The Shine Foundation’s activities are governed by a volunteer-based, national Board of Directors comprised of highly regarded representatives from health care, finance and community/public service, who meet regularly to establish our strategic direction and monitor financial matters.
Read about Shine's Accountability
Meet our National Board of Directors:
Brian Henderson, MBA, PFP
Board Chair & Chair of Executive Committee
Brian is a Vice-President, Private Banking for RBC Wealth Management. Over a 30+ year career at RBC Brian has led large teams in Retail Banking, Financial Planning, Insurance and Head Office in Alberta, Ontario, and British Columbia. In addition, Brian has been active in the communities he has lived, participating on several boards and committees, including Junior Achievement, Chambers of Commerce, and was Chair of the Board of Governors of Lambton College in 2010. Brian also volunteered for the Ivey MBA program as Executive in Residence for the Ivey Consulting Project from 2011-2017.
Brian graduated from the University of Calgary with a BA in 1992 and has an MBA from Dalhousie University. He also holds a Financial Planning designation and is certified in Change Management.
Brian recently moved to Vancouver with his wife Jill and has two daughters in University at Wilfrid Laurier and UBC. In their spare time as a family, they love all things travel, golf, and basketball.
Sarah Brouwer, LL.B, CIPP/C
Secretary & Chair of Corporate Governance Committee
Sarah Brouwer is in house Corporate Counsel with the Trudell Medical Group– a London-based, family-owned company and global leading designer and manufacturer of innovative medical devices and services to healthcare professionals and patients in over 110 countries around the world. With over a decade of experience, Sarah facilitates the growth of the Trudell Medical Group of companies by providing trusted, results-driven legal solutions primarily advising on commercial agreements and business transactions. Prior to joining the Trudell Medical Group, Sarah was In House Counsel for Novocol Pharmaceutical of Canada – a member of the Septodont group of companies specializing in sterile injectable cartridge and combination product manufacturing.
Sarah spent 5 years overseas living in Australia where she obtained her LLB from the University of Melbourne. She also holds a Diploma in Public Relations from Western University. In her spare time she is a part-time instructor with Osgoode Professional Development and she also enjoys travelling, camping and spending time with her friends and family.
Jim Cassidy, CA
Director
Jim is currently the Office Managing Partner and Audit Partner-in-Charge for KPMG in London, ON. He has been with KPMG for 35 years providing audit, review and accounting advisory services to companies in a number of industries including healthcare, transportation, technology, industrial manufacturing & distribution and financial services. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Toronto and is an Ontario CPA.
Jim is an active member of the community through his extensive involvement with various charities, athletic groups, and local hospitals. Most recently, Jim served 4 years as the Chair & Past Chair of London Health Sciences Foundation, and previously served numerous years as a board and finance committee member. He has also served on a variety of charity and athletic boards and advisory councils. Jim has been a leader of several sports teams and currently coaches a Midget Devilette hockey team.
Brian Flaman, BA
Director
Brian is the integrated VP, Managing Director, at Vocabulary (Canada), a creative agency in pursuit of the uncommon and exceptional. He represents Fortune 500 companies, creating breakthrough content for various marketing channels including mass, digital, shopper, social, and brand experience campaigns. He has won various awards, including the trending #DoTheLivi dance for Children’s Wish Foundation, which premiered at the MMVAs. Brian loves to relax at his cottage in the Kawarthas alongside his water obsessed labrador retriever, Hank. His goal is to support and grow Shine’s brand as we work towards building a brighter future for youth living with severe physical disabilities.
Lisa Gibson, BA
Director & Co-Chair of Marketing Committee
Lisa is the President and Founder of Ignite Communications. With more than 25 years of experience, she has led communications at a number of high-profile retail and technology brands including Canadian Tire, Shoppers Drug Mart and Target. Over the course of her career, she has built a reputation for solving complex business problems through strategic communications and delivering best-in-class public relations and executive communication programs. Passionate about the role communications plays in driving digital transformation, Lisa meets regularly with customers to share best practices and insights.
Lisa has a degree in Criminology/Psychology from the University of Toronto and a certificate in Public Relations from Ryerson University. She is passionate about mentorship and volunteers her time to coach new and budding PR talent. When she’s not working, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, cooking, travelling, and listening to podcasts.
Dr. Michelle McNeill
Director & Chair of Medical Advisory Team
Dr. McNeill is a General Academic Pediatrician and Developmental Pediatrician. She has actively and passionately supported Shine in various capacities over the past 20 years, including most memorably volunteering on four Shine DreamLifts in the London area.
Dr. McNeill also serves Shine as a referral partner within the London healthcare community at Children’s Hospital of London and as an integral home office resource providing training to Shine staff on conditions that our Shine Dreamers live with. As a wife, mother of four, and busy professional, Dr. McNeill certainly has a full plate but always has time to support the Shine team.
Subtej Nijjar
Director & Co-Chair of Marketing Committee
With 20+ years in the business, Subtej (Sub) has an unparalleled track record as one of Canada’s leading strategic minds, helping household brands such as Domino’s, IKEA, Best Buy, Molson Coors, Unilever, and American Express innovate and strengthen their business positioning and value.
