The Ontario Museum Association's governing body is its Council, whose 11 members are elected by the membership at the Annual General Meeting. Council gives strategic policy direction to the Secretariat. It also works to strengthen the Ontario museum community by representing the interests of members to government, the public and private sectors, the media, to public and other related institutions, and to citizens all across the province. 

OMA Council 2011-2012
President: Gilles Séguin
Vice President: Yves Théoret
Treasurer: John Dalrymple
Secretary: Clark Bernat
Past President: Kathleen Powell
Councillors: Karen Bachmann, Mark Farmer, Petal Furness, Ian Kerr-Wilson, Emanuele Lepri, Yasmine Mingay, Maria Paciente

GILLES SÉGUIN, PRESIDENT
FIRST YEAR OF A FIRST TWO-YEAR TERM

Over the past 30 years, Gilles Séguin has worked in the heritage, information management, and information technology fields. Gilles is currently Manager of Cultural Resources Services at the Ontario Service Centre, Parks Canada Agency. He also volunteers on the board of Muséoparc Vanier Museopark. Previously, he was the Program Manager, Heritage Development, at the City of Ottawa. His experience encompasses strategic planning, heritage community support and development, program development, delivery and evaluation, cultural resources preservation and presentation, and financial and human resources management.

"I look forward to continuing to bring my experience to further the work of the Association and its membership."

YVES THÉORET, VICE PRESIDENT
FIRST YEAR OF A FIRST TWO-YEAR TERM 

Yves Théoret is Managing Director of the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art, Toronto. Over the last fifteen years, Yves has held several positions in museums in Canada and the United States, including assignments with the National Gallery of Canada, the Portrait Gallery of Canada, the J. Paul Getty Museum, and the Canadian Centre for Architecture. A recent participant in the Museum Leadership Institute supported by the J. Paul Getty Foundation in Los Angeles, his areas of expertise include strategic planning, resource development as well as marketing, and communications. Yves Théoret is married and has three children.

“The Ontario Museum Association is an immensely valuable resource for museums across the province, and I am looking forward to the opportunity of serving on Council and advancing the interests of its members.”

JOHN DALRYMPLE, TREASURER
FIRST YEAR OF A SECOND TWO-YEAR TERM

John Dalrymple is currently the Associate Director, Annual Giving at Canada’s National Ballet School. Additionally, John is a Professor at Centennial College in the School of Hospitality, Tourism and Culture. From 2001 – 2010 John was on the management team of the Textile Museum of Canada, holding the positions of Project Manager, Web Designer, Development Manager, Director of Development and Acting Executive Director. During his tenure there John played a leadership role in the advancement of the Museum’s digitization and new media/Web programming, as well as growing and formalizing the institution’s fundraising activities. He earned a Specialized Honours B.A. in Anthropology from York University in 1998 and a Masters of Museum Studies degree from the University of Toronto in 2001. John has conducted anthropological and archaeological fieldwork in Belize, Peru and Canada and has published works on museology in a number of academic and arts based publications. John’s work has been recognized through awards from the Canadian Museums Association, American Association of Museums and the Ontario Association of Art Galleries.

“Currently working in the performing arts and education fields in a senior fundraising capacity has given me fresh insights into contributed revenue development that I am keen to share with the Association and its members in my capacity as a Councillor. As the Association’s Treasurer I am pleased to work with my colleagues on Council and the OMA staff to ensure membership dues, public monies and funds raised through OMA activities are effectively stewarded, deployed and maximized for the greatest benefit.”

CLARK BERNAT, SECRETARY
FIRST YEAR OF A FIRST TWO-YEAR TERM

Born in St. Catharines, Clark developed a great appreciation for Museums due to his many visits to cultural institutions with his grandfather and parents. Clark has a degree in History from Brock University and a Master's Degree in Museum Studies from the University of Leicester. His work at Leicester focused on cultural diversity in Museums. Clark has worked in various capacities at the St. Catharines Museum, Battlefield House Museum, Backus Heritage Village and the Niagara Historical Society Museum, currently he is the Manager of Museums for the City of Niagara Falls Museums. He has sat on the Steering Committee of the Children's Discovery Centre of Niagara, chaired Doors Open Niagara and the Museums of Niagara Association (MONA).

