Chairperson: Hon. Shawn Skinner, MHA
Vice-Chair:
Members of the Board: Brian Dobbin, Dr. John Fitzgerald, Maureen Foley, Susan Knight, Bill Mahoney, Patrick O’Callaghan, Dr. Pat Parfrey, Adele Poynter, Keith Stoodley, Brent Meade (Ex-officio)

Biographies

Board

Shawn Skinner, Chairperson, Minister of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development and Minister responsible for the Rural Secretariat, MHA for St. John’s Centre. Born and raised in St. John's, Minister Skinner was elected as a Progressive Conservative Member of the House of Assembly in the 2003 General Election. Prior to entering provincial politics, he served as a Municipal Councilor (Ward II) in the City of St. John's. A proud graduate of both Holy Cross Junior High and Brother Rice High School, he attended Memorial University, Cabot College and St. Francis Xavier University earning a Diploma in Applied Arts and a Certificate in Adult Education. For 20 years, he worked in the field of Adult Education and Skills Training with Keyin College, St. John's campus. He served in the capacities of instructor, faculty supervisor, principal, and operator. Since 1998, he has held the Canadian Institute of Management's Professional Manager Designation which recognizes a combination of academic and professional work experience. Throughout his career, Mr. Skinner has actively been engaged in community service. He has served as a vice-president of the St. John's Boys and Girls Club, a member of the Royal St. John's Regatta Committee; the president of the Benevolent Irish Society, and a board member of Friends of Victoria Park. His volunteer work includes the Canadian Blood Services, the St. John's Canada Day Committee, and past chair of the CNIB Visions Luncheon. Mr. Skinner was appointed Parliamentary Assistant to the Premier on July 5, 2006. On January 19, 2007, he was appointed Minister of Human Resources, Labour and Employment and Minister responsible for Newfoundland and Labrador Housing.

Brian Dobbin began his business career in 1986 with Canadian Helicopter Corporation (CHC). Mr. Dobbin worked for three years as assistant to the chairman and then progressed to a variety of management positions with both CHC and N.D. Dobbin Limited. In 1995, He established Newfound Developers Group of Companies. With a collection of young professionals and a simple concept, the group moved forward to develop new industry in Newfoundland to add new revenue to the economy. Today, Newfound has ownership interests and management control of companies in the tourism/resort, real-estate development, international second home sales, marketing promotions, aquaculture, newspaper and hi-tech industries. In June 2004, Mr. Dobbin was awarded an "Atlantic Business Magazine Top 50 CEOs" award.

Maureen Foley has been a member of Tilting Recreation and Cultural Society for six years and has worked tirelessly towards realizing their vision for Tilting. She believes that by restoring and maintaining our fishery-related buildings and out-buildings, salt-box style homes, and by holding on to the ways of our Irish ancestors, the community can look forward to a bright future. Ms. Foley has been happily married to Philip for 17 years with one daughter, Siobhan.

Susan Knight is the founder and artistic director of the Newfoundland Symphony Youth Choir and FESTIVAL 500. An editor with Oxford University Press, Ms. Knight is active as a guest conductor, adjudicator, lecturer, clinician and advocate. She currently serves on the boards of Chorus America and the International Federation of Choral Music. Ms. Knight is a member of the Order of Canada, and was awarded an honourary doctorate from her alma mater, Memorial University, in 2004.

Bill Mahoney is the president/owner of Regal Realty Ltd., a St. John’s based commercial real estate company, the Murray Premises Hotel Inc., Community Properties Limited, and St. John’s Executive Suites. He is the former president of Community Cable Limited and Andromeda Cablevision. After serving for 26 years in the Air Force Reserves, Mr. Mahoney recently retired; however, he continues to be a member of many military and civic organizations. Currently, he is chairman of the St. John’s International Airport Authority, the Downtown Development Commission and the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary Historical Society as well as the St. John’s Rotary Club Sponsoring Committee for 508 Royal Canadian Air Cadet Squadron. He is also a director of the Canadian Corps of Commissionaires, John Howard Society, Community Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador and as well, is a member of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment Advisory Council and the Civil Air Search and Rescue Association. He has received the Canadian Forces Decoration; and in December 1995, Mr. Mahoney was invested as an Officer in the Order of Military Merit. He has been awarded a Paul Harris Fellowship by Rotary International and has received a Certificate of Honour from the Air Cadet League of Canada for his continued support of the Air Cadet Movement. Recently, he has been awarded the Newfoundland and Labrador Lung Association President’s Vote of Thanks Award.

