Board of Directors

The Alzheimer Society Board of Directors for 2024/25 are:

Ian Kaufman, Chair

Having recently moved to Waterloo region, Ian was eager to give back to his new community and joined the board of ASWW in the summer of 2021. Through his partner's employment in the healthcare sector, and having had a grandmother face the challenges of living with dementia; Ian appreciates the great work and meaningful improvements that organizations such as ASWW provide to those members of the community that are impacted by this disease. Ian is a senior advisor with the Ontario Public Service and has received a Bachelor of Public Affairs and Policy Analysis along with a Master of Political Management, both from Carleton University. 

Janis Randall Simpson, Vice-Chair 

Janis Randall Simpson is a Registered Dietitian. She is Professor Emerita in the Applied Human Nutrition program at the University of Guelph where she is still active in teaching and research.  Janis has just finished a four-year term as volunteer, part-time Executive Director of the Canadian Foundation for Dietetic Research, the research foundation associated with Dietitians of Canada.  

Recent experience as a caregiver to her late husband, who was afflicted with Parkinson’s Disease and Lewy Body Dementia, led Janis to the terrific programming through the Alzheimer’s Society of Waterloo Wellington (ASWW).  

She is excited to be able to contribute to the ASWW Board to fulfill its mandate to provide programs and services for those with various forms of dementia.

Ted Bleaney, Secretary

Ted and his spouse moved to Waterloo Region in 1987 after they both graduated from the University of Waterloo in 1983. They decided that the time they were spending commuting to work in Toronto could better be spent raising a family and volunteering within their community. After raising 3 children, he and his spouse have recently retired and are now balancing travel with volunteer work!

When Ted's father was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2012, Ted and his brother became his primary caregivers. They advocated for him and looked after him for 5 years until his passing in 2017. When Ted was considering new volunteer opportunities for retirement, the ASWW (Alzheimer's Society of Waterloo Wellington) seemed like a natural fit.

Utilizing skills he acquired over many years as a Project Management Professional with both IT and Actuarial experience, Ted worked with many firms, both small and large, in Waterloo Region.  Ted retired in 2024 from the University of Waterloo. Additionally, Ted gained extensive Governance and Risk Management experience during his frequent Board of Director volunteer roles with a number of large local non-profit corporations: Grand River Hospital, Kitchener Housing Inc, Kitchener-Wilmot Hydro, Center in the Square, etc.

Ted looks forward to helping the ASWW build upon their past successes supporting Alzheimer patients and their caregivers locally while leveraging their connections and partnerships within the larger Alzheimer's Societies of Ontario.

Kent Sander, Treasurer

Kent Sander is a manager in the Assurance service line of Doane Grant Thornton LLP in their Waterloo office. He primarily focuses on completing audits and providing advisory services to a range of not-for-profit and charitable organizations. Kent also regularly leads internal training at the firm on new assurance or accounting pronouncements, and also with external members through the firms bi-annual in-person sessions for the Charity and Not-for-Profit Sector Group.

Kent received his Bachelor of Accounting from Brock University in 2019 and later obtained his Chartered Professional Accountant designation in 2021.

Kent is looking forward to being able to share his industry knowledge and insights with the Alzheimer Society.

Catherine Jones, Past Chair

The lived experience of her father’s journey with vascular dementia sparked Catherine’s passion for supporting our elders. After the passing of her father, Catherine became the care partner for a close family friend living with dementia. Catherine’s deep understanding of the needs of care partners and people living with dementia lead her to join the Board of Directors.

Catherine has worked in a variety of leadership, educational and clinical roles in health care. Catherine and a physician colleague developed a geriatric clinic in Simcoe County where she worked as a Nurse Practitioner diagnosing and managing dementia. Catherine is committed to developing diverse and inclusive community services. Catherine brings governance expertise from her work in health care as well as from her experience serving on community boards.

Catherine retired in the spring of 2020 and relocated to the Waterloo area. Joining the Board of Directors for the Alzheimer’s Society of Waterloo Wellington allows her to continue her commitment to community service and meeting the needs of our elders.

Victoria Young, Director

Victoria Young is an associate in the corporate/commercial department of Cohen Highley in their Kitchener office. Her real estate practice includes representation in agricultural, residential and commercial transactions, rezoning applications, severances and land use planning. Her networking circle includes municipal planners, developers, surveyors, financial advisors, and accountants.

Growing from her real estate practice, Victoria has developed an estates practice with a focus on planning through family trusts, dual wills, cohabitation agreements and marriage contracts. With our aging population, Victoria’s daily practice involves advising on the exercise of Power of Attorney and competency concerns.

In response to changes in reporting requirements in estate administration, Victoria’s hands on approach continues to be sought out by estate trustees throughout the south-western regions of the province.

Victoria received her bachelor of arts in Political Science, French and Spanish from Carleton University in 1988. She drew on her fluency in French to obtain her law degree from l’Université de Moncton in 1991.

Called to the Ontario Bar in 1993, Victoria has been active in community board and volunteer commitments over the years ranging from the arts and community social support organizations to health care organizations and lending institutions.

