Richard Starnes
President
Richard Starnes offers extensive expertise in the media and in public relations. He has worked as a writer, editor and management member on newspapers for 40 years, including national daily and regional daily newspapers in England and with the Ottawa Citizen. His writing covers a broad spectrum from an in-depth look at Canada’s diamond industry to a successful campaign to persuade Health Canada to issue adequate public warning of the danger posed by high levels of mercury in particular varieties of fish. He shares the conviction that integrating the arts into healthcare is a vital component in wellness and well-being for the sick, the stressed and the elderly.
Dannie Horne
Treasurer
Artswell is pleased to welcome Dannie Horne to its Board of Directors. Dannie comes to us with 30+ years of experience as an art teacher and community leader/advocate. Although she began her career as a teacher, she eventually advanced to Head of the Art Department, a position she held in various public schools in Windsor and Toronto. Dannie has worked with veterans in a long-term care environment for the past 25 years. Although the Perley and Rideau Veterans’ Health Centre initially hired her as an instructor, she eventually became their Creative Arts Service Manager and directed a full range of creative programs for hundreds of veterans and community clients. Dannie has always been committed to providing high-quality diverse arts-based programs, and is particularly fond of her programs in mixed media, visual arts, woodworking, pottery, dance and horticultural therapy. Dannie, who is passionate about the positive, health-affirming effects of the Arts, can be reached at artswell@magma.ca.
Penny Skelton
Secretary
Penny Skelton has over 30 years experience in administration and public relations in the field of health and community services. She joined Gilmour Psychological Services in 1992 as Business Manager for a large group of psychologists in private practice. Her organizational skills, years of applied experience, as well as sensitivity interacting with clients are key to this position. Penny’s life focus has been in health services, community involvement, and the arts and music – all while raising three sons. She offers extensive creative abilities and patronage in the field of Visual Arts, Theatre (costume design) and Music. Penny joined the Artswell Board in September 2006 and is the Board secretary.
Janet Dunbrack
Director
Janet Dunbrack is a health policy consultant and visual artist based in Ottawa. Janet is president of Janet Dunbrack Associates, specializing in health policy development. She has been a volunteer in hospice palliative care for the past 15 years in Ottawa and Montreal. Her professional experience includes community-based work in HIV/AIDS palliative care and several years as a policy advisor on HIV/AIDS at Health Canada. She is a former Executive Director of the Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association. Janet paints abstract and semi-abstract works that depict an essential quality of a person, place or experience.
Traci Walters
Director
Traci Walters provided national leadership to the Independent Living Movement as the National Director of the then Canadian Association of Independent Living Centres (CAILC) for 17 years. She retired in January 2010.
Independent Living Canada is the national umbrella organization of 27 Independent Living Centres (IL Centres) across Canada. Both Independent Living Canada and IL Centres are organizations run by and for people with disabilities that provide disability supports, information, skills building, peer support and community development. The IL philosophy recognizes when people with disabilities control their own lives and services, as much as they possibly can, the great chances of successful integration and participation.
Traci, who promoted the Independent Living philosophy and IL Centres nationally, also worked with other national disability organizations, federal government departments, and promotes private and public partnerships.
In 2002, she was instrumental in obtaining support from Prime Minister Chrétien along with the United Nations whereby on December 3rd the Secretary of the UN, Kofi Annan, declared the theme for the United Nations International Day of Disabled Persons “Independent Living and Sustainable Livelihood”.
She was also was a member of the Liberal Task Force on Disability Issues that traveled all across the provinces and territories in 1996 consulting people with disabilities on the federal government’s role pertaining to disability issues. Her philosophy is a perfect fit with Artswell and she is a welcome addition to the board, which she joined in January 2010
Carol Lapointe
Director
A mother and a child psychiatrist in private practice, Carole Lapointe carries a lifelong interest in the visual arts. Recent additions to her therapy techniques are Sandplay therapy, jungian in focus and Art therapy along with E.M.D.R. and cognitive behavioral plus psychopharmacological treatment approaches. A firm believer in Artswell, she feels privileged to serve as a director on the Board.
Mary Pfaff
Founder
Director of Arts and Development
Mary Pfaff is an active member of the Ottawa arts community as an exhibiting visual artist, respected teacher and the Founder and Arts Director of Artswell, Arts and Healthcare.
Being part of a proficient team and building on 15 years of Creative Arts experience offering painting, sculpture, ceramics and art & gardening programs to Veteran residents at the Perley and Rideau Veterans' Health Centre in the Creative Arts Service program, Mary witnessed the transformation the arts have on quality of life and well-being.
Sustained by this experience and inspired by her connection to the Society for the Arts in Healthcare in the United States Mary began to design and lead creativity and wellness workshops and projects in schools, colleges, long term care facilities and in community settings. As one of the leading Canadian experts in the field, she has used her expertise to develop painting and music workshops for the blind and to establish workshops that make the arts accessible to everyone. Visual journaling for cancer patients, mandala workshops for support groups, mixed media and painting workshops for seniors with Alzheimer disease and other dementias are other examples.
The compelling impact of arts programming improves and affects people from all walks of life and the entire community it serves. By tapping into the creative process, people who have never made art before can be encouraged to create. Mary’s paintings are displayed in individual and group exhibitions in Canada and the United Sates and are represented in private collections nationally and internationally. She earned her Fine Arts honours degree from the University of Ottawa, magna cum laude.