Board of Directors

Dave Donaldson

Board Chair

Dave Donaldson is the retired Dean of the School of Business at Algonquin College and serves as a member of the Ottawa Police Services Board and Vice Chair of the Ottawa Safety Council. His previous volunteerism includes Chair of the Ottawa Chamber of Commerce and the Association of Canadian Business Schools. Additional community activity has included several positions with non-profits and business associations in Ottawa and Vancouver. He was a founding principal in Stars4SUCCESS, a unique partnership with downtown Vancouver hotels which retrained street youth.

Dave has a lifetime membership with the Ottawa Board of Trade, received the Algonquin College President’s Star award and was the inaugural winner of the Community Booster award from the Best Ottawa Business (BOBs) awards. He was awarded the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee medal as well as the Order of the Tulip as a Chamber past chair. He has also received an Algonquin College Student Association award of excellence recognizing outstanding contribution to student life at Algonquin.

Dave serves as Ex-Officio Director member on all committees.

Chantal Desmarais Barton

Board Vice Chair

Dr. Chantal Desmarais Barton is an experienced and innovative leader with over 25 years of driving advancements in social, educational, scientific, technological, and healthcare sectors.

She started her career in the telecommunications industry as a researcher in the Corporate Design Group at Nortel Networks and subsequently took on a variety of progressively challenging roles in the private, not-for-profit and public sectors. In her current role as Director, Special Initiatives at a government R&D organization, she oversees large-scale strategic initiatives in the Digital Technologies Research Centre (DT), such as the research center’s strategic planning and evaluation. She also leads new initiatives that advance the organization’s strategic goals, such as the creation and implementation of new DT R&D partnerships, in Canada and internationally, with industry, academia and government.

Fluent in both English and French, she holds a Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology (Cognitive Psychology and Language) from the University of Ottawa, a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Western University, a Project Management Professional (PMP) accreditation, and a graduate diploma in Social Organization Development. She also regularly volunteers with several environmental groups.

Chantal serves as Chair of the Shepherds of Good Hope Governance Committee.

Darryl Squires

Board Treasurer

Darryl Squires has been active for the last 20 years as the co-owner of a successful medium sized construction firm and property developer.

Prior to that Darryl spent 11 years in a senior financial role advising public corporations on mergers and acquisition and raising equity and debt capital. He also has experience sitting on the board of directors of public and private corporations, including audit committee service. Darryl has an HBA from the Ivey School of Business (with distinction) at the University of Western Ontario.

Darryl serves as Chair of the Shepherds of Good Hope Finance Committee.

Ashley Clark

Director

Ashley is an Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation Specialist dedicated to advancing equity, cultural competency, and meaningful engagement between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities.

As the Founder of Bougie Birch, Ashley integrates traditional knowledge with contemporary approaches to education, advocacy, and business development. With expertise in decolonization, policy advising, and Indigenous cultural competency training, Ashley collaborates with organizations to foster inclusive and respectful workplaces.

Ashley has also advised political campaigns on Indigenous relations and engagement, ensuring reconciliation is meaningfully embedded in policy and leadership strategies. Passionate about bridging perspectives, Ashley helps institutions navigate reconciliation with authenticity, ensuring Indigenous voices are heard and valued in decision-making processes.

Ashley brings a wealth of experience in community engagement, policy development, and cultural awareness training, making a meaningful impact in fostering understanding and collaboration between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities.

Ashley serves on the Shepherds of Good Hope Finance Committee.

Catherine Danbrook

Director

Catherine has over 35 years of health care experience, including more than 25 years in leadership positions in both community and hospital organizations. Her areas of expertise include Geriatrics, Mental Health, Palliative and Hospice Care, Home and Community Care and Rehabilitation. Recently retired after eight years as CEO of Community Care Health Network in Kawartha Lakes, Catherine has held positions of Vice-President Clinical Programs at The Ottawa Hospital; Chief Executive Officer of the Rehabilitation Centre of Ottawa; and Executive Director of the Ottawa-Carleton Regional Home Care Program.

While in Kawartha Lakes, Catherine chaired The Central East LHIN Mental Health Network as well as the Central East Senior Care Network.

Catherine holds a Master of Health Administration degree and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree, both from the University of Ottawa and is a Certified Health Executive with the Canadian College of Health Leaders. She has interests in change management, quality improvement, patient safety, and population health initiatives.

Catherine was a surveyor with Accreditation Canada on its National and International teams for 12 years and in the spring of 2019, she was appointed to the Ontario Consent and Capacity Board as a Public Member.

Catherine has also served as Board Vice Chair (2020-2024) and Governance Committee Chair (2020-2024) and currently serves on the Shepherds of Good Hope Finance Committee.

John James

Director

Growing up in Toronto’s Scarborough neighbourhood, John developed an interest in people and helping the community at a young age. John obtained a B.A. in Political Science from York University and then embarked on a three-month backpacking tour across Europe. This trip inspired a lifelong love of travel and connecting with people.

In 1995, John joined the RCMP. Over his career as a Mountie, he was posted in British Columbia, Nunavut, Nova Scotia and recently retired at HQ Ottawa. John has varied police experience including general duty, serious crime, crisis negotiation, human trafficking, crime prevention, tactical team and First Nations policing. John’s work for the RCMP has taken him to every province and territory with the exception of the Yukon.