A true innovator, Sub is currently the Chief Strategy Officer at Cossette, one of Canada's leading integrated communication agencies. Sub's experience spans both agency and client side having served as CMO at Shiftsmart where he contributed to building the company’s brand and communications B2B and B2C strategy. Working in partnership with the company’s newly formed leadership team, he also helped Shiftsmart grow its customer base to two million users. Prior to Shiftsmart, Sub was key in launching Coinberry as the company’s first-ever CMO, and he served as President of Mosaic North America, driving multiple lines of business for some of the top Fortune 500 companies in North America.
In 2012, Sub founded the integrated creative agency Union, leading the agency through eight years of significant growth. Before founding Union, he led the Canadian operations of CP+B, first in the dual role of EVP, Group Director Cultural and Business Insights, and later as agency President.
Sub has been celebrated as an industry visionary from the very beginning of his career. In 2005, he was recognized as one of Marketing Magazine’s “Ones to Watch,” an award that celebrates Canada’s brightest minds under the age of 30. Since then, he has used his experience and business insight to help his agencies win over 175 creative awards and honours, including multiple Cannes Lions, One Show Pencils, and a Grand Effie. He has also served as a juror for multiple award shows, including the Effie Awards, the Marketing Awards and the Media Innovation Awards.
Catherine Parsons Dhamija, MBA
Past Chair
Catherine Parsons Dhamija is a Partner with the Managerial Design™ service line in Deloitte Canada’s Human Capital practice. She is primarily focused on accelerating team leader and team performance while enabling organizational effectiveness. Catherine employs a trademarked organizational alignment and change management methodology proven to improve performance through 100 percent alignment on the strategic vision and objectives of leaders and their teams.
Over 20 years, Catherine has achieved cultural fluency in the global workplace, working with 1000s of clients across markets, as well as across industries. She is the Master Facilitator. From the Board level to the C-Suite and through to the front lines, she has mastered the ability to penetrate the “why not” to solve the “how can we”. Her infectious energy and stellar reputation is often cited by clients as the source of success for their transformations.
Catherine holds an MBA with distinction in Strategy and International Business from the Schulich School of Business at York University, and an Honours Bachelor of Commerce degree from Memorial University of Newfoundland. She is currently a LLM Candidate at Osgoode Law School where she is completing her second Masters in Dispute Resolution. She is a committed volunteer who has served on a number of non-profit boards, most recently she is serving the Shine Foundation. She enjoys spending her spare time hiking and biking with her husband and three children.
Marco Pasqua
Director
Marco Pasqua is an entrepreneur, Accessibility Consultant and Inspirational Speaker. He is a Shine Alumni and has been supporting and volunteering with the organization for over 25 years. Advocating for universal design and inclusion is among his passions; In the past, he’s worked as a Community Manager with the Rick Hansen Foundation and with the City of Surrey to implement accessibility standards and documentation that have been adopted citywide. Most recently, he's brought his energy and enthusiasm as an Accessibility and Inclusion Consultant supporting the Presidents Group - a network of change-driven BC business leaders who are champions for more accessible, inclusive workplaces.
It's through these experiences, personally and professionally, that he is helping to pave the way for all Canadians to have universal access to the programs, services and places that they live, work and play.
Dan Pompilii, CPA, CA, HBA
Treasurer & Chair of Finance Committee
For the past 3 years, Dan has been CFO and Vice President of Operations for Windley Ely Inc. He did his articling with PWC before leaving for the industry. Dan has held multiple positions and titles over his 20 years in the industry, working with consumer-based businesses. His career has been focused on strategy development, Human Resources, planning and analysis, internal controls, financial reporting, as well as IT-related initiatives. Dan was the lead on multiple mergers and management buyouts during his career. Prior to moving into the private sector Dan did the majority of his public accounting tenure with PWC focusing on Manufacturing and the not for profit sector.
Dan holds an Honors Bachelor degree from the University of Windsor, a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Western and is also licensed as both a Chartered Professional Accountant and a Licensed Public Accountant.
Dan is active in his community and is a leader with many sports organizations as he spends his time with his children (Ava and Roman) and their passion for organized activities. In his spare time, he loves to golf and travel with his wife Silvia and their two children.
Michelle Saba, BA
Director
Michelle is the principal and founder of Saba Communications. As a strategic communications advisor and thought partner, she looks at a company’s total business to design actionable strategies, plans and creative solutions that build equity in their brand and reputation.
With her post-graduate Journalism certification, her passion for food naturally married with her joy of writing as she worked behind the scenes on various Food Network Canada TV shows as a production assistant and associate producer. This is where she met Chef Christine Cushing and signed on as her publicist to help launch her Pure by Christine Cushing brand. Her agency career then allowed her to work with various Canadian and U.S. food sector companies including growers (Ontario Tender Fruit Producers, USA Rice Federation), consumer packaged goods (PepsiCo), restaurants (Morton’s the Steakhouse, Pickle Barrel) and premium spirits (Macallan and Laphroig Scotch). She later joined Canada’s largest grocery retailer Loblaw Companies to work with the iconic President’s Choice brand and support their CSR efforts including the President’s Choice Children’s Charity. Then it was off to champion the Canadian wine industry, leading the Communications team at Arterra Wines Canada, responsible for building and protecting Arterra’s reputation and building the company’s CSR / ESG vision and strategy. She most recently became a Certified Investor Relations Professional (CPIR) and gained her PROSCI certification in Change Management.
