Director

Bill Austin held various senior executive positions in the Government of Canada including Assistant Secretary at the Treasury Board Secretariat and Assistant Deputy Minister, Claims and Indian Government at Indian and Northern Affairs. Since his retirement the Public Service in 2006, Bill was appointed Chair of two Departmental Audit Committees at Natural Resources Canada and Public Safety Canada. He was Executive Director for the taskforce examining Governance and Cultural Change in the RCMP and participated in two OECD missions examining governance in Poland and the UAE. Bill holds a degree in Business Administration from the University of Ottawa. His volunteer activities include being a board member of an organization supporting second stage housing for battered women and their children. He is keen to be involved with Help Lesotho and to contribute to the organization.

Co-Chair, HR Committee

Margie Hooper is the Broker General Manager of RE/MAX Hallmark in Ottawa. After her BA from Carleton University, Margie worked at the Canadian Security Establishment, had four children and lived in Toronto and Halifax before returning to Ottawa to begin careers in real estate.  With her husband Jeff, Margie opened KWO in 2001, now RE/MAX Hallmark in Ottawa, the largest real estate office in Ottawa.  Since 2008, Jeff and Margie have embraced the opportunity to support Help Lesotho both financially and by providing office space at their Bronson location.  For Margie the presence of Help Lesotho in the workplace has enriching!  Seeing the dedicated people involved this wonderful charity has been motivating.  Margie is delighted and honoured to join the board of Help Lesotho.

Chair, Program Committee

Zaida Bastos has more than 35 years of experience in international development in Africa, Asia and Latin America.  She is the Development Partnerships Program Director at the Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund. She was previously the Executive Director of the Working Group on Refugee Resettlement (WGRR) in Toronto. WGRR worked with the UNHCR, Canada Immigration and other agencies to resettle refugees at risk in Canada. Zaida also worked at UNESCO in Paris and the UNDP in Angola.

Zaida’s work expertise is in community development; gender equality; organizational development; and planning, monitoring and evaluation of projects. Zaida is also a published writer.

Zaida is pleased to join the Help Lesotho board to contribute to good development in Lesotho that benefits thousands of people.

Chair, Finance & Audit Committee

Dave is a retired Chartered Accountant living in Ottawa.  His professional career was largely in the private sector helping business’s meet and exceed their financial goals and supporting and mentoring global business leaders and multinational finance teams. His latter career branched into business development, marketing and sales positions. Dave served six years as Director of Finance and Auditing on the Board of the Ottawa Hunt Club. After learning of the impressive work of Help Lesotho and its positive impact for the Basotho people, Dave was delighted to join the Help Lesotho Board as Chair of the Finance and Audit Committee. He very much enjoys meeting our donors and engaging in ever more ways to contribute.

Chair, Governance Committee

Mary Dawson has been the Conflict and Ethics Commissioner since 2007. She retired from the Department of Justice in 2005, having held the position of Associate Deputy Minister since 1988. She held leading roles in the area of legislative drafting, public law and constitutional law. Mary has been involved in a number of international activities, including an executive position in the International Bar Association. On the local community level, she has served on the Ottawa Hospital Board from 2006 to 2014 and as an Adjunct Governor of the Perley and Rideau Veterans’ Health Centre in 2014-2015. She is a strong supporter of theatre. Mary holds degrees from three Canadian universities, was made a Queen’s Counsel in 1978 and was named a Member of the Order of Canada in 2007. Mary is keen on her work with Help Lesotho. She is particularly impressed with the low overhead in the administration and the dedication of those involved in this enterprise as well as the emphasis on helping girls and women.

Director

John McLaughlin, a retired deputy minister for New Brunswick’s Department of Education & Early Childhood Development, is President and CEO of Atlantic Education International.  He previously served as a school superintendent in Northern New Brunswick.  He was recently Co-Commissioner of NB’s review of its Official Language Act, and has also represented Canada on two high level OECD education related committees.

With a passion for Global Citizenship initiatives, he has long been a champion of Help Lesotho in his province, and is honoured to join the Board of Directors.

He and his wife, Cathy, have four grown daughters and five grandchildren, and they reside in Bathurst.

Director

Susan has extensive senior executive experience with over 30 years experience in the information technology, insurance, finance and software industries. Her diverse areas of focus include; sales, operations, professional services, business development and customer service. She also brings extensive coaching experience in Financial Services, Capital Markets and advancement of women.

Susan’s career is built with a strong people and management foundation with 14 years experience at IBM. She has applied this to the fast paced world of two start-up organizations which culminated in the executive position of a North American Professional Services and Customer Care organization at a large software firm. In addition to her business interests, Susan is active in the not-for profit community. She has vast board experience in the areas of strategic planning, communications, governance, development, leadership and fund raising.