Meet the Board of Trustees
Steve Hounsell, President
Donald L. Macdonald, Q.C., Vice President
Don Pearson, Secretary
K. Joanne (Joey) Brown, Treasurer
David Archibald
Michael Curry
Hugh Mackenzie
John R Cary, Chair Emeritus
Steve Hounsell, President
Steve is a biologist with over thirty-six years of experience working with Ontario Power Generation (OPG) and Ontario Hydro. Steve's career has included environmental policy development and implementation, environmental assessments and applied environmental research where his work focused specifically on the effects of forest fragmentation on wildlife.
Steve was responsible for the development and implementation of a biodiversity policy, the first of its kind in the electricity industry and has made many contributions to woodland conservation in southern Ontario. Steve works in the Corporate Sustainable Development Group of Ontario Power Generation, where he managed OPG's biodiversity programs and its carbon sequestration and biodiversity management program.
Steve is a founding director on the Canadian Business and Biodiversity Council and a member of the Ontario Biodiversity Council and Biodiversity Education and Awarenwess Network. Steve is also the Past President of Ontario Nature and a founding member and past director of the Natural Step Canada, an organization dedicated to promoting sustainability across society.
Donald L. Macdonald, Q.C., Vice President
Donald is a retired partner of the national law firm Borden Ladner Gervais LLP where, and at its legacy firm Borden & Elliot in Toronto, he spent his entire career as a civil litigator with the focus of his practice on insurance law cases before all levels of the courts of Ontario. Prior to entering law, he taught high school Latin for a year.
He and his wife Dorothy now reside in Orillia, Ontario where they also maintain their summer cottage. Donald has had a longtime interest in nature and the environment and has pursued this through involvement with the Orillia Naturalists’ Club where he has served as Treasurer for the past several years. He is past President of the Horseshoe Island Cottagers’ Association. His other interests include astronomy, chess and tennis.
Donald R. Pearson, Secretary
Don Pearson joined Conservation Ontario, which represents Ontario’s 36 Conservation Authorities, as General Manager in May 2005. He is a member of the Ontario Biodiversity Council, and recently Chaired the Natural Spaces Leadership Alliance.
Prior to joining Conservation Ontario Mr. Pearson spent two years as Chief Administrative Officer of the County of Perth, where he initiated the transformation and modernization of the County’s governance and administration structure and processes.
From 1981 until 2003, Mr. Pearson served as the General Manager of the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority. Under his leadership, the Authority earned a reputation for excellence and innovation in environmental management with particular emphasis on water quality, soil conservation and community involvement programs. With the Conservation Authority’s support, the Thames was designated as a Canadian Heritage River in 2000.
Don earned a Masters Degree in Public Administration from the University of Western Ontario in 1998 and holds an Honours Science Degree from the University of Waterloo (1975). He has been an active community volunteer for the United Way of London and Middlesex (Vice-Chair, Board of Directors and Campaign Chair in 1999 and 2000), the 2001 Canada Summer Games, and has chaired the Southwestern Ontario Travel Association, the Grand Bend Harbour Committee, and the Board of the London and Middlesex Heritage Museum.
K. Joanne (Joey) Brown, Treasurer
Prior to her retirement in 2003, Joanne Brown was head of the Canadian Investor Relations Institute (CIRI), a not-for-profit professional association dedicated to the education and professional development of investor relations executives with Canadian public companies. Joey was appointed president and chief executive officer and a voting member of the national board of directors.
For 17 years prior to founding CIRI, Joey managed the corporate communication and investor relations function for Coscan Development Corporation (formerly Costain Limited), a public real estate development company. Prior to this, she was with Foster Parents Plan Canada and Mclean’s Public Relations. She was a member of National Investor Relations Institute and served on the board of the Ontario chapter from 1987-1989.
Joey is a graduate from Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia with a B.A. in English, and remains involved with the Toronto Acadia Alumni organization that she chaired from 1987-1992. She was a member of a capital fund raising campaign team in 2005 to raise $50 million to develop a post-secondary education model based on community engagement in teaching and learning and by integrating environmental stewardship to all disciplines. In 2000, she was the first recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award in Investor Relations.
Most recently, she was the recipient of the 2009 Exceptional Alumni Volunteer Award. Joey also has a long-standing association with Glen Bernard Camp as a camper, counselor and member of its advisory board from 1980 to 2005. She is also a director and vice-president of the Muskoka Heritage Foundation (2006-2009).
