The CPAWS Annual General Meeting will be held by video conference on Monday, September 28, at 8:00 p.m. Eastern. This year’s meeting will be kicked off by an engaging keynote speaker. Details to follow!
To confirm your attendance, please contact Andrée Charlebois at acharlebois@localhost and she will provide the virtual meeting login information and circulate the AGM agenda and other corresponding materials in advance of the meeting.
Nominations for the CPAWS National Board
Under CPAWS’ bylaws, members of the Board of Trustees are elected for three-year terms. Trustees can be re-elected for a maximum of nine years. All trustees are volunteers.
Each year, the Board chooses a Board Development Committee to recommend candidates to fill vacancies arising from trustees reaching their term limits or deciding to resign. The Committee follows policies which are intended to ensure that the Board has a combination of relevant skills, experience at the chapter level, and geographic balance. It seeks suggestions through the CPAWS website and from current and past Trustees, Chapter Directors, and friends of CPAWS.
Proposed Nominees for Election to the CPAWS Board of Trustees, Sept. 2020
The following are the Board Development Committee’s proposed nominees for election as national trustees this year.
There will be five vacancies on the board. Two of these vacancies will be created by existing Trustees completing their second term and standing for a third term. The remaining three vacancies will be created based on a combination of members completing their current term commitments (and not renewing) and the filling of existing vacancies.
The Board Development Committee is proposing three candidates at this time. The board will continue to seek candidates to fill the additional two vacancies who meet demographic gaps in the board’s current composition, and under its bylaws may appoint Trustees to serve in an interim capacity until the subsequent AGM.
Elspeth Hagan, New Brunswick (standing for a first term)
Elspeth Hagan is a lawyer who works as General Counsel, Global Compliance for McCain Foods. She has served in senior legal roles with McCain since 2011. Previously, she worked as Counsel with McInnes Cooper in New Brunswick, Siemens Canada in Mississauga, and McCarthy Tétrault in Toronto.
Elspeth is an active volunteer, currently serving on a number of boards, including Women General Counsel Canada, New Brunswick Museum, Carleton North Community Foundation, and Fundy Trail Development Authority. She holds a BA, MA, and Master of Museum Studies from the University of Toronto and a JD from Osgoode Hall.
Elspeth and her family enjoy living in a small rural community in New Brunswick. She developed her passion for the environment as a child, exploring Canada’s nature with her sisters, mother, and father, a geologist and professor. She spent parts of her childhood in Australia, the US, and Holland before her family moved to Canada. Elspeth is excited to contribute to the important work of CPAWS.
Lavinia Mohr, British Columbia (standing for a third term)
Lavinia is a recently retired senior leader with 35 years of experience in staff and board roles in local, national and international non-profit organizations based in BC, Ontario, Quebec, Alberta and London, UK. She is a past Treasurer of the CPAWS Wildlands League board. Fluent in French, she brings to CPAWS a depth of experience in non-profit organizational and financial management, human resources and board governance. She previously served as Treasurer of the CPAWS National Board.
Amber Walker, Nova Scotia (standing for a third term)
Amber is a professional land-use planner with a diverse range of policy and strategic planning experience, primarily focused in environmental planning, healthy built environments, and community sustainability. While residing in Halifax, Amber has travelled extensively across Canada, living and working in British Columbia, New Brunswick, and Northern Alberta as part of a military family.
Amber previously held the position of Board President for CPAWS Northern Alberta, where she led the chapter through a rebuilding/re-energizing process over the past three to four years and acted on a volunteer basis as the chapter’s Executive Director during transition periods.
In addition to her professional experience in conservation, Amber brings to CPAWS significant training and/or experience in board governance, human resources, fundraising, and financial management. She is currently Chair of the CPAWS Governance Committee.
Other Candidates
While the Board Development Committee makes every effort to put together the best slate, our bylaws allow any member who feels that the slate falls short of the needs of CPAWS to submit alternative candidates. Any such nominations should be submitted no later than August 19, to Sandra Schwartz, National Executive Director, at nominations@localhost. Nominations must include the name of the nominee, their written consent, address, phone number, email, a brief biography, and the signatures/support of 25 members of CPAWS.
Proposed Changes to the Bylaws
At the November 23, 2019 National Board of Trustees meeting, the board proposed to amend the by-laws at the 2020 AGM to reflect changes related to the delegation of responsibility for Trustee election procedures within the Board, and also to reflect updated Executive Committee terms of reference.
Details about the proposed changes to the bylaws that will be on the agenda at the 2020 AGM can be found here: https://cpaws.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Draft-CPAWS-Bylaw-Amendments-November-2019.pdf
Thank you for your support. On behalf of the National Board of Trustees and the CPAWS team, we look forward to your participation in the CPAWS 2020 AGM.