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National Board of Directors
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Dr. Ralph Strother
Chair, Member at-Large
Dr. Ralph Strother (MD, CCFP, FCFP, D Sport Med) currently works for the Max Bell and Norlien Foundations. He is a retired professor in the Faculty of Medicine with an adjunct appointment in the Faculty of Kinesiology at the University of Calgary.
He was CEO and co-founder of FitforeGolf Inc. and CEO of Stratimed Limited. Dr. Strother has won the Dr. Thomas Pashby Award for research in the field of injury prevention, was named a distinguished lecturer at the University of Calgary, distinguished alumni of Henry Wise Wood High School and Lifetime Texas Ex of the University of Texas at Austin.
He has served as chairman of The Calgary Foundation and other non-profit boards including Alberta Mentor Foundation for Youth (AMFY), Ester Honens Foundation and the Alberta Adolescent Recovery Centre (AARC). Dr. Strother joined the National Board of the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation in March of 2008 having served for several years on Prairies/NWT Regional Board of the Foundation. |
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Deborah Dubenofsky
1st Vice Chair (Ontario Chair)
Deborah Dubenofsky is currently City Manager with the City of Brampton, Canada's 2nd fastest growing City. Prior to joining the City of Brampton, Deborah was a Senior Consultant at Canada's' largest government relations firm, where she developed and executed public affairs and government relations' strategies for companies, not-for-profit organizations and individuals. While working for the Government of Ontario. Deborah served as Deputy Chief of Staff to the Premier of Ontario. In this role she was the principal policy advisor to the Premier and the Cabinet on all matters affecting the province of Ontario.
To complement her provincial knowledge, Deborah also has expertise within the municipal sector, having worked for the Association of Municipalities of Ontario and the Ontario Municipal Social Services Association. Deborah received her BA from the University of Toronto and an MA in public administration from Queen's University. Deborah has been an active volunteer with the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation since 2001 currently serving as the Vice Chair of the Board of Directors and Chair of the Revenue Development Advisory Committee. |
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Martin Kratz
2nd Vice Chair (Prairies/NWT Chair)
Martin Kratz is an internationally acclaimed lawyer, accomplished author and academic leader. Among other roles, Mr. Kratz leads the Intellectual Property Practice Group for Bennett Jones LLP. Among other honors, he has been acknowledged as one of Canada’s most creative lawyers by LEXPERT-Thomson and one of Canada’s leading lawyers in The LEXPERT/American Lawyer's Guide to the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada and in Woodward White’s The Best Lawyers in Canada.
Mr. Kratz is the national co-director of Osgoode Hall Law School's Intellectual Property LLM program and has written over 250 publications on various topics involving research, development, intellectual property and health and other technology law matters. Mr. Kratz joined the Prairies/NWT Board of the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation in 2007 and he became a member of the National Board of Directors in June of 2009. |
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Valerie Steele
Member At-Large, (Chair of Audit, Finance and Investment Committee)
Valerie Steele is a results-focused business leader with a broad range of experience managing businesses, projects and people across geographies, industries and functional areas. She is a Chartered Accountant with a specialty designation in Investigative and Forensic Accounting and is a Chartered Business Valuator. Ms. Steele has recently established a financial consulting firm. Prior to 2009, Ms. Steele was a partner in a major Canadian public accounting firm.
Ms. Steele also serves on the Canadian Executive Committee and the Board of the International Women's Forum. Valerie joined the National Board of the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation in September 2009 as the National Treasurer.
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Gail Rudderham Chernin
Secretary, (Atlantic Chair)
Gail Rudderham Chernin,Q.C.,has taken the reins as Chair of the Board of Directors for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation - Atlantic Region. A resident of Sydney, Nova Scotia, Gail is a practicing lawyer at The Breton Law Group and is past President of the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society. Gail has had many professional and personal achievements and is very committed to making a difference in her community.
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Joan Chambers
Board Director
Joan is a partner at Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP in Vancouver. Joan's areas of practice are in non-profit organizations, venture capital financing, mergers and acquisitions, general corporate matters, joint venture transactions, commercial transactions, business process outsourcings and general business law. Joan was an adjunct professor at the University of British Columbia Law School from 1999 to 2001 teaching a Close Corporations seminar course. Joan joined the BC/Yukon Region board in 2001 and became a member of the national board of directors in 2002. |
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Susan Ewanick
Board Director (BC/Yukon Chair)
Susan Ewanick is Vice-President, Retail Distribution at CIBC. She joined CIBC in 1990 and during her time with the company has held various positions in Branch Banking, Business Banking, and Commercial Banking. In 2005, Susan assumed the role of Market Vice President and leadership responsibility for CIBC Retail Distribution in British Columbia and the Northern Territories, excluding the Greater Vancouver Area. Prior to that appointment, she was the Associate Vice-President for Branch and Small Business Banking in the Fraser Valley, and structured debt financing for large private and public companies for CIBC Commercial Banking in Atlantic Canada. Susan holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia where she attended university on a basketball scholarship. In 2005, she completed a Masters of Business Administration, Executive Management, from Royal Roads University in Victoria, British Columbia, which included international business studies at the University of Grenoble, in Grenoble, France. Susan joined the BC/Yukon Region’s Board of Directors in 2007 and joined the National Board in 2010. |
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Shirley Forrest
Board Director
Shirley Forrest is a Certified Management Consultant (CMC) and has over thirty years of experience in assisting clients with their business challenges. She is a former Associate Partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLB and is currently a partner at Forrest & Associates. She has served on a number of not-for-profit boards, including having chaired the Canadian Information Processing Society (CIPS) Edmonton section.
