Meet Our Board of Directors

Retiring after 37 years as a teacher at Glashan School in downtown Ottawa, it was natural that Rick wanted to maintain his life-long commitment to the youth of this amazing community. He has been an enthusiastic board member for the past eleven years. Rick is the proud recipient of the Capital Educators’ Award, the Simcoe Award for promoting racial harmony and diversity as well as Every Child is Sacred award which recognizes his unwavering advocacy for youth.

Originally from Toronto, Sarah moved to Ottawa to start her dream job at Employment and Social Development Canada in 2019. She holds master’s degrees in Gender Studies, from Queen’s University, and Public Policy and Administration, from Ryerson University. Sarah works for the federal government during the day and volunteers with The Door in her free time. Through her work on the board of directors, she is grateful to be able to give back to a community that embraced her with open arms.

Julie spent most of her career with a venture capital firm whose investments funded many companies in Ottawa’s tech community. She also spent time in her career in senior financial roles with technology startups and public accounting firms (as a chartered accountant). Julie is inspired by the Door’s programming and is excited to pivot her skills from the financial and technology sectors toward this worthy community organization.

Inspired by the significant benefits that volunteer contributions can make in our communities, James entered the volunteer world with The Door in March 2019, and joined the Board of Directors towards the end of 2019. James has been working on applications for large-scale funding in order to raise The Door's profile and to provide more resources and opportunities for the youth members who rely on the benefits of subsidized youth programming. Since joining the Board of Directors, James has used this opportunity to collaborate with other board members to use their collected expertise to help sponsors to see how essential The Door has become in serving youth in Ottawa.

Ashley found her happy place when initially starting her front-line volunteer role with The Door. A local Ottawan but a Parisian at heart, Ashley has a keen interest in helping others. Volunteering to inspire the youth of today to be the leaders of tomorrow has been a perfect fit. With a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Criminology and a keen interest in event planning and fundraising, she is able to bring a unique combination of skills to the board..

Samantha is a great asset to The Door bringing experience from both of her former roles as a volunteer and staff member. Samantha has worked in the non-profit sector for almost a decade now in various roles which demonstrates her passion and care for others. She strongly believes in the value of after school programs and their contribution to empowering healthy and successful members of our community. Currently working in community mental health and addictions as a counsellor for youth, Samantha is a great asset to our team.

Justin has successfully built his practice in financial planning focusing on multi-generational wealth management. Family has always been important to Justin, and it naturally became his focus as an advisor. Justin holds the Chartered Investment Manager and Certified Financial Planner designation. As a father himself, Justin wanted to get involved in helping Ottawa’s youth and was inspired by the Door Youth Centre’s impact in the community.

Luc is an educator, mentor, innovation practitioner and civic entrepreneur with extensive experience in academic-industry-government sectors. He specializes in the design of programs that build innovation capacity for communities in both rural and urban regions. He is currently "Innovator-in-Residence" at the Rideau-Rockcliffe Community Resource Centre. He has served as a volunteer and advisor on numerous not-for-profit boards engaged in fields as diverse as addiction recovery for youth, regional economic development, women empowerment, arts /culture and education.

A long-time advocate of social and educational programming for youth, Serguei joined the Door’s Board of Directors in late 2021. Serguei holds a law degree from the University of Ottawa and currently works at an Ottawa business and technology law firm. Prior to law school, Serguei worked as a frontline worker at the Ottawa Mission and as a donation processing clerk at Covenant House Toronto, and volunteered on different legal projects with Pro Bono Students Canada. He is passionate about helping young people become the best versions of themselves and joined the Board to assist with internal policy drafting and regulatory compliance. In his free time, Serguei enjoys hikes and bike rides in the Ottawa-Gatineau region and experiencing new cultures through travel.

Originally from Nova Scotia, Kristin moved to Ottawa after completing her degree at Saint Francis Xavier University. She began volunteering at many different organizations in the National Capital Region to learn about the city. Through her volunteer work, she developed a passion for fundraising. She joined The Door fundraising Committee in 2018. Her unique skill set and experience with third-party fundraising make her an asset to The Board.

Joe, a Hamilton, Ontario native brings his passion for technology and community development to the board of directors. He has generously volunteered his IT expertise to support The Door since 2015. With his expertise he has introduced youth to the many career possibilities within the field of IT and provided the education path to achieve this. Joining The Door's board of directors in 2024, Joe is enthusiastic about aligning his experiences with the goals of The Door Youth Centre. He looks forward to discovering how his expertise can contribute to the organization's mission.

After completing the Child and Youth Worker program at Algonquin, Haley has achieved over a decade of work in front line roles of the social services field. The roles she has held have included working with youth facing mental health and behavioural challenges, students in the school board with individualized education plans and currently works for the The City of Ottawa in the social services department. Haley started volunteering with The Door in 2021 in various roles including fundraising and assisting the staff and youth on the floor with the daily operations of The Centre. Haley enthusiastically brings her experience with and knowledge of community partners and passion for the well being of the youth in her community to The Board of Directors.