Board of Directors: 2011 - 2012

Biographies (as available)

Chris Hersh, Past Chair is a partner in the Cassels Brock & Blackwell Competition Law Group. In addition to acting for clients, Chris has taught competition law at both the University of Western Ontario and Osgoode Hall law schools. Chris is also active in numerous policy initiatives, as well as being an active member of several committees of Canadian, American and global bar associations. Chris has been a Humewood House board member since 2005
and was appointed as the Chair of the Board of Directors in 2009. Chris is
married and has two young children.

Elsa Renzella, Chair has been a lawyer with over 10 years of experience. For the past 6 years, she has been Enforcement Counsel with the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada. Prior to that, she was an associate with the Toronto law firm Skurka & Pringle, with a practice focused on criminal defense litigation. She obtained a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from York University in 1993 and her Bachelors of Law degree from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1998. Elsa joined the Humewood board in the summer of 2009. Elsa was appointed Chair of the Board of Directors in 2010. This is Elsa's first appointment to a charitable board, and she is very excited and eager to provide
a meaningful contribution to Humewood House. Elsa lives in Toronto with her family.

Patricia McQuaid, Vice Chair with the Licence Appeal Tribunal. Called to the Ontario Bar in 1985, Patricia practiced insurance litigation for eight years before taking a leave of absence from the paid work force to stay at home with her four children. During this time she became very active within her community, in particular at the local public school, and completed her LLM in Civil Litigation and Dispute Resolution. In 1999, Patricia commenced working part-time as a mediator and in 2003 joined the Board of the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario with both governance and adjudicative responsibilities and became a full-time Vice Chair in 2006. In July 2011, she joined the Licence Appeal Tribunal. Patricia is a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada and the Society of Ontario Adjudicators and Regulators. She joined the Board of Humewood House in late 2009.

Ximena Escobar, Secretary has worked in the non-profit sector for over a decade. She has a wide range of experience in the educational field having taught ESL, managed two educational centres, and implemented language training programs for newcomers. She has a Master of Arts in Linguistics, three Bachelor degrees, and a Diploma in Hispanic Studies. Ximena has prior volunteer experience at a legal clinic and at a community centre. Ximena joined the Humewood House Board in 2009 and is currently Secretary of the Board of Directors and HR Committee Chair.

Lana Chaim, CHRP, GPHR, CCP, is a human resources professional and currently works as a Compensation Manager for Home Depot Canada. Her prior professional experience includes working in human resources in the IT and pharmaceutical sectors. An advocate for accessible education and health services, Lana has volunteered for a community agency serving seniors as well as a career mentor for COSTI and Able Link, a non-profit organization providing support to youth with disabilities. Lana is currently working towards a certification in executive compensation. She joined Humewood's Human Resources committee in 2010 and the Board in 2011

Janice Lewis has been a psychotherapist in private practice for over 10 years, specializing in couples and family counselling. Janice is a graduate of the University of Toronto with a Masters in Counselling from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. Janice's work in the social service/health sector spans over 20 years, including acting as Director of Clinical Services for The Kids Help Phone and Parent Help Line. Prior to that Janice sat on Toronto's Board of Health for a period of three years. Janice has served on a number of boards, including The Birth Control and STD Information Centre, and currently sits as a Board Member of Coleman Lemeuix & Compagnie, an internationally recognized modern dance ensemble. Janice is a member of Social Venture Partners, an organization committed to expanding philanthropy and to expanding the capacity of innovative nonprofits. Janice is an avid long distance runner who has competed in two marathons and many half marathons.

Seana Massey was most recently the Executive Director of the African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF) Canada after spending a year in Kenya volunteering with this health development NGO. Account Executive positions in corporate communications and event planning companies made this segue into fundraising and non-profit management a natural one, as did non-profit volunteer and Board positions with organizations including Toronto Children's Chorus, Trails Youth Initiatives and Branksome Hall. Seana lived in Italy for four years returning to Toronto in 2004 where she is very involved in the non-profit sector as a past Director of Skyworks, an organization that makes social justice documentaries, and currently as an Advisory Board member for LIGHTS (finding alternative housing solutions for adults with intellectual disabilities), as a school parent volunteer, and as co-chair of the Humewood House centennial. Seana is married and has two young children.

Trisha Scantlebury joined Humewood House in the summer of 2011. She is a market researcher with over 5 years of experience working with Caribbean immigrant communities. In 2008, she traveled to Barbados to consult with local agricultural workers and spent the next year designing policy recommendations for the Canada's Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program. She holds a Master of Arts degree in Sociology and International Development. For the past two years, Trisha has worked in media research. She lives in Toronto.

Trevor Zimmer is originally from Saskatchewan, but he lived internationally before his current incarnation as a fundraising professional. He has worked on fundraising campaigns totaling over $1 billion, and hopefully has improved things for the Canadian environment and for those with challenging cancer diagnoses. He currently works with some of the world's top cancer experts, to help them communicate their needs in a way that resonates with a general audience. He is a very active member of the fundraising community as an organizer and speaker at conferences. He is a competitive athlete in trail running and ultimate frisbee and has a passion for the Spanish language, travel, and promoting organizations like Humewood House for the extraordinary work they do.

Executive Director

Louise Moody has been the Executive Director of Humewood House Association since January 2006.  She has been involved in the non-profit sector since the 1980s and an Executive Director of four charities over the last 21 years. Louise's work has focused in the family support sector. She was on the Board of Directors of the Ontario Association of Family Resource Programs over ten years and the Board of FRP Canada, a national board supporting family support programs across Canada for two terms. She has volunteered with the York Region United Way Leadership and Development Program, providing non-profit boards with training and support and is a Site Reviewer for Children's Mental Health Ontario.