2021 – 2022 Board of Directors
Don Osborne, Chair
John O’Brien, Vice Chair, Treasurer and Chair, Finance Committee
Mae Radford, Secretary and Chair, Governance Committee
Dave Dyson, Past Chair
Sharon Aitken Chair, Resource Development Committee
Graham Bentley, Chair, Strategic Planning Committee
Donna Commerford
Mike Cook
Deanna Heroux
Kate Johnston
Richard McLean, Chair, Risk Management Committee
Sheryl King
Victoria Langdon
Michelle Shilton
Elaine Matthew
Don Osborne, Chair and Chair, Expansion Committee
Don is a proven senior manager with experience in the United States and Canada in energy efficient buildings; project, construction and facility management; engineering; electric energy; oil and natural gas; and pipelines. Don currently provides consulting, project development and project management services to commercial and institutional building owners. Don has managed project teams of architects, engineers (mechanical, electrical, structural), general contractors and testing and inspection specialists.
Chair Board of Directors, Ex-Officio: Finance, Governance, Strategic Planning, Risk Management, Revenue Development
Carpenter Hospice, Burlington ON / Nov 2015 – Present – 6 years 9 months
Health – Carpenter Hospice offers community based residential palliative care and associated family support programs.
Director, Vice Chair and Treasurer
Halton Fresh Food Box, Burlington ON / Jun 2010 – Oct 2016 – 6 years 5 months
Poverty Alleviation – Halton Fresh Food Box is the second largest fresh food box program in Canada. HFFB packs about 13,000 boxes per year. Emphasis is placed on serving low income families and individuals, new Canadians and seniors.
Director
Brantwell Community Corporation, Burlington ON / Feb 2001 – Jul 2005 – 4 years 6 months
Social Services – Brantwell Village was initially conceived as an aging in place community incorporating barrier free design. The development included town homes and has been completed.
Member of the Board of Governors, Chair Building Committee of the Board (and subsequent, citizen member)
Joseph Brant Hospital, Burlington,ON / Mar 1989 – Oct 2013 – 24 years 8 months
Health – Joseph Brant Hospital is Burlington’s acute care community hospital. In 2003, Mr. Osborne continued as a citizen member of the Building Committee to complete a satellite rehabilitation and reactivation facility ,Wellness House, and a 30 station satellite dialysis unit at Wellness House. These projects were commissioned in 2008 but the support work for these projects continued to 2013.
“Through my involvement with Joseph Brant Hospital, I developed an understanding of the critical need for palliative services beyond the institutional services offered in our acute care community hospitals. Carpenter Hospice provides high quality residential care options for patients and families in very difficult times. As a Board member, I hope to contribute to the ongoing success of this remarkable organization.”
John O’Brien, Vice-Chair, Treasurer and Chair, Finance Committee
John O’Brien has enjoyed a thirty-year career with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Hamilton, primarily as Director of Cemeteries and Business Administrator, and most recently in the role of Episcopal Delegate for Cemeteries and Insurance. He has served on the Board of St. Joseph Villa in Dundas, a Long Term Care facility and currently serves as a Director on the Board of the Bereavement Authority of Ontario.
John grew up in Burlington and has recently relocated to Aldershot after living in Hamilton for many years. He is happy to be involved in the community again through the Carpenter Hospice.
“Having had the privilege of assisting many grieving families over the years, and known friends and colleagues who have experienced the caring environment of the Carpenter Hospice in their final days, I have come to appreciate just how important compassionate end of life care is to the residents and their families. I hope to bring greater awareness of this important facility to the Burlington community and through the collective efforts of the Board, Staff and Volunteers help to ensure its long term sustainability.”
Mae Radford, Secretary and Chair, Governance Committee
With an extensive nursing career as a registered nurse in the hospital and community health and support services, in her last position, Mae served as Manager, Volunteer Services at VON Hamilton, overseeing operations with more than 1,700 volunteers delivering a variety of community health and support services one of which was a Palliative Volunteer Visiting Program. Mae’s interests extend to issues related to violence against woman and human rights. She served on the Advisory Committee on Violence against Women for the City of Burlington and the Ontario Human Rights Commission. She is serving the community through Rotary and on the Board of Directors, Joseph Brant Hospital, and this year, Mae was elected as a Director for the Board of Carpenter Hospice.
“As a nurse, my interest has been to care for people, to help them achieve comfort and relief from any pain, physical, mental, emotional or spiritual. I am proud to join with this strong leadership team and Board in continuing excellence in hospice care and broadening awareness of hospice in our community.”
