Dr. Janet Morrison - Chair

Dr. Janet Morrison has been a CAS of Toronto Board Member since 1999. She has a Ph.D. in Education and is currently employed as a senior administrator at York University, where her academic and professional life has focused on teaching and learning within the post-secondary system. She grew up in a home that fostered children, has an adopted brother, and has served as a volunteer with various service agencies for over twenty years. Her professional and personal experience has taught her about the impact of poverty and the importance of providing loving, stable relationships and environments free of violence for all children and youth. Janet and her husband and live in Etobicoke and have two young children, aged 3 years and 5 months.

Kerry Bowser

Kerry Bowser has been a foster parent with the Children’s Aid Society of Toronto since 1997 and was a Community Home for the agency from 1992 – 1997. Currently he runs a Specialized Foster Home for Toronto CAS. He was elected to the Board of directors in 2006, but did not seek re-election last year for personal reasons. Mr.Bowser is the Senior Program Director for the Yonge Street Mission, overseeing all of its downtown operations, and formerly served as the Senior Pastor of Yonge Street Mission’s Church at the Mission.

Raquel Clarke

Raquel Clarke is a former youth in care of the CAS of Toronto. She is has completed a four year degree in Criminology at York University and is studying to complete the LSAT exam to attend Law School. She currently works as a law clerk and is determined to become a lawyer and fulfill her dreams.

Gerry Connelly      

Gerry holds an M.A. from the University of Chicago, and a Bachelor of Education Degree from the University of Alberta. Currently, she recently retired as the Director of Education for the largest School Board in Canada - TDSB, a post she has held since 2005. Gerry is looking forward to donating her time, energy and experience to serve on the Board of the CAS of Toronto. 

Anthony Fralick      

Anthony brings a strong background in IT Governance and Internal controls to the Board table. Currently, he leads the Enterprise Architecture Governance and Standards practice at TD Bank Financial Group. Previously, he has led Strategy and Architecture at AstraZeneca Canada, a global pharmaceutical company and was the Chief Privacy Officer for Union Energy LLP. Anthony holds a B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering from Queen’s University and is working towards an M.Sc. Degree in Information Technology from the University of Liverpool.

Karen Engel

Karen is the Executive Director of Yorktown Family Services which includes Yorktown Child and Family Centre and YorkTown Shelter for Women. She has extensive experience in research and offering keynote speaking engagements relating to Social and Family Services.

Rex Hagon

Rex Hagon has a degree in Sociology from U. of T. with a specialty in Communication & Interpersonal Relations. In 1985, after a 40 year career in the Canadian film and television industry, he formed Rex Hagon & Associates to provide Executive coaching and Management training in the area of Effective Business Communications. Rex has always been community minded having served for a number of years as President of his local Ratepayer’s Association and as President of ACTRA, the Alliance of Canadian Television & Radio Artists. He has been an active Board member of CAS of Toronto for over 3 years, serving as Chair of the Communication Committee, and is no stranger to the world of adoption: his sister was a Ward of the agency in 1954 and as well his two older sons were adopted in the ‘80’s. Rex’s younger children are now 10 and 12. On a personal note, he enjoys cooking, and has a deep love of the outdoors: particularly back river canoeing and hearing the sound of loons in the early morning.

Jessica Hill

Jessica became the first chief executive officer of the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer, a national not for profit organization, in October 2007. She brings more than 20 years of senior leadership experience in health care, social services, post-secondary education and children’s services with the Ontario public service and Health Canada. Her recent roles have included Deputy Minister in Ontario’s Ministry of Children and Youth Services where she led the development of Ontario’s Best Start programs and services for mothers and babies as well as programs for children with special needs, child welfare and youth justice. As Assistant Deputy Minister in the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities she worked with stakeholders and agencies to ensure capacity in the post-secondary education system for students in the “double cohort” as the province eliminated a year from the high school program. In the early 1990s, as Assistant Deputy Minister for the Ontario Ministry of Health, she led mental health reform. In 1995, she was awarded the C.M. Hincks Award in recognition of her contribution to the advancement of mental health in Canada.  Jessica has a master’s degrees in social work and adult education from the University of Toronto. Jessica has been a Member of the Board of Children’s Aid Society of Toronto since 2007.  She is married and has two grown children, a son and a daughter.

Barbara Hopper      

Barbara holds an M.B.A. degree from Hawthorne University and  is a Chartered
Accountant. Since 2005, she has been Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer with the Sherson Group, which specializes in retail & wholesale. Her Board experience includes Big Sisters of Ontario and A Capella Services for Young Women. Barbara remains committed and sensitive to issues impacting on children and their families.

Sheila Jarvis

Sheila is the President and CEO of Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, which is Canada’s largest children’s rehabilitation facility and academically fully-affiliated with the University of Toronto. Currently she is also Vice-Chair of The Change Foundation and brings extensive governance experience.

Victoria Kondo      

Victoria holds Bachelors of Law and Education Degrees from the University of Toronto. Currently, she is Deputy Director, Legal Services Branch, Ministry of the Environment. Her past Board experience includes the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre and the John Ross Robertson Child Care Centre. In her current position, Victoria Chairs the Diversity Committee for the Legal Services Branch.

Niru Kumar   

Niru possesses Bachelors Degrees in Civil and Common Law and a B. Comm. from McGill. In addition, she holds a Certificate from the International Institute of Human Rights, Strasbourg, France. Since 2006, she has been a Director on the Board of the Canadian Lawyers for International Human Rights and in 2008 became a Director on the Board of Manor Road Nursery School. Over the past several years, Niru has provided legal services to the Walkerton Inquiry, the Ministry of Consumer and Business Services, and the Electrical Safety Authority.

