Our Board of Directors

John Norman, Chair
(since May 2007)
Director, Perisen Funds
Portfolio Manager, Spartan Fund Management Ltd.

John co-founded Perisen Funds in 2013. Perisen has grown to be Canada’s largest life settlement investment fund and manages $200 million for over 400 investors. He has been at the forefront of several investment firm initiatives including co-founding two firms, one of which was subsequently publicly listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. John received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of Western Ontario in 1991 and earned the Canadian Investment Manager (CIM) designation in 1998 and the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation in 1999. John was a Portfolio Manager and Vice President at J. Zechner Associates from 2005 through 2008 and prior to that was a Portfolio Manager with Phillips, Hager & North since the mid-1990s. He began his career at Burns Fry in the early 1990s.

Sara Price, Vice Chair
(since February 2020)
Board Secretary/Treasurer, The McConnell Foundation

Sara is a third-generation family member of The McConnell Foundation. McConnell is one of Canada’s largest private philanthropic foundations and is known for its dedication to fostering innovative approaches to social, cultural, economic, and environmental challenges to support Canadians in building a more inclusive and sustainable society. As a seasoned fundraising chair and mentor in the not-for-profit sector and with over 25 years’ service and experience on numerous boards, including the McGill University Health Network, Sara has devoted much of her time across the spectrum of adolescent health, education, and well-being. Her passion for those with dreams to succeed is equally matched by her valuable insight and first-hand knowledge that foundation boards play a key role in the leadership and stewarding of their respective organizations toward their effectiveness and ultimate success.

Dean Goodman, Director
(since December 2018)
LGA Architecture, B.Arch, OAA Partner

Dean co-founded LGA in 1989. His insatiable interests in design, construction and technology are inseparable from his aspiration to make the world more humane and sustainable, one project at a time. For-profit, affordable housing and shelters, and projects with a First Nations focus have been central to his more than 35 years of practice. Dean was LGA’s partner-in-charge on the RAIC Innovation in Design Award-winning addition of two storeys of prefabricated living units to the rooftop of a St. Clare’s Multifaith Affordable Housing building in Toronto. He has led large-scale new-build and renewal projects for Toronto Community Housing and WoodGreen Community Housing and was recently partner-in-charge on the OAA Design Excellence Award-winning Eva’s Phoenix youth residence and skills training centre.

Dean’s many projects for Native Child and Family Services of Toronto range from the Centre for Native Child and Family Well Being in the city’s core to a dining hall and ceremonial performance space for NCFST’s summer camp in Grundy Lake Provincial Park.

Lee Jacobson, Director
(since December 2018)
Design and Communications Consultant

Lee is a brand, design, and communications strategist and, at heart, a problem solver. He has over 25 years of experience in developing and implementing projects that help achieve results for his clients. He works with public, private, and not-for-profit organizations to help them articulate and express their value in ways that are compelling and tangible to key audiences – from strategy and design to marketing programs and organizational alignment. Lee has an undergraduate degree from Brandeis University and a master’s degree in architecture and urban planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was a founding member of the Urban Design Group at the City of Toronto and a founding board member of the Design Exchange in Toronto.

Michel Viau, Director
(since May 2022)
Strategic Advisor
Brand | Design

Born in Montréal, Michel began his career as a graphic designer with interest in all aspects of design. In 1980, Michel joined Ove Design, a multi-disciplinary design enterprise and quickly assumed broad responsibilities that led him to open a branch office in Toronto in 1981. After acquiring the Toronto business in 1984, Michel continued to grow the firm’s multidisciplinary design offering with a focus on corporate brand strategy, communications, and design implementation. After more than 40 years and part of Publicis Groupe since 2000, Ove continues to stand as one of the leading strategic design firms and a long-term partner and advisor to many of Canada’s corporate visionaries.

Michel is also the founder and executive director of Fundacìon NOCA (Nosara Community for the Arts), a not-for-profit foundation with the mission of using art-based programs to bring the community together and bridge the inherent social and cultural gap that exist between the local Tico and international communities. In 2019, NOCA collaborated with No.9 to conduct its first pilot program “Reimagining My Sustainable Nosara”. The program brought together 32 students from the local high school Colegio Boca de Nosara and Del Mar International Academy to co-create and develop a vision and master plan for a Nature Community Centre based on the No.9’s pillars of sustainability.

Kelly Maracle, Director
(since January 2023)
Assistant Professor of Languages, Literatures and Cultures
Department of Arts and Science, Queen’s University

O’nahkwi:yo Kelly Maracle is a Mohawk woman and member of the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte at Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory. Kelly has held numerous roles in the field of Indigenous education over the past 20 years including K-12, adult education, post-secondary education, and administration. She is a mother of three children and sits with the Turtle clan. Kelly’s areas of focus are developing culturally responsive, land-based educational programming and Trauma Informed Practice. She completed her Master of Education in the World Indigenous Studies in Education program at Queen’s University, with research in plant-based teachings, land-based Indigenous knowledge, and pollinator gardens. “I am always inspired by my late father, who firmly believed in the power of education.”