Patrick O’Callaghan is a native of Ireland who has lived in Atlantic Canada for more than 30 years. He graduated in hotel management from St. Mary’s College, Dublin, in 1965 and has worked in the food service industry since that time. Prior to establishing East Coast Catering in 1984, Mr. O’Callaghan spent 20 years in the hotel industry working as food and beverage manager and subsequently general manager in five star hotels in Ireland, USA and Canada. Since 1984, he has directed his talents to providing excellence in catering, housekeeping and facilities management services to construction and mining sites in the North West Territories, British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and West Africa. Since 1984, he has also provided catering and hotel services to the majority of drilling rigs operating from Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. In 2000, he was successful in further expanding the company to Ireland.

Dr. Pat Parfrey is a university research professor at Memorial University, research chief of the Health Care Corporation of St. John’s, director of the Patient Research Centre, a staff nephrologist and clinical epidemiologist. He holds a CIHR-RPP Distinguished Scientist Award and has produced international quality research in several areas of clinical epidemiology. He received the Kidney Foundation of Canada Medal for Research Excellence in 2002 and was named an Officer to the Order of Canada in 2004. He is the past president of the Canadian Society of Nephrology, and author or co-author of over 200 papers and multiple book chapters. He has been a leader in the development of rugby both provincially and nationally. He is former head coach of the Canadian National Men’s Team, past president of Rugby Canada and a member of the board of Rugby Canada. In 2005, he coached the Newfoundland Rock Team to their first national senior men’s title. He has been instrumental in the development of high quality facilities for rugby in Newfoundland and Labrador and has a strong commitment to youth development.

Adele Poynteris is president of Baltic Services, a consulting company based in Newfoundland and Labrador, specializing in developing business strategies for government and the private sector. She holds a BSc (Hons.) degree from Memorial University and an M. Sc. from the University of Canterbury in New Zealand. Ms. Poynter has over 20 years experience in business and economic development in Newfoundland and Labrador, and worked in the private sector as well as with federal and provincial governments before starting Baltic Services. She has had extensive experience in Ireland, focusing on both strategy development based on the Irish model, and developing partnerships between Irish and local companies. She has been a member of the board of the Irish Newfoundland Association for the past four years. Ms. Poynter is a Newfoundlander who also holds Irish citizenship.

Keith Stoodley has over 25 years experience in ocean industries including fisheries, aquaculture, marine biotechnology and marine technology and has been actively involved in exporting to Ireland for over a decade. He is the sitting chairperson of a public-private partnership focused on the development of the ocean industry cluster in Newfoundland and Labrador. The initiative, known as Oceans Advance, is advocating the establishment of a western North Atlantic Ocean Observatory with linkages to Ireland. Mr. Stoodley was born in Grand Bank and educated at Memorial University and the University of British Columbia. He sits on a variety of provincial, regional and national boards including Memorial University’s Genesis Centre, the Atlantic Chamber of Commerce’s Innovation Council, and the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy. Mr. Stoodley has been a board member of the IBP since 1997 and has served as chair of the Environment Subcommittee (1997-2000) and chair of the Business Subcommittee (2002-2004).

Brent Meade (Ex-officio) has worked for the past 16 years throughout Newfoundland and Labrador. He has worked extensively in rural parts of the province, in areas such as fisheries adjustment programs, human resource development, community development, and cultural tourism development. He has held senior positions within the Department of Tourism, Culture and Recreation and Executive Council (Intergovernmental Affairs and Cabinet Secretariat) and with special assignments such as the Royal Commission on Renewing and Strengthening Our Place in Canada. He is currently the deputy minister for the Department of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development.

                                                                  Last updated: January 30, 2009