Board

David Bradley
Chair
Newfoundland and Labrador

David Bradley is an archivist at Memorial University's Maritime History Archive, and is a former president of the Newfoundland Historical Society. He is the founding and current chair of the Association of Heritage Industries, an umbrella group of provincial heritage organizations which lobbied for and helped to shape the province’s first cultural policy. David is heavily involved at Bonavista as acting president of the Bonavista Historical Society and chair of its affiliate, the Bonavista Historic Townscape Foundation.  David has gained knowledge and experience from years of working on boards of non-profit heritage organizations, specifically in the areas of advocacy, governance, planning, programming, policy formation and project development and implementation. His work at Bonavista relates directly to the conservation, redevelopment and adaptive reuse of heritage buildings owned by private parties, community organizations and government agencies.  

Ross Keith
Vice-Chair
Saskatchewan

Ross Keith practiced commercial law in Regina for ten years. Since 1983 he has worked as the president and principal shareholder of Nicor Group, a Regina real estate development company which has successfully developed many heritage properties in Regina. Ross has been a leader in the heritage movement in Saskatchewan for many years. He is a founding director and lifetime member of Heritage Regina and served as chairman for five years. He has also played a major role in other key organizations with responsibility for community planning and economic development. Ross was a board member of the Canadian Wheat Board for seven years. This experience has enabled him to acquire expertise in governance issues as well as valuable experience in board and committee work in a large corporation. Ross is a developer who can speak with authority on business and financial issues related to heritage. He is also a long time activist in the heritage movement and is well qualified to assist in making some of the key arguments we must make with governments at all levels.

Michael Seaman
Vice-Chair
Ontario

Michael J. Seaman, MCIP, RPP, member CAHP is an urban planner with a Masters Degree in Heritage Conservation who brings to the board knowledge, experience and enthusiasm for conserving heritage resources gained during his 20 years of experience in the urban and heritage planning field. He has received national and provincial awards for his work and is currently the director of planning for the Town of Grimsby, where he leads the municipal planning, economic development and heritage functions for this historic Niagara area municipality. Previously he was a manager of heritage planning with the Town of Oakville and a senior heritage planner with the Towns of Aurora and Markham. All three of these municipalities are recipients of the Heritage Canada Foundation’s Prince of Wales Prize. Michael is passionate in educating about heritage, lecturing and contributing numerous articles to national and provincial publications. He is currently editor for heritage for Ontario Planning Journal, providing an invaluable link between the planning profession and the heritage community. He has hosted television shows about heritage and coordinated heritage-related events.

John K.F. Irving
Director at Large

John K. F. Irving graduated from Harvard University in 1983 with a Bachelor of Arts, Cum Laude in General Studies (majoring in Economics) and from the Harvard University Graduate School of Business Administration in 1989 with a Masters in Business Administration. He has been active in the Irving Group of Companies since 1983 in a variety of management positions. He is currently president of Commercial Properties Limited as well as president and director of a number of associated companies. An eloquent advocate for historic places, John’s successful rehabilitation of an entire block of late-Victorian commercial buildings in downtown Saint John proves that heritage spaces can be rehabilitated and restored for 21st century businesses. John and his wife Elizabeth have 3 children and reside in Saint John.

Helen Edwards
British Columbia

Helen Edwards is a writer, researcher and heritage professional. She is a 2001 graduate (B.A. with distinction) of the University of Victoria. Since then, she has worked on projects for government and private clients, independently and in collaboration with Jonathan Yardley and Hal Kalman. Helen has volunteered in the heritage field for many years. She continues to fund-raise for Hallmark Society projects and works as chief researcher and manager. She was a director of Heritage BC for eight years and recently completed her third term as president of the Heritage Legacy Fund of BC. Helen is the past president of the Canadian Association of Heritage Professionals and is a member of Heritage Canada’s National Roundtable for Heritage Education, representing the bridge between educators and professionals. Her contribution to the local heritage scene was acknowledged in 2005 when the Victoria YM/YWCA named her a Woman of Distinction.

Henry Maisonneuve
Alberta

Henry Maisonneuve has over 25 years of experience in the design and construction industry, with a broad background of experience on a variety of both large scale and small scale institutional, retail and commercial projects. His involvement in contract administration and project management provides solid practical site solutions and focused team collaboration. His technical background for building code review during design development facilitates multiple design solutions, leading clients to more options and value. His involvement with the Old Strathcona Foundation started in 1996, volunteering on the planning/design review committee. He volunteered because the legacy and the vision the Old Strathcona Foundation had for his native Edmonton’s Whyte Avenue created an area in a city that residents and commerce valued. As president of the board of directors, Henry liaises with provincial heritage funding agents and other key stakeholders.

Cindy Tugwell
Manitoba

Cindy Tugwell has been the executive director of Heritage Winnipeg for the past sixteen years. She also is one of the most visible faces in the local heritage community. She has to her credit a number of unique and outstanding achievements that have broken new ground and that have made a real difference in the community as a whole. Some of her achievements include pursuing and securing a $388,000 grant from the Department of Canadian Heritage to produce a virtual library and interactive guide. She has been involved for many years in the protection of the historic Upper Fort Garry site, which has recently become a success story. Under her leadership for the past six years, Heritage Winnipeg has taken sole responsibility to present the very successful Doors Open Winnipeg event. She has become a vocal advocate of built heritage representing the views of the organization before city council and its various committees. She is involved in many educational projects in schools including the celebration of Manitoba Day and the teacher’s conferences and heritage fairs.  She continues to increase awareness of National Heritage Day/Louis Riel Day in Winnipeg with an Annual Preservation Awards Ceremony. She continually networks and partners with a variety of organizations that are critical to the general development of Winnipeg in order to promote and raise awareness of heritage.

