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Governance and Leadership

The Bishop Strachan School enjoys strategic oversight from a team of exceptional leaders with diverse skills and backgrounds. 

List of 1 items.

  • Governance

    Our Board of Governors provides direction for our core strategic plan, while our Board of Trustees manages our growing Endowment and Foundation initiatives. Both Boards work closely with each other and the Senior Leadership Team to champion innovation while strengthening our financial sustainability.

Board of Governors

List of 15 items.

  • Devon KIRK ’01, Chair

    Devon KIRK Devon serves as Partner & Co-Head, Capital Solutions at Portage. Previously, she was Head of Capital Solutions at CPP Investments and before that, Managing Director, Direct Private Equity at CPP Investments, Associate at Linklaters LLP in London and Analyst at BMO Harris Nesbitt in Chicago. She has been on the board of BSS since 2019 and and has served on numerous private company boards in the financial services and technology sectors over the last decade. She is a CFA Charterholder and earned a JD from Harvard Law School (2009) and BCom from McGill University (2005). She graduated from BSS in 2001.

  • Sarah Morgenstern, Vice Chair

    Sarah Morgenstern
    Sarah is Managing Partner of 100 Days North America, a leadership development and coaching platform for new managers, in addition to serving as a strategic advisor to several high-growth ventures. She has over fifteen years of management consulting experience with industry-leading firms Kearney and Deloitte, where she focused on enterprise transformation and performance measurement, and was the co-founder of a successful digital media company. Prior to joining the BSS Board in 2020, Sarah was an active member of the BSS Parent Association for over ten years. She serves on the boards of several not-for-profits and has deep expertise in not-for-profit governance and advancement.  She is a member of the Ivey Advisory Board and Chair of the Ivey Annual Fund. Sarah holds a BA (Honours) in Economics and Political Economy from the University of Toronto and an MBA from the Ivey Business School and Western University and is a Chartered Professional Accountant.

  • Sarah MCLACHLIN Atkins ’89, Vice Chair/Chair Designate

    Over the past 25 years, Sarah has established herself as a proven leader of high-performing teams across several global, North American, and Canadian organizations. She has led through digital transformation, organizational restructurings, and periods of rapid growth, delivering results as a business leader and strategist for some of the most iconic brands in the world, spending 20 years at Nike most recently as CMO, and prior to that, PepsiCo. and Molson Coors. Her expertise lies in crafting innovative marketing solutions, strengthening a brand’s connection to society and its consumer base, leading multi-disciplinary teams, and capital raising. Her last five years at Nike were spent being part of the North American steering committee to re-set the strategy for Girls, successfully increasing participation and accessibility to sport across Canada and the US.

    Sarah has a brand consulting practice, Lighthouse Strategy, focused specifically on women and girls in sport, serves as strategic advisor to the founder of start-up Paume Inc., and mentors and coaches next-gen female talent.

  • Shrikanta De

    Shrikanta (Shri) is an independent business consultant for large corporations with extensive supply chains in the manufacturing and retail sectors. His clients include Unilever, Black & Decker, Bayer, TNT Europe, Loblaws and Woolworths Australia. During his career, he has managed global teams and worked and lived in four continents. Shri holds a BTech in Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology and an MBA from Cornell University. He is a current BSS parent.

  • Nilam Ganenthiran

    Nilam is the founder and CEO of Beacon Software, a Toronto based firm that buys, builds and grows vertical software businesses. Nilam was previously a Partner at D1 Capital and the President of Instacart, the world's largest grocery e-commerce marketplace, which he helped scale from 12 to approximately 3,500 corporate employees. Outside of Beacon, Nilam serves on the Board of Directors of Discount Tire, Udaan, the Aviation Institute of Maintenance and the SickKids Hospital Foundation. He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BBA from York University's Schulich School of Business. He is a current BSS parent.

  • Natalie Hadad

    Natalie serves as Managing Partner in Brookfield’s Infrastructure Group and Co-Head of Brookfield’s open-end core infrastructure fund. In this role, Natalie oversees the origination, execution and asset management of the firm’s core infrastructure investments. She also co-leads the investments team in Toronto. Since joining Brookfield in 2013, Natalie has executed numerous transactions and financings globally and has served on multiple portfolio company boards. Prior to joining Brookfield, Natalie was an investment professional in the private equity group of a leading investment manager. Ms. Hadad holds a Master of Finance degree from Tulane University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. She is a current BSS parent.

