The THRTF is governed by a nine-member Board of Directors elected from the community at the Annual General Meeting every December. To provide consistency, Board Members serve for two-year terms and one half of the Board is elected each year. The Board meets a minimum of ten times per year and oversees all business of the task Force. The Board elects Executive Officers internally: President, Vice-President, Treasurer and Secretary. The THRTF works hard to have representatives from the actively drug using community represented on the Board. Monthly Board meetings are open to all Members of the Task Force.
Current Board Members:
David Collins (President) has worked more than fifteen years in community agencies addressing housing, homelessness and addictions. He worked at All Saints’ Church-Community Centre at the time of the inception of the Task Force and has been on the Steering Committee and the Board since the beginning. He represents the Task Force on the Toronto Drug Strategy Implementation Committee. David is also a filmmaker having produced over twenty short films, some of which have appeared at the Rendezvous with Madness festival and on the Homeless Nation web site.
Chantal Desgranges (Vice President) was a member of the Provincial Methadone Task Force contributing 26 recommendations for methadone treatment. In November, she will be presenting at the Issues of Substance Conference in Halifax for the National Treatment Strategy Leadership Team and for the Toronto Drug Strategy, 24 Hr Crisis Model Development Working Group. Chantal became Vice President of the Toronto Harm Reduction Task Force this year. She has served on the board for approximately 4 years. Her work experience includes midwifery, addictions counseling , and policy work at the municipal, provincial and federal levels.
Sarah Prowse (Secretary) is pretty interested in changing the world, and thinks that harm reduction is a jolly good way to go about it. She works in Woodgreen's splendid Mental Health Services unit, doing everything from making sandwiches to psychotherapy, as well as sitting on boards like this one. Ultimately, she suspects the sandwich-making probably makes more of a difference.
Edmund Wong (Treasurer) is a Business Manager with the Inner City Health Program at St. Michael's Hospital. The Hospital acts as trustee for the Toronto Harm Reduction Task Force funding. Edmund brings his years of experience in financial reporting and administration to the board in his role as Treasurer.
Serena Coy is a social worker at The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. She currently works with people struggling with both substance use and mental health issues individually and in a group setting. She also does street outreach with the Multi-Disciplinary Outreach Team. Her past experience includes a variety of community based agencies with a focus on youth and women. She is committed to bringing a harm reduction perspective to her work with clients and acting as a bridge between CAMH and the community.
Zoë Dodd is the Hepatitis C Peer Education and Training Coordinator at South Riverdale CHC. Zoë is a skilled front-line worker, who works doing community development, case management, public education and advocacy within a harm reduction and social justice framework. Zoë is a member of the Safer Crack Use Coalition, a founding member of the Toronto Drug Users Union and a Hepatitis C and drug user activist. She brings to her work her own lived experiences as well as her commitment to human rights for street involved people.
Dale Kuehl works as a counselor at the Centre for Addictions and Mental Health. Dale is currently holds the position of Discipline Chief of Addiction Therapy at CAMH. Previously he has worked in the Rainbow Program and delivered many workshops on biases in addiction services faced by bi, gay, lesbian and trans individuals. Dale worked hard with the Task Force to design and deliver the harm reduction course offered at York University.
Cheryl White is a long-time drug-user activist in the Toronto area. She has worked in the past with Counterpoint, the harm reduction program at the South Riverdale CHC. She is a founding member of the Illicit Drug Users Union of Toronto. Cheryl has presented several times at international conferences on user rights and organizing.
Lindsay Williams is interested in fighting for social justice. She hopes to do this by connecting with people who have similar goals. Lindsay works for the Jean Tweed Centre in a program with women who are pregnant and or parenting, she is particularly passionate in challenging and changing stigma experienced by women who use drugs as well as fighting for space for women's needs to be heard and addressed.
Staff:
Holly Kramer joined the THRTF as coordinator in July 2002. She'll tell you it's the best job she's ever had (owing to the great people she gets to work with). Her background includes work in adoption disclosure as well as various facets of housing.
Friends of the Board:
Adam Busch is the Harm Reduction Coordinator for Gay Youth and Men with the AIDS Committee of Toronto. Adam recruits, trains and coordinates peer workers delivering harm reduction-based outreach in bars, bathhouses, and Toronto's gay party scene with a focus on reducing the spread of HIV and STIs related to substance use and sexual risk-taking. Adam is also the coordinator of Supporting Our Youth's group Essence, that helps LGBT youth connect with affirming and sex positive spiritual practices. Adam completed his MSW at York University.
Peter Leslie worked with the Task Force to help develop and deliver the successful Overdose Prevention workshops in 2007. As a trained paramedic and drug user, Peter helped infuse the education with a high level of professionalism and medical information. Peter has worked with the Task Force in several projects since as a peer worker, organizer and representative.
Peter Markwell graduated from George Brown College Human Services Counselor program in 1999 and is currently is the Harm Reduction Worker for John Howard Society of Toronto. He work includes counseling with inmates at the Toronto Jail, outreach and providing both individual and group counseling. He is involved in the Safer Crack Use Coalition, the Toronto Drug Strategy and is active in promoting harm reduction as a sensible measure to reduce the harms of substance mis-use.
Ruth Yeoman works for the City of Toronto needle exchange The Works. As an educator and advocate for drug users, Ruth worked with the Task Force to develop and deliver the Overdose Prevention workshops that were so successful with users in 2007.