About Us
Our Board
* indicates Board members who are also Volunteer Advisers
France Poulin (Verdun, Quebec)
France Poulin is Director of Communications for the Montreal Port Authority (MPA), an autonomous federal agency that operates one of Canada's most important ports. The MPA leases the Port of Montreal terminals to private companies and operates a grain terminal, a passenger terminal and its own railway network. The Port of Montreal generates economic spin-offs of more than $2 billion annually.
Before joining the MPA, France was Director of Government Relations for Bell Canada, responsible for the development and maintenance of Bell's ongoing and sound business relationships with all levels of government and key stakeholders in Québec.
France joined Bell Canada in 2000 as Associate Director, Media Relations, Corporate Communications. She then served as Director, Media Relations, Corporate Communications, before being promoted to Director of Government Relations in March of 2005.
France received her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Modern Languages and her Masters in Translation at the University of Montreal. She took an Accelerated MBA-Style Program, Management of Enterprise, at HEC-Montreal; received a Diploma in Public Relations, HEC¨MPublicité-Club, University of Montreal and holds her APR Accreditation, Public Relations Society of Canada.
Her career has included service with Edelman Public Relations in Montreal, Canadian Airlines and Pratt & Whitney Canada.
France is President of the Board of the International Association of Business Communicators, Montreal Chapter.
*Keith MacDonald (Sidney, British Columbia)
Keith joined RBC Royal Bank in 1971and retired in June 2004 as National Manager, Aboriginal Banking.
Keith has held various management positions in Commercial Finance, Corporate and Government Banking District Headquarters and Head Office. From 1993 through 1995, he was seconded as General Manager, Treaty Seven Economic Development Corporation, an Aboriginal-controlled, federal government Community Futures program reporting to the five Treaty 7 First Nations in southern Alberta.
His Aboriginal community involvement has been extensive, including the Conference Board of Canada's Council on Corporate Aboriginal Relations, the Board of the Aboriginal Human Resource Development Council of Canada, University of Calgary Faculty of Social Work's Dean's Advisory Council, the Board of the National Association of Friendship Centers and the Aboriginal Justice Council of Alberta.
Keith joined the CESO Board of Directors in September 2002.
*R. Wayne Gladstone, C.A. (Port Perry, ON)
R. Wayne Gladstone launched Gladstone Consulting Inc. in 2003 to provide strategic and financial advice to clients.
A former Senior Vice-President, Finance and Administration, at the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS), Mr. Gladstone was responsible for the financial and technological infrastructure of a global investment program with $33 billion in assets. At OMERS, accountability included corporate strategic planning process and budgets, financial services and reporting, banking and master custody services, operational support for investment activities, risk management framework, office services and subsidiary compliance.
For seven years, he served as Chair of the Executive and Audit Committee of
OMERS Resources Board of Directors. For almost 30 years, he was a member of the Government Finance Officers’ Association and for six years, he served on the Financial Services Commission of Ontario, Sub-committee on Auditing & Accounting.
Mr. Gladstone is a member of the Board of Directors (2006-2009) of the Lakeridge Health Services in Durham Region, Ontario, and on January 1, 2008, joined the board of the Hospitals of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP), which is one of the biggest and most respected pension plans in Canada.
Mr. Gladstone joined CESO’s Board of Directors in 2008.
Meredith (Sam) Hall Hayes (Pointe Claire, Quebec)
Sam Hayes is the President and CEO of CSL Group Inc., a large and growing Canadian company with worldwide interests.
The company specializes in self-unloading bulk carriers with inland, coastal and deep sea trading capabilities that offer shippers versatility and reliability. It employs approximately 700 people, more than 500 in its various domestic operations. In addition to having five offices across Canada, The CSL Group’s foreign offices include Boston, Singapore and Sydney, Australia.
Mr. Hayes’ overall leadership and managerial abilities are coupled with a strong financial background as well as a successful track record of strategic planning and implementation.
The company’s operations and ship building activities have given Mr. Hayes additional extensive exposure to Western Europe, Indonesia, India, China, Brazil and Ukraine
Mr. Hayes joined the company in 1981 as Director of Finance and prior to becoming President and CEO in 1995 he was Executive Vice-President & CFO for several years.
Mr. Hayes joined CESO’s Board of Directors in 2008.
Micheline L'Espérance-Labelle (Montreal, Quebec)
Micheline L'Espérance-Labelle, a member of the Montagnais (Ilnu) First Nation, Quebec, has been described as the embodiment of the word "entrepreneur."
She thrives on challenge and opportunity and when she sees a need for a product or service, she simply goes out and starts a new business.
A pioneer in multimedia, she is the President and Chief Executive Officer of International Boutiques Web (IBWeb), a leading Aboriginal business recognized as a leader in e-commerce.
The site www.webtamtam.com offers Indian, Métis and Inuit-related goods and services as well as promotes Aboriginal cultures to consumers around the world. The business also aims at supplying Aboriginal peoples with goods and services at reduced cost.
Her experience with software goes back to 1984, when she was a school principal. She wanted to introduce computers into the schools - at that time, a unique concept. Within a couple of years, Ms L'Espérance-Labelle had become a publisher of software and a distribution channel as well. She authored, edited and published educational CD-ROMs, which she distributed in more than 20 countries.
Ms L'Espérance-Labelle has founded several companies and organizations, served on the boards of directors of many technology firms and was a two-term member of the National Aboriginal Economic Development Board which advises the Government of Canada on other matters related to Aboriginal economic development.
Ms L'Espérance-Labelle joined the CESO Board of Directors in 2007.
*David R. Newhouse (Peterborough, ON)
David Roy Newhouse is the first Principal of the new Peter Gzowski College at Trent University and Chair of the Department of Native Studies. He is an Associate Professor in the Department of Native Studies and the Business Administration Program.
