About Us
Board of Directors
National Board of Directors
Roslyn Bern
President, Leacross Foundation, Chelsea, QC
Roslyn Bern is president of the Leacross Foundation, a non-profit organization supporting education and programs for families. She has supported artists in communities to share their knowledge with children, assisted in outdoor education projects as well as reading programs for elementary schools, and worked on programs assisting teens with violence and dating abuse. She has served three years on the Family Selection Committee for Habitat for Humanity in the National Capital Region of Ottawa, and has helped in the builds by donating plumbing products from her family's company, Bow. She has been an educator for 20 years, working primarily with hard-to-serve teens in rural and urban locations.
Roslyn was a volunteer on the CWF Multi-Year Teen Violence Prevention Committee in spring 2006.
Margot Franssen
Co-President, Canadian Women’s Foundation, Toronto, ON
Margot Franssen is one of Canada’s most innovative and passionate communicators, and a leader in campaigning for social justice and ending violence against women. Under Margot’s ownership and guidance, from 1980 until 2004, The Body Shop Canada raised more than $1.3 million for violence prevention programs funded by CWF.
The United Nations honoured Margot with a Grand Award for her work addressing violence against women and she was an invited participant in the UN’s Fourth World Conference on women in Beijing, which called on all nations to recognize that “women’s rights are human rights”. She has also received the United Nations Women’s Development award for Outstanding Achievement in the Advancement of Women.
Margot is an Officer of the Order of Canada, a member of CIBC’s and Women’s College Hospital’s Board of Directors, and an Honorary Board member of York University.
Julie George
Community volunteer, Calgary, AB
Patt Lenover-Adams
Executive Director, Violence Intervention Program Southeast Saskatchewan Inc., Estevan, SK
Patt Lenover-Adams has been the Director of the Violence Intervention Program Southeast Saskatchewan Inc., (VIP) for the last 11 years. VIP is a community-based organization, which provides services to victims of violence and abuse. The program provides counselling, support groups, public education, as well as a 24-Hour Abuse/Sexual Assault Support line throughout Southeast Saskatchewan.
She has been involved in developing and establishing programs and services for women living in rural Saskatchewan. Patt is a Board Member on the Provincial Association of Transition Houses of Saskatchewan and is the Co-Chair of Saskatchewan Sexual Assault Services. She also chairs the 24-hour Crisis Lines Committee of Saskatchewan. Trained as a nurse in Toronto, Patt has worked in various capacities in the hospital setting. In 1983 she began working in Psychiatry, eventually doing individual and group therapy work focusing on assertiveness, self-esteem, family violence and partner abuse. She has served on numerous community-based boards and committees, including Scouts Canada, and United Church Women.
The Honourable Margaret Norrie McCain
Philanthropist and former Lieutenant-Governor of New Brunswick, Toronto, ON
Mrs. McCain received her early education in public and private schools in Quebec, Nova Scotia and Ontario. She received a Bachelor of Arts Degree with honours in history from Mount Allison University, Sackville, N.B., and a Bachelor of Social Work from the University of Toronto. She has received an Honourary Doctor of Laws Degree from the University of New Brunswick, Mount Allison University, St. Thomas University, University of Moncton, University of Toronto and Nipissing University.
Throughout her career, Mrs. McCain has been active in organizations that promote education, music and the arts at the provincial and national level. She was a member of the Mount Allison University Board of Regents from 1974 - 1994 and served as Chancellor of the university from 1986 - 1994. She is a founding member of the Muriel McQueen Fergusson Foundation in New Brunswick. Their mission is the elimination of family violence through public education and research. She chaired their capital campaign to endow a Family Violence Research Centre in partnership with the University of New Brunswick.
In 1955 she married entrepreneur G. Wallace F. McCain of Florenceville, N.B. They have four children and eight grandchildren.
On April 28, 1994, Margaret Norrie McCain was appointed Lieutenant-Governor of the Province of New Brunswick - the first female to hold this position. She served in that role until April, 1997.
She is a member of the Board of Directors for the National Ballet School and is Chair of its capital campaign Project Grand Jeté. She is also Honourary Colonel of the Governor General’s Horseguards and serves on the Boards of the Canadian Policy Research Network, The Canadian Women’s Foundation, TVO Foundation, The Learning Partnership and the Atkinson Centre for Society and Child Development.
