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.
Maggie Carr
This enthusiastic community supporter has enjoyed careers in nursing, in fundraising (in charge of the development departments at both the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra and Opera Hamilton) and in property development. A true believer in the city of Hamilton and what it has to offer its residents and visitors, she also served as a member of the VON Foundation board for 12 years, and chaired the foundation for two. She is committed to this institution, which she feels is one of the most important and positive forces in this exciting city.
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 Chair, AGH Board of Directors 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. He recently was appointed the Dean of Business, Media and Entertainment at Mohawk College. Rick holds an MBA from McMaster University.
Charles P. Criminisi Second Vice-Chair, AGH Board of Directors 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.
Filomena Frisina First 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.
Andrew Furgal As BMO Bank of Montreal's Vice President, Hamilton District, Andrew leads a team of nearly 400 financial professionals working in 35 branches located throughout the Hamilton, Niagara, Brantford and Simcoe areas. The Hamilton District team provides each of BMO's clients with access to retail, commercial and financial planning services. In addition to supporting the AGH, Andrew volunteers on the Board of Directors for the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Canadian Bankers, and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Western Ontario and a Masters of Business Administration from Dalhousie University.
Peter Gordon
John Heersink John chairs Grand River Foods, a producer of innovative food products
serving the grocery and food service industries in North America, with over
500 employees working at operations in three southwestern Ontario
communities. Extensive world travels have led John to become an enthusiastic
art collector as evidenced in his heritage home, Foxbar, which he and his
wife Liz spent years painstakingly restoring to its former glory as one of
Ontario’s finest examples of Italianate architecture.
Chip Holton Secretary - Treasurer, AGH Board of Directors Former President, npg envelope.
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.
Maureen McKeating Chair, AGH Volunteer Committee As well as being the Chair of the Volunteer Committee of the Art Gallery of Hamilton, Maureen is a volunteer Docent. She has served and continues to serve, a number of community and municipal organizations. She is past chair of the Hamilton Public Library Board and continues to serve as a Trustee for the Library.
Shik Patel, CIMA In the investment industry for over 25 years, Shik began his career with Wood Gundy in 1981. An investment advisor with TD Waterhouse since 2004, he provides a comprehensive wealth management service that specializes in providing customized solutions for business owners and their families. Shik co-chairs the Gallery’s strategic development committee, and is a former board member of Junior Achievement.
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.
Andrew Sloan
Roma P. Sohal Roma is the Financial Controller for Audcomp Computer Systems, one of the top 50 information technology companies in Canada. She was formerly an engineer with Nortel Networks, where she designed and implemented various computer telephony applications for Norstar telephone systems. Roma holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree from Lakehead University, where she formed the university’s first South Asian Student Association. She was also active at the Radio College of Canada, where she served as the chair for the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, and as an Advisory Board member. An active Rotarian since 2000, Roma served as the Rotary Club of Ancaster’s president.
Robert Wade Past 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.