Professor Newhouse is Co-Chair of the Trent Aboriginal Education Council. He was the IMC/U of S Aboriginal Scholar in Residence at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon in 1998/99. He also teaches in the Graduate CED Program at Concordia University.
An Onondaga from the Six Nations of the Grand River community near Brantford, Ontario, Prof. Newhouse currently serves as editor of the CANDO Journal of Aboriginal Economic Development, the first peer-reviewed academic journal devoted to Aboriginal economic development issues.
He is the past Chair and a current member of the Council for the Advancement of Native Development Officers (CANDO) Standing Committee on Education. He also served as a member of the Policy Team on Economics for the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples.
His research interests are focused on the way in which Aboriginal traditional thought and western thought are coming together and creating modern Aboriginal societies. His current exploration is on the development of Aboriginal democracies.
Anne Noonan (Gatineau, Quebec)
Anne Noonan is the President of Nika Inc. and formerly the President of Anne Noonan Associates.
For over two decades, Ms Noonan has worked extensively with Aboriginal community groups and federal and provincial departments in promoting Aboriginal interests.
She is the Executive Co-Chair, Board of Directors, Aboriginal Human Resources Council.
Her past memberships include Ontario Hydro, Board of Directors; Canadian Hunger Foundation, Board of Directors; Canadian Aboriginal Economic Development Strategy, Vice-Chair, National Board; Bank of Montreal, Aboriginal Leaders Advisory Group. Her advisory roles have included the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, Urban Self-government for Aboriginal Peoples, 1993; Advisor to the Principal, Office of the Auditor-General-Audit, Department of Employment and Immigration, 1993-94; Advisor to Environment Canada and the Forest Products Association of Canada – Clean Air Forum 2004.
Ms Noonan’s personal strengths include her leadership skills, her working knowledge and understanding of Aboriginal issues and her proven ability to work with and build trust within Aboriginal communities.
Ms Noonan joined CESO’s Board of Directors in 2008.
*Elaine M. Ward (Victoria, British Columbia)
Elaine Ward is a consultant in public international law and human rights, specializing in ethics and diversity issues. Her international work has taken her to Denmark, Greenland, Tanzania, Kenya, Venezuela, Cuba, Italy, Armenia, Croatia and Brazil. She received an LL.B. from the University of Calgary and a Masters of Public International Law from the Raoul Wallenberg Institute for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law at Lund University in Sweden.
Upon graduation, Elaine completed research commissioned by the Greenland Home Rule Government on Indigenous Peoples between Human Rights and Environmental Protection (published by the Danish Centre for Human Rights in 1993) focusing on the sealskin controversy. She then spent six years in Tanzania as a CUSO Co-operant working for three Maasai and Barabaig indigenous peoples' NGOs as a legal, management and gender advisor. During law school, Elaine also worked briefly for the Membership Division of the Siksika Nation under the auspices of the Indian Management Assistance Program of the First Nations Resource Council.
More recently, she was the Project Manager for the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) Ethics Promotion Project - Tanzania Democratic Development Program from 2002 to 2004 in association with IRIS Environmental Services Inc. based in Calgary. In 2005, Elaine facilitated a course in the Executive MBA in Leadership Program at Royal Roads University and served as a corporate social responsibility and gender specialist for three CIDA projects targeting China, Croatia and the Nile Basin.
She then worked with the World Fisheries Trust in Victoria as the manager of contracts and administration for the CIDA-Brazil Inland Fisheries Project and continues her association with them.
Elaine joined the CESO Board of Directors in September 2002. As a CESO VA, she has undertaken two Aboriginal assignments in Western Canada and one international assignment in Armenia. She has also served as an in-house VA on gender equality issues for country managers.
Sandra White (North Vancouver, British Columbia)
Sandra has been active in many aspects of Aboriginal tourism throughout Canada for the past 15 years. Her business experience includes research, report writing, human resource planning, business planning and policy development.
Sandra is a member of the Siksika Nation. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Recreation Administration (Tourism) from the University of Alberta. She manages FirstHost, a unique, one-day hospitality, customer service and tourism sustainability training workshop for Aboriginal people in the tourism industry.
Sandra has served on many boards and committees, namely as Chair of Aboriginal Tourism Team Canada from 1999 to 2001 and President of the Aboriginal Tourism Association of B.C., from 1998 to 2000.
In July 2002, Sandra was appointed to the Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC) Board of Directors for a term of three years. The CTC is a Crown corporation that markets Canada as a travel destination.
Sandra joined the CESO Board of Directors in September 2002.
Wanda Wuttunee (Winnipeg, Manitoba)
Dr. Wuttunee, a member of Red Pheasant First Nation, Saskatchewan, is head of the Native Studies Department at the University of Manitoba.
She earned her PhD from the University of Manitoba for her research into successful economic development strategies employed by Canadian Aboriginal communities. In addition to her PhD, Wanda's education includes a Bachelor of Commerce, a Law Degree and a Masters in Business Administration (MBA).
Her work examines the strength of the community and the gifts that Aboriginal people bring to the business table. She is interested in the role of tradition, culture and gender in the decision-making process used by communities in developing and implementing their economic development strategies. She participated in the 2003 Commonwealth Study Conference in Australia for future leaders entitled, "People First in a Global Community."
Wanda's community service includes: Director - Assiniboine Credit Union; Director - Institute on Research and Public Policy; and Director - Aboriginal Business Education Program, Asper School of Business.
Her research interests include: Aboriginal economy, economic development, community economic development, participatory research methodologies, and governance and leadership.
Wanda is the author of a book entitled, Living Rhythms: Lessons in Aboriginal Economic Resilience and Vision.
Wanda joined CESO's Board of Directors in November 2005.
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