Rideauwood Team - Rideauwood

Rideauwood
Team

Board of Directors

Bruno Carchidi

Board Chair

Steve Bell

Past Chair

Colin Wiltshire

Treasurer

Martin Methot

Vice-Chair

Martin Thompson

Board Secretary

David Gascon

Vera Reifenstein

David Hesidence

Anderson Joyce

Nicole Poirer

Brenda Valente

Mary Donaghy

Senior Leaders

Johanne Levesque

Andrew Mendes

Our service delivery depends on the generosity of our donors.

We ask for your support, so we can reach more individuals and families to support them as they find answers for their substance use, behavioural addictions and mental health issues. Please consider financial donations, sponsorship or volunteering your time.

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Bruno Carchidi

Chair

“My family and friends are extremely important to me. I am grateful that Rideauwood is part of our community and is so deeply dedicated to supporting those in our community. I am honoured to be able to give back in ways that connect so well with my own values.”

Bruno is currently president of Tubman Funeral Homes. He is also Founding Chair of The Unforgettables Fund, active at Toastmasters and a board member of the Ottawa and District Funeral Service Association.

Colin Wiltshire

Tresurer

“I volunteer at Rideauwood because it is an organization that makes a difference. Beyond the statistics with evidence of support to individuals and families, I have heard grateful stories from clients that echo the excellent outcome experienced by one of my own relatives.”

Colin is a recently retired management consultant whose experience and qualifications include accounting, internal audit, fraud examinations and risk management. His 35 year career taught him that successful enterprises whether they are government, for profit or not-for-profit, are built on relationships. Rideauwood will continue to expand its many good relationships with support from Colin in maintaining strong financial stewardship and diligent management of risk.

Martin Methot

Vice-Chair

“Rideauwood is a wonderful institution that helped me on my own path to recovery. I have no doubt that it will continue to help many, many others now and in the years to come.”

Martin is a retired executive from Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada. He has several years of experience in the non-for-profit sector and brings to the Board a wide range of skills including fundraising, strategic planning and finance. He has been a volunteer since 2013.

Martin Thompson

“I am extremely thankful to my fellow Board Directors who over the years have selflessly given so much of their time, energy and expertise in ensuring that our organization continues to strive to provide the best treatment services and support for our community”

Rideauwood’s success as an organization over the years has been the result of collaboration and respect. I want to thank all of you: our staff, volunteers, contributors who are the lifeblood of Rideauwood. It has been an honour serving as a Director. I wish all of you continued health, success and happiness.

David Gascon

“I’ve had the opportunity to see how Rideauwood changes lives and couldn’t pass up the offer to be a part of its mission. Our clients show the Ottawa area every day that change and hope are possible.”

I’ve lived in Ottawa twenty years and have been involved with the high tech sector over the last nearly ten years. I believe that when a community can support each other’s health great things happen. I’m proud to have the chance to play a part in that at Rideauwood.

Vera Reifenstein

“I volunteer at Rideauwood because I am passionate about supporting an organization that helped me and my family through a very difficult time. I want to ensure it provides these critical services to others in the community.”

Vera Reifenstein is a passionate and experienced marketing, sales and management executive with 20 years of experience working in telecommunications and defense industries. She has led teams of marketing and product management professionals for the past 15 years managing large scale revenue targets and budgets. She currently works as a Sales and Marketing Director for Saab Canada, having previously worked as a Director of Marketing, Sales and Product Management at Cogeco Connexions, Bell Canada and BMT Fleet Technology.

David Hesidence

“I volunteer as a board member with Rideauwood, because I believe it is uniquely positioned and highly motivated to deliver the exact type of care and advocacy that is needed by those suffering with substance use and mental health issues and their loved ones.”

David is a member of the Senior management team at the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre
and a director of the Royal’s Pathways to Better Care program which has a LHIN-wide mandate on quality and process improvement across the mental health and addictions system.
David is also a part-time Associate with the Ottawa River Psychology Group providing psychotherapy for those with substance use and mental health issues and their families.

Anderson Joyce

“I have been active in the community health service sector both as a practising lawyer and as a volunteer. My interest in serving as a Rideauwood director is to provide my skills and experience on a voluntary basis and to learn more about the mental health and addiction field.”

Anderson is a retired lawyer having practised for 38 years with a major Ottawa law firm specializing in corporate/commercial law and not-for-profit law. On retirement David volunteered with Cuso International (formerly VSO Canada) with postings in Namibia, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Myanmar and lastly in Vancouver BC. During his time in Ottawa he has been active as a director on several not-for-profit corporations including Rideauwood.

Nicole Poirer

“I joined the Rideauwood Board because I have family members who have been affected by addictions. The cause is very close to my heart.”

Nicole is the founder of NP Consulting; a resume, recruitment and interviewing service firm. Her background includes Executive Search, Learning & Development and Operations. Prior to this, Nicole was the Vice-President and Shareholder of Renaud Foster Management Consultant which was purchased in 2014 by Odgers Berndtson.

Brenda Valente

“Through a professional acquaintance, I had the opportunity to join the Board to provide the knowledge and experience that I have obtained throughout my career as a professional accountant. It is a wonderful experience to be able to give back to a community that I grew up in.”

Since 1998, Brenda’s career has been in public accounting. Brenda obtained my Chartered Professional Accountant designation in 2001 and over the years, she has had the pleasure of helping not-for-profit organizations, small business and individuals in areas of assurance, business advisory and corporate and personal taxation.

Mary Donaghy

“My proudest moment was when we were able, as a Board, to finally transition to a new Executive Director and well position Rideauwood for the rapidly changing environment.”

During my 6 years on the Rideauwood Board of Directors, I was proud to hear of the many positive changes our organization was able to make in the lives of people struggling with substance abuse. The clients and their families are so well supported by Rideauwood.

Johanne Levesque

‘’I am deeply inspired by the courage and resilience of the people we serve and proud to be part of the team of dedicated Board members and compassionate clients that support them as they move forward in their journey and achieve their health and recovery goals’’.

Johanne is a health and social care leader whose commitment to improving the health and well-being of individuals and families in this community has served as a backdrop for her professional and volunteer activities for over thirty years. She has successfully delivered on diverse mandates and always with the same set of values – a systems thinker, focused on building compassionate, effective health care services that always put the needs of clients and families at the center.

Andrew Mendes

“My education, training and years of experience in the addictions and mental health sector have convinced me that there is a deep-seated and on-going need for the support that Rideauwood provides youth, young adults and adult in our community. I continue to be inspired by the passion, knowledge, skill and commitment of the leadership, board, clients, alumni and treatment team who I have the honour to work with on a daily basis.”

Andrew has been working in the Addictions and Mental Health sector for the past 15 years. His experiences in the UK and Portugal have not only given him a global view of the sector but have also given him an in-depth, first-hand understanding of how policy and legislation can create positive impacts for the community and also improve clinical practices. Andrew’s commitment to best practices are evident through the fostering of partnerships and collaborations that improve access and other services for the clients we serve.