Carol McKeen
Associate Professor, Queen's University, Kingston, ON
Carol McKeen is an authority on gender issues in organizations, mentoring, and the role of business schools in the education of Canada's future leaders. Her teaching and research focus on the effect of gender on the career success and life satisfaction of men and women in Canada and in China. She has consulted with Corrections Canada, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and Bank of Montreal on issues relating to the development, advancement and retention of senior women. She has published extensively and serves on the editorial board of Women in Management Review. A professional accountant and Director of the summer Advanced Accounting Program, she is a recipient of the Commerce Society's Award for Teaching Excellence. Carol is currently an Associate Professor; Director, Queen’s Advanced Accounting Program, School of Business at Queen's University in Kingston Ontario
Mary Mowbray
Vice President, Colliers International, Toronto, ON
Mary Mowbray is a Vice President with Colliers International, a global commercial real estate brokerage firm. She studied history at the University of Western Ontario and worked as a general manager for a national franchising company prior to starting in commercial real estate in 1989. She has represented both national and international companies such as Louis Vuitton, Telus, Nike, Microsoft, Mosaic Group, and B/Com3. Mary has been a member of the Board of Directors of Toronto CREW (Toronto Commercial Real Estate Women), an organization for senior commercial real estate professionals, since 2002 and served as President Elect in 2004. Through her work on Toronto Crew’s charitable golf classic, Mary has helped raise over $200,000 for the Canadian Women’s Foundation’s economic development initiatives since 1997.
Carol Oliver
Community Investments and Partnership Associate, United Way of Calgary, Calgary, AB
Carol Oliver brings twenty years of experience working in the human services and non-profit community. She is currently employed at the United Way of Calgary and area as a Community Investments and Partnership Associate, a position she has enjoyed for 10 years. Her primary duties include managing community investments and collaborations in the area of poverty reduction and homelessness. Prior to joining the United Way, Carol was the Executive Director of the Calgary Women’s Emergency Shelter from1983-1991, a period of profound change in the shelter and battered women’s movements. She has extensive research and programming experience in the areas of family violence prevention, intervention and treatment modalities. Carol has sat on the boards of the Alberta Coalition against Pornography and Calgary Legal Guidance.
Carol has an undergraduate degree in Women's Studies from Simon Fraser University and a Master's Degree in Communication Studies from the University of Calgary. She was a sessional instructor at the same institution in Women's Health Issues from 1995-1998. Carol was appointed in 1999 to Health Canada's National Advisory Committee on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, an area of maternal/child health that is of deep concern to her. She is the mother of two children and a hopeful prairie gardener.
Diane Redsky
Director of Programs, Ma Mawi Wi Chi Itata Centre, Winnipeg, MB
Diane Redsky has long worked to address the myriad of issues facing Winnipeg’s Aboriginal community in all areas of health, justice, education and social services. Since 1993, Diane has served in both a professional and volunteer capacity within Winnipeg’s social service sector, assisting in the creation of numerous innovative programs to support healthy communities.
“I believe that everyone has gifts and strengths to share that will enable us to work together for healthy families and healthy communities.”
Diane is a proud mother of three children and a member of Shoal Lake First Nation #40. She currently is employed in Program Development for the Ma Mawi Wi Chi Itata Centre, Inc. (we all work together to help one another), a social service agency that provides family resource support to Aboriginal families living in Winnipeg.
Diane’s belief in the inherent strength of the community continues to guide her along her life’s journey.
Brenda Vince, C.A.
Head of Enterprise Investment Solutions; President, RBC Asset Managment Inc., Toronto, ON
Brenda Vince became President of RBC Asset Management in 2002 and was named Head of Enterprise Investment Solutions in July 2007.
As President of RBC Asset Management, Brenda has overall responsibility for the sales, marketing, service and product aspects of RBC Asset Management’s business in
In her role as Head of Enterprise Investment Solutions, Brenda is accountable for the development and delivery of investment solutions for Canadian and international high net worth clients.
A Chartered Accountant and graduate of Queen’s University, Brenda recently stepped down as Chair of IFIC. She is also a member of the Queen’s School of Business Advisory Council and rejoined the Canadian Women’s Foundation Board in November 2007.