Governance

RUGBY CANADA BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Name	Title	Email	BIO
Sally Dennis	Chair	sdennis@rugby.ca	Sally is an experienced personal and business succession planning lawyer in Vancouver BC, and former general counsel of Intrawest. She has been a director of Rugby Canada since 2017 and, as chair of its governance committee, was one of the architects of its major governance reforms in 2019 and 2020. She is a director of the Lions Gate Hospital Foundation and chair of its planned giving committee, and a former director of the CKNW Kids’ Fund and of STEP (Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners) Canada and chair of its Vancouver branch. Sally holds law degrees from the Universities of Oxford, UBC and Victoria.
Steve Swaffield	Treasurer & Finance/Audit Committee Chair		Steve is an experienced business leader and financier, based in Vancouver, BC. Trained as an engineer, Steve worked as an investment banker for over twenty years with RBC and independently thereafter. He is currently Chair of the board of directors of CDEV, a Federal crown corporation, and sits on the board of Transmountain Corporation and Canada Hibernia Holdings. Steve has been a keen rugby player and supporter, representing Oxford University and Oman . Steve has a MA in Engineering Science and an MBA from INSEAD in France.
Maria Samson	Vice Chair		Maria is a seasoned negotiator with 15 years experience in the Oil and Gas industry and was one of Avenue Calgary’s 2015 Top 40 Under 40. She played for the McGill University Martlets while studying Engineering and has her MBA from Queen’s University. Maria represented Canada from 2011-2016, was the 2012 15s Player of the Year and is part of the 2014 Rugby World Cup Silver Medal winning team in the Rugby Canada Hall of Fame. Based in Calgary, AB, she is the head coach of the Mount Royal University Men’s Rugby Team and an active volunteer for the Calgary Saints Rugby Club. Maria has been on the Rugby Canada Board since 2017 and has chaired the Governance Committee since 2020.
Jim Logan	Director		James has been active in the Canadian banking industry for more than 25 years, and has spent the past 20 years working with mid-market businesses in either a senior or junior lending capacity. Since joining CIBC in 2004, James has held a series of increasingly senior roles and was most recently appointed Regional Vice President, CIBC Commercial Banking for the Province of Ontario in May 2013. He is a former director and treasurer of Rugby Ontario and has been a member of Rugby Canada’s Audit & Finance Committee since 2021. James holds both Bachelor of Arts (University of King’s College) and Master of Arts (Dalhousie University) degrees, and graduated with a Master of Business Administration from the Richard Ivey School of Business.
Phil Otto	Director		Phil is the CEO of Halifax-based branding agency Revolve and is named to Atlantic Canada’s Top 50 CEO Hall of Fame. He is Honorary Colonel of Canadian Airforce Base 12 Wing Shearwater; board chair of Hospice Halifax and Timberkids Charitable Foundation; and sits on the boards of Rugby Canada, AROI and Children’s Wish NS Chapter. Phil is past chair of the board of directors of the IWK Health Centre, Igility and Nova Scotia Hearing and Speech Foundation and has served on the board of directors of Mental Health Foundation, Strongest Families Institute and Nova Scotia Hearing and Speech Centres.
David Fortier	Director		David is the Co-Founder and Co-Executive Chairman of Boat Rocker Media, an international media company with over 850 employees with offices in seven international city centres. Prior to launching Boat Rocker Media, David was a lawyer in the Entertainment Group at Goodmans LLP. David was on the Board of Directors for Rugby Ontario 2016-2020 and served as a coach and an Executive Committee member of the Toronto City Youth Rugby Club 2014-2017. He was a member of the Rugby Canada Governance Review Taskforce 2018-2019 and is a current member of the Toronto Arrows Advisory Network. David holds a BA from McGill University and a JD from the University of Toronto.
Kathleen McGinn	Director		Kathleen is a professor of Governance & Ethics of Data Analytics at the Humber Business School in Toronto, teaches Business Ethics at the Rotman School of Management, and is currently the director of Trustlab, a research + consultancy firm focused on organizational trust. Kathleen is the former Chair of Rugby Ontario and served the board in several roles from 2017 to 2022. Previously, Kathleen co-founded and operated beerbistro – a foodservice enterprise, and established a charitable foundation dedicated to concussion injury recovery education. Kathleen is a former member of the Ottawa Banshees Rugby Club and the University of Ottawa Women’s Rugby Team.
Karen Paquin	Director		Karen has been representing Canada for the last decade and is a currently an active member of the National Senior Women’s 7s and 15s teams. Karen is from Quebec City, where she obtained her Chemical Engineering Degree from Université Laval. She was a member of the Rugby Canada Hall of Fame 2013 and 2014 Silver Medal Winning Teams at the 7s and 15s Rugby World Cups as well as a Bronze Medallist at the 2016 Rio Olympics and 2015 Rugby Canada 7s Player of the Year. Karen was named 2021 AthletesCAN Rep of the Year and prior to joining the Rugby Canada Board, was a member of the National Senior Women’s Players Committee for five years.
Sandy Donald	Director		Sandy Donald has over 45 years experience in rugby as a player, coach, official and administrator, which culminated in six years as president of Rugby Manitoba. Sandy is a great believer in grassroots and development rugby, and has a leadership style of open and honest dialogue. As a past organizer of the quarterly Provincial calls, Sandy has a deep understanding of the game across Canada. He is currently also involved as a World Rugby Match Commissioner where he can be seen pitch-side at the Canada 7s and occasional international match. Donald’s background in farming, finance and business management offers a wide spectrum of experience.
Lauren Wolman	Director		Dr. Lauren Wolman, Ph.D., is Social Innovation Research Manager at Centennial College and Director of Up & Under Consulting. Lauren’s sports leadership spans over 25 years, which includes research, advocacy, policy, governance, coaching and administration. Lauren holds a Ph.D. and Masters in Kinesiology and Health Science from York University in the field of sport development and inclusive practices. She has been instrumental in developing women and girl’s rugby programs both in Canada and the UK, and supports various sports organizations throughout Toronto aimed at increasing sport participation, particularly amongst equity-deserving groups. Lauren is member of Rugby Canada’s Governance Committee and this year, was critical in recommending to the Board the formation of the Ethics & Integrity Committee, which provides a multi-faceted ethical lens to assist Rugby Canada with the development of national policies and practices to help foster an environment of accountability, inclusion and safe spaces.
Jeff Hassler	Secretary	jhassler@rugby.ca	Jeff Hassler is an alumnus of Rugby Canada's Senior Men's 7's and 15's programs, having represented our country for the past 10 years. Since retiring from his professional rugby career, he has moved back to Victoria, BC, where he is now the Owner of an F45 Fitness studio, and commercial real estate broker with William Wright Commercial. In 2020, Jeff created the Canadian Rugby Players Association and was its inaugural Chair until 2021. Jeff has been on the Rugby Canada Board since 2020 and is a member of the Governance Committee.