Welcoming Our New Board Members!

The Children’s Foundation of Guelph and Wellington (CFGW) is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors, composed of community members who are passionate about helping us build a community where every child and youth has the opportunity to participate, learn, and grow.

We are excited to welcome three new members to the board  – Stephanie Devost, Karan Mann and Suzannah Patmios.

Their nominations came after an extensive recruitment process which started with an internal review of the skills and experience CFGW needed. Thirteen responses were received to our call for nominations. The Board Nomination Committee reviewed the applications, interviewed a shortlist of six candidates and after reference checking, recommended Stephanie, Karan and Suzannah to the board. The nominations were confirmed at our recent Annual General Meeting.

The three new members come with a range of experience, backgrounds and skill sets that will help build brighter futures for children and youth in our community.

Stephanie Devost is a Chartered Professional Accountant and currently leads the budget strategy at the City of Guelph as a Senior Corporate Analyst. A Guelph native, she holds an Honours Bachelor of Commerce from McMaster University and has over 17 years of experience in the not-for-profit sector in budgeting, quantitative and qualitative analysis and business strategy. Currently living in Guelph with her husband and three children, she strongly believes in applying her skills and experience to contribute back to her local community. When Stephanie is not working, she enjoys spending time with her family outdoors backcountry camping, and you just may catch her lending a helping hand on Saturday mornings at her family's stand at the Guelph Farmer's Market. Be sure to say hello if you do.  

Karan Mann is a social justice advocate who has spent her 24-year career in social services, working front line and in management positions in various sectors including Violence Against Women, Partner Assault Response programs, health, education and child welfare. In her current role as Manager Equity Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) with Family & Children’s Services of Guelph-Wellington, Karan is responsible for coordinating and implementing equity, diversity and inclusion strategies and initiatives and is committed to equitable access and outcomes for children, youth, and families. Karan and her husband are both University of Guelph alumni. They have resided in Guelph for over 25 years and are proud parents of their 23-year-old daughter, a recent graduate of the University of Waterloo. 

Suzannah Patmios has been involved in corporate management for the last 20 years in various operational, consulting and strategic management roles. Starting in 2013 she began producing boutique events across North America. Having undertaken safety, auditing and policy recommendation work since 2018, she has been both studying and working in crowd safety and event risk management which is now her professional passion and work focus. She and her husband have supported CFGW for many years; she believes in the organization and looks forward to helping it continue to thrive and succeed.

 

In addition to welcoming Stephanie, Karan and Suzannah at the AGM, we also bid a fond farewell to Justine Gaskell, Michael Sarracini and Tara Shephard Vernest whose terms on the board were up. Justine, Michael and Tara contributed a combined 16 years to our work, and we are most grateful to them for their support.