PROVINCIAL PARENT BOARD 
Provincial Parent Board
The Ontario government has established a new Provincial Parent Board to provide a strong voice for parents at the provincial level. The board plays a critical role in advising the ministry on the development and implementation of effective parent involvement programs across Ontario.
Members of the board offer a variety of experience and diverse backgrounds, with representation from across the province.
- Alimamy Bangura, Toronto (GTA Region)
- Melanie Baker Brown, Lunenburg (Eastern Region)
- Nadine Clark, Kanata (Eastern Region)
- Anelia Coppes, Parry Sound (Northeastern Region)
- Margo Cowie, Toronto (GTA Region)
- Connie Howe-Buckler, Maidstone (Southwestern Region)
- Craig Hurst, Horseshoe Valley (Central Region)
- Marilyn Iafrate, Maple (GTA Region)
- Richard McAllister, Welland (Central Region)
- Jim McGrorey, Whitby (GTA Region)
- Pauline (Pinky) McRae, Marathon (Northwestern Region)
- Sylvia Menezes, Scarborough (GTA Region)
- Robert Morais, Kemptville (Eastern Region)
- Frederic Nzeyimana, Scarborough (GTA Region)
- Suzanne Rochon, Corbeil (Northeastern Region)
- Kim Skidmore, Cochrane (Northeastern Region)
- Linda Steel, London (Southwestern Region)
- Candi Wall, Dryden (Northwestern Region)
Aimee Gerdevich, Chair, Thunder Bay (Northwestern Region)
Aimee Gerdevich is an involved parent who has played an active role in her children's learning and school activities for many years.
Aimee's commitment to her children's education led her to become progressively more involved in the education system. She has served on individual school councils and has helped shape the school system by working on committees at the school board and regional levels.
In addition to her new duties as chair of the Provincial Parent Board, she currently serves as vice president and Director of The Ontario Association of Parents in Catholic Education (OAPCE). Aimee is also involved with other associations and committees dedicated to education and the community, including her role as co-chair of the Catholic Parent Involvement Committee of Thunder Bay Catholic District School Board.
Alimamy Bangura, Toronto (GTA Region)
Alimamy is a Canadian of African decent. Since 1998, Alimamy has been involved in a number of teaching positions including the Train the Trainer program at Seneca College and as a field instructor for Social Work students at Ryerson University and George Brown College. He has served on a number of non-profit organization's boards and is currently the chair of school council in the school where his daughter attends. He is also the outreach coordinator for the Community Parent Education Program at the Family Service Association of Toronto.
Melanie Baker Brown, Lunenburg (Eastern Region)
Melanie has over fifteen years of experience serving on school councils and various school board strategic planning committees. She currently is a board member of the following organizations within her community: Aultsville Theatre, St. Lawrence River Institute of Environmental Sciences, Cornwall Youth Centre and the Aultsville Winter Film Festival.
Nadine Clark, Kanata (Eastern Region)
Nadine has over four years of experience serving on a number of school councils. She participated in the Parental Involvement Project and served as a board member with the United Way of Sarnia-Lambton for many years. Nadine has been a member of numerous Canadian professional associations and corporate global diversity initiatives.
Anelia Coppes, Parry Sound (Northeastern Region)
Anelia has over seven years of experience serving on school council, at elementary and secondary levels. She took part in the Parent Involvement Focus Group in Toronto and is part of the Parent Network with People for Education, participating in their annual conference featuring workshops on how to best serve First Nations students. Anelia has a passion for youth and celebrates a positive school community through frequent contributions to the local newspaper. Anelia is married with four children, is bilingual (English and Rumanian) and is active in the Children's Program at her Church.
Margo Cowie, Toronto (GTA Region)
Margo is currently completing her two-year term as the inaugural co-chair of the Parent Involvement Advisory Committee at the Toronto District School Board. With two children in secondary school, Margo has had diverse opportunities to support parent involvement and student success throughout the system. This includes, but is not limited to, several years of service on school councils. Committed to successful parent partnerships, she is a certified adult educator and mediator who believes in effective communication, transparency and accountability.
Connie Howe-Buckler, Maidstone (Southwestern Region)
Connie has amassed eighteen years of experience serving in classrooms, on school councils and on board level committees. As an active member of the local School Council Chairs Network Executive, Connie served as workshop coordinator during the 2004-05 year. Connie has helped to produce and present programs to assist school councils within her board. Connie's board committee experience includes the Parent Involvement Funding Committee, the Extra-Curricular Policy Committee and the Secondary Task Force.
