The Honourable Peter MacKay

CHAIR EMERITUS

Peter MacKay is a Strategic Advisor at Deloitte Canada on projects related to the firm’s leading Government & Public Services Industry practice. He focuses on defense modernization, justice reform, infrastructure and economic development. Prior to joining Deloitte he was a Partner at Baker & McKenzie Toronto office.  Peter MacKay, PC, QC (Privy Council and Queen’s Counsel), served in the Parliament of Canada for over 18 years and in a ministerial post in the Canadian government for nine years since the Conservative Party formed a government in 2006. Most recently, he served as Canada’s Attorney General and Minister of Justice, a position to which he was appointed in 2013. Prior to this post, Mr. MacKay served as the Minister of National Defence for six years and held joint cabinet positions as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency for 18 months. From 1992 to 1997, Mr. MacKay served as a Crown prosecutor in Nova Scotia, and spent time in private practice and in Germany as lawyer at Thyssen Henchel. He is the founder of the highly regarded Halifax International Security Forum, which he hosted beginning in 2009.

Sybil E.Veenman

CHAIR

Sybil joined Boost CYAC’s Board of Directors in 2016. She is also a member of the Board of Directors of Royal Gold Inc., NexGen Energy Ltd. and Major Drilling Group International Inc., publicly listed companies in Canada and the United States. Prior to becoming a corporate director, Sybil was Senior Vice-President and General Counsel and a member of the executive leadership team at Barrick Gold Corporation, a large international gold mining company. Sybil obtained her law degree from the University of Toronto and is a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada. She has completed the Institute of Corporate Directors, Director Education Program and obtained the ICD.D designation from the Institute.

Daniela DeGasperis

CO-VICE CHAIR

Daniela DeGasperis is a philanthropist who is focused on working with children’s charities. Born in Toronto, Ms. DeGasperis graduated from Humber College in Business Administration. She then founded an outdoor advertising company, Danmark Advertising, expanding that business into general media and communications. In 2012, Ms. DeGasperis joined the committee for the Butterfly Ball®, the main fundraising event of Boost CYAC, taking over the leadership of the committee in 2014. In addition to continuing to chair this committee she was appointed to the Boost CYAC Board of Directors. Ms. DeGasperis also works on the committee for Best Buddies. She is a proud mother of two young children.

Mark Mulroney

Julie Robertson

TREASURER

Julie Robertson CPA, CA, joined Boost CYAC’s Board of Directors in 2018. She is currently the Vice-President Finance and Capital Projects at Centerra Gold Inc. which has it’s head office in Toronto. Julie also serves as the Chair of CPA Canada & the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) joint Mining Industry Task Force on International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). Prior to joining Centerra, Julie held the position of Vice-President and Controller at Barrick Gold Corporation. She began her career and obtained her designation with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, and spent several years working for Nortel Networks prior joining Barrick Gold. Julie also has three young children that keep her busy at home.

Supt. Michael Barsky

Superintendent Michael Barsky is with the Toronto Police Service (TPS).  He is currently the Unit Commander of the Toronto Police Service Specialized Criminal Investigations (Homicide/Hold Up/Sexual Assault Squad and Forensic Identification Services) , the Business Project Manager for their Body Worn Camera (BWC) Pilot Project and the President of the Senior Officers Organization Executive.  Superintendent Barsky is in his 33^rd year of policing and has worked in areas from Sex Crimes to Behavioural Assessment to Homicide. 

The Toronto Police Service has commenced their BWC deployment.  The rollout of the BWC is expected to take until June 2022.  By that time all uniform front line officers will be equipped with latest in BWC technology.  Currently over 2000 cameras are deployed in Toronto to date.

Allan Bishop

Mark Daniel

Mark joined Boost’s Board of Directors in 2011. He is also a Board member at Alamos Gold where he chairs the Human Resources Committee. Mark is a volunteer consultant with Management Advisory Service, providing complimentary consulting in corporate governance to non-profits in the Greater Toronto Area. In addition to his Board and volunteer work, Mark consults to Boards and senior management on organization design and effectiveness, executive recruitment and development, compensation and performance improvement. Prior to his retirement, Mark was the Vice President, Human Resources at CVRD Inco and previously spent 15 years at the Conference Board of Canada. Mark received his BA degree from the University of Maryland and his PhD in Economics in 1974 from the University of Minnesota.

Domenic Gratta

Domenic Gratta, MSW., RSW, is the Director of Service at the Catholic Children’s Aid Society of Toronto. He has a BSW degree from Laurentian University and an MSW from the University of Windsor. Domenic has been with CCAS since November 1997, but has been practicing in child welfare since 1980. During his career, Domenic has held a number of positions with 5 child welfare agencies across Ontario. Domenic has also been very involved with many community committees and boards throughout his career. In his current role, Domenic is responsible for all aspects of service at CCAS. He also represents the Society on a number of committees and works in partnership and collaboration with many community organizations.

