The Atkinson Charitable Foundation is governed by a Board of Directors. Our Board is comprised of well-known community leaders, public policy experts, journalists, and academics. The Board’s wealth of knowledge and experience informs the strategic direction and granting philosophy of the Foundation.
Hugh Mackenzie, President and Chair
(Appointed June 2000)
Hugh was appointed President and Chair of the Board in December 2010. He has worked for more than 25 years in the labour movement and in a variety of public policy capacities at all three levels of government in Canada. He was also Executive Director of the Ontario Fair Tax Commission. Currently, he is principal at Hugh Mackenzie & Associates, consultants specializing in economic analysis, technical support to unions in collective bargaining and public policy analysis.
Victor Beausoleil
(Appointed October 2011)
Victor is a facilitator and lecturer on youth engagement, educational attainment and community development. Victor has worked and volunteered in the broader equity-seeking communities across Ontario for the past ten years. Victor currently works as Executive Director of Redemption Reintegration Services. Victor volunteers on multiple Boards in Toronto and is a member of the grant review committees for both the Laidlaw Foundation and the Toronto Community Housing Social Investment Fund.
Paul Clifford
(Appointed October 2011)
Paul has been the elected President of UNITE HERE Local 75 since 1996. Born and raised in Toronto, Paul started organizing with HERE (the Hotel Employees Restaurant Employees union) in the 1980s. He was part of an organizing team that successfully unionized 2,600 clerical and technical workers at Yale, and helped workers in Chicago hotels, airports and riverboat casinos join the union. Paul has also served on the Board of Directors of Tourism Toronto and the Board of Governors of George Brown College.
Susan Eagle
(Appointed June 1999)
Susan is a United Church of Canada minister who was ordained in 1977. She is currently the minister at Grace United Church in Barrie. Susan served as a London, Ontario city councillor from 1997 until 2010. Susan has fostered the formation of self-help community and tenant groups and was a driving force behind the founding of the Neighborhood Legal Services clinic in London Ontario and the building of a $6 million Genesis Housing Co-op.
Grace Edward Galabuzi
(Appointed October 2006)
Grace-Edward is a renowned expert on race and poverty in urban Canada and the impact of global economic restructuring on local community economic development. He is a professor in the Department of Politics and School of Public Administration at Ryerson University and a Research Associate at the Centre for Social Justice in Toronto. He is also a member of the United Way of Greater Toronto Board of Trustees and board member of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.
Carol Goar
(Appointed June 1999)
Carol is a highly regarded Canadian journalist and columnist for the Toronto Star. She was a recipient of National Newspaper Awards in 1986 and 1997. Carol has worked at the Star for 18 years, during which time she was also chair of the Star’s editorial board.
John Honderich
(Appointed February 2012)
John joined the Toronto Star in 1976 as a reporter and was appointed Publisher in 1994, a position he held for almost 10 years. He is Chair of the Torstar Voting Trust and Chair of the Board of Torstar Corporation. John currently serves on the boards of the United Way, the Atkinson Fellowship, the Michener Fellowship, the Martin Goodman Fellowship and the Toronto Public Library. He was appointed as a Member of the Order of Canada in 2004 and a Member of the Order of Ontario in 2006.
Erik Mathiesen, Treasurer
(Appointed December 2011)
Erik leads the Mission Through Finance portfolio for the national arm of The United Church of Canada. Prior to his move to the non-profit sector, Erik worked in the financial services industry for over 25 years specializing in operations management and business reengineering. Erik serves on a number of volunteer boards, typically in a financial stewardship capacity and is the recipient of numerous distinctions and awards for his volunteer efforts on behalf of many community organizations.
Emily Mathieu
(Appointed June 2010)
Emily is the great great granddaughter of Joseph E. Atkinson and a journalist at the Toronto Star. Emily serves as the committee chair for the Ruth Atkinson Hindmarsh Award.
Gail Misra
(Appointed October 2011)
Gail is a Vice Chair of the Ontario Labour Relations Board and an arbitrator and mediator in the area of labour relations. Prior to being appointed to the Labour Board, Gail was a lawyer in private practice and also held a previous seven-year appointment as a Vice Chair of the Ontario Labour Relations Board. Gail is actively involved in her community as a volunteer and long-time Board Member of the Working Women Community Centre, a Director of the Harbord Village Residents' Association, and a Board Director of the Institute for Canadian Citizenship.
