Board of Directors
Georgian Bay Forever is steered by our esteemed board of directors, a group of dedicated individuals who are committed to ensuring the functionality and purpose of our organization. They bring their experience and expertise to all aspects of operation, with the common goal of protecting and conserving Georgian Bay.
Terry Clark, Chair
Terence (“Terry”) Clark grew up on the Great Lakes and, starting in Cleveland and later moving to California, he practiced law with large international firms for 41 years until he retired in 2009. Since 2014, he has served on the Board of GBF, the most recent two years as Vice Chair. The principal focus of his legal practice was complex litigation and trials in the areas of intellectual property, media and entertainment, corporate technology and trade secrets. Terry also served as both a mediator and arbitrator of disputes in those areas. In addition, he headed up the Intellectual Property Practice Group in his last two firms; and for the last 25 years of his practice, he was regularly recognized with the honor of being designated among the Best Lawyers in America. Terry has served as a Director on many non-profit Boards in Ohio, California and Ontario since the 1970’s, concentrating his contributions in the areas of governance, strategic planning, government regulation, legal issues, project processing and implementation, and whatever well-informed steps it takes to meet the mission of the organization. For the past 55 years, Terry has spent his summers on Georgian Bay in Pointe au Baril. During a period of 30 years with the Pointe au Baril Islanders’ Association, Terry served on numerous committees, as a long-standing Director, and as President of the Association. He was also a founding member in 2001 and served on the Board of the Ojibway Historical Preservation Society for 20 years, the last 10 years of which were as its Chair and President. Terry and his wife, Hilde, both appreciate the opportunity to give back to the Bay for the benefit of their family and future generations; and for the past 13 years since his retirement, they have been “commuting” for the summer from the East Bay area of San Francisco to enjoy all forms of outdoor activity on Georgian Bay, including particularly their love of kayaking.
Jennifer Frew
Jennifer grew up on and around the Georgian Bay and Muskoka area, which has led to a passion for the beautiful rugged wind swept pines, granite and the pristine water of the Bay. She spent her summers with her family boating and exploring Georgian Bay from Lion’s Head all around to the North Channel. As a second-generation cottage owner on the South Channel of Georgian Bay, Jennifer is passionate about protecting and preserving the Bay for her children and beyond. For the last nine years Jennifer has focused her career on philanthropy working as a fundraiser for SickKids Foundation. She has previous experience in sales and real estate. In the past she has volunteered for local environmental organizations in the Toronto area to improve her neighborhood, also with child/youth organizations and is a member of the South Channel Association. She is passionate about environmental issues that impact the ecosystem and is privileged to use her abilities to do more for Georgian Bay.
Margaret Hastings
With an undergraduate degree in science from University of Toronto and a MBA from York University, Margaret spent 15 years in Brand Management, working on iconic brands such as Cheerios and Shreddies. She also has over 10 years of experience teaching marketing and strategy at both the undergraduate level and MBA levels at Schulich School of Business and, more recently, University of Westerns Ontario’s Brescia College. In addition to her teaching, Margaret provides consulting for the Economic Development departments of various regions and municipalities. Margaret has a lifelong love for Georgian Bay, and has had the unique experience of enjoying the bay as a sailor, a power boater and a cottager. As a teenager she sailed with her family out of Penetanguishene and Midland. She became a cottager in the Parry Sound area in 1999, and she and her family also spent 10 years boating the bay in their power cruiser, covering from the Trent Severn Waterway through the North Channel.
Neil Hutchinson
Dr. Neil Hutchinson became passionate about environmental science as a teenager and coupled its emergence as a discipline with his personal attraction to water and Canadian geography. Having worked on water quality from Newfoundland to BC and from southern Ontario to Nunavut, he considers himself fortunate to have taken part in the great strides made in environmental management over his 45-year (and counting!) career as a summer student, graduate student, government scientist, consulting scientist and finally managing his own consulting firm of dedicated, likeable and talented individuals. While he does not enjoy a cottage on Georgian Bay he lives close by, in Bracebridge, and the Bay is one of his favourite places to kayak. His professional career has focused on pollutants and stressors of aquatic systems, with a focus extending from geochemical to laboratory to whole-watershed levels of investigation and a specialization in Precambrian Shield systems. He has worked at the highest levels of peer review, providing input to all levels of the environmental assessment process, provided evidence to the Senate of Canada and served three three-year terms on Grant and Scholarship Selection Panels of Canada’s Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council. His off-work time finds him messing about in canoes, kayaks or sailboats, skiing and performing music as a flutist or in his alter ego as “Singer-Songwriter-Scientist”, performing his original and Canadian folk music (Recordings are available!).