Richard Bégin
Québec

Originally from Quebec City, Richard Bégin lived in the Montreal region before resettling in Ottawa-Gatineau where he studied Canadian history at the Master’s and Ph.D. levels. In conjunction with his career in the federal government (Public Archives, Foreign Affairs, Privy Council Office, etc.), he has headed a range of community, social, heritage, cultural and business organizations in the last 35 years: Tel-Aide Outaouais, Association québécoise des centres de détresse, Club Richelieu, Aylmer Heritage Association, Symmes Inn Museum, Association des professionnels, industriels et commerçants d’Aylmer (which is managing a project to revitalize Rue Principale), Comité consultatif d’urbanisme (Urban Planning Advisory Committee), Conseil régional de la culture de l’Outaouais, and Fédération des sociétés d’histoire du Québec / FSHQ, whose 231 affiliates comprise the largest number of history and heritage organizations in Quebec.

Marc Johnston
Yukon

Marc Johnston’s professional life has hinged around broadcast journalism which has seen him employed in various parts of the country including Halifax (CHNS), Toronto (CFRB), and Victoria (CFAX). He moved to the Yukon in 1996 in order to build a radio station and train the employees and after successfully doing so, he decided to stay in the North. Marc currently sits on the board of directors of the Yukon Historical and Museums Association which is an umbrella group that represents the issues of museums and cultural centres across the Yukon to the Yukon Territorial Government. He also sits on the board of directors of the Klondike Visitors’ Association which runs Diamond Tooth Gertie’s Gambling Casino in Dawson City and uses the proceeds to advertise and encourage visitors to visit the Klondike. Apart from the somewhat arcane skills associated with restoration of artifacts Marc brings a full understanding of media to the Heritage Canada Foundation. 

Kim Devine
Prince Edward Island

Prince Edward Island representative Kim Devine brings seven years experience as a municipal councillor to the Heritage Canada Foundation Board.  Kim served on Charlottetown City Council for two terms, winning election in 2003 and 2006.  She served as chair of both the Planning and Heritage Committees for five years.  During that time, Kim was committed to raising awareness of the value of Charlottetown’s rich architectural and social history.  She promoted heritage preservation as an economic development tool and as a distinctive characteristic that makes Charlottetown a very special city.Kim works in communications for the province of Prince Edward Island.  She has a BA from the University of Prince Edward Island and a Journalism Diploma from Holland College.  She currently serves as a board member of the PEI Museum and Heritage Foundation, and Friends of the Farm, an organization formed to protect land belonging to the agricultural research station in Charlottetown.  She has volunteered with many other local organizations in the past.  She lives in downtown Charlottetown in the original 500 Lots of the city.

Tom Urbaniak
Nova Scotia

Tom Urbaniak, PhD, is a political scientist at Cape Breton University. He often works at the intersection of heritage conservation policy, community economic development, social policy, and non-profit sector governance. He  brings this inter-sectoral, creative approach to the HCF board. Tom is chair of CBU's Housing Applied Research Group and has encouraged demonstration projects that link affordable housing and heritage conservation. He is the author of four books, including Action, Accommodation, Accountability: Rules of Order for Canadian Organizations and Her Worship: Hazel McCallion and the Development of Mississauga. He proposed the establishment of Nova Scotia's first local heritage revolving fund, now being administered by the recently established Sydney Architectural Conservation Society, and successfully encouraged Habitat for Humanity Nova Scotia to become involved in renovations as a part of the solution to the Cape Breton region's vacant buildings crisis. Tom has written practical briefs on federal heritage tax incentives and on amendments to Nova Scotia's Heritage Property Act. He has drafted a bill with the hope of reforming Nova Scotia's cumbersome tax-sale process in order to salvage neglected buildings. Tom recently facilitated ICOMOS Canada's bylaws/restructuring deliberations. He serves on the board of the Heritage Trust of Nova Scotia and the Old Sydney Society. He is on CBU's interdisciplinary committee to create an MA in Heritage Studies. Tom is a director of Centre communautaire Etoile de l'Acadie and a member of the Canadian Polish Research Institute. He is a frequent media commentator on public affairs, in both official languages.

Peter Buckley
Director at Large

Peter is a partner with Buckley Patterson Asset Management, an independent financial consulting firm, and has been in the financial services industry as an advisor for 27 years. He lives in Rothesay New Brunswick and is married with two teenage children. Peter has been involved in various charities and community organizations. He enjoys coaching and playing sports, music and reading.

Marion Beyea
New Brunswick

Marion Beyea is Provincial Archivist and Director of the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick since 1978, managing an integrated program of recorded information management and archival services.Marion has served the archival community in a number of capacities on technical and professional committees, grant adjudication bodies and editorial boards including founding president of the Canadian Council of Archives, president of the Association of Canadian Archivists, and as Chair of the Committee on Best Practices and Standards of the International Council of Archives.New Brunswick’s representative on the Historical Sites and Monuments Board of Canada 1987-1993, Marion is a member of the Fredericton Heritage Trust since 1985, assisting in such projects as the bi-annual tour of gardens in the heritage district, and Fredericton Icons (annual competition to name people, places and objects of iconic stature in Fredericton).

Any correspondence may be sent to any and all Board members
c/o Heritage Canada
190 Bronson Ave
Ottawa, Ontario K1R 6H4

or by E-mail at:hcfgovernor@heritagecanada.org