Kim Taylor

Chair

A Board member since 2017, Kim retired from Ontario Power Generation (OPG) in 2010, where she was Human Resources Manager – Diversity and Recruitment. Throughout her career, Kim demonstrated a strong personal and professional commitment to equity, inclusion, social justice and healthy communities – a commitment that won her OPG’s President’s Award for Leadership. Over her 31 year career, Kim was involved in the coordination of many United Way/Charity of Choice workplace campaigns. She also served on various boards, as an advocate for and supporter of several non-profit childcare centers and an inter-generational program. In retirement, Kim is actively engaged in her new community of Wellington, Prince Edward County. Her volunteer efforts have focused on the resettlement of Syrian refugees, the local community supper program, Basketeers and Alternatives for Women, as well as arts and cultural initiatives. Kim is excited to be a part of the United Way HPE and its efforts to strengthen our community.

Elvin Green

Vice-chair

Elvin Green is a Manager of Revenue Collections at Canada Revenue Agency’s East Central Ontario Tax Service Branch. He has also worked at several volunteer roles within the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte community, such as serving as a financial reviewer for the Mohawk Agricultural Society and the Anglican Parish of Tyendinaga. Through his work with the CRA, Elvin has been involved in many successful Government of Canada Workplace Charitable Campaigns.  Elvin considers his work as a member of the Board of Directors for United Way Hastings & Prince Edward, as a way to give back to his community.

Cathy Rushton

Treasurer, Chair of Finance

Cathy Rushton is recently retired from Loyalist College as a Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. She was previously a board member with the United Way of Winnipeg, before moving to the Hastings-Prince Edward region. Cathy has more than 30 years of experience working in senior level roles for non-profit and public sector organizations. She also has experience in strategic planning, operational planning and executive leadership among other areas. She says her experience in Winnipeg allowed her to see how United Way funding improves lives and that she believes in using her skill set to “make a positive difference,” in her new community.

Gail Walker

Secretary, Chair of Governance

Gail is a collaborative strategy guru who enjoys uncovering intuitive insights to help organizations solve tough problems, envision their future and achieve their goals. As a mentor and university lecturer she helped many marketers build their craft and their careers.

Gail has an MBA from the Schulich School of Business and Level 1 certification from the Get On Board program of the Canadian Board Diversity Council. She has been a Vice President at Scott Paper, AT&T Canada and The Mibro Group and owner of the Millrace Group consulting practice.

Outside of work, Gail’s passions include being a Master Gardener, curling, lawn bowling, theatre, and motorsport. She and her husband Malcolm Elston live in Lonsdale (Tyendinaga).

Susan Thomas

Chair of Personel

Susan Thomas is a result driven Human Resources Executive with expertise in Organizational Development, Employee & Labour Relations, Workforce and Strategic Planning.  Susan has built a solid foundation of business relationships across Canada working in both the public and private sector, and has identifiable experience managing the streamlining of transactional HR components to strategic focus and results. Her experience speaks to making and maintaining operational efficiencies as well as identifying exposures and mitigation strategies for identified liabilities.

When Susan is not busy with family commitments, she is active in the local community and believes strongly in helping various causes including the Cruise for Kids Campaign, Children’s Christmas Party and most recently joining the Board of Directors for the United Way.

Susan maintains her Certified Human Resources Leader (CHRL) designation as well as her LEAN Green Belt designation.  A believer in continuous learning and improvement, Susan is currently working on her Six Sigma Black Belt designation.

 

 

Molly Keeler

Labour Representative

Molly is a dedicated and passionate new member of the United Way board of directors as the labour representative appointed by the Quinte Labour Council. She is currently employed with Service Canada- Employment and Social Development of Canada (ESDC) in the Benefits and Delivery Services Branch. Through her employment she has gained valuable insights into the challenges faced by vulnerable populations. During the 2022/2023 ESDC Charitable Campaign for the United Way, Molly played an active role as an ambassador, helping to raise awareness and organizing many events and donations for the campaign.

With a diploma in Early Childhood Education (ECE) Molly also brings a unique perspective and expertise to the board with over 10 years of experience in the ECE as well as administrative field. She is also a proud ally of the Indigenous Employment Circle within ESDC, working towards promoting Indigenous employment opportunities and fostering cultural understanding.

As a new member of the United Way HPE, Molly is excited to contribute her expertise and passion to the organization’s mission of improving lives and creating lasting change. Her dedication to advocating for women’s, children’s, and human rights, combined with knowledge of ECE, HR, and labour issues, will be invaluable in contributing to shaping the strategic direction of United Way.

Margaret Bourgoin

Board Member

Margaret has been involved with United Way Hastings & Prince Edward for over a decade.

