Leadership

Jen Morrow is the Principal of Special Education for the St. Clair Catholic District School Board. She has served on the Linck Board of Directors since 2018. Jen has a passion for special education and centres much of her work around advocating for the needs of children and youth who present with varying needs. Jen has a long history with Linck as a former employee of Heritage Children’s Centre, an educational partner with CKCS and she is grateful for the opportunity to continue supporting the work of Linck in this capacity.  Jen is the proud mother of four children and the grandmother of one.

When asked about her favourite childhood memory:

“My favourite childhood memory isn’t a specific time or event, but rather everything related to nature. My happiest memories were days spent at the beach, camping in the woods, or fishing off a pier. To this day, my happy place is anywhere near water or in the middle of a forest.”

Jenny-Lee is a passionate, highly experienced, and dedicated trauma-informed mental health professional with over 19 years of experience in the mental health sector. She is currently employed as a bilingual mental health educator with the Canadian Mental Health Association Windsor Essex County Branch, and serves as an affiliate safeTALK instructor, ASIST and Suicide to hope trainer and mentor through Living Works.  Jenny-Lee holds an Honors Baccalaureate in Psychology, and is a certified Community Workplace Traumatologist. Jenny-Lee’s work toward building suicide safer communities has produced over two thousand life assisting caregivers, safeTALK trainers and suicide alert helpers throughout Ontario. A passion of Jenny-Lee’s is to provide quality mentorship and inspirational leadership for postsecondary students through fieldwork preceptorship. She regularly supervises students from both the Social Work (BSW and MSW) programs and the School of Nursing at the University of Windsor and St. Clair College.

When asked about the adult she admires the most:

“When asked about the adult I most admired, my heart and spirit were instantly filled with deep love and gratitude towards my mother and grandmother. Newcomers to Canada, they modeled perseverance, adapting to change, resilience and the importance of staying connected to family and community. Their lessons have shaped my values and journey in the community mental health sector.”

Mike Domony has a member of the Chatham-Kent Police Service since 1998. In this role, Mike has been assisting and helping to keep the community safe in a variety of positions over the years. He joined the Linck Board in 2022 and just recently accepted the role of Secretary-Treasurer for the upcoming year. Mike has a passion for learning and training and had opportunities in his career to be a trainer and he has supervised the training unit with the CKPS. Mike has just recently graduated from Laurier University with his Master of Public Safety. Being involved with Linck and serving on the Board is a way for Mike bring a positive influence on children and youth in the community.

In describing his favourite role in policing:

“I look at the two years I spent instructing at the Ontario Police College as my “best” job in policing. Being able to help brand new officers learn about policing and setting them off with some insights was very fulfilling. We all have something to give and can learn from each other as well.”

Marianne was born and raised in Blenheim, Chatham-Kent. She was educated and is employed as an Environmental Technologist for Waterloo Biofilter Systems, a wastewater treatment technology.

Marianne’s life experience brings her to be engaged in several volunteer activities and organizations that have impacted her experiences.

When asked about her favourite childhood memory:

“Spending time with my Grandparents and listening to their wisdom.”

Evan started his career at Walmart where he grew to love helping others. Evan continues this through his work as a Board Member of Linck and being a social worker with Canadian Mental Health Association. Evan is passionate about developing his community and the people that are proud to call Chatham-Kent home. Evan believes through collaboration and critical thinking mixed with some empathy that the future is bright for future generations.

Amry is a graduate of the BSc, in Chemical Engineering program from the University of New Brunswick, and recently obtained his master’s degree in Engineering Management from the University of Windsor. Amry is a professional Engineer and currently, he holds the position of Supervisor of the Community Expansion team in Enbridge Gas. Amry moved to Chatham in 2008 and since was involved in many community activities, such as coaching and officiating soccer and teaching language & religious courses, and being an advocate for his community’s wellbeing.

Amry is a member of the board of directors and one of the founders of the Chatham Islamic Centre. Amry is actively involved in key municipal initiatives to help support economic growth and talent retention in Chatham-Kent. He is also an active member in the Muslim community. He is the founder and the lead of the Youth Engagement Program to help youth in the community to connect with each other and provide guidance and life coaching skills through organized sports. Amry volunteered for many years with Chatham-Kent Muslim Association and Chatham-Kent Islamic Weekend School as an Arabic language and Islamic studies teacher. Amry was one of the main points of contact in the community for the new Syrian families, helping them to settle and support their day-to-day needs. Amry and his wife, Wahida with his lovely three children live in Chatham.

When asked about a happy childhood memory:

“It’s hard to choose the moment of a happy childhood memory in particular, but those happy memories were mainly when my family was together enjoying quality time over dinner or fun family activities. To me, all children deserve to have those memorable and happy family moments.”

Arlene was born and raised in Chatham-Kent, and now lives in Chatham with her husband. She has been a Board Member with Linck since 2020 and looks forward to serving the community. She is passionate about addressing the needs of vulnerable people and is proud of the work the agency is doing to support local families.

When asked what quality she admires in a friend:

“Being supportive is highly valued in my life and I am happy to support others around me.”