John brings to the Shepherds of Good Hope Board an extensive background in volunteer work. He has held a variety of roles across the country in both frontline volunteering duties and several non-profit boards of directors. Some of the organizations John has served with include the Scarborough Distress Centre, Big Brothers, Pathways to Education, youth softball organizations and several adult literacy organizations in BC, Ontario and Nova Scotia. More recently, John served as the President of the Pinecrest Queensway Community Health Centre Board and as President of the Canadian Mental Health Association Board, Ottawa Branch. John has served on the National Board of Pathways to Education Canada and served on the Board of Operation Come Home. He currently serves on the Board of Hospice Care Ottawa and on the Board of Governors of Algonquin College.

John’s passion is travel, and he has currently backpacked to approximately 70 countries. When he’s not on the road, John enjoys a quiet existence with his wife and son and their dog, Barley, in his adopted home of Ottawa.

John serves on the Shepherds of Good Hope Governance Committee.

Madison McCulloch

Director

Madison is the Manager of a Housing First program with Options Housing. Madison has been working in the housing and homelessness service sector for over 5 years, with both front-line experience as a Housing-Based Case Manager and program/project management experience.

Having completed a Master’s and Bachelor’s degree in social work, Madison had her first field placement at the Shepherds of Good Hope in 2015 where she developed an early interest in working with individuals experiencing homelessness.

Passionate about systemic solutions to homelessness in her community, Madison has led the kick-off of several projects in Ottawa aimed at ending and preventing homelessness including a rapid rehousing pilot, a shelter diversion pilot, a community housing peer support pilot and hoarding support program.

Madison serves on the Shepherds of Good Hope Governance Committee.

John Peters

Honorary Officer Emeritus

John has been on the Board of Directors of Shepherds of Good Hope since 1993. He has served as Chair and Vice-Chair of the Board as well as Chair of the Human Resources Committee (HRC), which he continues to contribute to as a member. John is also a Past Chair and a Director on the Shepherds of Good Hope Foundation Board.

John is a partner at Gowling WLG practising in the Advocacy Department and in particular, the Employment, Labour and Equalities Group. Prior to joining Gowling WLG, John was Principal Litigation Counsel at Export Development Canada (EDC) where he led the Litigation Management team, which delivers advice on all liability-related issues. With over 29 years of experience as a lawyer, John has extensive legal knowledge and experience in the areas of insurance and employment law as well as general litigation matters. John has received both the Gordon F. Henderson Award from the County of Carleton Law Association (2007) and the Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteers from the Governor General of Canada (August 2017) in recognition of his work with Shepherds.

John will continue to serve as a member of the Governance Committee and is an Honorary Officer Emeritus of Shepherds of Good Hope.

Lisa Roots

Director

Lisa started her career in community justice working with the John Howard Society (JHS) of Ottawa. Her work involved supporting individuals who are marginalized, vulnerable and most often lacking strong community and family supports.

Lisa is currently a professor at Algonquin College in the Police and Public Safety Institute. She has been recognized by the Students’ Association for her college community engagement, with the Chris Warburton Award of Excellence; by the College for her teamwork, with an Employee Team Award; and by the Students’ Association for excellence in teaching. Lisa is currently teaching in the Police Foundations program.

In addition to her work at Algonquin, Lisa volunteers with Circles of Support and Accountability (CoSA). CoSA is a reintegration program inspired by restorative justice principles. The program aims to reduce victimization by assisting people who have committed sexual offences to lead responsible, constructive, and accountable lives in the community. Lisa’s work at CoSA involves working with both individuals who are living in the community and individuals who are incarcerated.

Lisa also works part time with Family Services Ottawa in their Supervised Access program. This program provides a safe, neutral, and child-focused setting for children to visit with their parent or relative. All visits and exchanges take place under the supervision of trained staff.

Lisa serves on the Shepherds of Good Hope Governance Committee.

Robin Sellar

Director

Robin Sellar has over 30 years of executive-level experience in external audit, taxation, corporate and financial planning, risk management, internal audit, strategy development, and governance and alliance management. She is a highly experienced, mature professional with outstanding credentials and impeccable personal ethics. She is an accomplished communicator, composed and diplomatic, and has had extensive experience speaking to large audiences, especially in the area of governance, risk management and internal audit.

Robin is currently the Managing Partner of Sellar Consulting, successfully providing governance, risk management, performance management and assurance services to public and private sector organizations.

She is a global thought leader at the Committee level with the Institute of Internal Auditors. She has significant governance experience and currently serves on a number of paid and volunteer Boards as Chair of the Audit Committee and/or Treasurer. Robin is a Chartered Accountant, a US CPA, CIA, and holds a Kellogg MBA from Northwestern, Illinois.

Robin serves on the Shepherds of Good Hope Finance Committee.

Kassondra Walters

Director

Kassondra Walters is the Founder & CEO and Principal Consultant of KD Management & Consulting, a 100% Indigenous woman-owned social enterprise rooted in the spirit of Reconciliation. With mixed Indigenous First Nations and Settler heritage, Kassondra walks as both bridge and builder, grounded in ceremony, cultural responsibility, and a sacred commitment to create systems change that honours Indigenous voices, knowledge, and sovereignty. Kassondra’s leadership is defined by relational accountability, emotional intelligence, and unwavering purpose, meeting people where they are and holding space for transformative growth.

As a trusted advisor, facilitator, and strategist, Kassondra supports governments, nonprofits, and Indigenous organizations in co-creating meaningful solutions rooted in equity and impact. KD Management & Consulting’s services span Indigenous community development, strategic planning, policy design, entrepreneurial education, and wholistic leadership coaching. Whether guiding national initiatives aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals or developing grassroots incubator programs, Kassondra leads with integrity, humility, and a deep reverence for community wisdom.

Kassondra serves on the Shepherds of Good Hope Governance Committee.