Shirley is a graduate of the Universities of Alberta and British Columbia. She has completed the Institute of Corporate Directors Education Program and is certified by the Institute as an ICD.D. She is also ITIL certified in IT Best Practice and is a certified Business Continuity Planner. Her areas of practice include: board governance, policy; corporate and IT strategy; and the development of Enterprise Risk Management Frameworks. She also has a strong background in Information Systems, having held positions with IBM, Systemhouse and EDS during her career.
Shirley lives in Edmonton and has two grown children and two grandchildren. |
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Lenora Gates
Board Director
Lenora has been a BC/Yukon board member since June 2003 and was appointed to the national board in 2011. She is a founding partner of BLJC Orange National Retail Group with offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal. BLJC Orange provides real estate consulting and brokerage services to regional, national and international retailers on their expansion into the Canadian market. Lenora has represented noted retail tenants such as Whole Foods, Indigo, Chapters, Starbucks, Steve Nash Fitness, Crate and Barrel. She sits on the board of CREW (Commercial Real Estate Women) and is the current President of the Vancouver Chapter. Lenora was nominated as "Canadian Woman Entrepreneur of the Year" in 2002 and 2004. She chaired Lifelines Targeted Fundraising which helped raise over $550,000. This money was applied to the purchase of the first Digital Image Mammography machine in B.C. currently located in the B.C. Cancer Agency. |
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Jodi Hutchinson
Board Director
Jodi Hutchinson is a partner at Red Letter Philanthropy Counsel in Windsor, Nova Scotia. Over the course of her 25-year fund raising career, Jodi has directed advancement programs at Mount Allison University, Acadia University and Saint Mary's University. She has actively contributed to the success of capital campaigns (Universitas, Acadia Advantage and Hearts & Minds, respectively) for these three institutions. She holds a BA (Honours in English and History) from Mount Allison University and Bachelor of Education (BEd) from Saint Francis Xavier University.
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Susan Milburn
Board Director
Susan Milburn is a long time resident of Saskatoon and a graduate of the University of Saskatchewan, earning Bachelor of Commerce and Master of Business Administration degrees. She has been employed in the investment industry for many years, and currently serves as Vice President and Branch Manager for Raymond James Ltd.
Susan has served on many boards, both in the for-profit sector and in the charitable sector. She has experience at the board table with provincial crown corporations, a university, a municipal multi purpose facility and several not-for-profit organizations, as well as experience gained as a pension plan trustee. In addition, she volunteered as a mentor with leadership candidates in a Saskatoon based program, and served as a member of an Advisory Council to Raymond James in the U.S.
Susan has been included in Saskatchewan Business Magazines’ annual list of 10 Most Influential Women, and recently received the Alumni Service Award from the U of S Alumni Association.
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Jennifer L. Perry
Board Director
Jennifer Perry is a lawyer with HRA in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. In the course of her career path, Jennifer has run her own franchise, worked as an employee relations consultant with a national financial institution, and has practiced law both as a sole practitioner and as a member of a large reputable Toronto firm. She is active in the legal community and is the PEI Branch Chair of the Labour and Employment Section of the Canadian Bar Association.
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Sarah Simpson
Board Director
(Bio coming soon)
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Dr. Gurmit Singh
Board Director
Dr. Gurmit Singh is a Senior Scientist at the Hamilton Health Sciences and Professor of Pathology and Molecular Medicine at McMaster University in Hamilton. His research interests include experimental therapeutics in breast cancer, with an emphasis in bone metastasis and cancer pain. He has edited 3 books and published over 170 papers.
Dr. Singh joined the National Board of the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation in 2009 and is a member of the board of directors for the Ontario Region. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of CBCRA, is a member of the Ontario Region’s Research and Health Care Advisory Committee and a member of the Region’s grant review panels. He serves on a number of national and international scientific review panels that include CIHR, NCIC, and U.S. Army and Navel panels. |
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Barry Yontef
Member At-Large
Barry Yontef has over 25 years of diverse transaction and operating experience in public and private debt and equity markets, banking, mergers, acquisitions and debt restructuring. Currently, he is an owner and managing partner of Penfund, a Toronto based private equity firm. Barry has worked in leadership roles in a range of organizations, where he has been responsible for addressing financial and marketing needs.
Barry holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Toronto and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Chicago. Barry joined the Ontario Region Board in June 2006 and began his second two-year term in June 2008. He chairs the Region’s Finance and Risk Management Committee and was nominated to the position of Region Treasurer beginning in June 2007. He also represents the Region on the National Board of Directors of the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. |
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