Board of Directors
Mae Maracle is a member of the Six Nations of the Grand River.
She is a graduate of McMaster University with a Bachelor of Arts Degree. She also has a Bachelor of Education from Hamilton Teachers College.
She has worked for the Federal Government as a consultant at the Employment Equity Commission and as a consultant with the Human Rights Commission of Canada.
She is retired from the City of Toronto after 27 years of service. She worked as an educator on workplace harassment, a human Rights investigator and as a consultant in Equity, Diversity, and Human Rights. In that position, she worked with City divisions in building relationships with the Aboriginal community.
Professor; Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work; Canada Research Chair in Child Welfare; Ph.D., University of Toronto
For the past 20 years, Dr. Barbara Fallon has worked to bridge the knowledge gap by collecting reliable national and provincial child welfare data across Canada and mining it with innovative statistical techniques to help policymakers determine what works and what is needed to best help children based on evidence, not perceptions.
Throughout her career, Dr. Fallon has received over $15 million in research grants and contracts as a Principal Investigator or Co-Investigator. These research grants, including provincial-wide studies such as the Ontario Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse & Neglect as well as several knowledge mobilization grants, have allowed her to capitalize on the analytic potential of child welfare’s administrative data. She is a Canada Research Chair in Child Welfare.
Dr. Fallon has an exceptional publication record with 125 peer-reviewed publications and 150 peer-reviewed conference presentations. She has disseminated her research to over 500 stakeholders (child welfare agencies, government bodies, and other related organizations).
Alain studied law at the Institut des Etudes Politiques de Paris, the University of Geneva, as well as McGill University. While at McGill he was a National Program Scholar, a member of the Babamadiziwin Program, and won the Osgoode Society Prize, in addition to being a director of the Aboriginal Law Students Association and running a legal clinic for the homeless and marginally housed.
Alain holds certificates of expertise from Canadian and international institutes in combating financial crime, compliance, exempt markets, and Islamic finance.
Prior to working at Nahwegahbow Corbiere, Alain worked for a large corporate and regulatory litigation firm in Paris, France, an Ontario-based First Nation, as well as a boutique Toronto-based law firm specialized in criminal and regulatory litigation.
Richard retired in 2016 as Executive Director of Jewish Family and Child Service of Greater Toronto, an organization that supports the healthy development of individuals, children, families and communities. His career was dedicated to building excellence and achieving measurable and meaningful impact, through services addressing child welfare, woman abuse, mental health and poverty.
Richard received his Ph.D. in Education from the University of Toronto in 1985. He has worked as a teacher, clinician and researcher as well as Executive Director. Prior to his ten years as the professional lead at Jewish Family and Child, He worked at Integra Foundation, a Toronto based Children’s Mental Health Centre, from 1988 to 2005; twelve years as Executive Director.
My name is Kaitlind Peters and I am a member of Aamjiwnnag First Nation in Sarnia, Ontario. I am currently a doctoral student in Curriculum Studies and Teacher Development at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto. From a young age, I have had a strong passion for Indigenous Education and a dedication to social justice in working for the improvement of Indigenous communities. Over the years, I have taught in on-reserve schools and in the public and private school sectors. I have also participated in numerous community-responsive research projects within Indigenous communities. These experiences have led me to pursue a career in academia focused on a devotion to Indigenous and reconciliatory education. Currently, I am working with a team of researchers on a SHRCH funded partnership between the University of Toronto and the Toronto District School Board. The aim of this research is to develop strategies for increasing achievement levels among urban Indigenous students in TDSB schools. My hope is to share my knowledge with the board as well as gain new knowledge in pursuing my commitment to creating a prosperous future for Indigenous youth.
Bryan Winters is a Nunatsiavut beneficiary from Happy Valley – Goose Bay, Labrador. His professional career highlights include being an Electronics Maintenance Technician on the North Warning System and the Program Coordinator of the Igloo Tag Trademark Program at the Inuit Art Foundation. He is the Executive Director of the Toronto Inuit Association and studies Indigenous Public Administration and Governance through First Nations Technical Institute in Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory and Ryerson University in Toronto.
Lise Chabot is a long-time Toronto resident who hails from Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg, Quebec. As an Algonquin woman, she has spent the bulk of her professional career advancing the priorities, goals and aspirations of Indigenous people, working in both the Indigenous and Ontario public sectors. Lise is passionately committed to equity issues and ensuring that Indigenous voices and experiences are included, heard and understood in public policy spaces and conversations. Lise has held positions with the Assembly of First Nations, the Indian Commission of Ontario, the Nishnawbe Aski Nation and, more recently, with the Ontario government at Indigenous Affairs Ontario. In her current role with Ontario, she is the Manager of the Ministry Partnerships Unit in the Indigenous Relationships Branch.