Meet the friendly faces that work hard behind the scenes to bring the OWA and its many programs to life!
OWA Staff
Executive Director | Office Manager | Program Coordinator |
Communications Coordinator | Private Lands Inventory Analyst | Forest Cooperative Intern |
Huronia Cooperative Field Manager | Fleetwood Cooperative Field Manager |
OWA Committees
Executive Committee Paul Robertson, Chair (Niagara) Faye Johnston (Near North) Art Shannon (Provincial) Kerry Coleman (Lower Ottawa Valley) Don Willis (Near North) Dorothy Hamilton (SD&G) Nathan Manion (Limestone) Colleen Drew-Baehre (Bancroft Haliburton) Ian Fife (Brant) John Pineau (Executive Director/Near North Chapter) The Executive Committee (EC) has supervision of OWA’s affairs between general and Board of Directors’ meetings. The EC makes recommendations to the Board of Directors and performs other duties as specified in the constitution. The EC is subject to the orders of the Board of Directors, and none of its acts will conflict with actions taken by the Board of Directors. The EC held 14 meetings in 2021. Nomination Committee Paul Robertson, Chair (Niagara) Barb Clark (LOV) Rick Wilkins (Southwest) Colleen Baehre (Bancroft-Haliburton) The main purpose of the Nomination Committee is to provide the Association with the names of qualified and willing members, to fill at least the minimum requirement of OWA officers on the Executive (currently nine). The Committee does this by working with the President and the Executive Director to recruit qualified members to run for office. The Nomination Committee also provides advice to the Board regarding the management of the Association’s overall volunteer resources. The Nomination Committee achieved its main goal by providing enough member candidates to fill the Executive Committee in 2021. Growing and using volunteer capacity effectively and strategically will be vital to the future success of the OWA, and the Nomination Committee will play a key role in ensuring that our pool of volunteers is deployed and managed in the best possible manner. Audit Committee Andrew Kenney (Lanark) Dorothy Hamilton (Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry) The Audit Committee (AC) consisted of Andy Kenney (Member Representative) and Dorothy Hamilton (Board of Directors Representative) recognizing that they were not acting as licensed public accountants nor exercising the rigour necessary for a formal audit opinion. The AC met "virtually" on March 28, 2022 to discuss their reviews of the minutes of the Board of Directors meetings and the audit report from 2021. The committee met virtually with each member of the staff and the Executive Director on April 4. The primary objective of these meetings was to review the systems and procedures that relate to the safeguarding of OWA assets, general office procedures, and the Policies and Procedures of the Board of Directors. Communications Committee Brian McClean, Chair (Limestone) Neil Dunning (Brant) Tedd Wood (Lower Ottawa Valley) Kerry Coleman (Lower Ottawa Valley) Matt DeMille (Upper Trent Valley) Erica Dixon (York-Durham) Paul Robertson (Niagara) John Pineau (Near North) The CC's mandate is: • Overseeing and advising on the general content, production and quality of all communications media employed by the OWA including The Ontario Woodlander, the OWA website, e-Newsletter, and all OWA social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Linked-in). • The continued honing of The Ontario Woodlander – the OWA’s flagship publication. • Acting as a sounding board for themes and informational items that warrant inclusion in OWA media. • Monitoring communications – internal and external – to ensure that they are reflective of OWA policies and values. • Monitoring OWA communications to ensure that content meets OWA members’ needs and that OWA members can easily navigate OWA communication links such as the OWA website. • Increasing Indigenous land and resource management articles in The Ontario Woodlander and e-Newsletter. • Identifying new avenues to publicize the OWA, especially in terms of attracting new members. Business Development Committee Paul Robertson, Chair (Niagara) Don Willis (Near North) Nathan Manion (Quinte) David Braet (Southwest) Art Shannon (Provincial) Marian Petelycky (Quinte) Eleanor Reed (Kawartha) Jack McFadden (Huronia) Martin Litchfield (Waterloo-Wellington) John Pineau (Near North Chapter) Erica Dixon (Kawartha) Tim Hudak (Niagara) Special Advisor The purpose of the Business Development Committee (BDC) is to serve in an advisory capacity to the OWA Board and the Executive Director, providing a forum for developing and implementing initiatives relating to increasing and diversifying the OWA’s revenues, services and improving efficiencies. Awards Committee Kerry Coleman, Chair (LOV) Ian Fife (Kawartha) Matt DeMille (Upper Trent Valley) Dorothy Hamilton (SD&G) Nathan Manion (Limestone Peter Leenhouts (LOV) Art Shannon (Provincial) Paul Robertson (Niagara) John Pineau, Executive Director (Near North) The Ontario Woodlot Association (OWA) is overdue in recognizing outstanding volunteers within the association, as well as individuals externally who have made significant contributions to sustainable forest management in Ontario. Other OWA Sub-Committees and Team Volunteers AGM Planning Team (2021) Paul Robertson (Niagara) Art Shannon (Provincial) John Pineau (Near North) Erica Dixon (York-Durham) Joanne Dudka (Office Manager) Bill Steer (Canadian Ecology Centre) Strategic Planning Committee Faye Johnson (Near North) Art Shannon (Provincial) Paul Robertson (Niagara) Erica Dixon (Kawartha) John Pineau (Near North) Marian Petelycky (Quinte) Colleen Baehre (Bancroft-Haliburton) EOMF – OWA Merger Advisory Committee Doug Frost (Huronia) Rick Wismer (Niagara) John Pineau (Near North) Paul Robertson (Niagara) Wendy Hamilton Faye Johnson (Near North) Joanne Dudka (Lower Ottawa Valley) Abraham Francis (EOMF) (SDG) Tony Bull (EOMF) (Renfrew County) Tom Richardson (EOMF) Brian Barkley (EOMF) Forest Inventory and Economic Project Team Ben Kuttner, University of Toronto Kymberley Snarr, Co-Chair (Provincial) Al Stinson (Near North Chapter) Paul Robertson (Niagara) Peter Arbour, Algonquin College Scott Gauer (Kawartha) Erica Dixon (Kawartha Steve Hunter, Larose Forest Art Shannon (Provincial) Blen Prevost (Near North) Ben Gwilliam (York-Durham) Forest Owners Cooperative Pilots Team Sally Krigstin, University of Toronto Kymberley Snarr, Co-Chair (Provincial) Eleanor Reed (Kawartha) Jim Eccles (Huronia) Jack McFadden (Huronia) Doug Frost (Huronia) Sandy Agnew (Huronia) Paul Robertson (Niagara) Steve Harjula (Kawartha) Jeff Bond (Kawartha) Art Shannon (Provincial) Glen Prevost (Near North) Erica Dixon (Kawartha) Shan Shukla (York-Durham) |