Craig Hurst, Horseshoe Valley (Central Region)
Craig has over eight years of experience in school council activities. He has served as a school board trustee and on a number of Board committees including Strategic Planning, Special Education Advisory, Native Education Advisory and Secondary School Principals Selection. An international business executive and communicator, and an active father of two high school students; he is also involved with coaching Ontario Special Olympics and volunteers on the boards of many health care and social services agencies.
Marilyn Iafrate, Maple (GTA Region)
Marilyn has been actively involved in school council activities for over 18 years. She is passionate about being an advocate on behalf of students, to ensure they receive the best possible education, in a learning environment that's right for them. Her interest in parent councils dates back to the days of the PTAs and has continued to grow over the years. Marilyn has chaired school councils at both the elementary and secondary level. She has also acted as liaison between the parent community and government by bringing parents' concerns to the forefront during roundtable discussions and meetings with politicians. Over the years, Marilyn has spearheaded many initiatives aimed at strengthening parent engagement, school councils and the school system as a whole.
Richard McAllister, Welland (Central Region)
Richard has over thirteen years experience serving on elementary, secondary and regional school councils. He chaired the Annual Chairs Meeting Committee and was instrumental in forging partnerships with local churches and schools for various functions geared at involving parents. Richard is also a board member of the Niagara Youth Orchestra and is involved with their community outreach committee.
Jim McGrorey, Whitby (GTA Region)
Jim has over seven years of experience serving on school council and school committees. He sits at the working table for Teacher Performance Appraisal at the Ministry of Education and serves on a number of committees including the Special Education Advisory Committee and Ontario Association for Parents in Catholic Education.
Pauline (Pinky) McRae, Marathon (Northwestern Region)
Pauline has over twelve years of experience serving on school council, in both English Public and French Catholic schools. She is involved in a number of committees including the Parent Involvement Policy Committee. Pauline is bilingual (English and French) and is active in the Marathon Girls Hockey Club and Hemlo Gold Mine's Golduster Recreation Club.
Sylvia Menezes, Scarborough (GTA Region)
Sylvia has over ten years of experience serving on school council and school committees at the Toronto Catholic District School Board and parent organizations. She is a founding member of the Parent Coalition for Safe Schools for parents who participate on school and board-wide committees in Public, Catholic and Private schools to share information and provide support and advice. Sylvia is actively involved in her local community attempting to bridge the gap between school communities and the political process.
Robert Morais, Kemptville (Eastern Region)
Robert has over seven years of experience serving on school councils. He is a businessman who currently sits on the Board of The Ottawa Network, which is a grass roots, community organization supporting entrepreneurs in the Ottawa hi-tech community. Robert is bilingual (English and French) and has been a member of a number of committees and community groups including the Ottawa United Way Campaign Cabinet.
Frederic Nzeyimana, Scarborough (GTA Region)
Frederic has fulfilled over one year of service on school council and has two years experience working with Parents Partenaires en Education. Frederic is trilingual (English, French and Kirundi), and authored a manual designed to strengthen the involvement of newcomer parents in their children's education. Frederic has a history of commitment to multicultural communities and is active in participating in a number of outreach projects within the francophone community.
Suzanne Rochon, Corbeil (Northeastern Region)
Suzanne currently sits on three school councils. She is bilingual (English and French) and is active with the Social Planning Council, currently working on a Kids and Community Project as a means of enhancing children's transition from home to school. She also works with families to improve their quality of life as the WrapAround Coordinator with Algonquin Child and Family Services.
Kim Skidmore, Cochrane (Northeastern Region)
Kim has over fifteen years of experience serving on school councils and organizations at the local and board level. She co-founded the local Breakfast Program and acted as a Sunday School Superintendent for four years. Kim was actively involved with the minor soccer league as convenor and coach. Her career with the Infant Development Program has provided her with extensive experience with First Nations communities.
Linda Steel, London (Southwestern Region)
Linda has over twelve years of experience serving on school council and is the current London District Catholic School Council Chair. She has served on a number of committees including the Parent Outreach Committee and the Special Education Advisory Committee as the representative for the Association for Bright Children. She is very involved in safety/anti-violence issues, chairs the Internet Safety Task Force and is vice-chair of the City of London's Community Safety & Crime Prevention Committee.
Candi Wall, Dryden (Northwestern Region)
Candi has over six years of experience serving on school and area council. She has served on numerous school and advisory committees, including the planning committee for the System Council Training Day bringing parents, educators, trustees and board staff together to learn about school council, different programs and opportunities. Candi is beginning her 15th year of teaching piano in area schools - a unique opportunity that allows her to be very much involved in school life.