Chris is a Captain with the Oakville Fire Department. Chris also serves as a member of the leadership team for The Allied Firefighters of Canada, Co-Founder of the Mentoring Youth Career Stimulation Program, and current Assistant Head Coach for the Provincial Champion Essex Ravens Football Club.  Chris also volunteers as part of the CKFES and spends a considerable amount of time with his grandchildren.

When asked about a challenge he overcame:

“The transition from a firefighter to an officer in charge of men and women I worked closely with can be difficult. I was able to earn the respect of my peers by ensuring their safety was the number one priority.”

Erin Kearney has been an active member of the community since moving to the area over 5 years ago. She served as a Big Sister with the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Chatham Kent before recently transitioning to their Board of Directors and served on a Grant Review Committee with the United Way of Chatham Kent. Erin works for Enbridge Gas Inc. as the lead for a large scale integration project to harmonize systems and processes and has extensive experience in quality, leadership, operations and process improvement. Erin graduated with a degree in Political Science from Carleton University and has since obtained her Certified Quality Associate and Certified Quality Engineer designations. She is eager for the opportunity to serve on the Linck Board of Directors and provide her perspective as a member of the 2SLGBTQ+ community. In her free time, you can find her taking in the outdoors, reading a good book and walking her dog.

When asked about an adventure she went on:

“Last Summer a good friend and I spent a week going on a road trip to Colorado to see a concert at Red Rocks Amphitheatre. Our transportation was a VW camper van.  We camped along the way and were lucky enough to experience breathtaking views and hiking, hearty laughs, a bucket list concert event and memories that will last a lifetime.”

Rebecca is a finance coordinator at Kids Stuff – The Family Learning Centre in Chatham.

Prior to this role, she was the Finance Clerk at Caldwell First Nation.  She has a Business Accounting diploma from St. Clair College.  Rebecca joined the Linck board to continue to improve the safety and wellbeing for children and families.  She wants to strive to fulfill the values set forth by Linck and better the community as a whole. Rebecca also sits on the Chatham-Kent Community Health Centre Board.

She enjoys camping and fishing across Ontario and eastern Canada and enjoys being adventurous with food, cooking, and testing recipes with her family. Rebecca has 2 children and 2 dogs and just celebrated her wedding anniversary.  While growing up, Rebecca was referred to CAS care, this taught her the great value of Linck and the services offered.  She is happy to grow from her childhood to being a member of the board.

Paula is the CEO of a small consulting firm, MMCS Ltd. She is a former Executive Director of a mid-sized nonprofit organization in Alberta, former Associate Executive Director of the YWCA of Edmonton, and has served on several nonprofit boards.  Since 2020 she has happily made her home in Chatham, Ontario.

For the past 30+ years, Paula has supported the nonprofit sector through in-person and online leadership training, facilitation, organizational consulting, employee satisfaction surveys and executive and board leadership coaching.  She holds an undergraduate degree (Psychology & English) from the University of Manitoba and did her graduate studies in Educational Psychology at the University of Alberta.

Paula is the author of six books related to nonprofit management and board governance. Her book, Great Boards Plain & Simple is Canada’s #1 best-selling book on governance for volunteer boards and senior managers. In 2017, she created two online video courses for nonprofit leaders and boards.

Paula as traveled extensively in various RVs across Canada and the United States. She is an animal lover (2 cats at the moment) and is an enthusiastic fan of almost all sports. She is an enthusiastic cook and enjoys baking long-rise, no knead breads.  She is currently trying master homemade pizza baked in a wood-fired oven!

When asked about her favourite childhood memory:

“My favourite memory was during middle elementary school years. I travelled with my Dad almost every weekday, all summer long. He worked for a national grain company as a traveling supervisor. We drove many kilometers to various small towns all over central Alberta. Of course, I learned how to identify and grade various grain crops. More importantly for a kid my age, he let me sit beside him on the front bench seat, perched on an upside down wooden crate, down gravel country roads, while steering the company-owned car!  My Mom didn’t know until many years later … it was just our “little secret”.

Chantelle is a Manager of Residential and Community Supports with Community Living Chatham-Kent. She holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Sociology, complemented by minors in Child Psychology and Family & Social Relations from the University of Windsor.

Over the past eighteen years, she has dedicated herself to the valuable work of developmental services organizations across Southwestern Ontario, gaining insight into supplementary services such as housing, judicial systems, crisis intervention, mental health, and addiction services.

Chantelle has also provided private behavioural services for families, children, and transitional aged youth with complex needs, through short-term emergency supports in children’s mental health treatment residences, child welfare agencies, foster care residences, and schools. Stepping into her role as a Linck Board Director, she is eager to contribute and believes deeply in the crucial work of Linck: ensuring the health, safety, and development of children and youth in Chatham-Kent, now and for the future.

When asked about a challenge she has overcome:

“I have successfully navigated the intricacies of balancing my career while managing the demands of my husband’s national work travel schedule, which tested my resilience while raising two young children. Five years ago, we relocated from the Greater Toronto Area to transition into new roles more locally, achieving a better work-life balance for our family.”