meet the SHA Team

Gwen Kavanagh, Chair of Barrie CARP and Surrounding Areas Chapter since 2008, leader in initiating the Senior Community Fund to assist Seniors living at or below the poverty line and leader and initiator of the Senior Housing Alliance "Creative Options for Aging Well". Member of the City of Barrie Seniors and Accessibility Committee, Member of the County of Simcoe Age-Friendly Committee and Member of Torstar Barrie Advisory Committee. Our Chapter is also a Member of the Barrie Chamber of Commerce. 

Leo Brooks is a retired Canadian Armed Forces Army Logistics Officer with 35 years international and operational experience.  He has extensive experience in leadership, managerial, organizational and planning skills.  He is the President and Director Advocacy for the National Association of Federal Retirees (NAFR) Huronia Branch ON35. NAFR has a proud history of protecting pensioners’ interests, seeking improvements to their benefits, and participating in the development of social policies for all seniors. He is also a board member of the CARP Barrie Chapter and a core member of the Seniors Housing Alliance for Simcoe County. His interest is to address the seniors’ housing crisis in Simcoe County and to a greater extent the Province of Ontario by addressing all the aspects associated with various co-housing solutions. 

Marshall Green is a retired lawyer. He was a founding partner of the Barrie, Ontario law firm of Graham, Wilson and Green, which grew from a three-lawyer firm in 1975 to 35 lawyers serving five centres in Simcoe County, as “HGR Graham Partners”.   After 41 years, and ready for something different, he left the firm to help set up a legal department for the County of Simcoe.

Since coming to Barrie in 1973, Marshall has served as the President of the Greater Barrie Chamber of Commerce, a director and president of the Rotary Club of Barrie, and a founder and past president of the Am Shalom Synagogue. He has served twice on fundraising campaigns for the Royal Victoria Hospital (now the Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre) seeing that institution move to hugely expanded facilities, and develop a regional cancer care facility, cardiac facility and youth mental health services.  He chaired the fundraising campaign for an expansion of the Barrie YMCA (now the YMCA of Simcoe-Muskoka).  He co-chaired the fundraising campaign for the hugely expanded Barrie Public Library.  When that institution moved out of its old building, he assisted in the fundraising to turn the former library building into the MacLaren Art Centre.   He served for fifteen years as a board member of Theatre by the Bay, Barrie’s first professional theatre group.  Marshall sits on the Executive Board of the Barrie Community Foundation as its past Chairman. Marshall has always felt compelled to give back to the community which has given so much to him and his family.  Even in retirement he continues to work tirelessly for organizations that do vital work to make the Barrie and area better.

Martin is a part-time professor at Saint Paul University (federated with the University of Ottawa) - teaching in three departments: The Élisabeth Bruyère School of Social Innovation, The School of Social Communication, and The School of Conflict Studies. Additionally, Martin also teaches Organisational Behaviour at Conestoga College to Aviation and to Business students. Martin’s courses are designed so that students work directly with community groups with an emphasis on ethics and on practical solutions that can be measured and reproduced across numerous disciplines and communities. Many of Martin’s initiatives and programs champion an intergenerational approach that creates bridges to bring different generations to work together.

Martin is dedicated to research and practical project design, implementation, and evaluation that addresses wicked and urgent community issues – especially social isolation, and housing and food insecurity. Martin’s focus in on improving the quality of life for all members of our communities - including seniors, students, and newcomers.

Martin serves on the Board of Directors of Barrie CARP and Surrounding Areas, is a founding member of the Seniors Housing Alliance – Simcoe County, and is a research affiliate at the Cultural Policy Network of the University of Ottawa