Our Board of Directors

The Board for GHESI comprises eight private Directors: Jane Armstrong, Robert Aumell, Brian Cowan, Judy Fountain, Robert Fennell, Barbara Leslie, Rick Thompson and Jasmine Urisk and one representative of Guelph City Council, presently Mayor Karen Farbridge.

Jasmine Urisk is currently Acting Chair of the Board...

Jane Armstrong
Jane Armstrong was called to the Ontario Bar in 1982 after receiving her Bachelor of Law degree from York University. She also has an honours Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Toronto, and has served on the Boards of several community organizations. She is a former member and chair of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal Panel, a former chair of the Guelph Police Services Board and is represented in the Women in the Lead Directory- an index of women whose professional experience recommends them as candidates for corporate board appointments.

Robert G. (Bob) Aumell
Mr. Aumell retired in 1997 after a career of 33 years with Farm Credit Canada. He was Regional Vice President for the four Atlantic Provinces from 1978 until 1983 and Regional Vice President for Ontario since 1983. He now manages Aumell Agri Consulting, providing consulting services in Farm Finance, Risk Management, and Family Farm Succession. He is Past President of the Ontario Institute of Agrologists, board member for the Ontario Agricultural Hall of Fame and is active in many other rural organizations. Mr. Aumell was appointed to the Board of GHI in June of 2002, and is Chair of the Finance and Audit Committee.

Brian Cowan
Mr. Cowan is Vice-President for Program Management with Teranet Inc. in Toronto, where he has responsibility for Government Relations, Marketing and Product Development for the company's portfolio of electronic commerce products and services used by several Ministries within the Ontario Government. Mr. Cowan has also had responsibility for Teranet's Marketing, Sales, Strategic Planning, Acquisitions and New Business Initiatives. Mr. Cowan previously held positions as President and COO of Centric Systems Corp. and as a senior executive with Intergraph Corp. in Canada and the Netherlands. Brian holds a degree in Environmental Studies from the University of Waterloo, an MBA from Wilfrid Laurier University, has completed advanced training from the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School and most recently obtained the Chartered Director designation from McMaster University. Mr. Cowan is a native of Guelph and has been active in the scouting movement, church organizations, and is currently the Chair of Curl Ontario and Vice-Chair of Atria Networks Inc. Mr. Cowan was appointed to the Board of GHI in November 2001.

Karen Farbridge
Karen Farbridge is Mayor of the City of Guelph and the City's representative to the Board of Directors. A resident of Guelph since 1979, she has an MSc and PhD from the University of Guelph, and for 10 years was the Director of the Ontario Public Interest Research Group. In 2005, Karen was the recipient of the prestigious Women of Distinction Award from the YMCA-YWCA of Guelph in the business and the professions category. She is a member of the Municipal Executives Resource Group for the Smart Canada Network. Initially elected to Council in 1994, Karen was previously Mayor in 2000-2003.

Rob Fennell
Rob Fennell is the General Manager of Enbridge Gas Distribution in Toronto. He was a divisional vice president of Canadian Standards Association International, general manager of operations for Manitoba Hydro and vice president of operations and customer service for Centra Gas in Manitoba. He has a Bachelor of Applied Science (Electrical Engineering) degree from the University of Waterloo and has completed the Executive Leadership Program at the University of Western Ontario. He is past chair of the Canadian Gas Association Standing Committee on Operations and a member of the Professional Engineers of Ontario, among many other affiliations.

Barbara Leslie
Barbara Leslie is a former CEO and Registrar of the College of Veterinarians of Ontario. A Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from the Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, she has also completed the program in Association Leadership from the Canadian Society of Association Executives. She is a member of the Society of Professionals in Dispute Resolution, and both the Canadian and Ontario Veterinary Medical Associations. She is also a member of the Board of Directors for Hospice Wellington, and has previously served on the Board of Directors for the Wellington County 4H Association.

Rick Thompson
Rick Thompson was a sales and marketing executive with the Johnson & Johnson family of companies in Canada for 21 years before becoming a partner and Vice President of the consulting firm of McCormick Delisle & Thompson (MDT) Inc. Following the sale of MDT in 1998, Mr. Thompson became Executive Director of Canada's Technology Triangle Inc., responsible for creating and managing joint economic development initiatives for the cities of Cambridge, Guelph, Kitchener, and Waterloo. Today Mr. Thompson has a consulting practice in sales, marketing, commercial real estate and investment management, and possesses the Canadian Investment Manager designation. Mr. Thompson joined the GHI Board in 2001 and chairs its Governance Committee.

Jasmine Urisk
Jasmine Urisk is President of JTU Consulting Inc. a Guelph-based energy consulting firm. She has considerable and varied experience in the environment and energy sectors, both through her consulting practice and her prior employment with TransCanada PipeLines Limited. Ms. Urisk was also responsible for several international water management programs with Environment Canada. A resident of Guelph since 1973, Ms. Urisk is active in several industry and environmental associations. She is the current Chair of the Board of the Canadian Council for Human Resources in the Environment Industry, and also serves on the Boards of the Ontario Energy Association. Ms. Urisk was appointed to the Board of GHI in November 2000.

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