Governance
The New Canadians Centre is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors. Board members are elected at the Annual General Meeting.
To become involved, contact the Chair of the Nominating Committee at coenbruin@hotmail.com
Policies
Anti-Discrimination, Access & Equity
Confidentiality
Harassment
Personnel
Board members for 2010-2011:
Executive
Chair of the Board
Mary Ladky
Mary Ladky served on the NCC board as Vice-Chair in 2007 and 2008. She recently re-joined the 2009-2010 Board. In 2007, she helped develop the Building Common Visions Conference, which was/is the root of many initiatives of the NCC. She is currently on faculty at the School of Education and Professional Learning at Trent University.
Vice-Chair of the Board
Sheila Nabigon-Howlett
Sheila Nabigon-Howlett immigrated to Canada from Ireland/England in the 1960s. She has always been interested in global issues of peace and justice. Now retired from her teaching career, Sheila is still an activist for peace and justice – with the added blessing of being an active grandmother. She served on the boards of Canadian Catholic Organization for Development & Peace (nationally) and Kawartha World Issues Centre. Sheila is also a volunteer ESL tutor with the Trent Valley Literacy Association, an executive member of Kawartha Ploughshares and chair of NATWIN (a twinning group between Peterborough and Mishkeegogamang). She is very happy to be a member of the Board of the New Canadians Centre.
Secretary of the Board
Cath D’Amico
Chair Peterborough Partnership Council on Immigrant Integration
Cath is completing a term on the Board in which she has been involved in both policy and personnel committees. Cath is a native Peterborough resident who has had experiences living and travelling around the world. Cath completed her BAs at McMaster University, her BEd at Queen’s University and her MA at Royal Roads University. She currently works as manager of the Trent-ESL: English for University program at Trent University and is the Chair of the PPCII. Cath’s passion for international education and diverse learning communities is the foundation for the love of her work; she hopes her passion and expertise will enable her to continue to provide new energy, creativity and service to the New Canadians Centre. She lives with her husband and two children.
Treasurer of the Board
Gabriele Zeh-Abramsky
Gabriele Zeh-Abramsky is joining the Board for the first time. She has an Executive MBA from Queen’s University, a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Spanish from Trent University, and a degree in Commerce from Industrie und Handelskammer in Germany. She has been a business consultant for the Peterborough DNA cluster, an owner of a real estate and property management company, a co-owner of Charlotte Jewelers, and Director of Business Development at Vectorsoft Limited in Lindsay. As a volunteer, she has been on the Underwriting Committee for Festival of Trees, the United Way, local president and national Board member of Hadassah WIZO, as well as the Kawartha Montessori School. She hopes to lend her financial expertise to the NCC Board. As an immigrant herself, Gabriele knows what it is like to make a new start in a new country with no support system and a foreign language.
Directors
Javier Bravo
Javier Bravo recently joined the Board of Directors. As Chair of the Client Outreach committee, he has led an initiative mapping out orientation tours of Peterborough for newcomers. Originally from Mexico City, Javier has lived in Peterborough for the last ten years with his wife and two daughters. Javier has a degree in Business Administration, experience in public relations and graduated from Fleming College as a web developer. He currently runs his studio, “b9 design web design and development” and offers his expertise to the NCC.
Coen Bruin
coenbruin@hotmail.com
Coen Bruin immigrated to Canada from the Netherlands in January 2005. He met his wife, who is Canadian, in Amsterdam and lived together with her in the Netherlands. During that time he taught biology and health and also worked as a guidance counsellor. Not long after a traditional Kenyan wedding, Coen and his wife decided to move to Canada. After initially working as a co-manager at The Rider’s Haven, an equestrian center near Peterborough, he started a career with the Investors Group. Currently, Coen is working at Teleperformance and pursuing a position at an established financial institution.
Sevtap Dal
Sevtap Dal is seeking to join the Board for the first time. Sevtap was born in Istanbul, Turkey and was a high school math teacher there. She came to Canada 7 years ago as a refugee. She has a daughter, Celestine, who is 6 years old. They lived in Toronto for two years where Sevtap completed ESL (English as a Second Language) and earned a Canadian high school diploma. She completed an Honors degree at Trent University, and is now qualified as an Intermediate/Senior Math teacher. Sevtap is very familiar with the refugee/immigration processes since she has experienced them directly. Sevtap and Celestine are now Canadian citizens.
Lisa Evans
Lisa Evans was born and raised in Toronto, moving to Peterborough when she was 20 years old. She attended school in Georgia, USA and graduated from Trent University with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Studies. After Trent, Lisa attended York University to receive her Bachelor Education. She is now a teacher with the PVNCC District School Board teaching intermediate grades and special education. Lisa is a member of the Literacy Steering Committee and Equity and Diversity Committee in her school board. Lisa has volunteered in the Dominican Republic working with children in a summer academic program using a multicultural literature model to create identity texts. She also has worked on the same model with students in her classroom, presenting her work in San Francisco at the “Read the World” Conference. She has co-written a paper on Social Justice in the classroom that has recently been published in the Inter-American Journal of Education and Democracy. Lisa is passionate about teaching social justice with her students, and organizes many awareness activities and fundraisers in her school.
Janet Hunter
Janet Hunter has been working with newcomers to Canada since 1993 as an ESL teacher and curriculum consultant. She designs resources for professionals working with newcomers and programs to assist newcomers with their integration in Canada. She has presented numerous workshops on settlement issues, and also provides services in program evaluation and funding development. She has three years of experience as a program manager for a Canadian federal government agency, four years working with newcomers to Canada, over three years abroad, and fifteen years in consulting. Janet is a member of the Integration Strategy Committee of the PPCII and volunteers to support the funding application process for the New Canadians Centre. Janet believes that everyone benefits when newcomers find their place in Canadian society, and that we can all play a role in opening doors and breaking down barriers.
Linda Wong
Linda Wong has served on the Board since 2008. As a member of the client outreach committee, she helped establish the new NCC website. Linda Wong moved to Canada with her daughter in 2003. Prior to coming to Canada, Linda worked for eight years as a call centre supervisor. The position helped her develop strong organizational and communication skills and gave her the opportunity to deal with dynamic issues and situations. A positive attitude helped her face the challenge of moving to a new country. Linda graduated from Fleming College in 2008 and is now enrolled in the Business Administration Program at Trent University. Linda has been an active volunteer with many organizations over the last several years and welcomes opportunities to help others and to participate in community activities.
Back row (from left to right): Lisa Evans, Mary Ladky, Coen Bruin, Gabriele Zeh-Abramsky
Front row (from left to right): Linda Wong, Sheila Nabigon-Howlett, Janet Hunter, Cath D’Amico, Javier Bravo
Missing from picture: Sevtap Dal
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