Meet the Council of Canadians’ Board of Directors

Chairperson, dedicated to building the strength of the Council of Canadians in every region while engaging Canada’s many diverse communities. Cartwright is the Past President of the Toronto & York Region Labour Council, representing 200,000 union members who work in every sector of the economy. Read more.

Elected Secretary-Treasurer of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) in June 2021, Lily is the first worker of East Asian descent elected to office at CLC. She started her career as a social services caseworker and saw first-hand how inequality and racism were linked to poverty. The disparities and education cuts affecting her children fueled her interest in labour work. A strong advocate for workers and public services, Lily previously served as Treasurer of CUPE Local 79 and on the board of the Toronto & York Region Labour Council.

Chapter representative, retired postal worker and union activist for 34 years, serving in executive and educational capacities. Condon helped to organize the Medicine Hat Chapter in 2016 to become a strong voice for progressive change across the country.

A Tsilhqot'in, is an activist who is passionate about water and food safety issues. Nita is a long-time member of the Council of Canadians and a strong advocate for Indigenous rights.

Secretary, retired as president of the Vancouver & District Labour Council in 2018.  She has spent 40 years as a labour, community and social justice activist, including many years on staff of the Hospital Employees’ Union. In addition to the Council of Canadians, Joey is on the boards of the BC Labour Heritage Centre, Vancouver Community College and Pacific Blue Cross. She also serves on the Labour Studies Advisory Committee at Simon Fraser University.

Chapter representative, a retired federal public servant, Marilyn has extensive experience in HR, social policy development, operational and change management, negotiation, and leadership coaching. Before joining the PS, she was a RegN (psychiatry and crisis assessment); she has a HonBA (History) and is a graduate of the National Defence College (international affairs). After six major joint replacements, she has some understanding of disability and accessibility challenges. Currently, she is Chair of the Kitchener-Waterloo Chapter.

Chapter representative, co-chair of the South Shore Chapter and helped lead the Campaign to Protect Offshore Nova Scotia (CPONS) and the NS Offshore Alliance, a coalition of fishers, environment, social justice, and community groups. Keddy is committed to broadening the work of Chapters and campaigns across the country from the grassroots to the Board.

Through volunteer work as an organizer for Migrante, national committee member for United for Mining Justice, steering committee member for KAIROS and several other organizations, Marcelino has worked at the grassroots level to promote migrant and indigenous rights, and support ecological and social justice initiatives.

Active on a host of global and local social justice and environmental issues, Joe facilitates strategies to build more socially just and sustainable communities.

Bianca is the director of the Canadian Foreign Policy Institute and former Co-Executive Director and co-founder of The Leap. She is based in Montreal.

Lawyer and grassroots activist advocating for environmental justice, migrant justice and Indigenous sovereignty. A long-time supporter of the Council of Canadians, Riddell brings skills as a lawyer and campaigner to support the Council's overall work and vision.

 

A dedicated water and climate justice activist, Tara brings coalition-building skills from her volunteer work with diverse grassroots networks, including Toronto Climate Action Network. Co-chair of the Toronto chapter since 2008, she's energized by the new dynamic role of Chapters in the Council of Canadians. She currently works on the Fossil Banks movement at Greenpeace Canada.

A labour and migrant justice activist and currently works as a researcher with Unifor. He has been involved with a number of grassroots activists groups and has served as a board member for several non-profit organizations.

A communications expert with campaigns and coalition-building skills. Based in Halifax, she brings a deep knowledge of the political landscape and issues facing the Atlantic provinces.

A Canadian policy analyst and president of Public Response, a digital agency that services non-profit organizations and trade unions in the fields of online engagement and government relations. He also founded the Rideau Institute.