“I look forward to serving the Museums community of Ontario on the OMA council. As a director of a mid-sized museum I understand the diversity of needs our sector requires. I would like to provide my experience and expertise in community building, partnerships, advocacy and public relations to Council and our community.”

KATHLEEN POWELL, PAST PRESIDENT
FIRST YEAR OF A FIRST TWO-YEAR TERM

Kathleen Powell is the Supervisor Museum Operations / Curator at the St. Catharines Museum. She has most recently served as Council President and was the Chair of the Conference Committee in 2006, 2007, 2008. Kathleen is also a serving member of the Canadian Forces as a part of their Cadet Instructor's Cadre. 

"I believe that strong communities are built not only on economic wealth but also on the richness and diversity of their cultural sector. The Ontario Museum Association's support of Museums and historic sites is an important piece of the whole picture aimed at strengthening this sector. I am honoured to be able to lend my support and skills to the work of the OMA and the Museum sector at large."

KAREN BACHMANN, COUNCILLOR
SECOND YEAR OF A SECOND TWO-YEAR TERM

Karen Bachmann is the Director/Curator for the Timmins Museum: National Exhibition Centre and has been with the organization for over twenty-five years. Her volunteer activities include over ten years’ service with the Ontario Museum Association, serving as President of the organization in 1996; she has also chaired the Awards Committee for the Canadian Museum Association and ICOM Canada. She has been a member of the Ontario Celebrate Canada Committee for over eighteen years. She has held board positions with the Porcupine United Way, the Cochrane Temiskaming Museums and Galleries Association, Arts and Culture Timmins and committee work with the Timmins Chamber of Commerce. Karen has authored three books on the history of the Porcupine Camp and currently writes a weekly column on history and heritage issues for the Timmins Daily Press. She has recently re-opened the Timmins Museum: National Exhibition Centre at a new location in downtown Timmins.

“I have been a member of the Ontario Museum Association for over twenty-five years. The OMA has been of great benefit to me as a museum worker; I feel that it is time to return the favour and offer my experience and service to an association that I feel stands up, not only for museum professionals, but for heritage in general in this province. I would be proud to work with others to further the cause of museums in what I think will be very interesting times for us all as heritage and cultural workers.”

MARK FARMER, COUNCILLOR
FIRST YEAR OF A FIRST TWO-YEAR TERM

Mark is the Web Redesign Manager at the Royal Ontario Museum. In addition to managing the ROM’s online redesign, he leads development of the museum’s Content Management System, and is chairing its social media team. Mark has spent most of the last ten years working in the non-profit sector for such organizations as Earth Day Canada, Summerhill Group, the Association of Canadian Advertisers, the Canada-UK Chamber of Commerce and more. Mark is the founder of the Toronto Museums & Culture Online Collective, and co-organizes Social Media Café Toronto. He regularly speaks on technology issues for events such as MyCharityConnects, PodCamp Toronto, Canada Helps and Community Living Ontario. He is the founder of webness.biz, a full-service electronic communications consultancy. Mark’s specializes in online communications and strategy.

“For several years now, I’ve been looking for the right association to help out with in an advisory capacity, one where I can use my years of online experience. The OMA seems like a perfect fit, given my passion for museums and my desire to create connections between people and the information they need to make strategic decisions.”

PETAL FURNESS, COUNCILLOR
FIRST YEAR OF A FIRST TWO-YEAR TERM

Petal currently leads the Heritage Interpretation department at Grey Roots Museum & Archives, a position that she has held for seven years. Petal began her career as an historic site interpreter at Fort Langley NHS in B.C. After several years there, she moved to Parks Canada regional office in Calgary, to take the position of Heritage Interpretation Specialist and Service Planner. As an Aboriginal woman (Shuswap First Nation), it was a natural progression for her to work with Aboriginal communities across Canada, helping them to tell their stories. Petal moved to Owen Sound in 1999 to assume the position of E.D. for Ontario Native Literacy and was instrumental in securing funds to start up Ningwakwe Learning Press, a national Aboriginal organization, whose mandate is to develop, design and print literacy materials. At present Petal sits on the Tom Thomson Art Gallery Board. Petal is also a professional photographer. She has four children, two still at home, and a grandson. 

“The Ontario Museum Association is a very important resource to museums throughout Ontario, especially museums that are not in the GTA. We have enjoyed partaking of the OMA educational opportunities. In 2006, Grey Roots had the honour to host the OMA conference. We witnessed first hand the amount of time, energy and good will our OMA staff and volunteers invested into delivering an annual conference.”

