Shared Path Board Members

Current Board Members

The following individuals form our Core Board Executive.

We are recruiting for general board members – please share your expression of interest by writing to admin[@]sharedpath.ca.

Carolyn King, President and Board Chair
Owner, Proprietor JDI Business Services

Carolyn King is the Chair and co-founder of the Shared Path Consultation Initiative. She is the first woman to have been elected as Chief of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation (MCFN) (December 1997 to December 1999). She has over 30 years of work experience in the field of First Nations community and economic development, and extensive experience in public relations, environmental planning policies and procedures, and community radio. She is a board member on numerous local community-based organizations and has served at the municipal, regional and national levels. She has received numerous awards including the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012) in recognition of her support for First Nations history and the advancement of Aboriginal Peoples and the Order of Canada (2020) for her expertise in community development, her advocacy of Indigenous-led initiatives, and her efforts to improve Canadians’ understanding of First Nations. She is also the founder of the Moccasin Identifier Project.

Susan Robertson, General Director
Principal Planner of People Plan Community

With over 20 years experience in watershed planning, community engagement and Indigenous relations, Susan believes in advancing Treaty relations through respectful collaboration. She is a Member of the Canadian Institute of Planners and a Registered Professional Planner in Ontario. Award-winning and notable projects include the restoration of the Historic Council House at the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, the Shared Path/Le Sentier Partagé, the Credit Valley Trail Strategy, the Credit Valley Trail Indigenous Experience Plan, Indigenous engagement sessions within the Great Lakes with various levels of government, the Indigenous Municipal Engagement Program, and the Moccasin Identifier. Susan holds an honours undergraduate joint degree in Cultural Anthropology and Human Geography and a graduate degree in Environmental Planning and has worked in Watershed Planning for Ontario’s largest Conservation Authority for nearly a decade. Susan was the first person to be nominated and awarded The Credits Award by the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation for contributions to promoting Indigenous cultural heritage.  Susan sits on numerous boards and committees promoting conservation planning, and was a former Commissioner for the Niagara Escarpment Commission and is presently Director-At-Large for the Board for Ontario Nature.

Debbie Steiss, Treasurer
Senior Associate Archaeological Services Inc.

Debbie received her Honours Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology (1975) and her Master of Arts in Anthropology (1979) from the University of Toronto. She also enrolled, in 1977, in the Graduate Program at the University of Pittsburgh, before returning to the University of Toronto to complete her graduate studies. As a former Partner and Senior Archaeologist at Archaeological Services Inc. from 1983 to 2016 (Partner 2002-2016), Debbie was responsible for the supervision of dozens of archaeological surveys and excavations, and she is an experienced lithic analyst. She participated in many of the company’s major assessments and excavations over the last 35 years and served as a Field Director for various surveys within the Greater Toronto Area. Debbie was appointed to the Board of the Ontario Archaeological Society in 2015 and has served since then as Treasurer of the Society (her term expires in 2020).

David Stinson, Vice Chair
Partner, Incite Planning

David Stinson is a Registered Professional Planner and a member of the Canadian Institute of Planners’ Indigenous Community Planning Committee. With expertise in rural development and land use policy, he has worked for public, NGO, and private sector organizations including the Maitland Valley Conservation Authority and the Kent County Planning Department. David is a professor at the Orillia campus of Laurentian University, and for 7 years has been the Community Planning Advisor for the Ogemawahj Tribal Council.  He has provided research and analysis on community economics, land development, and environmental planning, and is now a partner at Incite Planning.  He has recently been appointed to the Lake Simcoe Co-ordinating Committee.

Past Board Members

We are grateful to the Shared Path members who have lent their expertise by serving on the Board.

President and Board Chair

Carolyn King

Owner, Proprietor
JDI Business Services

Carolyn King is the Chair and co-founder of the Shared Path Consultation Initiative. She is the first woman to have been elected as Chief of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation (MCFN) (December 1997 to December 1999). She has over 30 years of work experience in the field of First Nations community and economic development, and extensive experience in public relations, environmental planning policies and procedures, and community radio. She is a board member on numerous local community-based organizations and has served at the municipal, regional and national levels. She has received numerous awards including the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012) in recognition of her support for First Nations history and the advancement of Aboriginal Peoples and the Order of Canada (2020) for her expertise in community development, her advocacy of Indigenous-led initiatives, and her efforts to improve Canadians’ understanding of First Nations. She is also the founder of the Moccasin Identifier Project.

Vice President

Ron Williamson

Founder
Archaeological Services Inc.

Ronald F. Williamson is founder of Archaeological Services Inc., a cultural resource management firm based in Toronto, Ontario. He holds an Honours BA from the University of Western Ontario and MA and PhD from McGill University, all in Anthropology. He is also an Associate Member of the Graduate Faculty at the University of Toronto (Anthropology) and at Western University (Anthropology) in London and Chair, Board of Directors at the Museum of Ontario Archaeology at Western University, London. He has published extensively on both Indigenous and early colonial Great Lakes history.

Secretary

Fred McGarry

Executive Director
Centre for Community Mapping

Fred McGarry is an entrepreneur in land use planning and development who has participated in the design of and community engagement with evolving technologies for collaborative spatial systems.  He is a founding partner responsible for application systems design, development and marketing of the Web Informatics Development Environment (WIDE) software applications and founder of the Centre for Community Mapping, a software research corporation which investigates the adequacy of WIDE architecture, meta-models and technologies by designing, building, serving and maintaining operational applications for a broad client base. Fred began his work with Dr. Don Cowan and the University of Waterloo Computer Systems Group in 1992. Before 1992, Fred had 20 years experience in real estate development working for corporate developers such as Markborough Properties Limited and independently as a realtor and project management consultant. Fred will participate in Civic Atlas Corp., a 2019 WIDE spin-off company, as Senior Vice-president Business Development.

