OUR TEAM
BIAQD Board of Directors
BIAQD is managed by a Board of Directors comprised of no more than ten elected members.
Each Director must be a Member of BIAQD and be a minimum of 18 years of age.
Elections for the Board are held at the BIAQD Annual General Meeting held each year.
The Executive Officer positions on the board, President, Vice-President and Secretary are elected by the Board from among the serving Board Members.
Current Board Members
Kris Bonn
President
Kris was born and raised in Trenton and has strong roots in the local community. Kris graduated from St. Paul’s Secondary School in Trenton. He attended Queen’s University where he obtained an Honours Commerce degree. He went to the big city to the University of Toronto for law school, graduating in 2000. Kris stayed in Toronto after graduation learning the ropes with the national law firm of Fasken Martineau DuMoulin before returning home.
Kris focuses on helping people who have suffered serious personal injuries, car crash victims and long-term disability claims. Kris also helps people who are facing impaired driving and over 80 related criminal charges. In 2005, Kris successfully obtained his designation as a qualified breath technician. Kris has successfully argued cases before juries, judges and the Court of Appeal in Toronto. He works with his clients to obtain the best possible results. If that means going to trial, he has the experience and know how to get the job done.
“Knowing that I can help real people in our community when they are in need drives me every day to be better. I love knowing that as a trial lawyer I can help make a difference in someone’s life.”
Kris is active in the community as a Director of the Ontario Trial Lawyers Association and the local Brain Injury Association Quinte District. He is a member of the Hastings County Law Association and the Advocates Society. He supports local charities, including the Trenton and Belleville Hospital Foundations.
Outside of the office he tries to make time in the early morning before work to run, bike and swim. In his spare time Kris enjoys spending time with his family, reading, and is a supporter of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Stephanie Wells
Vice President
Information to come.
Mary-Ellen Thompson
Past President
Mary-Ellen is a Speech Language Pathologist in the province of Ontario, and a member of the College of Audiologists and Speech Language Pathologists of Ontario (CASLPO). She is the owner and clinic director of a practice specializing in speech, language, and cognitive communication. She holds a certificate of Clinical Competence registration with the American Speech and Language Hearing Association (ASHA).
Mary-Ellen graduated with an Honours Bachelor of Science degree from McMaster University, a Master of Science degree in Experimental Psychology from McGill University, a Master of Health Science in Speech-Language Pathology from the University of Toronto and a doctorate degree from the University of Toronto, Institute of Health Science.
Mary-Ellen is a caring and compassionate individual who strives for excellence in her clinical practice. She has experience working in the education setting, hospital environment and community. Mary-Ellen is currently the president of the Brain Injury Association Quinte District. She also volunteers for the Ontario Neurotrauma Foundation and the Ontario Brain Injury Association.
Mary-Ellen provides workshops within the comity on a volunteer basis. As well, she has presented papers provincially, nationally and internationally. Mary-Ellen was awarded the Professional of the Year award in 2010 by the Ontario Brain Injury Association for "outstanding contributions to improving the lives of those living with the effects of acquired brain injury."
Mary-Ellen provides workshops within the community on a volunteer basis. As well, she has presented papers, provincially, nationally and internationally. She teaches at the university level as time permits. In addition, Mary-Ellen was chosen by CASLPA as the 2012 recipient of the St Elizabeth Rehab Clinical Research grant. Mary-Ellen, along with co-investigator, Fahmida Pardhan completed a project entitled "Moving Forward After Traumatic Brain Injury: Maximizing Potential by Sharing Experiences and Strategies."
Leslie Lloyd
Secretary
Leslie Lloyd welcomes the opportunity to introduce herself. She is the mom of two energetic children aged 9 and 11. For over a decade now, she has been living with a brain injury from which she inherited in a car accident. Prior to her accident, Leslie worked as a youth correctional officer at a young offenders group home. She firmly believes that the type of person she was prior to her accident is helping her live her new life as a survivor. Leslie always attempted to look past the ‘problems’ and tried to understand how they ended up where there were. She tries to have others get to know her and not have people judge her based on my speech or how she looks. She is constantly relearning how to do many things now that she knows she was once proficient at.
Throughout her life she has made the realization that family plays an enormous role in everybody’s life. Leslie’s family (including her in-laws) and the positive people that she chooses to have within her life have all contributed to the person that she is attempting to be. All of these people have played a paramount role in her rehabilitation, and she hopes to live her life to make herself as well as all of them proud of her.
Perhaps it was her athletic upbringing being ingrained into her brain, but even after being told she’d never walk again – she is walking, she’s coached her daughter’s soccer team, and she’s been downhill skiing. The motto of Leslie’s new life is NOT to ‘live broken’, meaning that she tries to be the best possible person that she can be, and not let the opinions nor perceptions of others define what she can or can’t do. “I can, you can, everybody can” – and she firmly believes that should be every survivor’s outlook.
Leslie loves cooking, taking walks and family related activities. Humour and laughter have played a huge part within her rehabilitation and recovery. Leslie will never reach a ‘plateau’ because she chooses to always learn and get ‘better’ at what she can already do. She is not in denial as she knows that she can’t do some things. Leslie chooses to accentuate her abilities and surround herself with people whom hold the same outlook.
Presently, Leslie manages our Twitter account (@BIAQD1). She loves the opportunity to create awareness of this disability and of our organization. Leslie is honoured to be a board member of the Brain Injury Association Quinte District.
