The Giles School Board of Directors

Ruth M. Corbin, Chairman

Dr. Ruth M. Corbin is Managing Partner and CEO of CorbinPartners Inc, a marketing science firm specializing in intellectual property measurement and valuation. She is also an Adjunct Professor at Osgoode Hall Law School, and formerly an Adjunct Professor of Marketing in the Rotman School of Business. Dr Corbin's prior career includes executive positions in the financial services and telecommunications industries, and advisory positions with the Government of Canada. She has been a member of the Boards of Directors of Toronto Hydro, MDS Health, Journey's End Hotels, Trimark Financial Management, Angus Reid Group, Toronto Dance Theatre, Royal Conservatory of Music, Saint Elizabeth Health Care, Kroll Canada, and Canadian Mothercraft Society.

Dr Corbin's educational background includes Masters of Science and Ph.D. Degrees in Psychology from McGill University, Montreal Quebec, the LL.M. degree from Osgoode Hall Law School, Toronto Ontario and the Director's Education Diploma from the Institute of Corporate Directors and the Rotman School of Business, Toronto Ontario.

Dr Corbin has appeared as an expert witness, mediator and arbitrator in wide-ranging cases for federal and provincial courts and regulators. She is author of several scholarly books and publications, and appears frequently as a speaker on business issues and social trends. Dr Corbin has been named by the Globe and Mail and the Women's Executive Network as one of Canada's Top 100 Women, in the category of Trailblazers and Trendsetters, for her work in forensic market research. She has been named for the past six years in the directory Women in the Lead published by University of Western Ontario, and in the directory of Who's Who in Canada.

Dr. Corbin has been on the Giles School Board of Directors since 2009 and serves as the Chairman.

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Kemp Rickett, Vice-Chairman

Kemp Rickett is a leading educator in North America, Great Britain, Europe and South East Asia. As a teacher and principal in publicly funded schools for 32 years he has administrative experience in both elementary and secondary schools as well as dual track French Immersion, Inner City Project and Alternative schools. As Principal of Dundas PS Mr. Rickett was a recipient of the Ministry of Education "Exemplary Practices in Integration" award. Most recently he served as Director of Education, B and B International (Korean ESL Academies) in Toronto where he was responsible for all facets of the operation of the schools.

Mr. Rickett's publications include a teacher education book entitled ‘Perspectives on Small Group Learning - Theory and Practice’, a six part series of ESL textbooks and many newspaper and magazine articles. He has been the keynote speaker at numerous international conferences in Canada, USA, Europe and South East Asia, focusing on educational administration, curriculum development and effective pedagogy.

Mr. Rickett's community involvement includes a diverse list of youth at risk, athletic, native, food bank and legal aid associations where he has served as founding member, chairman, member of the Board of Directors or Executive Director.

Mr. Rickett holds a Master of Education from the University of Toronto, Toronto Ontario and a Bachelor of Art (Honors) from Wilfred Laurier University, Waterloo Ontario. In addition to Teacher Qualifications he has certificates in Principals I, Principals II and Supervisory Officers Certification from the Ontario Ministry of Education.

Mr. Rickett has served as the Vice-Chairman of the Giles School Board of Directors since 2007. In December 2007 he became Headmaster and now serves as an ex-officio Director.

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Sue Vijh, Secretary-Treasurer

Sue Vijh is an effective and passionate manager. She is a chartered accountant and the Deputy Headmaster, Administration at The Giles School. Prior to joining The Giles School in 2007, Ms. Vijh was the Director of Tax at Torstar. Throughout her career in finance and management she has worked in challenging environments with responsibilities across business units, reporting to both senior executives and external regulators, and has successfully lead her staff through tight, demanding deadlines.

Ms. Vijh is a parent of two children at The Giles School.

Ms. Vijh holds a degree in Administrative and Commercial Studies from the University of Western Ontario, London Ontario and a Diploma in Accounting from Wilfred Laurier University, Waterloo Ontario.

Ms. Vijh has served as Secretary-Treasurer of the Board of Directors since 2007 and is an ex-officio Director.

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Ramsay Cook, Co-Chairman Curriculum Committee

Dr. G. Ramsay Cook is Professor Emeritus, York University, Toronto Ontario where he taught the History of Canada from 1969 until 1995. He began his career at the University of Toronto, Toronto Ontario in 1958. His teaching responsibilities included both undergraduate and graduate students.

In 1968-69 he occupied the Mackenzie King Chair of Canadian Studies at Harvard University; in 1978-79 and again in 1996 he occupied the Bicentennial Chair of Canadian Studies at Yale University. He has lectured at many universities abroad including the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, the former Soviet Union, Israel, Japan, China and India. His special interests include intellectual and cultural history and the history of French Canada/Quebec.

Dr. Cook has published ten books including a high school text used in both English and French, a number of edited works and numerous scholarly articles. Between 1989 and 2005 he was General Editor of the Dictionary of Canadian Biography/Dictionnaire biographique du Canada; his responsibilities included fundraising and overseeing the creation of its on-line version (www.biographi.ca). He served as President of the Canadian Historical Association, board member and Acting President of the Associated Medical Services, member of the AGO Canadian Historical Art Curatorial Committee and treasurer of the Pelee Island Bird Observatory. Elected to the Royal Society of Canada in 1968, he was awarded that society's Tyrrell Medal in 1975. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1986, and in1994 he was appointed to the Japanese Order of the Sacred Treasure. In 1985 he won the Governor-General's prize for Non-Fiction and in 2005 he was awarded the Molson's Prize of the Canada Council for the Humanities and Social Sciences. In 1999-2000 he acted as Senior Historical Advisor for the CBC's Canada - A Peoples History TV series.