IAN KERR-WILSON, COUNCILLOR
FIRST YEAR OF A SECOND TWO-YEAR TERM

Ian Kerr-Wilson is the Manager of Museums and Heritage Presentation for the City of Hamilton, having worked in Hamilton’s municipal museum system in various curatorial and management positions since 1989. He has been the Curator of Hamilton Museum of Steam and Technology, the Hamilton Children’s Museum, Dundurn National Historic Site (which included the Hamilton Military Museum) and the Program Coordinator for the Hamilton and Scourge National Historic Site, an in situ marine archaeological site. Ian holds a Masters of Museum Studies from the University of Toronto, a M.A. (American History), a B.Ed. from Queen’s University, and a B.A. from Trent University.

”I am conscious of the OMA as a leader in changing the way Ontarians think about museums and culture. Increasingly, we recognize that museums are not 'soft services'. Vibrant and relevant museums are vital to the sustainability of neighbourhoods, towns and cities. I look forward to serving the museum community, as the OMA works to make heritage matter to the people of Ontario.”

EMANUELE LEPRI, COUNCILLOR
FIRST YEAR OF A FIRST TWO-YEAR TERM

Emanuele Lepri, originally from Florence, Italy has been the Director of the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto since 2004. Before coming to Canada he served as Director of the Textile Museum in the Tuscan city of Prato from 1997 to 2003. While in Italy, Emanuele also worked in a management capacity for international theatre and opera festivals, organizing post-graduate classes related to careers in the arts. His experience in the Museum field includes a number of projects under the UNESCO umbrella in countries such as South Korea, China, Israel and Angola, mainly in the area of Heritage Conservation. He has been a member of the European Museum Forum, participating in many exchanges and conferences throughout Europe. Emanuele has an MA in East Asian Studies and a Phd in International Relations from the University of Florence

“Ontario’s social fabric is changing at a very fast pace. Museums need to adapt and keep being relevant to their communities. The OMA plays a key role as a resource for all Museums in Ontario by encouraging innovation, governing change, and finding ways to keep a fruitful dialogue with a public of all backgrounds and ages. I am delighted to have the opportunity to work with my colleagues on the Ontario Museum Association Council and I look forward to contributing to the ongoing progress of our museums.” 

YASMINE MINGAY, COUNCILLOR
SECOND YEAR OF A SECOND TWO-YEAR TERM

Yasmine is the Manager, Communications for the Canadian War Museum, within the Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation where she has worked in various capacities over the past 9 years including as Chief, Media Relations and as Exhibitions Project Manager working for both the Museum of Civilization and Canadian War Museum. Prior to this, Yasmine was based in Montreal as PolyGram Canada’s Marketing and Promotion Representative for Eastern Canada working with and promoting Canadian and international artists. Yasmine has lived in six countries and traveled extensively, she holds a B.A in Political Science and History from McGill University.

“I believe in working collectively to inspire passion for our past, present and future. Museums are essential to understanding where we have been, where we are, and where we are going. The OMA is an essential support system for Museum across Ontario, and I am both honoured and proud to continue working with my fellow council members and the OMA’s dedicated staff in supporting our sector's vibrant and diverse membership”.

MARIA PACIENTE, COUNCILLOR
SECOND YEAR OF A FIRST TWO-YEAR TERM

Maria Piacente is a Vice-President with Lord Cultural Resources, an international museum planning and design firm headquartered in Toronto. For 14 years, Maria has developed an expertise in exhibition development and design while consulting for small and large museums, historic sites, science centers, art galleries, and other cultural organizations. Grounded in current museological theory, Maria's global experience enables her to incorporate both conceptual and curatorial aspects with leading-edge technological applications, ensuring an exciting and enriching visitor experience within operational realities. Maria holds a Master's degree in Museum Studies from the University of Toronto and prior to joining Lord Cultural Resources in 1996, she worked at the Royal Ontario Museum and Gallery Association of New York State.

“All of a museum's activities, whether research and conservation or education and outreach, serve to enrich their communities. As such, the OMA is an essential resource for building excellence in our cultural organizations so that we can do a better job of engaging with the public. I look forward to sharing my experience and working with the other members of the OMA."