  • Dennis Kavelman

    Dennis KavelmanDennis is a Partner at iNovia Capital, where he focuses on growth stage technology investments. Prior to iNovia, he was the former CFO/COO of RIM/Blackberry from 1995 to 2010, the COO at D2L/Brightspace, and earned his CPA at KPMG. Dennis is a Laurier alumnus, BBA Co-op (1993). In addition to the BSS Board of Governors, Dennis is currently on the board of the Golf Canada Foundation, and he and his wife Karen oversee the Kavelman Fonn Foundation.

  • Alex Leman

    Alex LemanAlex is founder of Leman Group, a strategy execution firm working in sectors including banking, capital markets, wealth management, telecommunications, energy, information service, technology, software, automotive and manufacturing. Alex has been active in supporting and serving on a number of non-profit boards building the community through healthcare, the arts, and children and youth. 

  • Cheryl MATTHEWS ’88

    Cheryl MATTHEWS Cheryl is the Managing Director of CLM Digital Consulting Inc., providing advisory services to firms with a concentration on digital transformation strategy, modernizing organization structures for digital and enterprise software evaluation and implementation. Previously, she was Vice-President, Digital Marketing at Investors Group where she built the user experience and design and product development practices. In her career, Cheryl has led digital marketing, UX, analytics and product management teams in financial services and e-commerce companies in Canada and the US. She holds an MS in Management and a BS in Business Administration (Finance) from Boston University. Cheryl is a BSS alumna, current parent and volunteer.

  • Dr. Rulan Parekh

    Rulan Parekh
    Dr. Parekh is Vice President, Academics, Women’s College Hospital, a Staff Nephrologist at Women’s College Hospital and the Hospital for Sick Children, and a Professor of Paediatrics and Medicine in the Departments of Medicine, Paediatrics, Epidemiology and Health Policy and Management Evaluation at the University of Toronto.  She is an international leader in clinical epidemiology and translational research in kidney disease, and has a significant record of accomplishment in mentorship and training. Dr. Parekh has received several notable awards for mentorship and research, and has been inducted into several academic honor societies. She holds the F.M. Hill Chair of Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology. 

  • Aglaya Redekopp

    Aglaya joined RBC in 2009 as Senior Counsel in the Public Company Group, advising on securities law, governance and executive compensation matters. Prior to her current role, she was Senior Director, Compensation Governance & Regulatory Oversight in
    Human Resources, leading RBC’s global compensation governance and regulatory initiatives. Aglaya oversees and coordinates all RBC Board and Committee matters and is Secretary to the Risk Committee and Assistant Secretary to the Board. She advises the Board and Senior Management on corporate governance, best practices, and securities and corporate law matters. Aglaya also leads the environmental, social and governance, executive compensation and pension legal teams. Prior to joining RBC, she practiced securities law with Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP and the Ontario Securities Commission.

  • Bernadette Saumur

    Bernadette is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Talent Matters Inc., a recruitment firm. She has extensive experience in the legal, finance, banking and fintech verticals, and contingent workforce solutions. Previously, Bernadette was a Partner, Business Law at McCarthy Tetrault, specializing in mergers and acquisitions in the banking, financial services, technology and capital markets verticals. Prior to McCarthy Tetrault, she was an Associate Lawyer and Tax Associate at Ernst & Young LLP. Bernadette has been called to the Bar of Ontario since 2000.

  • Heather CLYDE Stewart '81

    Heather CLYDE Stewart
    Heather is the Founder of Eden Park Group, which provides career coaching, executive coaching, and organizational development consulting. Previously, Heather co-founded a successful strategic consulting and business coaching organization, Stewart Clyde Consulting. Heather has held c-suite executive roles in financial services as Executive Vice-President & Managing Director, Strategy & Business Management at National Bank Financial, and in consulting as a Partner and Global Chief of Staff at Oliver Wyman, based in New York. Within the BSS community, Heather previously sat on the Board of Governors and the Board of Trustees in the 1990s, was recently the Co-Chair of the BSS Alumnae Association Executive, is a founding partner of the BSS Connect! Mentorship Program and is a Year Rep. Beyond BSS, Heather sits on a private pension plan board, the Pension Committee at Trinity College at the University of Toronto, and was a co-founder of the Women in Capital Markets organization. Heather has a BA (Honours) from Trinity College at the University of Toronto and an MSc in Organizational Psychology from the University of London (UK).

  • Craig Webster

    Craig WebsterCraig is the National Business Leader and a partner at Borden Ladner Gervais LLP. His tax practice covers all aspects of tax relevant to business clients, with an emphasis on the investment management industry and structuring investment products. He has been a member of the BSS Board of Governors since 2015, and served as a Director of the Georgian Peaks Club for eight years, where he was President from 2011-2013.