Kelly Mawhinney
As an HR executive, I bring experience, education and a broad network to the field of Human Resources Management. Having worked as a Chief People & Culture Officer within a national firm, I have navigated the spectrum of Human Resources disciplines. With a master’s degree in HR, I've been an Adjunct Professor leading a graduate certificate program, while working internationally as a leader in Human Resources Consulting. As a transformational leader, I’ve built my career upon combined HR, Operations & Technology experience: • HRM best practices: Talent, Compensation, HRBP, HRIS, Wellbeing, DEI&B • Applied technology advancement: SaaS, RAD, Agile, business relationship management, customer success, and • Business operational excellence: process engineering, performance management, BRP, organization development, merger & acquisition leadership My career has been both internally and externally client facing wherein I've managed businesses' P&L, as well as experienced an international career covering North America, the Caribbean, and Western Europe.
Anne Neary
Anne’s career in environmental science began in the 1980s at the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, where she established a soil-testing laboratory for the province’s acid rain research program. Over the next 15 years, she oversaw the analysis of a wide variety of contaminants for the Ministry’s environmental monitoring, pollution abatement and spills response programs. In the following years, she helped drive science-based legislation for the water quality improvement and protection of Lake Simcoe, and led regulatory inspection/enforcement programs, water-tasking and pesticide permitting and environmental spill response operations for the southwestern region of Ontario. In 2010, moving to Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry as Director of Applied Research and Development, she was responsible for fisheries, wildlife and forest research to support policy and operational decisions. The final step in her career saw her return to the Ontario Ministry of Environment and Climate Change as Assistant Deputy Minister for the Environmental Science and Standards Division. Now retired, fond childhood memories of her family cottage near Penetang drew her back to Georgian Bay’s beautiful shores. She currently plays and resides in the Thonbury/Meaford area. She has been a member of the Lake Simcoe Science Advisory Committee for the past 3 years and is pleased to assist Georgian Bay Forever in its effort to help ensure the health of Georgian Bay for the Enjoyment of future generations.
Joe Tucker
Joe was Canadian Managing Partner of the Financial Advisory Services practice of KPMG in Canada. The FAS practice was composed of the Corporate Recovery and Insolvency, Corporate Finance,Business Valuations, Forensic Accounting and Transaction Services. Joe holds a Bachelor of Applied Science degree in Industrial Engineering from the University of Toronto. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Professional Accountants (FCPA). He held a Licensed Insolvency Trustee designation. Joe was a member of KPMG's Partnership Board for almost 10 years and a senior Management Committee member for many years before his retirement. Joe and his wife, Donna have been on the Bay for almost 35 years at Snug Harbour. They have two adult children and 4 grandchildren and all hugely enjoy the Bay.
Adam Chamberlain
A partner at Gowling WLG's Toronto office and a certified Specialist in Environmental Law. He brings extensive experience in Environmental Assessment, climate change and Aboriginal infrastructure development to the Board of Directors of GBF. In addition to his LLB with a focus on Natural Resources and Environmental Law from University of Calgary, Adam has a Bachelor of Environmental Studies degree from Waterloo University and is a Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society’s College of Fellows. In the Community, Adam is Chair of Camp Awakening (summer camp for children with disabilities). Adam’s family has celebrated more than 100 years on the Georgian Bay. Adam was the previous GBF Secretary.
Mike Green
I am an experienced technology executive, entrepreneur, and Angel investor. Most of my career has been in business-to-business software and IT Services. I had a large renewable energy system installed at our Cottage in Georgian Bay (1999). Was off grid for 15 yrs. I look forward to the possibility of being on the Science Committee of GBF, and helping out in any way I can.
