Board of Directors

During her professional career, Sharon was the Director of Faculty Bargaining Services for the Canadian Association of University Business Officers (responsible for the management support in labour negotiations for Canadian universities), Vice-President Special Projects and Vice-President Administration and Finance for the University of Northern British Columbia; and Associate Vice-President Human Resources at University of Saskatchewan. Sharon served as the past Chair of the Board of Directors at Lakeridge Health and Vice- Chair of Kinark Child and Family Services.

Sharon received her Doctorate in Educational Administration from the University of British Columbia and fulfilled the requirements for the ICD.D. designation.

Sharon’s extensive experience in the education sector, which includes financial services, human resources management, facilities/capital management, purchasing, risk operations, ancillary/business operations including public/private partnerships contribute greatly to the work of the Abilities Centre Board of Directors.
 

Wayne Gingrich joined Bird Construction Inc. in April 2016 and assumed the role of Chief Financial Officer (CFO) in July 2016.  With almost 25 years of experience in finance and accounting roles, he has spent the last 15 years of service as a financial executive in the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) sector. Prior to joining Bird, has worked for MMM Group Limited, AECOM, Earth Tech and General Electric in both GE Capital and in the industrial business units.

Wayne is an active volunteer in his position as a Board Member & Chair of the Audit and Finance Committee of the Abilities Centre in Whitby which delivers sports, arts, research and education, and life skills opportunities for people of all ages and abilities.  Wayne is a member of the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD).  He previously served as a Board Member at SENA Solid Waste Holdings Inc. and at T2 Utility Engineers.

Wayne obtained his Honours Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) from Wilfrid Laurier University, with a minor in Economics.  He is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) and attained his Certified Management Accountant designation in 2000.
 

Daniel currently works at Google helping large enterprises accelerate their digital transformations leveraging Cloud, advanced analytics and machine-learning technologies.

Before joining Google, Daniel led the Digital Strategy and Innovation team at 
CIBC and was responsible for the development and implementation of the digital roadmap for CIBC’s industry leading online and mobile banking properties. Before joining CIBC, Daniel spent nearly 15 years in progressive management consulting roles with PwC, E&Y, and Capgemini focusing on Technology, Strategy, Operational Effectiveness and Global Sourcing.

Daniel graduated from McMaster University with a degree in Economics and participated in CIBC’s Adaptive Leadership Program and Genesis Park, PwC’s Global Leadership Development Program.

Daniel joined the Abilities Centre Board in 2018 and his expertise in Digital strategy has been instrumental in the Abilities Centre’s own digital transformation. 
   
 

Natalie Hovey is the Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer at Mackenzie Health. Natalie has more than ten years experience in senior roles in the health care sector.
 
Natalie received her Bachelor of Business Administration degree from St. Francis Xavier University and is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA,CMA)
 
Natalie has been active on various Boards and Committees in the health care sector where she contributes with her wide array of financial and business development expertise. Natalie joined the Abilities Centre Board of Directors in the spring of 2019, and she is the Chair of the Finance and Audit Committee.
 

Todd Nicholson is Canada’s top athlete representing Canada on the international stage for over a quarter of a century as a member of Canada's National Sledge Team and a number of other summer sports. During his active years 1994 - 2010, Todd competed in sledge hockey at five Paralympic Winter Games, winning bronze, silver and gold medals. He was a team captain for 15 years and was inducted to the Paralympic All-Star Team in 1998 and 2002. After retiring from active sport in 2010, Todd became an active volunteer to sport and the Paralympic movement.

Todd served as the Chairperson for the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Athletes’ Council and was a Governing Board member for the International Paralympic Committee (2010 – 2017).  He also served as the IPC Athlete Representative to the International Olympic Committee and has direct hands-on experience planning and administering the Games - Olympic and Paralympic - in London (2012), Sochi (2014), Rio de Janeiro (2016) and PyeongChang (2018). He currently sits on a number of National Sporting Boards within Canada including the Abilities Centre Board of Directors where he shares his unique knowledge and experience.

Todd and his wife are champions of the Abilities Centre’s model of fully inclusive recreational facility for people of all abilities and is the co-creator of the Abilities Ottawa centre.Todd is the recipient of the Presidential Citation for Meritorious Service.
 

Tej Singh Hazra is a Client Partner, in Korn Ferry's Global Diversity & Inclusion practice. Mr. Hazra was the head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for HSBC Bank Canada, where his role was to enable the bank to operate and compete locally and internationally by driving an intentional Diversity & Inclusion strategy aligned to their business performance goals. Prior to joining HSBC, he was the Head of Diversity & Inclusion for IBM Canada, where he led IBM’s Global Emerging Issues Response Team—accountable for managing real-time global and regional issues, involving cultural, regulatory and faith-based nuances in the company’s major and emerging markets.

Mr. Hazra graduated from The University of Huddersfield (UK) where he studied Computer-Aided Engineering. Mr. Hazra’s extensive knowledge of the Employment Equity Act and over thirteen years working experience in the arena of Equity, Diversity & Inclusion, are invaluable assets to Abilities Centre where Mr. Hazra serves as the Member of the Board of Directors and the Governance, Nominations and Human Resources Committee.

Sean Pavlidis is a Principal at Level5, a boutique management consulting firm focused on growth strategy and organizational transformation. His practice focuses on helping organizations define a growth path and align their operations to achieve their ambitions. Internally at the firm, Sean is a champion of the DEI-space and leads a team embedding DEI best practices into the organization.

Sean received his Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) degree from Queen’s University.

Sean was appointed to the Board of Directors in January 2023 and is a member of the Governance, Nominations and Human Resources Committee.