Board of Directors
Board Members – 2024-2025 Term:
Rhonda Morley is a Chartered Professional Accountant and a Certified Management Accountant with a B. Admin from Athabasca University, with a certificate / specialized training in Board Governance. An experienced Financial Executive, Ms. Morley worked as a Chief Financial Officer and Privacy Officer for almost 19 years prior to her retirement. In the past, she has served as a Board member of Canadian Dairy Breeds, the Brant Community Healthcare System, Brant FACS Foundation and has volunteered with Habitat for Humanity. Her expertise in financial risk management and previous work on an amalgamation and organizational dissolution is of great benefit. Ms. Morley joined the Brant Family and Children’s Services (Brant FACS) Advisory Board in March 2021 and continued serving as a Board member when the Board was re-constituted in July 2021. She served on the Joint Board Amalgamation Steering Committee and is an inaugural member of the Board of Directors of Child and Family Services of Grand Erie.
Theresa has been a return resident of Brantford for 24 years. Upon her return to Brantford, she chose as a second career to further her education with a Child and Youth designation from Mohawk College. Theresa works in the Children’s Mental Health Field, ensuring families get what they need when needed.
Theresa has led her Children’s Mental Health Agency to expand their knowledge, dedication, and action in developing an Equity, Diversity and Inclusive (EDI) program, which does not lie in a drawer unused; Theresa has given this program life. One day, she might lead a discussion or present to a group; the next, she is in the community supporting our families. Theresa helps people be curious about EDI and its many components.
Theresa is kind; people will seek her out for many reasons. They seek her out because of her calmness and ability to find strength in every situation. There is no shortage of people who have not connected with Theresa. At work or in the community, Theresa is known for her practical and compassionate approach to people. She works to ensure equal opportunities and, more precisely, that people get what they need and feel that they belong.
Councillor, Leslie Maracle has been appointed by her Chief and Council, Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. (more to come)
More to come
Greg Anderson has worked in Brant, Haldimand and Norfolk Counties for over 20 years. He has an M. Ed from the University of Toronto and a B.A. (Hons) and B.Ed. from Queen’s University. Currently Past Chair of the Grand Erie District School Board, Mr. Anderson has been an elected school trustee for the City of Brantford since 2014. He has served on several community Boards of Directors including: Board of Health for Brant County Health Unit, Brant Community Health System, Lansdowne Children’s Centre, Boys and Girls Club of Brantford, Brantford Rotary Club, and Hamilton / Burlington /Brantford Laurier YMCA Community Liaison Board. He also served as President / Chair for many of those Boards. Mr. Anderson joined the Brant Family and Children’s Services (Brant FACS) Advisory Board in March 2021 and continued serving as a Board member when the Board was re-constituted in July 2021. He served on the Joint Board Amalgamation Steering Committee and is an inaugural member of the Board of Child and Family Services of Grand Erie.
Kernesha Baird was born in the sunny Caribbean island of Trinidad and lived there for 19 years before moving to Canada in 2002. A mother of 3 boys, she is a valuable member of the community, serving those in need, a member of BOD at Trinidad and Tobago Association of Ontario, BOD at Community Resource Centre (Brantford Food Bank) and BOD Child and Family Services of Grand Erie. Kernesha’s professional experience spans over 15 years, she is a certified Payroll Leadership Professional working in Human Resources. Graduating with honours from Algoma University with a dual BBA degree in Accounting and Human Resources, included in her educational background is a graduate certificate in Small Business Bookkeeping, Advanced Diploma in Business Administration Accounting and also an Executive Assistant certificate. Her passion for continued growth and upliftment keeps her very organized, disciplined, honest and a hardworking woman balancing family life and motherhood with the demands of her career. Kernesha is well known in her community and associations, always volunteering at any opportunity.
