Jennifer Tomaszewski, Chair of the Board (Sherwood Park, AB)

Jennifer has been involved with LEAF for almost two decades. At the branch level, she has served as chair of LEAF Edmonton’s education committee, as its membership co-ordinator and as branch chair. Jennifer has been an active volunteer with many different social justice and political causes, including serving as president of Edmonton Women’s Shelter. Currently, Jennifer sits on the Faculty Advisory Council to the University of Alberta’s Child Study Centre. Educated at the University of Alberta, she received her BA in English, with first class honours, and also her LL.B. Jennifer practiced law in Edmonton for several years. She is an avid traveler and gardener and is fortunate to share her life with her partner, their son and a very large dog.

Cleta Brown, Vice Chair of the Board (Vancouver, BC)

Cleta has an LL.M from the London School of Economics and LL.B from the University of Victoria. She is a sole practitioner in the areas of criminal and family law. She has held positions with the BC Review Board; Ministry of the Attorney General and Office of the Ombudsman of BC. She is a former member of the West Coast LEAF Board. Cleta practices law part-time because she is also a full-time mother of two children. She is committed to the objectives of LEAF and enjoys volunteering.

Bertha Cheung, Treasurer (Toronto, ON)

Bertha is a Chartered Accountant with over 15 years of combined experience in the accounting, finance, and auditing fields.  Her industry experience has been focused on the financial services sector with periods working for a leading Canadian financial institution as well as for the largest single-profession pension plan in Canada.  As LEAF Treasurer, Bertha is the Chair of the Finance and Audit Committee as well as a member of the Board of Directors, the Executive Committee, and the Program Development Committee.

Michelle Bullas (Calgary, AB)

Michelle is lawyer working in private practice, taxation law experience with a number of Calgary and Halifax law firms, member of the YWCA Halifax Board, and for the last eight years Executive member of the YWCA Board of Canada. Her board expertise is in governance, constitution and by-laws.

Jane Cooney (Toronto, ON)

Jane is a retired businesswoman, who founded Books for Business; former Executive Director of the Canadian Library Association and former Director of Information Resources at CIBC. She also taught Information Studies at the University of Toronto. She has extensive board experience, including the Canadian Booksellers Association, Goodwill Toronto, Ontario Retail Sector Advisory Board, and the Writers Trust of Canada. Currently she is on the jury of the National Business Book Award and is a member of the International Women’s Forum.

Susan Patterson Glover (Sudbury, ON)

Susan is an Associate Professor of English at Laurentian University, active member of LEAF Sudbury and current member of the LEAF National Program Development Committee. She co-wrote a primer on property law for farm women in the 1980’s and has written extensively on women’s rights. Currently she is a member of the Association of Canadian College and University Teachers of English.

Marie Kelly (Toronto, ON)

Marie is Secretary Treasurer of the Ontario Federation of Labour (elected position), former Associate Director for Atlantic Canada and staff lawyer for United Steelworkers Union. She has been active with LEAF since her Osgoode Hall student days and volunteered help with LEAF’s 2011 Equality Day in Toronto. Currently she is a member of Ontario Equal Pay Coalition, Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care, EGALE Canada, Coalition of Labour Union Women and Coalition for Black Trade Unionists.

Robin Reinertson (Vancouver, BC)

Robin received her J.D. (law) degree and M.A. in International Relations from University of Toronto. She practiced corporate/commercial litigation in Toronto before taking time off of to travel and move back to Vancouver, where she continues to practice litigation. Robin has been involved with LEAF in varying capacities for many years and is currently the Chair of LEAF’s Governance Committee.

Lisa Taylor (Toronto, ON)

Prior to attending law school, Lisa was an award-winning journalist with CBC Radio and Television for more than a decade. She has an LLB from Dalhousie University, and will receive her LLM from the Schulich School of Law in October 2010. Her graduate thesis explores a potential infringement of sexual assault complainants’ Charter rights. She previously practised law with the litigation firm of Merrick Jamieson Sterns Washington and Mahody in Halifax, and currently works as a journalism trainer and part-time lecturer at Ryerson University in Toronto.

Katherine Hensel (Toronto, ON)

Katherine Hensel is a Sewecpemc lawyer whose practice takes her across Canada. She litigates on behalf of First Nations and their members, and First Nations’ organizations, in cases involving treaty and Aboriginal rights, child welfare, commercial disputes, and election appeals, as well as select criminal matters. Katherine is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Toronto, Faculty of Law. She was Assistant Commission Counsel to the Ipperwash Inquiry and is counsel to the Native Women’s Association of Canada on the issue of Missing and Murdered Women and the Oppal Inquiry in British Columbia.  In April, 2011, Katherine founded Hensel Barristers.