During the 1970s he served on an advisory committee of the Toronto Board of Education which recommended the establishment of French immersion programmes in the Toronto public school system.

Both of Dr. Cook's children graduated from the Toronto French School; his two grandchildren attend the Giles School.

Dr. Cook holds a B.A. (Manitoba), M.A. (Queen's), Ph.D (Toronto) and five honorary degrees.

Dr. Cook has been on The Giles School Board of Directors since 2009.

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Vera J. Frantisak, Chairman Succession and Nominating Committee

Vera Frantisak is a Client Executive with IBM Canada Ltd. She has worked in the IT industry for 20 years and has over 10 years of management experience. Through diverse roles in management, sales, consulting and operations she has developed strengths in issues based consulting, managing and leading in both a traditional and matrix organization, strategy development and change management.

Ms. Frantisak's previous experience in the educational field includes many years of community work during which she taught English as a second language in the Ojibwa community in Toronto and computer skills to young girls to encourage them to continue their sciences education.

Ms. Frantisak's education includes a Master of Business Administration from the Schulich School of Business, York University, Toronto Ontario and a Bachelor of Applied Science in Engineering Chemistry from Queen's University, Kingston Ontario.

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Soheir Gharghouri, Co-Chairman Curriculum Committee

Soheir Gharghouri holds a BA and an MA degree in French Language and Literature from the University of Toronto, Toronto Ontario as well as a B. Ed from the same University.

At the start of her long career in education, Ms. Gharghouri taught French to groups of adults. She was then recruited by Harry Giles to teach at the Elementary Level at The Toronto French School and later moved to the High School section. After teaching French for several years and holding the position of Head of the French Department, Ms. Gharghouri was appointed Vice-Principal of the High School and ended her career at the Toronto French School as Principal of the High School.

Throughout her career, Ms. Gharghouri believed in broadening the students experience in life. She helped and encouraged students to organize Fundraising activities for the School as well as for outside organizations including Street Kids International and the Food Bank. Ms. Gharghouri also believed that students learning should go beyond classroom instruction. Together with some of her colleagues, she organized and accompanied students on ski trips, as well as guided tours to France and Egypt and established an Exchange Program for students with schools in France.

Even after her retirement a few years ago, Ms. Gharghouri remains interested in student education and the development of students into well rounded, independent individuals.

Ms. Gharghouri has been on the Giles School Board of Directors since 2009.

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William (Harry) H. Giles, Honorary Director and Educational Advisor

Harry Giles is a pioneer in education and is regarded as one of the most influential educators in Canada. He established the prestigious pre-university competitions, Chemistry and Physics Olympiads, and started the first GCE Ordinary ("O") & Advanced ("A") examination centre in Canada. He assisted in the creation of the International Baccalaureate and established the first examination centre of the International Baccalaureate in Canada. Mr. Giles has participated actively in worldwide educational communities including representing Canada at the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th International Curriculum Conferences.

As founder and, for twenty-five years, headmaster of the Toronto French School, Mr. Giles introduced immersion bilingual education in Canada, and helped promote it across the country. He also introduced and implemented the first early intervention programmes in Canadian schools. The results of the students at that time were unrivalled, indicating the staggering potential of early education. His work continued at The Giles School as he has sought to change the educational system in Canada.

Mr. Giles is a Queen's Counsel. He holds both the Golden Jubilee and Commemorative medals and received membership in the Order of Canada in 1973 for his initiative in creating and directing the first private school in Toronto offering instruction in the French language.

Mr. Giles has also served as president of a chemical company, an economist in Canada and the Middle East and director of various public and private corporations. His publications include "Schools and Students: Legal Aspects of Administration" as well as poetry, a play and numerous articles in journals.

Mr. Giles has a Master of Education and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Toronto (Toronto, Ontario) as well as a Bachelor of Laws from Osgoode Hall (Toronto, Ontario).

Mr. Giles was the Director of Education at The Giles School until his retirement in 2010 and is now an honorary Director and educational advisor to the Board of Directors.

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Mary Louie

Mary Louie is a Category Manager with ConAgra Foods Inc where she develops sales and marketing strategies for a portfolio of widely recognized food brands and customers. Prior to joining ConAgra Foods in 2009, Ms. Louie held a variety of marketing and merchandising positions at international consumer packaged goods companies and national Canadian retailers.

Ms. Louie's education includes a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Toronto and a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Psychology from York University.

Ms. Louie has served on the Giles School Parent-Teacher Association since 2008, and has served as The Giles School Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) representative to the Board of Directors since 2010. Ms. Louie has one child at the School.

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Louis Sousa, Chairman Finance Committee

Louis Sousa is an Executive Consultant with IBM's Global Business Services where he focuses on helping organizations develop their Business aligned IT Strategies.

Mr. Sousa emigrated at a young age from Portugal and holds a Master of Engineering degree from University of Toronto, Toronto Ontario and is a Professional Engineer in the Province of Ontario.

He started his career working as an Engineer on large scale construction projects in the Nuclear Industry which included stopping "flying volkswagons" and jet engines from damaging critical systems. Mr. Sousa's career quickly evolved into the area of Information Systems where he has held a number of senior and executive positions in Government and Private Sector. He has also held a number of positions involved in corporate financial management. In his last role prior to joining IBM he was the CIO with a Crown Corporation.

Mr. Sousa has been married to Sabine for 30 years and has 2 daughters. His eldest daughter has just begun her working career after completing her MBA at the University of Dalhousie and his youngest daughter is completing her undergraduate degree with plans to become a teacher.

Mr. Sousa has served on the Giles School Board of Directors since 2009.

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