  • Allison Wolfe

    Allison started at Oxford Properties Group in 2010 as a VP of Corporate Development, and in less than a decade, she became the Executive Vice President, CFO and Global Head of Portfolio Management - one of the real estate industry's youngest-ever female CFOs. Allison chose to leave Oxford in September 2023. In her role as CFO and Global Head of Portfolio Management, Allison led a 200-strong diverse global team. She had global responsibility for capital allocation, strategy, research, tax, treasury, financial reporting, valuations, risk and controls. Allison was a member of Oxford's Executive Committee, Investment Committee and Risk Committee. She also served on several OMERS enterprise-wide committees related to financing, third-party capital, strategic planning, risk management and process excellence. Prior to Oxford, Allison worked in real estate advisory and principal investing at Morgan Stanley in New York, San Francisco and Toronto.

Ex-officio Members

List of 3 items.

  • Lara Zink, Chair of the Board of Trustees

    Lara is the Executive Vice President Client Service and Development at Delaney Capital. Prior to Delaney Capital, Lara was the President & CEO of Women in Capital Markets, a professional network of over thirty-five hundred members dedicated to accelerating equity, diversity and inclusion in the finance industry.  From 1998 to 2019, Lara worked for a Canadian bank on the institutional global equity team. Lara served as primary account relationship manager to over thirty Canadian institutional investors, delivering trusted insights and opportunities across a range of equity investment products and services.

    Lara sits on the board of Special Olympics Canada, is a member of CAMH’s Campaign Cabinet, a co-founder of Women Funding Women, and a member of the Morrissette Institute for Entrepreneurship Advisory Council. She holds an MBA from the Rotman School of Management, the ICD.D, CSC and Partners, Directors & Senior Qualifying designation.

  • Paisley HILL '85, BSS Alumnae Association Executive

    Paisley has worked in the financial planning industry for over 25 years. After building insurance and financial planning platforms within a bank and two national retail brokerages, in which she held progressive roles, Paisley made a major career pivot in 2023 and started a new journey with MS Canada building out its proactive legacy giving program. Her joy and passion is leading projects, unleashing broad and diversifying perspectives, and providing a space for authentic collaboration using her calm energy and empathy.
     
    Paisley holds a BA (Honours) in Social Behaviour from Queen's University and has her Certified Financial Planning (CFP) and Personal Financial Planning designation (PFP). Over her career, Paisley has volunteered on multiple committees with the Investment Industry Association of Canada and the Institute of Canadian Bankers. She has previously led two community non-profit boards, currently lends her professional and lived experiences on national project work at Crohn's and Colitis Canada and co-chairs the BSS Alumnae Association Executive. Paisley is a BSS alumna (1985) and proud past parent of Grace Garvey '18.

  • The Venerable Theadore Hunt, Anglican Diocese of Toronto

    The Rev. Theadore Hunt was appointed the Incumbent of St. Stephen in 2019, after having served as Priest-in-Charge since 2017. Prior to serving at St. Stephen, Rev. Theadore served nearly seven years as an Associate Priest at St. Paul's L'Amoreaux in Scarborough. Rev. Theadore holds a Master of Theological Studies degree from Wycliffe College at the University of Toronto, where is currently pursuing doctoral studies. His interests include the ecclesio-ethical formation of Anglican Christians, and systematic reflection of received traditions. Rev. Theadore was ordained a priest in the Diocese of the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands in 2007. In January 2023, Father Theadore was collated Archdeacon, responsible for the Central archdeaconry.

Annual General Meeting

Tuesday, October 1, 2024 | 6:15 pm
Head's Reception

Board of Trustees

List of 11 items.

  • Lara Zink, Chair

    Lara is the Executive Vice President Client Service and Development at Delaney Capital. Prior to Delaney Capital, Lara was the President & CEO of Women in Capital Markets, a professional network of over thirty-five hundred members dedicated to accelerating equity, diversity and inclusion in the finance industry.  From 1998 to 2019, Lara worked for a Canadian bank on the institutional global equity team. Lara served as primary account relationship manager to over thirty Canadian institutional investors, delivering trusted insights and opportunities across a range of equity investment products and services.

    Lara sits on the board of Special Olympics Canada, is a member of CAMH’s Campaign Cabinet, a co-founder of Women Funding Women, and a member of the Morrissette Institute for Entrepreneurship Advisory Council. She holds an MBA from the Rotman School of Management, the ICD.D, CSC and Partners, Directors & Senior Qualifying designation.