David Archibald
David is a Halifax native with degrees in both Commerce and Law from Dalhousie University. He has had an extensive career as a lawyer and business leader, initially with Gulf Oil Canada then Nortel Networks, and Bell Northern Research. During his career with Nortel, he was Vice President General Counsel and Secretary responsible for the legal affairs of its Canadian and International subsidiaries and he also had executive responsibility for Security, Public Relations, Purchasing, Real Estate and Logistics. In 2009, after Nortel filed CCAA proceedings, he was appointed by the Supreme Court of Ontario to be one of three representatives to represent the interests of the pensioners and former employees of Nortel in court proceedings.
David currently serves as President DRGL Property Corp., a private investment company. He is on the Board of Governors of the University of King’s College, is Chair of its Governance Committee and serves on its Executive Committee. He is also on the Governing Council of Sunnybrook Hospital. David joined the PCAS Board of Directors in 2009 following an investment in the company in 2008. He is Chair of the Governance Committee and a member of the Human Resources Committee PCAS.
David and his wife live in Toronto and enjoy spending time at their Mulmur property. David is an avid golfer, sailor, tennis player, cross country skier and snowshoer.
Michael Curry
Michael is passionate about the natural environment and its integration with smart business, with a long-term view of the world. He previously worked for the Canadian reforestation industry for 7 years in Quebec, Ontario and Alberta before becoming a co-owner/operator of a successful building materials distribution company.
Michael began focusing on the environmental economy in 2001, when he started researching environmental companies for the E2 Venture Fund. In 2002, he joined Investeco Capital, which focused on investing in private environmental companies in the cleantech and sustainable agriculture sectors, as a Managing Partner. Michael's primary role is in identifying and analyzing new investment opportunities. Michael served as Vice Chair of the Board of Organic Meadow for 5 years and currently sits on the Boards of Rowe Farms and The STOP Community Food Centre. He lives in Toronto with his wife and three children and spends as much time outdoors as possible.
Hugh Mackenzie
Hugh Mackenzie is a founding partner of Enterprise Canada and has spearheaded the growth of this widely respected public affairs and communications firm since 1985. He currently serves as Chairman. Widely recognized as a strategist, he has played a key role in numerous high level projects in the private and public sectors in the areas of strategic planning, public consultation, crisis management and the formation of public policy.
Hugh has held a number of senior positions in municipal and provincial government. He served as Chief of Staff to Premier Frank Miller. He has also served as Chairman of the Ontario Health Disciplines Board, Vice Chair of The Ontario Election Finances Commission and Vice Chair of the Ontario Family Health Network. He has also served as a Governor of Roy Thomson Hall and The National Theatre School of Canada.
In elected politics, Hugh Mackenzie has served as a school trustee and a local and regional councillor. He was Chairman of the Regional Council of Muskoka and served two terms as Mayor of Huntsville. He is a trustee and Past Chair of the Justin Eves Foundation, which assists young adults with learning disabilities to achieve post secondary education and he is a member of the Executive Committee of the Anglican Diocese of Algoma. Among other community activities, Hugh has served as Chairman of the Huntsville Hospital, President of the Huntsville Festival of the Arts and a trustee of the Muskoka Heritage Foundation.
John R Cary, Chair Emeritus
John Cary is a Registered Professional Forester. He graduated in 1973 as a member of the first class of foresters from Lakehead University and later worked as a Unit Forester for the Ministry of Natural Resources in Dryden and Thunder Bay. In 1978, he went to Guyana on a two-year Canadian International Development Agency assignment. Shortly after his return to Thunder Bay, he transferred to MNR’s Queen’s Park Head Office where he stayed until his early retirement from MNR in 1998. While at Queen’s Park, he managed provincial silivicultural and tree nursery programs and participated in the province's Environmental Assessment Hearings on Forest Management. As well, he did a great deal of forest policy and legislation work during a time of significant change in the provincial program. Over the years, he advised MNR’s senior management and a number of Ministers and Deputies on forestry matters. Since 1998, John has been consulting in forestry. His work has mainly involved forest policy matters, legislation, facilitation, environmental assessment and forest audits. He has been a Director of the Ontario Forestry Association, and a President of the Ontario Professional Foresters Association.
