Board of Directors

Elected from across Simcoe and Muskoka, the Board of Directors is the governance body that oversees the operations of the agency. If you are interested in applying to be on the SMFC Board of Directors please contact us by e-mail or phone 705-726.6587

Your application will be reviewed by the Governance Board Committee.

 

Executive Members

Gisele Forrest

Board Chair

Gisele worked in social services for over 30 years within the Simcoe County and Toronto regions. She attended the University of Waterloo and completed a BA in Social Development Studies; She also completed her Masters of Education through Nipissing University.

She worked at Catulpa Community Support Services as a children’s case coordinator and manager of children services for 15 years. During her time there she had an opportunity to network and partner with Simcoe County agencies to create programs and services for children, youth and families. Presently, she is the Director of Complex Special Needs Programs at Lumenus Community Services in Toronto.

She has been a Board member of Simcoe Muskoka Family Connexions for 2.5 years and currently serve as Vice Chair.

Mary-Anne Denny-Lusk

Board Vice-Chair & Treasurer

Debbie Opoku-Mulder

Secretary & OACAS Provincial Liaison

Elected Members

Hans Muntz

Director

Hans appreciates the service that SMFC brings to the wellbeing and success of our shared community here in Simcoe Muskoka. It is the goodness of services like these that shape strong and healthy communities. He desires to see all children prosper and find meaning in their souls, families and communities.

As a husband, father, grandfather and engineer, he brings wisdom, experience, and skills to the SMFC Board.

Hans has served dozens of Ontario municipalities and several developing countries with leadership, performance management, organizational and operational capacity building. He was corporate administrator of a multinational federation of community development organizations focused on education health and welfare.

Tamara Obee

Director

Lynda Hoksbergen

Director

Lynda is currently in the role as an Indigenous Early Intervention Services Coordinator where she supports and advocates for Early Intervention supports, and creates frameworks that are family centered and assists children in reaching developmental milestones while gaining access to meaningful services. She currently supports First Nations and Urban Indigenous communities throughout the County of Simcoe.

Prior to moving into this role, she worked within Indigenous organizations as well as mainstream organizations for the last 9 years and continues to work in the field of Early Intervention. She worked with Clh Developmental Support Services as a Resource Consultant, and as a Resource Consultant Supervisor. She worked for an Indigenous organization as a Cultural Preschool Program Coordinator. Spending time with the children and working with families within the Community has always been positive and fulfilling. However, there came a time when she wanted to provide extended supports to Indigenous families who were navigating the Early Intervention system and to support families and fellow service providers when addressing barriers.

In addition to having achieved her Early Childhood Education Diploma and registry with the College of Early Childhood Educators, she also attended the University of Guelph-Humber and completed her B.A. of Applied Science honours program in Early Childhood Studies. In September 2024, she will begin her graduate studies working towards a Master of Education in Early Childhood Studies.

Kenny MacDonald

Director

Kenny grew up in Wasaga Beach where he lived until moving to Toronto in 2010 to study Justice Studies at the University of Guelph-Humber. For the last 12 years he has worked for the Ministry of the Attorney General’s Criminal Law Division, spending the majority of his career working on Intimate Partner & Sexual Violence Prosecutions for the Downtown Toronto Crown Attorney’s Office.

For the last 3 years he has worked as the Case Management Coordinator of the Toronto Downtown East Justice Centre, a hybrid justice-and-health-centre that accelerates access to justice and critical wraparound services to prevent high-needs individuals at the intersection of poverty, homelessness, mental health and addictions from cycling through the criminal justice system by addressing criminogenic risk factors with on-site psychiatric, primary care, addictions medicine and developmental disability supports.

He also sits on the Board of Directors for My Friend’s House, a non-profit agency that offers shelter and support for abused women and children living in the Georgian Triangle.

On his free time, Kenny volunteers with the Georgian Triangle Humane Society, MS Canada and Second Harvest, Canada’s largest food rescue organization.

Kenny recently moved back to Wasaga Beach and joined the Board of Directors of Simcoe Muskoka Family Connexions in June of 2024.

Senior Staff

Geraldine Dooley-Phillips

Executive Director

Anna Drexler

Director of Organizational Excellence & Accountability

Tracy Johnson

Director of Services

Gordon Hill

Director of Finance and Property

Lori Lambert

Human Resources Senior Manager