  • Lauren Connolly

    Lauren is the Director of Operational Risk at Oxford Properties Group, a leading global real estate investor and asset manager. She has over 20 years of combined professional services and industry experience across several disciplines, including risk management, process improvement, internal controls and assurance. Lauren holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) from the University of Johannesburg. She is a current BSS parent.

  • Sam Blaichman

    Sam serves as the head of North American Direct Private Equity at CPP Investments. Prior to joining CPP Investments, Sam worked as a management consultant at Bain & Company and in the Corporate Finance and Assurance groups at PwC.

    Sam holds a B. Comm. from McGill University and an MBA from Ivey Business School. He is a CFA Charterholder and a Chartered Professional Accountant. Sam currently serves on the boards of Ascot Group, Berlin Packaging and Wilton Re. He is a current BSS parent.

  • Rochelle DE GOIAS-Jackman '97

    Rochelle is the Founder and Chairman of the Board at Girls E-Mentorship (GEM), a Top 100 Rated Charity providing mentorship to marginalized, racialized girls from low-income areas in the GTA. Previously, she was a Senior Policy Advisor at the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade and the Ministry of the Environment. She began her career at the United Nations in Tokyo and spent several years as a consultant before starting GEM. Her mentorship research with the University of Toronto has been published in the Journal of Children and Youth Services Review. Her current research with U of T is on Customized Mentorship Intervention. Her board and volunteer experience includes the McGill Women Leadership and Philanthropy Board, London Goodenough Association of Canada and Co-chair of the National Ballet of Canada Gala. Rochelle holds a Bachelor of Arts from McGill University, a diploma from La Sorbonne and an MA from the University of London, Kings College. She is a BSS Old Girl, a mentorship advocate and a current BSS parent.

  • Sage FRANCH ’11

    Sage is an entrepreneur, public speaker and BSS alumna. She is the CEO and co-founder of Crescendo, a software platform for building cultural competence and inclusivity in the workplace. Prior to founding Crescendo, Sage was a developer and educator at Microsoft, where she held a number of roles centered on cloud and emerging technologies including AI, mixed reality, and blockchain. Sage graduated from BSS in 2011 and went on to complete her Bachelor of Computer Science at Dalhousie University in 2016. She now splits her time between Toronto and Montreal, and speaks frequently on AI ethics, the future of work and equality in STEM.

  • Linda Guo

    Linda is a business leader, investor and entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience in investment and business development in high tech and real estate industry. She is the founding partner of Unbounded Business Capital Inc., a Toronto based investment and consulting firm providing funds and management experience to early stage companies in Canada and US. She was a partner of Advantage Investment, a U.S.-based investment and consulting firm in charge of China as well as a partner of a Swiss high tech fund in charge of China; Before her fund experience, Linda worked 10 years for Verizon Communications Inc in the U.S. and China as senior business development executive. She has extensive international professional experience, having both lived and worked in Washington, DC, New York, Beijing, Vancouver and Toronto. Linda received her MBA at American University in Washington, DC. She is a current BSS parent.

  • Robert Mah


    Rob has 30 years of investment industry experience. Rob is the President and Managing Partner of a Private Investment Fund within Guardian Capital Group, an $80 Bn Investment Asset Manager based in Toronto. He and his partners are currently working with CISCO Corporation and Bechtel Corporation to finance digital infrastructure projects and investments in North America and Western Europe. Rob was also a Senior Advisor for the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) global institutional investor clients advising sovereign wealth funds, pension and private funds with investment strategy, execution and asset management. For eight years prior, Rob was Executive Vice President, Private Investments for Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo), one of Canada’s largest global institutional investment funds. Rob had responsibility for the Private Equity, Infrastructure, Real Estate, Timberland, Relationship Investing and Venture Capital portfolios on a global basis. Rob started his career an investment banker for almost 20 years advising Fortune 500, FTSE 100, TSX 60, and government clients across four continents while managing teams based out of London, New York and Toronto. Rob graduated from McGill University and the University of Toronto (Rotman School). Rob is the parent of two recent BSS graduates.

  • Robyn Mendelson

    Robyn MendelsonRobyn is the Vice President, Legal and Procurement at Fidelity Investments Canada. Prior to joining Fidelity in 2013, Robyn worked at Franklin Templeton Investments and at law firms in Toronto, New York and the Cayman Islands. Robyn is currently the Chair of the Investment Funds Institute of Canada’s (IFIC) Legal and Compliance Issues Committee and is a member of the Ontario Securities Commission’s Registrant Advisory Committee. Robyn obtained her LLB from Osgoode Hall Law School and her Master of Laws from New York University. She is a current BSS parent.

