A lifelong resident of northern Ontario, Peter Birnie graduated from Queen's University in 1973 and became a partner in a national chartered accounting firm.

Mr. Birnie is well known in the mental health field. He is the inaugural chair of the North Bay Psychiatric Hospital's Community Advisory Board, the past chair of the Northeast Mental Health Steering Committee and a former board member of Network North.

As a volunteer, he has always contributed his time generously. His involvement has ranged from being a member of a school-parents' association to serving on several boards including the Board of Governors of Canadore College, Nipissing University and the Queen's Alumni Association. In North Bay, he has been active with the Chamber of Commerce, the Economic Development Commission, the Dionne Home Foundation, the North Bay and District Health Centre Foundation and the North Bay Kiwanis Club.

Michael Wilson is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Brinson Canada Co (formerly RT Capital Management Inc.). Brinson Canada is a wholly owned subsidiary of UBS Asset Management and is one of Canada's premier investment counselling firms with a focus on providing value-added investment services to institutional clients.

Prior to July 2000, Mr. Wilson was vice-chairman and director of RBC Dominion Securities Inc. He has held senior federal cabinet posts with the Government of Canada in Finance, Industry, Science and Technology and International Trade. Mr. Wilson is director of a number of companies, including BP p.l.c. and Manufacturers Life Insurance Company.

Mr. Wilson has been active in a number of community organizations in Canada and the United States including the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and the Canadian Neuroscience Partnership. He is also Senior Chairman of the Business and Economic Roundtable on Mental Health and, in that capacity, has spoken frequently about mental illness in the workplace.

After graduating from Ryerson in Radio and Television Arts, John A. McCullough had a lengthy career in radio and television on both sides of the microphone. He was general sales manager of CKVR Television in Barrie for 17 years, and a lecturer at the School of Business Advertising at Georgian College in Barrie. He also chaired and was a member of numerous Georgian College boards and advisory committees. He is the current chair of the advisory board to the radio and television program at Centennial College in Toronto.

Mr. McCullough is the founding chair of the Simcoe County Board of Education, where he served as trustee for 21 years. He also chaired the advisory board to the Ministry of Community and Social Services on the restructuring of services to children and people with disabilities. He is a former executive director of Barrie-South Simcoe's United Way, and he currently serves on a number of not-for-profit boards including Habitat for Humanity.

In addition to being the chair of the Central East (Penetanguishene) Mental Health Implementation Task Force, Mr. McCullough is the chair of the Communications Steering Committee, a subcommittee of the Provincial Forum of Mental Health Implementation Task Force Chairs.

Jean Achmatowicz-MacLeod has been a volunteer in local, provincial and national organizations since 1960. Her focus has been the provision of quality health care. Most recently, Ms. Achmatowicz-MacLeod served as Chair of the Board of Governors of the Oshawa General Hospital, leading the Board through the period of health services restructuring. The Health Services Restructuring Commission directed the amalgamation of all the hospitals in Durham Region and endorsed a major expansion of the Oshawa General Hospital and the construction of the new Durham Regional Cancer Centre. Mrs. Achmatowicz-MacLeod was elected a member of the new Lakeridge Health Corporation Board.

Ms. Achmatowicz-MacLeod also served for eleven years on the Oshawa General Hospital Foundation, which gives support to the Oshawa General Hospital and raised the community portion of the cost of the current expansion. The Foundation is now raising money for the Cancer Centre.

Paul Jaggard is the President of Vincero Capital Management Inc., a high-end private wealth management operation located in Hamilton and serving clients in the Golden Horseshoe. Prior to June 2000, Mr. Jaggard was a senior partner with Ernst & Young LLP, where he provided a range of compliance, tax, consulting and mergers & acquisition advice to a broad array of public and private sector clients.

Mr. Jaggard is active in an eclectic mix of fields in his community including Opera Hamilton, the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, the Hamilton-Wentworth Head Injury Group (of which he is the founding president), the Hamilton-Wentworth Children's Aid Society, the YMCA, the Rotary Club, the Hamilton Association for Community Living, the Canadian Red Cross and the Bay Area Arts and Heritage Stabilization Fund.

Dawn Eccles, a Registered Nurse, graduated from the University of Saskatchewan in 1959 with a B.Sc. N and in 1991, with a certificate in Health Care Administration. In 2000, after 41 years in various teaching and administrative roles within the profession, Ms. Eccles retired from the Ontario Public Service, where she had most recently served as Assistant Administrator, Patient Care, at Lakehead Psychiatric Hospital.

Ms. Eccles spent many years serving her community, first as a member of the municipal Planning Advisory Committee, and later, as a member and then Head of the municipal council. While active in the municipal political scene, she also served on the Lakehead Regional Conservation Authority and the Public Advisory Committee to the Remedial Action Plan for the Clean Up of the Great Lakes.

Ms. Eccles resides with her family and Newfoundland dogs on the north shore of Lake Superior. In addition to her duties as Chair of the North West Mental Health Implementation Task Force, she is currently an elected committee member of the College of Nurses of Ontario and a public member of the Consent and Capacity Board and of the Ontario Review Board.

J. Michael Grass has held senior executive positions in the financial industry and has extensive expertise in strategic positioning, global management, change management, corporate governance, and delivering shareholder value.

Born in Canada and educated at Upper Canada College and Dalhousie University, Mr. Grass started his career in the 1970s with the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and then worked for Barclays Bank of Canada until 1985. He held the positions of Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice-President with Barclays Bank PLC during the period 1986 to 1992, and was Managing Director with Morgan Stanley Dean Witter from 1993 to 1999 (London & New York). Currently, he is involved with a venture capital company in New York providing crossover capital to companies with proprietary positions in targeted markets.

Over the years, Mr. Grass has served on various boards including the Crest/London Stock Exchange, Barclays Cater Allen, and several private companies. He has been involved with industry and trade associations such as the British/Canadian Chamber of Commerce and the US/Canadian Chamber of Commerce.

As President of Sandra S. Lawn & Associates Inc., Sandra Lawn continues to be involved in a wide range of professional, government and community activities. From 1999 to 2000, she chaired Charrettes for Children, which addressed the mental and developmental health systems for children and youth in Leeds-Grenville. In addition, she initiated, developed and oversaw the implementation of the St. Lawrence waterfront project - now known as Sandra S. Lawn Harbour.

From 1976 to 1991, Ms. Lawn served as the mayor of the Town of Prescott. She is also the Past President of the Brockville and Area YM-YWCA.

In addition to her duties as Chair of the East (South East) Mental Health Implementation Task Force, Ms. Lawn currently serves on the board of directors of GGL Farm Mutual Financial Services Inc.

Ms. Lawn holds B.Sc. and MPA degrees from Queen's University and is an elected member of the University Council.

John Martel is the Chair of the South West Mental Health Implementation Task Force. Mr. Martel, who retired in 1999 after a long career as a professor at St. Clair College, was recently appointed to the Council of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario. He is the past chair and a former member of the Essex-Kent-Lambton District Health Council, where he served until March 2001.

Mr. Martel has worked extensively as a consultant for various organizations, such as the Chatham Public Library Board, the Windsor-Essex Community Care Access Centre, the Southwestern Ontario Industry-Education Council and the St. Clair College Foundation. He also served as chair of the Emergency Room Task Force for Windsor Hospitals from 1997 to 1999, and was a member of the Joint Executive Committee responsible for implementing directions from the Health Services Restructuring Commission.

© Queen's Printer for Ontario, 2003  |  Privacy Policy  |  Disclaimers  |   Last Modified :