Board of Directors
John Zarebski, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Local (Chatham-Kent) Consultant.
John is Chair of the Board of Directors. A participant in the initial Chatham-Kent Community Health Centres Steering Committee and a founding board member, John is a long time champion of local and regional social and health related initiatives. John is a Program Consultant with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), a teaching hospital affiliated with the University of Toronto and is a World Health Organization Centre of Excellence. He has over 30 years experience consulting with addiction treatment services and mental health services to improve assessment methods, treatment, harm reduction and program accreditation. John provides consultation services to community coalitions involved in Health Promotion and is an advocate for developing community capacity to create safer communities. His health promotion and prevention work has focused on encouraging the use of early intervention programs to reduce substance use. He currently chairs the Chatham Kent Drug Awareness Council. John has previous board experience with the Child Parent Resource Institute in London and Chatham-Kent Children’s Services (Pearson Centre) Board of Directors.
Bonnie Burke, Corporate Background in Purchasing
Bonnie is Vice President of the Board of Directors, is a founding board member and Site Committee Chairperson. Bonnie comes from a purchasing background in the private sector. She sat on the Wallaceburg Committee for the” Every Life Counts” Campaign – for Physician Recruitment and Retention. She worked on the Wallaceburg and District Industrial Advisory Committee in coordinating the efforts of both the Federal and Provincial governments as well as St. Clair College, Thames Campus, in bringing state of the art instruction to students making their trades in the tool and die Industries locally. Currently Bonnie sees clients for Angel Therapy and Life Coaching.
Sandra McCarthy, Retired Medical Technologist
Sandra is Secretary of the Board of Directors and serves on the United Way Board and is a founding member of the Chatham-Kent Dickens Fellowship Board. She has a special interest in Mental Health and the well-being of people needing care. She realizes the importance of serving the community by furthering good health through her work with the Chatham-Kent Community Health Centres Board
Teresa Fysh, Account Payable/Account Receivable Manager
Teresa is Treasurer of the Board of Directors. She oversees the account payable and receivables for a local company called AgriVenture. She co-chairs for the local Canada D’eh! Celebration. She worked in France and traveled extensively throughout the European Union. She is currently working towards her Certified General Accountant designation.
Dr. Ian Johnston, Pediatrician
Dr. Johnston has worked in a Community Health Centre during his internship. He is a strong advocate for children and youth particularly mental health. This is the Medical Champion that will assist the emerging Community Health Centre in moving forward smoothly with the medical community as well as likely assisting via physician recruitment. Dr. Johnston is a highly respected community member.
Clint Peters, Walpole Island First Nations Councilor
Clint is a member of the Walpole Island Tribal Council for the past six years. He is currently responsible for the Health Portfolio.
Victor Lu, Financial Advisor, CPA, CFA
Victor is currently a financial advisor to various levels of governments in the United States and in the State of Michigan. He is also serving on both the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance Tri-Board and Chatham-Kent Utility Services, Inc. With a background in accounting and finance, he hopes to provide his experiences and skills to the greater good of the Chatham-Kent Community Health Centre.
Wayne Van Damme, Agriculturalist
Wayne is active in the agricultural industry in Chatham-Kent. He has previously served on the Board of Education and brings a strong voice to the health care needs faced by the farming community and rural community
Mary Ellen Parker, Chief Executive Officer, Alzheimer Society of Chatham-Kent
Mary Ellen Parker is the CEO of the Alzheimer Society of Chatham-Kent. She has been associated with the Alzheimer Society for over 15 years, initially as a volunteer. She volunteered her time first in policy development, later becoming secretary and then vice president of the Board of Directors before becoming Executive Director for the London and Middlesex Chapter for 7 years. Before this, she spent 12 years managing the PSW Programs for several community agencies, most recently St. Elizabeth Health Care. She is a current or former member of a number of groups, including both the Public Policy Advisory Committee and the Program Standards Committee of the Alzheimer Society of Ontario (ASO) and board member of the Institute of Aging for the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). She is past chair of the West Elgin Community Health Centre and sits on the Association of Ontario Health Centres (AOHC) board of directors. She is passionate about senior’s issues and anti-oppression.
Shirley Davies, Retired Public Health Nurse
Shirley has worked over 40 years in the health care field, primarily in public health in the Chatham and Windsor areas. Her interests lie in prevention and health promotion; she has experience both at the field level and in management. She has also liased with various levels of government, municipal and provincial. She served as a founding member of the Sandwich Community Health Centre in Windsor.
Serge Brisson, Enseignant / Teacher
Serge teaches Health and Physical Education at École Ste Marie. He has held positions at the community level in Québec and carried out a brief stay in the Army. He has a keen interest in health and a healthy lifestyle and demonstrates this by riding his bike to school year round. He is a member of the Mieux-être / Wellness committee at work. Serge is a healthy eating enthusiast and has created a healthy snacks program at his school. Serge was also provincial chairman of AREF and works locally with La Girouette. He was also a lecturer for the University of Ottawa and taught courses for specialist teachers