  • Lance Rishor

    Lance is Managing Director and Head of Macquarie Capital Canada. Prior to joining Macquarie in January 2022, Lance worked at RBC Capital Markets for over 20 years in increasing senior roles in the global mining and metals investment banking team. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) from Queen’s University, and is a current BSS parent.

  • Melinda ROGERS Hixon '89

    Melinda RogersMelinda has served as Deputy Chair of the Board of Directors of Rogers Communications since January 2018, and as Vice Chair of Rogers Control Trust since 2008. She was also appointed a Director of Rogers Bank on December 31, 2017. Melinda has held progressively senior roles at Rogers since joining the company in 2000. Most recently, she was Founder of Rogers Venture Partners from 2011 to 2018.  She also served as Senior Vice President, Strategy and Development from 2006 to 2014, Vice President, Strategic Planning & Venture Investments from 2004 to 2006, and Vice President, Venture Investments from 2000 to 2004. Melinda is on the Board of Directors for Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment and is Chair of the Board of Jays Care Foundation. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Western Ontario and an MBA from Joseph L. Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. She was awarded an honorary doctorate from Huron University College at Western University in November 2018. Melinda lives in Toronto with her husband and four children. She is a current BSS parent.

  • Walied Soliman

    Walied is the Canadian Chair of Norton Rose Fulbright and Co-Chair of the Special Situations team. He is widely regarded as one of Canada's leading lawyers in his field, having been involved in some of the most significant and complex M&A transactions and proxy battles in the country, advising buyers and sellers, boards, hostile bidders and shareholder activists. In addition, his practice focuses on restructurings, corporate finance, governance and structured protocols.

    Walied was mandated in 2020 by the Government of Ontario to chair the Capital Markets Modernization Taskforce. In 2019, he was chosen by the United Nations Association in Canada to be its Global Citizen Laureate for his professional merit and service to the community. He was the only lawyer featured in The Globe and Mail's Report on Business Magazine Power 50 list in 2017, was designated a "Star Lawyer" by Acritas for ranking in the top 28 lawyers globally, and he has been continuously recognized by the most prestigious legal rankings over the years, including Chambers & Partners and Legal 500. He sits on the boards of Toronto Metropolitan University and the BlackNorth Initiative against anti-Black racism, and he is the chair of the Board of the Toronto SickKids Hospital Foundation. He is a current BSS parent.

Ex-officio Members

List of 2 items.

  • Devon KIRK '01, Chair of the Board of Governors

    Devon KIRK Devon serves as Partner & Co-Head, Capital Solutions at Portage. Previously, she was Head of Capital Solutions at CPP Investments and before that, Managing Director, Direct Private Equity at CPP Investments; Associate at Linklaters LLP in London and Analyst at BMO Harris Nesbitt in Chicago. She has been on the board of BSS since 2019 and also served as a Director of Wilton Re from 2016 to 2022. She is a CFA Charterholder and earned a JD from Harvard Law School (2009) and BCom from McGill University (2005). She graduated from BSS in 2001 and is a current BSS parent.

  • Kirstin Ling '06, BSS Alumnae Association Executive


    Kirstin is currently the Associate Director of Major Gifts at the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation.  Prior to that she was the Major Gifts Campaign Manager, at the University Health Network. Beyond her work, Kirstin is driven by the passion to make a difference and help others. She serves as a long-time volunteer at Ronald McDonald House Toronto. This devotion to her community is a trait that weaves through all areas of Kirstin’s work and personal life. She graduated from BSS in 2006.

Governance Committees

List of 7 items.

Senior Leadership Team

List of 1 items.

  • Head of School Dr. Angela Terpstra stands on a balcony and gazes out

    Dr. Angela Terpstra

    Dr. Angela Terpstra was Principal of the Senior School for eleven years before becoming Head of School, and her goals for the girls of BSS reach beyond academic success.

    A Message from Dr. Terpstra
     
     

List of 9 items.

  • Meagan Enticknap

    Deputy Head of School
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  • Brendan Lea

    Principal, Middle and Senior School
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  • Lynda Watters

    Principal, Junior School
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  • Dr. Kristen Clarke

    Dean of Teaching and Learning
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  • Tom Hudson

    Chief Financial Officer
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  • Janet Duga

    Executive Director, Human Resources
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  • Mary Anne Van Acker

    Executive Director, Technology
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  • Hilary Adamson

    Executive Director, Enrolment Management and Student Experience
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  • Sarah Robertson

    Executive Director, Advancement
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