Dave Dyson, Past Chair
Dave Dyson is a long-time Burlington resident who has worked primarily in banking and financial services since obtaining his MBA from McMaster University. He started his own business in the financial services field, which he ran successfully until 2004 when he sold the firm to devote himself to family and community endeavours. A total “people person,” Dave believes involvement drives success. He is currently an active member and director of the Burlington Golf and Country Club, most recently serving on numerous committees, running golf, curling and social events.
“To me, success in life is about much more than just success in business. I think that notion stems from the experience of losing my older brother to cancer when I was barely in my teens and realizing the importance of support when people are facing terminal illness. Working with Carpenter Hospice has been cathartic for me in so many ways. I’m proud of the role we play in the community and I am proud to spread the word so that others know what services are available to them through the hospice.”
Sharon Aitken
Sharon graduated from McMaster University with a Bachelor of Arts Honours Political Science. Early in her career she and her husband settled in Burlington where they subsequently raised their two sons and three White West Highland terriers.
As a senior manager with extensive experience in the educational fund raising environment and the telecommunications industry, she fine-tuned her business and management skills throughout an exciting career with three leading organizations: Government of Canada, Bell, and Sheridan College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning. During her time at Sheridan, Sharon worked on numerous fund-raising initiatives and campaigns helping to deliver exceptional results and guide teams to extraordinary performance. Sharon has been a long-time volunteer in Hamilton, Burlington and Oakville helping to support a number of various organizations and charities including Board involvement with: Oakville Economic Development Alliance, Athena – Oakville, Burlington Economic Development Corporation, C.F.U.W. – Burlington, Muldrew Lake Cottager’s Association, and Open Doors – Burlington @ St. Christopher’s.
“I believe we all need to give back to our communities by offering our skills and resources to organizations that help others. I look forward to joining the Board of this remarkable community resource.”
Graham Bentley, Chair, Strategic Planning Committee
Graham Bentley is a partner with Bay Consulting Group with more than 35 years of experience in consulting to the Ontario Government, not-for-profit organizations, regional health care planning bodies, hospitals, long-term care residences, child welfare and children’s mental health agencies and local governments. Graham is a professional engineer with a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from the University of Toronto and a master’s degree in business administration from York University. As part of his community activities, he has provided consulting services for the Board of the Art Gallery of Burlington on a voluntary basis.
“Over my consulting career I have seen the increasing importance of hospice care in helping families and their loved ones face the many challenges presented by this most difficult stage in life. My goal as a board member is to contribute to the continued success of Carpenter Hospice as vital community resource in providing high quality care in a comforting and supportive environment.”
Donna Commerford
Having spent most of her career in the Education field, teaching in both the elementary and secondary panel, Donna has also worked as a School Administrator and Board Consultant with both the Catholic and Public Boards of Education across Ontario. More recently, she has been working with IBM as an Educational Consultant assisting School Districts in the development of innovative technology strategies and opportunities for implementation. Having worked with numerous Districts across Canada, including First Nation Reserves, Donna has extensive experience in both strategic planning and project management. She has served on many Charitable Boards and committees including Chair of the Cobourg Family YMCA. Since moving to Burlington, Donna has been involved with Ronald McDonald House and has chaired their annual Gala for several years and more recently was involved with the planning of the 100-year Gala celebration of the Rotary Club of Hamilton.
“I am honoured to be part of the Board of Directors of Carpenter Hospice. The service provided by Carpenter Hospice is vital to our community. Providing a loving and peaceful environment for the whole family in their time of need is so important and must be maintained.”
Mike Cook
Mike Cook has been a consultant for most of his career. The first half of his consulting career was spent in Ottawa delivering transformation projects to the Federal Government. The second half of his career has been spent in Toronto, with a two-year deployment to New York, leading the Financial Services Sector of IBM’s consulting business. The common theme to all of his practice has been scope and impact: the projects Mike has worked on have been transformative in that they deployed a new business process through new technology within a restructured organization embracing an evolved culture. Burlington has been home to Mike and his family since 2006.
“My introduction to Carpenter was personal. Thanks to an outstandingly dedicated team, my mother left this earth surrounded by love and care and dignity. It is my aspiration to ensure this extraordinary care continues to be available to all in Burlington who need it. “
Deanna Heroux
Deanna is Director in the Health and Life Sciences management consulting practice at KPMG. For the past 15 years, Deanna’s focus has been to help advance our health and social care system – working with system leaders and key stakeholder communities of hospitals, LHINs, provincial government and municipal government. Deanna brings extensive experience in transformational change through strategy development, integration and system redesign initiatives and organizational reviews in healthcare, social services and the broader public sector.
