currently completing his Certificate in Executive Coaching with the Royal Roads University.

Julie Thurlow is currently the Vice President, Specialized Claims and Recovery Services of the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board. With over a decade of progressive leadership experience, Julie has diverse experience spanning across many areas including policy, epidemiology, claims management, health services and analytics. Prior to the WSIB, Julie had roles within research focused on mental health, epidemiology and education in the undergraduate sector. Julie has a passion for leadership and continuous development and is a graduate of the Ivey Executive Leadership Program.

Through her career, Julie’s transformative thinking has led to several awards including the President’s award for increasing access to mental health services from the Ontario Psychological Association, and the president’s award for excellence in teaching from McMaster University. These awards align to Julie’s passion and dedication to building and leading high performing and collaborative teams committed to innovation.

Julie completed her undergraduate Honours degree in Health Sciences from McMaster University and Masters of Health Sciences degree from University of Toronto, Dalla Lana school of Public Health, in community health and epidemiology.

With a career spanning over 17 years, Olu is a seasoned professional in the field of risk management. His expertise extends across both private and public sectors. At present, he is serving as the Director of Risk and Facilities/Chief Risk Officer at the City of Cambridge. In this role, he leads three key divisions: Risk Management, Facilities Operations, and Sustainable Building Design and Construction.

As a strong advocate of enterprise risk management, Olu is committed to driving continuous improvement and building high-performing teams. He has a proven track record of identifying potential risks, developing effective risk management frameworks, promoting sound health and safety practices, and ensuring compliance with industry standards.

Olu has a Chartered Insurance Professional (CIP) designation, is a Canadian Certified Enterprise Risk Management Professional (CRM-E), is Certified in Risk and Information Systems Controls (CRISC), and has a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Lagos, Nigeria.