Councillor, Melba Thomas has been appointed to by her Chief and Council, Six Nations of the Grand River. (more to come)
Krupesh Shah, migrated to Canada over 16 years ago, having been born, studied and married in India. With over 23 years of experience working in IT and as a business owner, he chose Brantford as a place to live, work and raise a family. He currently works as IT Manager, North America in the Cambridge area and resides in Brantford with his wife and three children. Krupesh volunteers in various non-profit programs & events and is for community betterment. He is a member of a Brantford Police Board, VP of a charitable & non-profit organization, and participates in and supports various community programs for children, youth and seniors. He believes its his moral responsibility and duty to support and give back to the community. In his free time, he likes to listen to music, play volleyball with friends and watch cricket.
Darryl Graham is a lifelong resident of the communities served by the Child and Family Services of Grand Erie and is a sworn member of the Ontario Provincial Police. Darryl brings to the board experience in policy governance and a focus on mitigating risk faced by individuals and families through an integrated approach by understanding the needs and making connections to meaningful supports.
Laurie’s education is in behavioural sciences, and she has worked in the social services sector in Haldimand-Norfolk for forty years. For the last twenty-nine years, Laurie has provided support to pregnant and/or parenting adolescents through her employment at a local child and youth mental health organization.
Laurie served on the Board of Directors for Haldimand – Norfolk Women’s Services for six years, followed by ten years on the Board for Community Addictions and Mental Health Services (CAMHS) where she held the positions of secretary, co-chair and chair of the Board and the chair of the Strategic Planning and Quality committee; she continues work with CAMHS as a member of their Governance and Quality Committee.
Laurie brings to the CFSGE Board, experience and expertise related to board governance, policy-writing and strategic-planning and a dedication to the health and well-being of children and families.
Board of Director Eligibility and Responsibility
Board members are community members, aged 18 and over, who live or work in the City of Brantford, the counties of Brant including the lands set aside as reserve lands for Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, Haldimand or Norfolk, who are interested in the welfare of our children, and support the Child and Family Services of Grand Erie Mission, Vision and Values. The Board, in conjunction with the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services, determines policy. The Board selects its Local Director, initiates and/or approves programs and services, is responsible for the use of funds, both statutory and private, and exercises the power and authority vested in it by the Child Youth and Family Services Act (2017) and in accordance with the Ontario Not for Profit Corporations Act (2021).
Vacant Positions
Child and Family Services of Grand Erie is committed to having a Board composition that reflects the diversity of the community we serve, particularly we encourage individuals with lived experience, including African Canadian, Indigenous, and 2SLGBTQIA+ communities, to apply. CFSGE aims for a diverse representation in terms of age, gender, and personal experiences to enhance its governance. If you are interested in serving on the Board of Directors, please contact our Executive Director, Sally Johnson or Executive Assistant, Sarah Bomberry to discuss this opportunity further. Please click here to see the skills and experience we are currently seeking.
Application Form:
Quote from a 1970 OACAS Board Member Handbook – which we believe is still relevant today.
“Why Have a Board of Directors:
Social service in Ontario began with private organizations, such as churches and neighborhood agencies, the latter with their own board of directors. The protection of children was one of the first social services offered by a private agency – in 1891 by the Children’s Aid Society of Toronto. Now that this work is mandated under law and almost totally funded by governments, what is the rationale for continuing the tradition of the private board? Dr. Raymond Price, a Canadian research psychiatrist, recently gave this answer:
“If social work is to recapture its historical role as the conscience of the community, it must maintain an independent perspective and unrestrained voice. Civil servants are traditionally and perhaps understandably enjoined to keep public silence about issues relevant to government, while government agencies tend to suffer a kind of selective inattention with regard to facts and situations unpopular to the Establishment. Social workers who operate independently of government…can help to ensure that such selective inattention does not prevail. In my view, the concerned and active local agency can and should force confrontations with such government inattention.”
The freedom to press governments for needed social remedies is safeguarded by the privately incorporated Society with its own Board of Directors.”