Luke Leon

Trent Mell

Trent is President & CEO of First Cobalt Corp., a publicly traded mining company listed on the TSX-V and ASX with assets in Canada and the U.S. He is a mining executive and capital markets professional with almost 20 years of industry experience. Trent has experience in all stages of the mining life-cycle and has worked for global producers and junior mining companies, including Barrick Gold, AuRico Gold and Falco Resources, where he was President & CEO. Prior to entering the mining industry, he was a securities lawyer with Stikeman Elliott LLP. Trent also built a mining team with PearTree Securities to advise issuers and investors on Canadian charity flow through financing opportunities. Trent holds a B.A., B.C.L., LL.B., LL.M. and MBA from McGill, York (Schulich & Osgoode) and Kellogg Universities. When he is not spending time with his wife, Yvonne Huh and their two young children, Trent is running, playing hockey or volunteering his time as a guest lecturer at Canadian universities.

Cynthia Shih

Jennifer Stanton

Jennifer is an Assistant Crown Attorney at the Downtown Toronto Crown Attorney’s Office and has held that position since 2006. Jennifer has been assigned to the specialized child abuse team at the Toronto Crown’s Office since 2013. The bulk of her prosecutions are focused on child abuse cases and internet child exploitation related offences. Jennifer obtained her law school degree from the University of Windsor and is a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada. Jennifer completed her articles at the Ontario Court of Appeal. She subsequently obtained her Masters of Law degree at the University of Auckland in New Zealand. The focus of her thesis was in the area of International Public Law. In addition to her work on the child abuse team, Jennifer also prosecutes homicide matters and represents the Crown Attorney at Ontario Review Board hearings. She provides training and lectures for police officers at the CYAC and has presented via various webinars in the area of child abuse.

Edward Thomas

Edward is a Senior Manager with Monitor Deloitte, Deloitte’s global strategy and innovation consultancy. Leading multidisciplinary teams across the Deloitte network, he provides strategy, innovation, and organizational excellence consulting for international institutions, multinational businesses, and government agencies. Edward’s work sits at the intersection of three personal and professional passions: supporting globally-oriented institutions through transformational and impactful strategies, innovating new solutions to economic and social development particularly by empowering entrepreneurs and innovators, and building partnerships among unlikely public and private sector collaborators. Edward has advised on strategy and investment in emerging markets, innovation and entrepreneurship, private sector and economic development, performance evaluation, and organizational transformation. Prior to Deloitte, Edward held increasingly senior roles in global NGOs, the UN system, the private sector, and Canada’s international development agency. Edward holds a MBA (IE Business School), MA in International Political Economy (University of British Columbia and Uppsala University), BA in International Relations (Trinity College at U. of Toronto), and Executive Cert. (Cambridge).

Lisa Tomlinson

Regan P. Watts

Regan is an entrepreneurial, seasoned executive with nearly 20 years of public and private sector experience in corporate affairs, strategy, innovation, communications, and public and regulatory affairs. This experience spans a variety of industries including information technology, financial services, consumer products, healthcare, infrastructure, transportation, mining, and industrial manufacturing.

From 2017 – 2019, Regan served as a member of IBM Canada’s senior leadership group and led the Innovation, Corporate Citizenship and Government Affairs team. He initially joined IBM Canada in 2016 to lead government and regulatory affairs and was promoted in 2017. Prior to joining IBM, Regan served on the Executive Committee of Lafarge Canada Inc. In this role, he led corporate communications, public and regulatory affairs, and corporate social responsibility.

Regan had an extensive career in public service, serving in leadership roles in the Government of Canada across four federal departments. From 2006 – 2012, he served at Finance Canada, Transport Canada, Health Canada, and Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada. In 2012, Regan was awarded Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee Medal for his public service to Canada.

A frequent commenter on public issues, Regan’s writing has been published in the Globe and Mail, National Post, CBC News, and Policy Options. Regan is also the author of an award-winning children’s book entitled Adventures of Brushalot: Tale of the Tooth Fairy.

An active volunteer, serves on the Board of Directors of Earth Rangers, Canada’s largest conservation organization dedicated to educating children and families about biodiversity. He also serves as Executive Director of the Advisory Board for the Brian Mulroney Institute of Government at St. Francis Xavier University and the Board of Directors for Boost Child and Youth Advocacy Centre in Toronto.

A resident of Toronto where he lives with his wife and two young children, Regan holds an MBA from the Ivey Business School at Western.