Doug Heintzman
Douglas Heintzman is the Chief Catalyst at the Blockchain Research Institute. He works with companies and governments around the world to help them with their Web3 and blockchain journeys. He has spent his career focused on disruptive technology and its impact on strategy, organizational models, and business configurations. He has been a strategy and operations executive, a management consultant, and sits on a number of boards of directors. He has been an expert panel member of Canada's NSERC Centers of Excellence for the Commercialization of Research program. He was chair of the selection committee for the NSERC Synergy Awards for Innovation, a jury member for the Robot of the Year Award for ethical AI, and is now on the jury for the Web3 and Blockchain Transformation Awards. He has been cottaging and camping on the bay for 50 years.
Sally Leppard
Hailing originally from the UK, Sally has lived and worked in the Great Lakes watershed for 5 decades. Retiring in 2011, Sally now lives close to Georgian Bay in the Town of The Blue Mountains, and enjoys all the attributes the area has to offer. In the late ‘70s, Sally founded Lura Consulting and is recognized as a pioneer in the design and facilitation of multi-stakeholder, collaborative planning processes. Her work in the field was frequently studied and her processes used as models for collaboration. Her love for the Great Lakes has been demonstrated throughout her career. Sally has facilitated significant sustainability projects for public sector agencies – working with local, provincial, national and international agencies and their communities. Keynote projects included the Remedial Action Plans for Hamilton Harbour and Collingwood Harbour and Sustainability Plans for The Town of the Blue Mountains and the Severn Sound Environmental Association. For 10 years, Sally was the Lead Facilitator for the ground breaking Biennial State of the Lakes Ecosystem Indicators Conferences. As a result of her career, Sally brings experience with organizational development, fund raising, communications, marketing and project implementation to Georgian Bay Forever. Sally has participated in numerous not-for-profit organizations in the past, such as the Foundation for Aggregate Studies, the Canadian Environmental Law Association, the Lake Huron-Georgian Bay Steering Committee and the Grey-Bruce Sustainability Network. Currently, Sally is an active member of her community and is a Trail Captain with the Bruce Trail, a member of Climate Action Now Network, and a participant in two local writers’ groups. Her current passion is to instill a connection to the long history of the waters and lands of the Georgian Bay watershed in its current leaders and inhabitants, which, in turn, she hopes, will ensure that more care is taken of the resource for future generations. She loves slow travel, which includes long distance walking and has a passion for walking “across countries”, particularly in Europe. She is a dedicated mother of two, stepmother of 4 and has 9 (adorable) grandchildren.
Grant McGimpsey, PhD
Grant McGimpsey was born and raised in St Catharines, Ontario and was educated at the University of Western Ontario, Brock University (B.Sc., M. Sc.) and Queens University (Ph.D., Chemistry). Following 4+ years as a researcher in the Division of Chemistry at the National Research Council in Ottawa, he took a faculty position in the Department of Chemistry at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Worcester, Massachusetts. He was promoted to Associate Professor in 1994 and to Full Professor in 1998. While at WPI, in 1995, he was also a visiting scientist at the Max Planck Institute in Muelheim, Germany and in 2002, he was appointed as an adjunct professor at the University of Massachusetts. Medical School. In 2005, he was appointed Director of the Bioengineering Institute at WPI and in 2007 was also appointed as Associate Provost for Research. In 2011, McGimpsey was appointed Vice President for Research and Sponsored Programs at Kent State University in Ohio and in 2015 became Vice President for Research and Economic Development and the Dean of the Graduate School at the University of North Dakota (UND) in Grand Forks. While at UND he was responsible for increasing external research funding by 70%, developing and implementing a strategic plan for the research enterprise, creating the Research Institute for Autonomous Systems (unmanned aerial vehicles), and building an Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning research center. Over his academic career, McGimpsey published 100 peer reviewed research articles and holds 9 patents. His research was funded by $18M in competitive funding from the National Science Foundation, US Army Medical Research and Materiel Command the Petroleum Research Fund and from corporate sources including Polaroid and Bayer Business Group Diagnostics. His research focused on laser chemistry, nanotechnology, surface chemistry, biosensors and implantable prosthetic devices for amputees. In 2019, McGimpsey retired from UND and moved to Carling, Ontario on Georgian Bay near Franklin Island and Snug Harbour, where he lives full time with his spouse, Margot.