After retiring from the Trenton site of Quinte Health after 34 years, Margaret began volunteering for several organizations and joined the United Way HPE team as a member of the Allocations Committee. She found it to be a great first step, in becoming knowledgeable of all that United Way has to offer the community.

She believes that United Way HPE is a great organization and is proud to be a donor and a Board member. She continues to learn more about the agencies in the community and how much they help others.

Margaret is the current president of Quinte Labour Council and board member with SEIU Local 1 Canada. (SEIU Healthcare)

Bob Howe

Board Member

Bob Howe is a Line Manager at Procter and Gamble, serving over 30 years at the local plant.  He is an avid coach of his daughters’ hockey team, and travels throughout ON spending many weekends and evenings at various arenas support women in hockey.  His areas of specialty including Human Resource Management, Production line management and other areas of expertise within a multi-national consumer goods corporation. Bob has been actively involved in United Way for over 30 years and continues to work in tandem with a large group of P&G employees who lead the charge for our largest contributor in our region.

Rev. Jeff O’Hare

Board Member

Australian by birth, Jeff O’Hare is an Anglican Priest who has worked in both urban and rural parish ministries, school chaplaincies and as an executive team member in the social welfare sector in Australia with the ‘Brotherhood of St. Laurence’. He has focused on indigenous reconciliation and education (Australian context), and the settlement and networking of South Sudanese Refugees.

Jeff moved to Canada in 2017 after meeting his now husband, Terry, who is Canadian by birth. He is currently Anglican Rector of Christ Church Belleville and St.Paul’s Roslin, and a member of the Council to Synod for the Diocese of Ontario and board member of ‘Hope and Healing’, a newly formed company of Geelong Grammar School Australia, who support victims of childhood and institutional abuse.

His passion is social justice and equity and an end to poverty.

Bernie Boucher

Board Member

Bernie is a retired railroad executive with an extensive 39-year career, having held several senior management positions at Canadian National Railway and OmniTrax. His experience and expertise span operations, business development, human resources, labour relations, and customer service functions. Beyond his corporate achievements, Bernie is driven by a genuine passion for social enterprise and community service. He dedicated 15 years as Chairman of the Board for Arctic Net, a non-profit network of Centers of Excellence involved in crucial arctic research. His commitment to giving back also extends to various board roles including a Trustee position for the Helen Betty Osborne Foundation in Winnipeg, which supports educational opportunities for indigenous youth, and a Directorship with META Vocational Services in Belleville.

Recognizing the profound impact of the United Way, Bernie eagerly embraces the opportunity to contribute to their vital mission. In recent years he has been involved with the United Way allocation committee. Bernie has a genuine passion for lending his expertise and experience to further the United Way’s vision of transforming lives and fostering a stronger, more inclusive community.

 

Megan Richards

Board Member

Megan Richards is a full-time student at Loyalist College in the Social Service Worker program. She also holds an honours diploma in visual and creative arts from Sheridan College. Megan moved to Hastings Prince Edward County in kindergarten and loves exploring and learning about our community and the diversity it includes. Megan has a passion for helping people and a drive to make a difference in the community.

Hilary Murphy

Board Member

Hilary is a licensed professional engineer in the province of Ontario and is one of the owners of Taskforce Engineering, a design-build construction firm located in Belleville.  Hilary was born and raised in Belleville and the health and wellness of her community has always been incredibly important to Hilary and her family.  It is for that reason that she supports the UWHPE both corporately and personally.  She has been involved with UWHPE as a member of the Campaign Cabinet from 2020 – 2022 and served as chair during the 2022 campaign as well as a member of Women United.  Hilary is looking forward to serving her community and UWHPE in a new capacity as a board member and contributing new ideas and thoughts to an ever changing and evolving social services landscape.

Blake Stacy

Board Member

Blake Stacy is an Engineering Manager at Procter and Gamble Belleville Plant. He first became acquainted with the United Way/Centraide(UWCC) Mission through the company’s Workplace campaigns. Starting by volunteering for the workplace events he sought other ways to contribute to the mission of UWCC. In particular Blake is motivated by the leadership role that United Way HPE can play in a community that needs some local love.

Katherine Potts

Board Member

Katherine Potts is currently a Senior Manager of the People and Culture team at Loyalist College.  Katherine is a Human Resources Professional with over 20 years of comprehensive human resources experience including: labour relations, performance management, compensation, recruitment, benefit administration and health and safety. Prior to her current role, Katherine worked at an agency for 10 years that received funding from United Way HPE and served as a Board member for 6 years with another funded agency. Katherine saw firsthand the impact United Way HPE has in her community and looks forward to serving on the Board.