Ann Marquis
Treasurer
Ann has over 30 years experience serving individuals and families in the social service field, 16 of those specializing in Brain and Spinal Cord Injury. Her experience is providing rehabilitation support and services, while working in conjunction with multi-disciplinary teams, legal firms, and the insurance industry is extensive. She is committed to advocacy and the development of support services that will allow clients to make maximum recovery gains.
Christine Milligan
Board Member
Information to come.
Lisanne Mitts
Board Member
Information to come.
Lynne Petherick
Board Member
Lynne is a brain injury survivor, acquiring her injury from a head on collision in 1991. Prior to her ABI, Lynne completed the Concurrent Education program, earning her Bachelor of Art degree in History and Psychology from Trent University, and her Bachelor of Education at Queens University. Lynne was in the midst of earning her Honours degree when the accident occurred in August of 1991. She spent four months in Kingston General Hospital and then later migrated to the Quinte area for rehabilitation.
In her spare Lynne enjoys reading and living a healthy active lifestyle. She attends the Buddhist Centre in Kingston and enjoys traveling and learning about other cultures. Lynne also volunteered her time at Club ABI at Pathways for a number of years, and has always strived to support individuals with acquired brain injury to further their quality of life. Lynne first joined the Brain Injury Association in 2008 and has been a member of the association ever since. She was motivated to join the BIAQD board of directors to fill the vocational void she was experiencing as a result of her injury. In addition, she wanted to give survivors of ABI a voice and representation on the board.
Patti Asselstine
Board Member
Patti Asselstine is a brain injury survivor. Since her accident in 2014, Patti has been regaining some of her abilities through therapies and extensive support. She also volunteers as a peer mentor for the Brain Injury Association Quinte District (BIAQD).
Her background includes Social Work and Recruitment and Selection specializing in Transportation and Supply Chain. She has been recognized for her ability in interviewing skills, wage negotiation, and developing talent. Throughout her career she was known for managing people and positioning them to take the next step in their career path.
Currently, along with the Brain Injury board in Belleville, Ontario she is studying personality disorders and how they affect women and their relationships.
Current Staff
Jennifer Sharp
Executive Director
Information to come.
Program Facilitators
Vicky Legate
Fitness Facilitator
Vicky is a graduate of Fanshawe College with a diploma in Fitness. She has worked closely with the BIAQD Fitness program for over four years, promoting health and well-being. From a young age she has been involved in competitive sports with running and horseback riding as her focus, and she continues to actively pursue these activities today.
In a career that spans over 25 years in the Canadian Fitness Industry, Vicky has worn many hats, including Personal Trainer, Group Fitness Instructor, Entrepreneur, and Manager. In 1986 she moved to the Quinte area to begin her career in fitness. As a co-owner of the Belleville Fitness and Squash Club in the 90’s, she was also the creator and host of a local fitness show called “Pure Energy”. Competing in aerobic competitions at a provincial level and presenting at several national fitness conferences was a challenge she enjoyed before she had her children in ’95 and ’97. Vicky has experienced first-hand the way fitness has evolved and changed over the years. Since receiving her advanced Pilates certification from Body Harmonics, she now specializes in personal training, as well as Pilates, and post natal fitness.
Vicky’s philosophy on life and fitness centers around balance. Trying to achieve a healthy balance of fitness, nutrition, family, work and other responsibilities can be a challenge. She derives great satisfaction from helping others strike a balance that will enable them to set and achieve their goals.
With a keen desire to help others and a constant drive to learn, Vicky is a natural motivator and will inspire you to work out to the best of your ability. She believes you can have fun while learning about your body and will challenge you physically to be the best you can be.
Dominic Lombardi
Recreation Group Facilitator
Information to come.
Dan Washburn
Music Group Facilitator
Dan started playing guitar at the age of seven, beginning with a lap steel and by the time he was ten he was playing the acoustic and wrote his first song for his mom; “Someone Like You”. He has been working closely with the BIAQD music group for over two years. His dad integrated him into the band he was playing bass for and by the time he was 13, Dan was the bass player and harmony singer for a local weekend band.
His credits include over 200 albums as a singer/song writer, producer and bassist. Dan was band leader for the late Colleen Peterson for several years. He has toured with George Fox, Terry Sheridan, Colleen Peterson and South Mountain. He has guested as singer/bassist for many gospel shows both live and on television.
Dan has shared the stage on shows with Emmy-Lou Harris, Pirates of the Mississippi, Waylon Jennings, Toby Keith, Marty Stuart and Martina McBride to name a few. Dan had great success releasing 5 singles to radio before being asked to audition for award winning band “South Mountain”. Dan became their lead singer/bassist and spokes-person in Canada, signed to Stony Plain Records, distributed world-wide by Warner Brothers. The band toured Canada and Europe extensively and were in high demand. They had a successful album “Where There’s A Will” offering four chart successes and several Canadian Country Music Association nominations.
Dan has hosted two television shows for Cogeco Canada most recently; highlighting Canadian up & coming talent. He is a much sought after co-writer and producer, a regular with Kingston based band “Top Shelf”, bassist/singer in various house bands and often a guest singer in Ontario Jamborees and churches. Dan has recently released an album of original songs “A Million Miles or So” featuring many award winning Canadian players.
Past Presidents
2011 - 2018 Mary Ellen Thompson
2009 - 2010 Brad Conboy
2004 - 2008 Edmond Shirley
2003 Stephen Lewis
1999 - 2002 Cheryle Kingsman-Ralph
1996 - 1998 Carole Vincent
1995 Eileen Groves
1994 Stephen Lewis