Board of Directors
Join Cornerstone's Board of Directors
Cornerstone is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors and is a Community Ministry of the Anglican Diocese. We are canvassing our volunteers, donors and other interested people to seek your interest in becoming a Member of Cornerstone's Board of Directors. In particular, we are looking for Board Members with expertise in property management, governance, fundraising, communications, health policy/operations, housing and homelessness and/or lived experience.
Please email with your resume and a short explanation of your interest to the Board Chair at cornerstone.board@cornerstonewomen.ca . Thank you!
Mark Holzman
Chair
Mark Holzman has enjoyed a 32 year career at Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation in housing policy, research and programs. He is a board member and past-president of Temple Israel (Jewish Reform Congregation of Ottawa) and a member of All Saints Anglican Church - Westboro. Mark is a lifetime Ottawa resident who enjoys skiing, exploring Ottawa neighbourhoods and spending time with his three adult children and two grandsons.
Yasmin Khaliq
Vice Chair
Yasmin Khaliq has had a long career as a clinical pharmacist, primarily in the hospital setting. Her work included patient care, teaching and research. Yasmin also sat as a public member of the Consent and Capacity Board as well as the Ontario Review Board. More recently, Yasmin returned to university to complete a degree in law. She graduated in June 2022 from the French Common Law Program at the University of Ottawa with a concentration in Health Law. Yasmin has a strong interest in mental health, homelessness, and disadvantaged populations, recently publishing articles on mental health and the law. She is new to the Board of Directors at Cornerstone and looks forward to working with this dynamic organization.
Peter Martin
Treasurer
After 35 years in the navy, Peter Martin retired in 1994 as the Chief of Financial Services. His career covered corporate planning, financial management and control systems, information technology and leadership of military and civilian staffs. From 1995 to 2004, he consulted to government and the private sector in strategic planning and change management.
Mr. Martin is actively involved in the volunteer sector. He was a member of the Board of the Perley and Rideau Veterans’ Health Centre for 13 years, three of which he served as its chair. He was National Treasurer of the Navy League of Canada for five years. He was co-chair of the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa Strategic Planning Task Force, and chair of its Property and Finance Committee for three years. He is currently a member of the Parish Council of St Aidan’s Anglican Church.
Ann Chaplin
Secretary
Ann Chaplin has been a member of the Board of Directors since 2020 and has served as Secretary to the Board and Chair of the Governance Committee. She is a long-time supporter of Cornerstone, including through her church, St. John the Evangelist, Elgin Street. Retired from the Department of Justice, Ann worked for 31 years as a constitutional and administrative law and governance expert, advising the government of Canada and teaching and mentoring other lawyers. She has held a variety of leadership positions in the Anglican Church at the parish, diocesan and national levels.
Katie Boone
Katie Boone has over 10 years’ experience building innovative, change management initiatives in the field of gender, diversity, and international partnerships. Katie started her career as a public servant with the Canadian International Development Agency, working on Canada’s largest foreign aid and humanitarian assistance program to Afghanistan. Since then, she has lived and worked in over 10 countries, including Kenya, Guyana, Vietnam, Mexico and Peru, working in the field of private consulting, post-secondary education, and international partnership development. Currently, Katie is Deputy Director, GBA Plus Systems and Innovation Team at Canada’s Department of National Defence and Canadian Armed Forces. Katie Boone is originally from Newfoundland and Labrador and holds the island culture close to her heart.
Mary Laidlaw
Mary Laidlaw has lived her whole life in Ottawa attending Hilson Ave Public School, Connaught, Fisher Park and Carleton University. Prior to retirement from a 35-year career with the Public Service, she was involved with School Parent Councils and community groups. Since retirement, she has undertaken several volunteer roles including working at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics and the 2015 Pan Am games, in Toronto. She continues to play a leadership role in the United Church. She brings to the Board her expertise in human resources, labour relations, governance and management.
Susan Scotti
Susan Scotti is a coach and board director. A recently retired senior executive, she has extensive experience in the public, private and not for profit sectors having served as the Executive Vice President of the Business Council of Canada and as a senior executive with the Government of Canada for over 30 years engaged in policy and program development and implementation. Susan has been responsible for national policies and programs in areas as diverse as culture and broadcasting, the integration, and participation of ethnic minorities, persons with disabilities, and seniors, Indigenous issues and land claims, public pensions, and homelessness.