J. David Livingston

David oversees a provincial crown corporation responsible for executing large-scale public infrastructure projects in Ontario. He has 30 years of financial industry experience, where he ultimately rose to Executive Vice President Corporate Development at TD Bank Financial Group. At Infrastructure Ontario, he has created a team of experts with private and public-sector experience that use innovative tools to deliver complex projects on time and on budget. Since 2007, David has been a director of The Children’s Aid Society of Toronto. In this role, David is committed to helping the Society achieve its vision of a city where children are safe, families are strong, and communities are supported. David obtained his B.Sc. from the University of Western Ontario and his MBA from Queen’s University. In addition to the Children’s Aid Society of Toronto, David is a director of Ovarian Cancer Canada and eHealth Ontario. He and his wife have two grown daughters.

Haroldene (Deany) Peters    

Deany brings twenty years of experience serving on Boards of not-for profit organizations, primarily in the downtown East end of the City of Toronto. She has served on the Regent Park Residents Association, Regent Park Community Health Centre, Regent Park Focus Youth Media Arts Centre and Dixon Hall, to name a few. For the past seventeen years, Deany has been employed as a Community Development Worker in Regent Park and brings forth a wealth of front-line and Board experience.

Aqeel Saeid       

Aqeel holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University Putra Malaysia (UPM), a Master degrees in sociology from the University of Baghdad, and another one in Criminology from the University of Toronto. Furthermore, he obtained an advanced diploma in addiction from the Center for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). He is a full time professor at Humber Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning in the Criminal Justice Studies (BAA Degree). Aqeel facilitates group sessions for children, youth, and families traumatized by war and immigration for several communities. In his capacity as president of the United Nations Association –Toronto Region Branch, Aqeel participated in several projects such as Sports in a Box, Healthy Children – Healthy Communities and he also organized several events on Human Rights, Youth at Risk, environment and fundraising. Aqeel is also an active member of the Muslim Services Reference Group at our Agency.

Tony Veneziano

Tony Veneziano was appointed Chief Administrative Officer of the Toronto Police Service on December 12, 2005. He is responsible for the Service’s overall operating and capital budget process as well as information technology services, fleet operations, facilities management, procurement, payroll and accounting services. Mr. Veneziano holds a Certified General Accountant designation. Prior to joining the Toronto Police Service, he held senior management positions with the former Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto and current City of Toronto. Mr. Veneziano exemplifies high ethical standards, and actively promotes the importance of transparency, integrity, accountability and fiscal responsibility in carrying out his responsibilities with the Toronto Police Service.

Tony has been a CAS of Toronto Board member since September 2006, and sits on the Board’s Audit and Risk Committee.

Rawle Younge

Rawle Younge remains actively involved with the Society’s Pape Adolescent Resource Centre and their Blue Sky DJ Service. He is also a Facilitator with Toronto’s Project PEACE (Public Education and Crime Eradication) an organization committed to developing violence prevention initiatives in association with Toronto Police Services and both the Toronto District School Board and the Toronto Catholic District School Board. He is planning to attend university in the near future.

Wayne Zronik

Wayne Zronik is a Chartered Accountant. Wayne is currently a Director of Finance at Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment. Previous to this, he was the Vice President of Finance and Treasurer of Alliance Films, previously part of the Alliance Atlantis Communications group of companies. Wayne began his involvement with CAST as a community member of the Finance and Audit Committee for the Society. Wayne joined the Board in 2006.

 Greater Trouble in Greater Toronto: Child Poverty it the GTA Media Conference

The Children’s Aid Society’s in the GTA and the Social Planning Network are community partners in Campaign 2000, a non-partisan, cross-Canada network of community, provincial, and national organizations committed to working together to end child and family poverty in Canada.

 ”The time to act is now. More children and families are living in poverty in the GTA than ever before,” said David Rivard, Executive Director, Children’s Aid Society of Toronto. “It has been nineteen years since Campaign 2000 provided the government with realistic strategies to end child poverty. At our Agency, almost two thirds of our clients live at or below the poverty line, the children and families of Toronto cannot wait any longer.

Find out what the other participants had to say by watching the video highlights.

 Video 1 - Media Conference Highlights features:

• David Rivard, Children’s Aid Society of Toronto

• Paul Zarnke, Peel Children’s Aid Society

• Tracey Vaughn, Community Development Council of Durham

• Shantel Smith, Former Youth in Care

Click here to access the video

Video 2 - Media Conference Panel Discussion Highlights features:

• Patrick Lake, York Region Children’s Aid Society

• Wanda Secord, Durham Children’s Aid Society

• Mary McConville, Catholic Children’s Aid Society of Toronto

• Nancy MacGillivray, Halton Children’s Aid Society

click here to access the video

CAS’s Urge Province to Direct New $19 Million Fund to Provide Access to Affordable Housing, Increased Monthly Allowances, and Extended Eligibility for CAS Support for Crown Wards

TORONTO, Dec. 8 /CNW/ - Toronto Children’s Aid Societies today expressed support for the Government of Ontario’s child poverty reduction measures, and in particular, $19 million in annual funding to assist crown wards transitioning to independence. (more…)

GTA Children’s Aid Societies and the Social Planning Network released a report on child poverty that shows a startling increase in the number of children living in poverty.

“Greater Trouble in Greater Toronto, Child Poverty in the GTA” reveals that 50 per cent of Ontario’s children in poverty now live in the GTA, up from 44 per cent in 1997. In the City of Toronto, all growth in the number of children living in poverty since 1997 occurred in the inner suburbs, where abysmally high rates of child poverty now surpass those of downtown.

Click here to read the full report

Click here to read the Summary of Trends fact sheet

Click here to read the Media Release