Treasurer

Debbie Steiss

Senior Associate
Archaeological Services Inc.

Debbie received her Honours Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology (1975) and her Master of Arts in Anthropology (1979) from the University of Toronto. She also enrolled, in 1977, in the Graduate Program at the University of Pittsburgh, before returning to the University of Toronto to complete her graduate studies. As a former Partner and Senior Archaeologist at Archaeological Services Inc. from 1983 to 2016 (Partner 2002-2016), Debbie was responsible for the supervision of dozens of archaeological surveys and excavations, and she is an experienced lithic analyst. She participated in many of the company’s major assessments and excavations over the last 35 years and served as a Field Director for various surveys within the Greater Toronto Area. Debbie was appointed to the Board of the Ontario Archaeological Society in 2015 and has served since then as Treasurer of the Society (her term expires in 2020).

Director

Heather Dorries

Assistant Professor
University of Toronto, Department of Geography & Planning and Centre for Indigenous Studies

Heather Dorries is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography and Planning and Centre for Indigenous Studies at the University of Toronto. She obtained her MScPl and PhD in Urban Planning at the University of Toronto, and worked for the City of Toronto before beginning her academic career. She has extensive experience in the realm of urban and environmental planning. Her research focuses on Indigenous planning and life in the urban context. These are themes she explores in her forthcoming edited collected Settler City Limits: Indigenous Resurgence and Settler Colonial Violence in the Urban Prairie West (University of Manitoba Press) and her book Planning the End of the World: Indigenous Planning Theory and the Art of Refusal (under contract with the University of Toronto Press).  Heather is Anishinaabe and grew up in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Director Emeritus

Dean Jacobs

Consultation Manager
Walpole Island First Nation

Dean Jacobs is the Consultation Manager for Walpole Island First Nation (WIFN). He currently specializes in Impacts and Benefits Agreement negotiations. For the past 45 years he has been the driving force behind WIFN’s internationally acclaimed community-based research program called Nin.Da.Waab.Jig. He is a member of the University of Windsor’s Board of Governors and a member of the Joint Public Advisory Committee for the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation which came into force at the same time as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Dean also serves on the Advisory Council of the Nuclear Waste Management Organization. Dean is a former Chief of the WIFN and the founding Director of the Walpole Island Heritage Centre. He is the recipient of two eagle feathers and three honorary doctorate degrees.

Director

David Stinson

Partner
Incite Planning

David Stinson is a Registered Professional Planner and a member of the Canadian Institute of Planners’ Indigenous Community Planning Committee. With expertise in rural development and land use policy, he has worked for public, NGO, and private sector organizations including the Maitland Valley Conservation Authority and the Kent County Planning Department. David is a professor at the Orillia campus of Laurentian University, and for 7 years has been the Community Planning Advisor for the Ogemawahj Tribal Council.  He has provided research and analysis on community economics, land development, and environmental planning, and is now a partner at Incite Planning.  He has recently been appointed to the Lake Simcoe Co-ordinating Committee.

Director Emeritus

Leigh Whyte

Manager of Planning
Quartec Group Inc.

Leigh has over twenty years of experience as a Senior Planner and Project Manager performing urban and environmental planning for numerous Indigenous, public, and private clients. His responsibilities have included numerous rezoning applications and official plan amendments for land development projects, as well as presentations and preparation of public outreach approaches, power sector consulting, GIS project management, municipal ordinance preparation, comprehensive planning, industrial site development, environmental impact statement (EIS) preparation and review, Aboriginal engagement and consultation, and preparation of various environmental reports for submittal to all levels of government in Canada and the U.S. Leigh is an associate of Quartek Group Inc. and is a member of the Red Sky Métis Independent Nation. In addition to managing Quartek’s Planning Department, Leigh is focusing on development applications in southern Ontario and policy planning work in northern communities.

Director

Jonathan Charland

Associate Lawyer
Zarek Taylor Grossman Hanrahan LLP

Jonathan is an associate lawyer at Zarek Taylor Grossman Hanrahan LLP, where he practices insurance defense litigation. He is a civil litigator with broad experience and has appeared at all levels of court in Ontario. 

Jonathan is a proud citizen of the Métis Nation of Ontario and a member of the Indigenous Bar Association. 

Director

Dave Mowat

Chief of Alderville First Nation

Chief Dave Mowat is a member of Alderville First Nation and formerly held the position of Community Consultation Specialist for the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation. A resident member of the Alderville First Nation (AFN) and former Band Councillor of Alderville from 2007-2015, Dave holds an Advanced Bachelor of Arts Degree with a Major in Canadian History from the University of Manitoba. He has been working with First Nations for the past 26 years in various capacities in Manitoba, Northwestern Ontario, Scugog Island and Alderville.

Director

Stephanie Burnham

Planner
Dillon Consulting Limited

Stephanie Burnham is Cayuga Nation, Wolf Clan from Six Nations of the Grand River Territory. While growing up in the community, Stephanie learned the importance of family and staying connected to cultural roots to help guide her career path.

Stephanie has worked in the area of Indigenous rights recognition, community development, community and youth engagement and program management for the past 15 years. In August 2019, Stephanie was part of the Six Nations Community Plan team that worked to engage members and complete the Six Nations Community Plan update.

Stephanie recently joined the team at Dillon Consulting Ltd. and has participated on various Indigenous engagement components of land use and community planning projects. Stephanie aims to empower Indigenous voices in the area of planning through her work at Dillon.