Susan is a coach to aspiring and current executives and an active volunteer in her community. She currently serves as a director on several not-for-profit boards. She is the Vice Chair of the Ottawa Community Foundation, Chair of its Grants committee and a member of the Governance Committee. She is a board director of the Vanier Institute of the Family, as well as Ottawa Chamberfest where she is Vice Chair and Chair of the Governance Committee. She also co-chairs the Program Committee of the International Women’s Federation.
Garth-Matthew Symonds
Matthew Symonds retired from the federal Public Service in 2020, following a 32-year career in human resources, corporate services and governance.
Matthew has been a volunteer with many organizations including the Association of Professional Executives of the Public Service of Canada, the Sandy Hill Community Health Centre, and the Institute of Public Administration of Canada (Nova Scotia Region).
Matthew holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Acadia University and a Master of Public Administration degree from Dalhousie University.
Mary-Cate Garden
Mary-Cate Garden is a Priest in the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa where she has held posts in both rural and urban parishes. Prior to her ordination in 2016 she was an archaeologist for more than twenty-five years working in academia, museums and elsewhere in the public sector. As a priest she has a call to urban ministry and has held volunteer and placement posts with day programmes in Toronto and worked alongside people who are vulnerably housed and may be living with addiction or other health issues. In Cornwall, Mary-Cate was part of the working group which helped to establish Centre 105 and acted as clergy liaison. Mary-Cate has a long history of volunteering in the arts. Within the Diocese, Mary-Cate sits on a number of committees including Diocesan Council and Property and Finance.
Carolyn Faught
Carolyn Faught is a wife, a mother of two daughters, and a practicing physician. Carolyn grew up in Ottawa and studied at McGill University. Carolyn is a hematologist and has been on staff at the Ottawa Hospital since 1998. Carolyn has spent her career taking care of people with blood cancers like leukemia and lymphoma; which has been challenging, rewarding, and a privilege. Carolyn has also been involved in teaching medical students about blood.
Carolyn's spare time is spent with her church community, reading, spending time with her dog, or pursuing various sporty endeavours. She is passionate about being in nature and happiest either hiking on a mountain, skiing on a forest trail, or paddling in a canoe.
Carolyn is invested in advancing equality and justice, and feels both a desire and sense of duty to give back to her community. Carolyn looks forward to her role on the Board at Cornerstone, with hopes to learn from her Board colleagues and support vulnerable community members.
Susan Smandych
The Rev. R. Susan Smandych (she/her) serves as a Priest in the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa, ministering in Arnprior and Renfrew. Before her ordination, she worked for over a decade as an engineer and program manager with a global consulting firm and later held senior leadership roles with international non-governmental organizations for 15 years. Her work took her to more than 60 countries, including roles as a missionary in Indonesia, Country Director in Timor-Leste, and Director of Program Management and Compliance overseeing health programs across Africa, Asia, and Haiti.
After returning to Canada and completing her Master of Divinity at Trinity College, Susan was ordained and served in several urban parishes in Winnipeg. Her passion for safe housing and ending homelessness for women and gender-diverse people continues to guide her ministry. She also serves on the Board of L’Arche Arnprior, is a member of the Diocese’s Risk Management Committee, and enjoys painting in her spare time.
Katrina Draper
Katrina is a policy analyst and conflict resolution specialist with both Canadian and international experience, including work in Australia and Rwanda. Her background in mediation and conflict resolution, combined with specialized training in political management, makes her uniquely skilled in developing advocacy and strategic plans.
A recent addition to the Board of Directors at Cornerstone, Katrina brings extensive experience in advocacy, non-profit work, fundraising, digital campaigns, and grassroots organizing. Katrina is an expert at recognizing what voices need to be at the table and ensuring they get there. In her professional role, Katrina works in policy and regulatory affairs, providing timely and strategic advice on the impacts of government decisions across diverse sectors.
Katrina holds an Honours Bachelor’s degree in Peace and Conflict Studies from the University of Waterloo and a Master’s degree in Political Management from Carleton University.
