Campbell Stuart

Chair

Campbell practises mainly in the corporate and commercial sectors, with clients ranging from small start-ups to large public corporations. He has particular expertise in taking businesses public, including by reverse takeover, and has long experience in electronic commerce, technology transfers and mining law.

His philosophy of practice is to help clients prosper through practical solutions tailored to their ambition, situation and budget, solutions which he helps them plan, negotiate and implement.

Campbell graduated from Queen's University with a BA in 1974 and received his Common and Civil Law degrees from McGill University in 1982. He was called to the Quebec Bar in 1986.

Before practising law Campbell worked on community development projects here and in Africa, and continues to offer his services to local and international charities, environmental protection groups and community organizations. He is also the former mayor of Montreal West. 

 

Suanne Stein-Day

Acting Secretary

Suanne Stein Day holds a B. Comm, CMC. She is is the former Chair of the Lester B. Pearson School Board (LBPSB), the largest English school board in Quebec, serving 37 municipalities from Montreal west to the Ontario border. She also served as Vice President of the Quebec English School Boards Association (QESBA). Committed to advancing education, she has contributed on many fronts to projects and programs of both the LBPSB and QESBA, leading technology and digital citizenship initiatives locally and provincially. In addition to her responsibilities to education in Quebec, Suanne is an independent consultant specializing in accounting and computer systems.

 

Stephen Moneit

Treasurer

Stephen Moneit was born and raised in Montreal Quebec. Stephen graduated from McGill University with a bachelor’s degree in accounting and completed his diploma in Chartered Accountancy in 2007 and successfully wrote the Uniform Final Exam (UFE) that same year. He was admitted to the Order of Chartered Accountants in 2007 and has been practicing in public accounting since 2004 with 2 Montreal accounting firms. Stephen currently holds the position of Senior Manager in the assurance and accounting departments at BDO Canada LLP, the fifth largest accounting firm in the world. One of Stephen’s specialties is the non-for-profit field.

 

Melanie Greenberg-Schwartz

Member

Melanie Greenberg-Schwartz is a clinical social worker who graduated from the McGill School of Social Work in 1989 and completed an MA in Child Study in 1998.

From 2002-2014 Melanie was a school counsellor at Agence Ometz in the school service unit. Melanie worked in a multi-disciplinary team approach. Her mandate was to screen and identify children at risk in social, emotional, and cognitive learning areas, in order to employ highly effective early intervention programs. Melanie used a diverse selection of assessment tools, tests, and observation tactics, in order to assess children and determine the best course of action to help each child reach their potential. Melanie partnered closely with the school, parents, educators, and specialists (Occupational Therapists and Language Pathologists).

Melanie was a Parlor group leader, where groups of individuals or couples met to discuss and learn in conjunction with the School Counsellor role. Melanie conducted interactive discussions to support efforts to raise healthy and happy children, addressing challenging targets such as work-life balance for working mothers & fathers, helping children with homework strategies, daily routines, and family dynamics. Conducted extensive research in parenting practices and shared this information with the group in engaging group discussions.

Since 2014, Melanie has been the Director of the CPE du Y, a public Centre de Petit Enfance (Daycare). Her mandate entails to fully run a government CPE with 80 children and 10 educators including the responsibilities for both management and pedagogy. Melanie works closely with key board members on a regular basis to ensure that all MFA (Ministére de la Famille) regulations are respected and implemented.  

 

Alynn Doiron

Member

Alynn grew up on a farm in Nova Scotia. She left the cows to study developmental psychology at Concordia University while playing varsity hockey. 

After graduating, she worked as an early childhood educator after graduating while certifying as a birth doula. In the past 10 years she has worked as a birth and postpartum doula, even obtaining a recent certification in perinatal mental health support.

She has two children who have happily attended Little Red Playhouse - Margot continues to enjoy the program.

 

Robert McCarry

Building Committee

Robert resides in Lachine and is the grandfather of Colm McCarry. He has been in the printing business for the last 60 years, and has been an owner of various printing and die-cutting companies for the last 32 years.

Robert has been a constant source of support and strength since the development and opening of the facility. His primary contribution is towards the physical transformation of the premises since 2008 and donation of all graphics and printed materials. 

 

Sharon McCarry

President, Executive Director and Colm McCarry’s Mom

Sharon McCarry is a passionate community advocate for families living with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and other neuro-developmental disabilities. She is committed to making meaningful and significant change in policies and services to benefit families in disability communities.

In 2008, she founded La Fondation Place Coco, a Canadian charity that manages and operates the Little Red Playhouse (LRP). LRP is an integrated preschool, where neuro-diverse and neuro-typical young children learn side-by-side in a supportive educational setting.

McCarry is also an active volunteer. She is a member of the Canada Revenue Agency’s (CRA) Advisory Committee on the Disability Tax Credit, which advises the Minister of National Revenue and the CRA on how the Agency can improve the way it administers and interprets tax measures for Canadians with disabilities. She is also a member of the Advisory Committee for the Strongest Families Neurodevelopment Program: Parents Empowering Neurodiverse Kids, which provides evidence-based parent coaching interventions.

An accomplished business professional, McCarry has also worked with numerous Fortune 500 companies in marketing strategy and brand management. McCarry holds a BA from McGill University and lives in Montreal, Quebec, where she is a mother to two sons, one with autism. 

 

 

A well-informed board is essential and equates to an effective board that has a clear understanding of its roles and responsibilities.

The Board's composition is intended to strike a balance between experience, expertise and independence, in accordance with the principles and mission of the Foundation. The Board of Directors defines our strategy and ensures its implementation.

 

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE BOARD

The board has three broad areas of responsibility:

  1. Planning and policy development
  2. Community and organizational development; and
  3. Fundraising and support development

 

Planning and Policy Development

The mission and vision that maps out the future direction of the foundation is established by the President, and reviewed by the Board. This is accomplished through the board's leadership and participation in strategic planning. This area covers policy development in response to major issues that are or will in the future have significant impact on the Foundation and the parents and children that it serves.

 

Community and Organizational Development

The Board actively assists in broadening the organization's base of support in the community, including interacting with the community to bring new opportunities to the Foundation. The Board is also committed to maintain accountability of funders, members, and clients. This includes training and developing current group, within the board and committees, and assuring that the same development is occurring within the professional staff through the leadership of the President and Executive Director.

 

Fundraising and Support Development

This area includes giving personal time and money; developing donors, members, and supporters; leading and supporting fundraising campaigns and events as well as maintaining accountability to donors and funders. 

 

These areas focus closely on decisions that reflect the true interests and needs of the organization's community and the board members must be knowledgeable about users and the wider community of which they are apart. If the Board is expected to raise funds to support the programs and services of the organization, then board members must be involved in planning and decision-making in meaningful ways so as to feel in a strong sense of individual and collective group