“It is a privilege to serve on the board of the Carpenter Hospice – a true jewel in our community. My core belief is that the end of life journey is about living every moment and holistically caring for and supporting individuals and their families. I look forward to contributing to this wonderful organization’s continued success.”
Kate Johnson
After a thirty-year career in senior management positions with the Region of Halton, Kate established Kate Johnston Consulting where she delivers innovative and practical customer-centred service solutions to the public sector that improve customer satisfaction, build trust and confidence in government, and result in continuous improvement. Kate is an active member of the Rotary Club of Burlington North where she is a past president (2013/2014) and has been twice awarded the Paul Harris Fellowship Award.
“I am honoured to be part of the Board of Directors of Carpenter Hospice. Carpenter Hospice plays a vital role in supporting the community at some of the most difficult times in our lives, and I look forward to working with the Board and staff of the Hospice in continuing to provide excellent services that are people-centric.”
Richard McLean, Chair, Risk Management Committee
Dick McLean is an experienced physician leader who recently retired from his role as Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Executive 
at Hamilton Health Sciences. His career began in Toronto where he eventually became the director of Critical Care at Sunnybrook Health Sciences, before moving to Hamilton Health Sciences. He held a number of leadership roles within HHS over his 20 year career there. His involvement in LHIN and Provincial Committees provided him with a broad exposure to the Health Care System. He is excited about the opportunity that Carpenter Hospice provides to contribute to the community.
“My practice as a critical care physician has driven a passion for enhancing end of life care. Carpenter Hospice plays such an important role in our community supporting patients and families through this phase of life. It’s an honor to be part of this wonderful organization”
Victoria Langdon
Victoria Langdon is presently Chief of Staff for the Mayor of the City of Burlington. She has worked in senior strategic, marketing and global communications roles for MD Financial (a division of Scotia Bank), Sun Life, Manulife, and Rogers, managing teams across Canada, the U.S., and Asia.
She is the co-author of the book Inheritance: How to Receive One, How to Leave One, and a contributing editor to the book Financial Care for Your Aging Parent. She is a graduate of the University of Toronto and a recipient of the Canadian Securities Course (CSC) from the Canadian Securities Institute. She was born and raised in Burlington and now raises her family there.
“Having lost my father to cancer at a young age, I know first-hand how important it is to provide compassionate care to those facing terminal illness and the loved ones who support them. The end of life journey should be filled with as much peace, dignity and support as possible. Carpenter Hospice is a role model in this regard and I am honoured to be on the board.”
Sheryl King
Sheryl has spent the majority of her career in various diverse roles in the financial services industry. Sheryl holds a Chartered Accountants designation and an MBA. Her current role as Managing Director Global Corporate Banking Strategy, supports the strategy execution of the Global Corporate Bank and financial resource allocation.
In previous roles Sheryl has attained experience in Capital management, Corporate Treasury and Financial management.
“I have personally experienced for a loved one, the tremendous value and refuge the Carpenter Hospice is able to offer. I feel absolutely privileged to be part of and contribute to an organization that impacts so many people in such a meaningful way. “
Michelle Shilton
Michelle Shilton works in the department of Palliative Care at Hamilton Health Sciences and is a member of the Ethics Consultation team. She is an Assistant Clinical Professor at McMaster University where she is involved in the clinical and academic education of students from a variety of health disciplines. Michelle is an active volunteer with Medical Missions International, the medical team for the Weekend to End Cancer and the Canadian Cancer Society. She also serves on the Board of Directors with the Burlington Gymnastics Club.
“It is my belief that the end of life journey deserves as much dignity, care and compassion as the beginning. I am honoured to be serving on the board of this incredible organization and look forward to making a positive difference for our patients, their families and the community”.
Elaine Matthew
Elaine spent the majority of her working life as an RPN in North Bay and Barrie.
A secondary and concurrent totally different lifestyle occurred when, with her husband, they bought into the travel industry.
The Hospice Movement was well known to Elaine from her upbringing in the UK and became one of her passions once she joined Rotary and got involved in the opening of Hospice Simcoe in Barrie and the subsequent expansion of programs both in house and within the community.
Upon retiring and moving to the Burlington area in 2015 she was very happy to find out about Carpenter Hospice and her volunteering continued. Now she looks forward to the next episode in joining the Board of Directors here in Burlington.
For more information about our Board of Directors please call 905-631-9994 Ext. 111.