Conference 2007: AGM Business

Tammy Adkin, President

First Year of a Two-Year Term

Tammy is the Executive Director at the London Regional Children's Museum where she has worked for 12 years. Prior to joining the Children's Museum team, Tammy worked as a journalist and in senior communications roles within the non-profit and corporate sectors. Tammy co-chaired the 2000 OMA Conference Committee, served on the 2002 Conference Committee, and chaired the OMA Membership Involvement Task Force. She also serves on the board of the Canadian Association of Science Centres.

"The Ontario Museum Association is such a valuable resource to the Children's Museum and to me personally. I feel very fortunate to work as part of this great community of museums in Ontario, and I hope to be able to contribute back to the Association and to the museum community through my involvement on the OMA Council."

Kathleen Powell, Vice-President

First Year of Two-Year Term

Kathleen Powell has been the Manager, City of Niagara Falls Museums, managing the three City owned museums and the Niagara Falls Armoury building for the past three-and-a-half years. Prior to this she was with the Niagara Parks Commission for more than 10 years as Manager of three of their historic sites. Kathleen is a strong advocate of the value of heritage in building strong communities as well as the value of community partnerships in creating a stronger heritage community. Kathleen has a BA in History from Brock University as well as a Certificate in Museums Studies with the Ontario Museum Association.

"The Ontario Museum Association provides a wealth of resources for all levels of heritage professionals and I have personally taken advantage of these for many years. I would like to be able to lend what I've learned to assist in moving the Ontario Museum Association forward in exciting and dynamic ways."

Gilles Séguin, Treasurer

First Year of a Two-Year Term

Gilles Séguin is with the Cultural Services Division, Community and Protective Services, City of Ottawa. His responsibilities as Manager, Heritage Development, include overseeing a budget of over 3 million, strategic planning for heritage, heritage community support and development, city-wide heritage events, the City museums and the City Archives program. Over the past 25 years, Gilles has worked in the archival, information management, and information technology fields.

"The City of Ottawa and its museums benefited from the great success of the City Council approved 2003 Heritage Plan and the 2005 Museum Sustainability Plan. As a heritage planner within a municipal structure, I look forward to bringing my experience to the work of the Association."

David Adames, Councillor

First Year of a Second Two-Year Term

David Adames is the Executive Director of Tourism Hamilton, the tourism marketing agency for Hamilton, a position he has held for the past five years. He has also worked for the Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing. For twelve years, from 1988 to 2000, David worked for the City of Hamilton's Culture and Recreation Department, including the positions of Head Historical Interpreter at Dundurn Castle and Cultural Marketing Coordinator for the civic museums. He brings a passion for museums and an appreciation of the link between museums and tourism markets, which presents tremendous opportunities.

"The Ontario Museum Association is an important cultural organization in this province and has provided key leadership in cultural tourism by creating initiatives such as 'May is Museum Month'. I look forward to the opportunity of working with the OMA and its members to grow this initiative and look for additional ways for museums to benefit even more from the tourism industry."

Michèle Alderton, Councillor

First Year of a Two-Year Term

Michèle Alderton is Director/Curator Red Lake Heritage Centre (formerly known as the Red Lake Museum). Prior to joining the Museum, Michèle was a municipal councillor, served on the Board of Trustees of the Canadian Museum of Civilization, and sat on the Ontario Trillium Foundation Grant Review Team for Northwestern Ontario. Michèle also served on the planning committee for the 2006 OMA conference. Michèle is a well-respected museum professional, who has received awards honouring her important work with the Red Lake community and her contribution to the museum profession.

"I am thrilled to join the OMA Council."I think it’s an excellent organization and I’m honoured to be part of it. I am most impressed with the fact that the OMA reaches out to museums throughout the province, including isolated communities such as Red Lake. They recognize and promote the work we do, and make us feel connected to Ontario’s museum community."

Clark Bernat, Councillor

First Year of a 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 has been the Managing Director at the Niagara Historical Society Museum in Niagara-on-the-Lake for 6 years. He has sat on the Steering Committee of the Children's Discovery Centre of Niagara and chaired Doors Open Niagara. Currently Clark is the Chair of 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 small 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.”

Karen Bongard, Councillor

FirstYear of a Two-Year Term

Karen is Program Coordinator of the Halton Region Museum. She has a Masters of Public Administration from the University of Western Ontario, and a Bachelors of English from the University of New Brunswick. In addition to her employment in the public sector, Karen has worked in both the corporate and nonprofit sectors in public relations and communications. She has now set her sights on sharpening her rusty French and completing her Ontario Museum Association Certificate in Museum Studies.

“After spending the past few years with my head in my books, I look forward to reaching out and sharing experiences with others in the museum community. I think the exchange of information and ideas is particularly important to those of us at mid-career and for the development of smaller museums which may operate in relative isolation. I hope that my insights may be of value to others in the museum community and I look forward to participating on the OMA Council in a meaningful way.”

John Dalrymple, Councillor

Second Year of a Two-Year Term

Katherine McCracken, Councillor

First Year of a Second Two-Year Term

Katherine McCracken has been working in museums since 1986. She has an Honours BA in History from Huron College, University of Western Ontario and is a graduate of the first MA Public History program at University of Waterloo. She first discovered that museum work could be a career while working as a student for four summers at the Historic Naval and Military Establishments in Penetanguishene. Since then she has worked at Historic Sites Service in Alberta, the Michigan Bureau of History, the R.E. Olds Transportation Museum in Lansing, Michigan, the National Heisey Glass Museum in Newark, Ohio and Joseph Schneider Haus Museum in Kitchener. Since May 2004 she has been Director of Guelph Museums.

"I am looking forward to continuing on OMA Council and contributing to the extraordinary work that has been done this past year on behalf of the Ontario museum community. The OMA is an excellent resource for Guelph Museums including our staff, our Board, and our volunteers and I encourage everyone to become involved in its programs and opportunities."

Christina Selin, Councillor

First Year of a Two-Year Term

Christina Selin is the acting Vice-President, Public Affairs for the Canadian War Museum, an affiliated museum of the Canadian Museum of Civilization. She has been with the Museum for close to 5 years. A communications and marketing professional with over 10 years experience, recent accomplishments include managing the public affairs aspects of the War Museum’s transfer to a new award winning facility, the successful branding of the Museum as a rejuvenated institution and its Grand Opening in May 2005, the highest profile opening for a public building in Canada.

"As a communications specialist, I look forward to contributing to the promotion and strengthening of our museum community. Through my prior experience with the OMA and May is Museum’s month in particular, I hope to bring strategic and hands-on involvement to the OMA agenda."

Yves Théoret, Councillor

First Year of a Second Two-Year Term

Yves Théoret is Director of Exhibitions and Interpretation with the Portrait Gallery of Canada, a programme of Library and Archives Canada in Ottawa. His responsibilities include the establishment and launch of a new national travelling exhibitions programme to share the institution’s vast portrait collection. Over the last ten years, Yves has held several positions in museums in Canada and the United States, including a recent assignment as Chief of Marketing and Communications at the National Gallery of Canada where he was involved in the coordination of the OMA’s May is Museum Month initiative. A recent participant to the Museum Leadership Institute (2007) organized by the J. Paul Getty Foundation in Los Angeles, his areas of expertise include exhibitions development, strategic planning, as well as marketing and communications. He is looking forward to the opportunity of serving on the Council of the Ontario Museum Association and advancing the interests of its members, and most notably the interests of the next generation of museum workers. Yves Théoret is married and has two children.