Alain Baird ICD.D Alain is the founder/owner of The Stitch It Group Inc., North America's only chain of clothing alteration stores with 85 locations in Canada and 13 in the USA. Giving back is a big part of this successful chain’s corporate social responsibility initiative and culture. To that end, Stitch It proudly supports the CNIB nationally and Alain personally volunteers as a board member for the Art Gallery of Hamilton and the Retail Council of Canada.
Bob Beckerson
Bob Bratina Born and raised in Hamilton, Bob is the City Councillor for Ward 2 and weekday morning show host on AM900 CHML. A Paul Harris Fellow, Bob is also a musician, Hamilton historian, railway enthusiast, model maker, language student, community activist, and recipient of many honours and awards. A marathon runner, he has also completed 10 Around the Bay Road Races. He and his wife of 40 years, Carol, are parents to their son, Sam.
Luigi V. Celli, BAcc, CA
Lou is a Chartered Accountant and Partner with MacGillivray’s. His areas of expertise include assurance, corporate & personal tax planning and corporate financing. He has served as Board Chair for Hamilton’s Ronald McDonald House and looks to add his financial and strategic skills to various committees and the Board of the AGH.
Rick Court First Vice-Chair, AGH Board of Directors Currently President of the Sylvite Transportation Group -- a Burlington-based full-service trucking, logistics and warehousing operation -- Rick has held various positions throughout his career in finance, marketing and technology. As CEO and part-owner, he helped build Loadlink into the technology standard for the transportation industry. After completing the sale of this company he joined a boutique investment banking firm, completing several successful mergers, acquisitions and financings in the technology field. Rick holds an MBA from McMaster University.
Charles P. Criminisi Charles is a partner at the law firm of Agro Zaffiro LLP where he practices commercial law and litigation. He is a founding member and past Chair of both the Burlington Community Foundation and Villa Italia Retirement Residence. Charles is a founding member of The Law Group, which supports the Gallery’s endowment by raising funds for the Building a Legacy 2 campaign.
Louise Dompierre AGH President and CEO Louise joined the Gallery in December 1998 and was formerly the Associate Director/Chief Curator of The Power Plant, Toronto, where she played a key role in the development of Canada’s most dynamic and ambitious centre for contemporary visual arts. She has also worked at the Agnes Etherington Art Centre and the Canada Council for the Arts in Ottawa. In 1998, Louise was made Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. She has served on the Board of CAMDO and the NFB. A Paul Harris Fellow, she was inducted in Hamilton’s Gallery of Distinction in 2007, and received an LLD (Hon.) from McMaster University in 2008.
Brent Foreman
Filomena Frisina Second Vice-Chair, AGH Board of Directors Filomena is a partner of Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP (Toronto) where she has a busy corporate law practice. She is a member of a number of the Gallery’s committees - Law Group, Nominating and Corporate Governance and Government Relations. Filomena is also a member of the Board of Governors of the Columbus Centre of Toronto. Born and raised in Hamilton, she is an avid lover of the arts and hopes to contribute to the continuing success of the AGH.
Chip Holton
John Hutton
Vince Isber As Regional Vice President Greater Hamilton Market for RBC Royal Bank, Vince is responsible for the management for all consumer, financial planning and small business operations, including the overall performance of 18 branches, 21 financial planners and 9 small business account managers. He is also involved with the Junior Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) as 2008 fundraising chairman; the Jobs Prosperity Collaborative; and the Greater Hamilton Market United Way Cabinet. He holds an International Masters Degree from Lancaster University in the UK.
Rudin Knights Chair, AGH Volunteer Committee Rudin, a retired teacher with the Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board, began volunteering at the AGH in 1998. She has worked at the Shop AGH and is currently a Docent. She is a member of Mohawk College Singers and also volunteers for Symphony Hamilton and The Great Romantic Festival.
Tom Matthews A graduate of the University of Western Ontario and McMaster University where he obtained a PhD in Canadian history, Tom has served as a teacher and administrator at McMaster University, at Upper Canada College in Toronto and at St. Michaels University School in Victoria, British Columbia. He returned to Hamilton in 2003 to assume the role of Headmaster of Hillfield Strathallan College. Established in 1901, HSC is one of Canada's leading independent schools, consisting of 1,100 students and 240 faculty and staff. Tom has a lively interest in the arts and is strongly committed to the Hamilton community. He has served on a number of boards in the past, including Nepal School Projects and the Royal BC Museum.
Shik Patel
Maria Pearson Elected for three terms to Stoney Creek Council (Ward 3) beginning in 1991, Maria currently serves the constituents of Ward 10 on Hamilton’s City Council. She actively participates on over 20 council boards and committees, including the Airport Implementation Task Force, the Economic Development and Planning Standing Committee, and the Hamilton Public Library Board. She was previously employed as a legal secretary and automobile sales and leasing representative.
Reinhard Reitzenstein Reinhard Reitzenstein was born in Uelzen, Germany, in 1949. He studied at the Ontario College of Art, Toronto, 1968-71. From 1971-1991, he was represented by the Carmen Lamanna Gallery, Toronto. Since 1993, he has been represented by the Olga Korper Gallery, Toronto, and since 2000 also by Lutz Teutloff Media Projects in Germany.
Reitzenstein has held over one hundred solo exhibitions and participated in over 300 group exhibitions in North America and abroad. He has completed more than a dozen public art commissions along with numerous private commissions. His work is represented in over 50 public and corporate collections internationally. Reitzenstein has been an instructor in sculpture and interdisciplinary studies at several universities and colleges since 1980. Beginning in the summer of 2000 he has been the Director of the Sculpture Program, and from 2003-06 also Director of Graduate Studies, SUNY, Buffalo.
Mark A. Rizzo, C.Dir. Mark is an Investment Advisor with CIBC World Markets Inc. in Hamilton, providing investment advisory services to both institutional and private clients specializing in credit unions, religious orders and private foundations. A graduate of McMaster University, Mark has served as a member of numerous charities including the YMCA of Hamilton/Burlington and as a past chair of Royal Botanical Gardens. He currently serves as the Chair of the Board of St. Peter’s Health System, and as a board member of Hamilton Health Sciences. Mark is a graduate of the McMaster University DeGroote School of Business and the Conference Board of Canada Directors College and holds the designation of Chartered Director.
Robert Wade Chair, AGH Board of Directors On New Year’s Day, 2001, Bob became the first mayor of the “new” City of Hamilton, a distinction that capped a lifetime of service to the community (he was also Mayor of Ancaster for 16 years, Deputy-Mayor for 6, and member of the Hamilton-Wentworth Regional Council for 22) and a successful career in the private sector (including 38 years with London Life Insurance Company). Active in many professional and volunteer organizations over the years, Bob is a Paul Harris Fellow, honourary member of both Ancaster Rotary Clubs, and a member of the board of the Hamilton Community Foundation. He and Ida, his wife of over 50 years, are proud parents to three married daughters and delighted grandparents of six.
Dr. Sandra Witelson A neuroscientist, Sandra directs a basic research programme at McMaster University on the neurobiological underpinnings of thinking and behaviour. She is Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioural Neurosciences and holds the Albert Einstein/Irving Zucker Chair in Neuroscience. She is a spokesperson for Neuroscience, both presenting and organizing many lectures to bring awareness of brain research to the general public. She also chairs the Gallery’s Art Acquisition Committee.
Alain Baird ICD.D