Will Thomson
Will Thomson is a lawyer with the Town of the Blue Mountains, his specialty is in local governance and administration, land use planning and development. In his previous practice Will focused on land use planning, including development and protection, wetlands, species at risk and wind energy. Will is also a founding director of the Living Wish Foundation, whose mission is to deliver end of life wishes to adult patients. As a Collingwood resident, Will and his family enjoy all that Georgian Bay has to offer, including swimming, canoeing and camping in the Summer, and skiing on the snow the Day delivers each Winter. Will has a BAH in Political Science from the University of Guelph and a J.D from the University of Windsor.
Robert Turner
With a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry from the University of Toronto and an MBA from the Ivey Business School, Robert’s career has taken him from a chemical buyer at Procter & Gamble, through CHRO roles within financial services and healthcare, to his current management consulting practice in organizational effectiveness and board governance, having obtained his ICD.D from the Rotman Business School. Water has always been a part of Robert’s life, having been raised in Etobicoke, with his parents’ home on the Humber River, to now living with his wife in Craigleith on the shores of Georgian Bay. Vacations internationally and within Canada always involve water (including that found frozen on ski hills) with shoulder season months, April and November, spent on the shores of Lake Sandra in Dunedin Florida. For Robert, Georgian Bay Forever provides an opportunity to support a data-driven organization that impacts what so many Canadians take for granted: our magnificent Great Lakes and this specific biosphere within Lake Huron. Additionally, Robert sits as a director on three for-profit and not-for-profit boards, plus a fifth role as a council appointment to the Transparency and Accountability Committee for The Town of the Blue Mountains. Robert is married to Pamela, with whom he shares children Whitney and Fraser – all members of The Toronto Ski Club. In addition to skiing, outdoor activities include road biking (with the Collingwood Cycle Club), golf (with Clublink), canoeing, kayaking, and SUPing from his own backyard. Each year Robert and his neighbour Bob raise a Canadian flag offshore to Craigleith’s Depot Library for those enjoying Georgian Bay, utilizing the Town’s Northwind’s Beach.
Committees of the Board
Our recognition program for our generous GBF Circle donors was launched in the spring of 2015 and recognizes, in perpetuity, donors who have reached a lifetime giving level of $15,000 or more. Circle members share our quest to ensure that Georgian Bay remains drinkable, swimmable and fishable for generations to come.
To learn more, please contact Amber Gordon, Director of Development, at 905-880-4945 ext. 3.
Communications and Marketing Committee
This committee is responsible for the myriad of communication vehicles Georgian Bay Forever releases, publishes, e-blasts, twitters, and posts, all to do with the charity’s work on the Bay. The committee is committed to a thorough analysis of primary documents and the development of policies and positions in the best interests of Georgian Bay’s aquatic ecosystem. Its duties include communicating complex scientific information in a language that can be understood by the common reader, succinctly and accurately.
Fund Development Committee
The Fund Development Committee coordinates all Georgian Bay Forever’s fundraising efforts. With a focus on building relationships, it provides opportunities for individuals, foundations and corporations to provide donations in support of GBF’s important scientific and research work.
Governance Committee
This committee chaired by Terry Clark, oversees the running of the organization, ensuring the transparency and accountability of its operations. It seeks candidates for the board that are reflective of the many regions of the Bay. It ensures that the Board has the talents and expertise it needs to carry out its tasks and make well-informed decisions.
Education Committee
This committee has been charged with a clear purpose to foster compelling educational offerings that distinguish GBF from other organizations using science as our content. It makes recommendations to the board about educating constituents and other interested parties concerning issues and approaches that will protect the health and integrity of the Georgian Bay ecosystem and engage communities in solutions.
Finance and Resources Committee
This committee is responsible for ensuring that the books balance and that accounting procedures are compliant with all the relevant regulations, and that the accounting reflects the expenditures.