Gary Abbott

Gary is a dedicated and resourceful person who enjoys learning and helping others grow. He maintains a high level of care in all he does, prioritizing values of justice and doing the right thing. His strong communication skills are applied in his current professional role as a Solutions Engineer for Shopify, where he serves as an advisor and guide for the world’s largest brands to best use its software platform.

Gary’s maternal grandmother, Lily, passed away from Alzheimer’s when he was a teenager. Gary felt frustrated at the time, in part because his sadness for her loss was muted. Instead, his sadness was more for his mother, who served as an initial care giver for a period where Lily lived in their home prior to requiring a dedicated facility and full-time staff support. Gary felt ashamed that he didn’t help his mother more during this time and is encouraged at the available resources for others in the community and wants to help now.

Gary brings an attention to detail and high level of care to advocacy and representation of the community and the Alzheimer Society Waterloo-Wellington. Gary’s previous experience on the board for Big Brothers Big Sisters and current responsibilities reviewing grant applications for Waterloo Region Community Foundation provide relevant experience and expertise to apply his communication skills and earnest commitment to completing all duties required of a board member to best support ASWW’s mission.

We have a duty to give to our community and leave the world in a better place, and board membership is one small way of doing so. The services and resources provided by ASWW to our community alleviates suffering and helps many people, and Gary joined the ASWW board to remove any barriers to these services and resources while he assists to promote and improve them in any way that he is called to do so. Gary is here to help as many people live their best day.

Chloe Hamilton

Chloe is an entrepreneur and local business owner who founded Warm Embrace Elder Care in 2007. Warm Embrace Elder Care is a local, family-run homecare service that allows seniors to remain living at home for a long as possible. Services range from companionship visits through to advanced 24/7 care and are tailored to match clients’ changing needs. The passion for starting Warm Embrace came from family experience with dementia. Chloe founded Warm Embrace out of a desire to ensure that other families received the care that her family wished had been available for her grandmother. Throughout the years at Warm Embrace, Chloe has assisted hundreds of clients who are living with dementia, and she deeply understands the need for family support.

Chloe believes strongly in volunteering and is a passionate community member. She has served on numerous committees and councils. Most notably, she chaired the Elder Abuse Prevention Council of Waterloo Region from 2015 to 2022, during a time of transition with strategic planning and rebranding, as well as navigating the challenges of volunteer engagement during the pandemic. She actively mentors small business owners and startups and was elected to the board of the Chamber of Commerce.

Nancy Cote, Director

Nancy has recently retired after a 38 year career with Randstad Canada, where she held various roles including Vice President in Ontario. Her role was primarily focused on leadership, people development, sales and financial responsibility. She's lived in Kitchener Waterloo for approximately 50 years, been married for 28 years, and has two children currently in university. She's a graduate from Wilfrid Laurier University.

Throughout her career, Nancy consistently focused on helping people and she sees that continuing through the Alzheimer Society. The focus on education and providing support to people living with Alzheimer's and their loved ones is very meaningful to her. Having an elderly father and seeing those around him with various struggles, she strongly believes that the Alzheimer Society can help in many ways.

Nancy's strong leadership skills, strategic thinking ability and financial acumen will be of assistance as a member of the board, as well as her caring, empathetic mind set that has always brought her back to making a difference and helping people. She looks forward to providing insight and helping the Alzheimer's Society maximize it's contribution back to the community. 

Terri Beaulieu, Director

Terri has lived and worked in Waterloo for over 30 years. In 2024, she retired from a 34 year career in finance, with the last 27 years working for Sun Life so that she could use her interest in physical fitness to help individuals be as independent as they can be. She teaches teach group fitness classes for Community Support Connections and Movati Athletic and volunteers with the Alzheimer's Society's Minds in Motion program. Terri's mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2014 which allowed her to witness and experience the significant impacts this disease can have on the person living with the disease and their family and friends.

Terri believes that everyone has the right to live as independently as possible and with dignity and wants to contribute to making this possible. She values the opportunity to use the skills and knowledge she developed during her finance career.  

Terri is an experienced leader, organized, an effective problem solver and project manager, strong communicator, innovative, logical and dependable. She feels her finance background can positively support the Board of Directors' finance and governance mandates. She aims to ensure the supports and services provided by the Alzheimer's Society are made available to as many people impacted by dementia as possible.

Kristie Kimmett, Director

Kristie has worked in marketing, communications and business development roles across a wide variety of sectors. She holds a BA from the University of British Columbia and an MBA from Wilfrid Laurier University.  She lives in Waterloo with her family, and can often be seen walking the family's two black Labrador Retrievers in the green spaces around the city.

Kristie is an excellent communicator and natural networker - she loves to strike up a conversation at a coffee shop or make small talk in a crowd of strangers at a conference.  As a result of these connections in her personal and professional experience, she has seen the stigma and fear that can surround  a dementia diagnosis, and believes that knowledge is power for those living with dementia and care partners.  She is looking forward to amplifying the resources, programs and services of the Alzheimer Society of Waterloo Wellington to those who need them. 

Kristie brings skills in marketing, strategic communications and community building to the board, and is excited to work with new and returning board members.  Most of all, she is looking forward to meeting community members who benefit from the work that the ASWW does.