Board Members and Staff

Nancy Penny, President

Nancy Penny has worked for over ten years in a managerial position for a property development company and has been deeply involved in community environmental issues for over 15 years.

A past president of the Terraview Willowfield School Community Council, Nancy spearheaded local efforts to regenerate the headwaters of Toronto’s Taylor Massey Creek near Highway 401 and Pharmacy Avenue.

Working with the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, City of Scarborough and then the City of Toronto following municipal amalgamation, as well as other partners, the first stage of the regeneration of Terraview Willowfield was completed in xxxx, resulting in the creation of a sediment plunge pool, two large ponds, an experimental storm water treatment pond, and trails, as well as extensive plantings.

Nancy still sits on the school community council, served two terms on the Don Watershed Regeneration Council, is a past Chair of the Taylor Massey Project, and continues to work for additional headwaters regeneration in Taylor Massey Creek. Click to see an article on the Taylor Massey Project in Canadian Water Treatment.

 

Janet Klees, Secretary

Janet, her husband Harry, and their children Bram and Joanna started a neighbourhood clean-up of their small part of the Taylor Massey Creek in 1995. The clean-up has its roots in Janet’s early years growing up and hiking on Vancouver Island, her awareness of the importance and fragility of nature, and her dedication to responsible stewardship.

The event rallied several neighbours who wanted to do something positive, and for fifteen years has consistently attracted 60-70 people, drawing over 100 on several occasions. The event now includes a tree planting and is followed by a potluck meal. Some years, there is even a fall planting as well. More importantly, the clean-up served as a model for much of the Taylor Massey Project’s outreach: involving neighbours in the creeks near where they live, and then knitting the groups together.

This is consistent with Janet's belief that real change begins at home.  Theirs is a home schooling family where both Bram and Joanna are also involved in and contributing to the life of their community, and from which Janet has launched many similar and practical, community-development initiatives into action.

Outside of the home, Janet has woven her life with the lives of people with disabilities, their families, and the community, for over 25 years. For the past 15 years she has been coordinator with the family-governed Deohaeko Support Network, a group of families who designed and built a 105 unit housing co-operative, which seven of their sons and daughters with disabilities now call home. She is the author of two books directly rooted in the Deohaeko experience, We Come Bearing Gifts and Our Presence has Roots, now sold around the world to present the unique options of this family group.

Janet also works closely with other Scarborough families, and several family groups and projects across Ontario’s Durham Region. All of her work focuses on individually-designed arrangements, kept rich and secure through a principled focus on the members living meaningful, involved, and secure lives within their welcoming communities.

As a result of these experiences, Janet now presents, consults and teaches across Canada, as well as in Holland, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and other countries around the world.

 

Dr. Jacques Carrier, Treasurer

Dr. Carrier is a business solutions consultant, combining over 25 years of consulting experiences as an IT professional with practical and theoretical expertise. With a Chemical Engineer degree from l’Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal and a Doctorate in Chemical Engineering from l’Institut National Polytechnique de Toulouse, France, Dr. Carrier delivers sound and innovative solutions for business problems involving process engineering, strategic planning, software development, quality assurance,
personnel development, and system and process implementation.

Jacques is also an avid outdoors person, whether cycling or back-country canoeing and fishing.

Bob Duncanson, Director

Bob’s interest in the environment and specifically water dates back to the early 1990’s when he and his wife founded an environmental company in Toronto called Earthly Goods. His interest and research into water issues led him to conclude that water protection for all Ontarians must start with protecting Ontario’s headwaters. He was the founding Executive Director of Ontario Headwaters Institute in 2004.

In his day job as the Executive Director of  the Georgian Bay Association, an umbrella group for 23 cottager associations along the eastern and northern shores of Georgian Bay, he remains focused on water issues.

In his free time, Bob is a public appointee to the South Georgian Bay – Lake Simcoe Source Protection Committee, a member of the Dufferin South Simcoe Land Stewardship Network, and a public appointee to the Ontario Professional Foresters Association.

Staff

Andrew McCammon, Executive Director

Andrew has worked in public facilitation, environmental project management, and communications since1990, working as a consultant, in government agencies, and in the not-for-profit sector. These experiences have provided Andrew with extensive, practical knowledge in pollution prevention, natural heritage restoration, municipal environmental management, and clean air and climate change.

A past chair of the Environmental Forum and the Friends of the Don East, Andrew founded the Taylor Massey Project in 2003. The TMP is a community-based social-marketing initiative. Working with about 20 partner organizations, the TMP staged 67 events in its first 6 years, with 3,870 participants planting 3,550 trees and shrubs and picking up more than 1,300 bags of litter  -  on an annual budget of $1,000.00.  Andrew was selected a local eco hero by Green Living Magazine in the fall of 2008. Click here to see a pdf of this article.

Andrew has been the author or editor of hundreds of environmental publications and reports and has coordinated or facilitated a similar number of events. His networking skills and experience in community engagement will help position the OHI for a meaningful role in efforts to preserve Ontario’s headwaters.

Return to About Us.