Who We Are

Board Of Directors

The RCA Board of Directors’ role is to govern RCA by providing leadership and direction in the pursuit of its vision and mission. The Board is elected by the membership of RCA and is accountable to the membership for competent stewardship that will ensure the long-term viability of RCA. The Board of Directors’ first duty is to the legal entity CARA. In meeting this duty the Board must ensure that all legal requirements under the relevant Acts are met and that CARA is protected from harmful situations and circumstances in the interests of current and future stakeholders. For more information on the Board’s role, please see the RCA Governance Policy.

Meeting Minutes

• Carol Purcer

  President

  Carol Purcer is a volunteer who is passionate about growing the sport of rowing.  Her involvement spans twenty years of volunteering as an RCA Umpire, committee member of a number of provincial and national committees and serving as a leader on the St. Catharines Rowing Club Recreational Rowing Board, as Vice President – Events for ROWONTARIO and as President of Canadian Secondary Schools Rowing Association (CSSRA).  She was Chair of the Royal Canadian Henley Regatta for seven years and has also chaired the CSSRA Championship Regatta. 

  Carol has an educational background in sport, a Masters of Education in Organizational Studies and is in her eleventh year as a secondary school principal.  She has had opportunities over many years that have  allowed her to develop skills in communication, organization, planning and preparation, social skills, conflict resolution, as well as problem solving to continuously encourage change for improvement, all skills that would serve her well in the role of Provincial Director.

  Carol’s vision as Provincial Director is to use these skills to deeply understand the varied provincial needs and develop a plan to support the provinces as a strong voice a strong voice at the RCA Board table.  Her view is that one size doesn’t fit all and finding differentiated pathways to success will help each province grow rowing and therefore grow rowing across the country.

  president@rowingcanada.org

  

  Carol Purcer

  Carol Purcer

  President

• Carol Hermansen

  Provincial Director

  Prior to her appointment to the RCA Board as Provincial Director, Carol was a member of the RCA Board as President of the Alberta Rowing Association and the RCA Provincial Relations Advisory Council. Carol has also served as President of the Calgary Rowing Club, Vice President of the Calgary Booster Club and is a founding member of the Calgary Chapter for Cycling without Age.

  

  Carol Hermansen

  Carol Hermansen

  Provincial Director

• Heather Holden

  Director

  Heather has worked in the capital markets since 2008 and is currently a discretionary portfolio manager at the Swiss bank UBS where she has built her own wealth management book of business. Prior to this, she spent ten years in science and technology working internationally. She was a professor of remote sensing at the National University of Singapore.

  Heather has served on Boards since 2005 including being elected municipally as Chair of the Vancouver Park Board. Since then, her Board experience ranges from Crown Corporations to Colleges to large and small not for profits.

  She recently graduated from the Institute of Corporate Directors governance course conducted through the University of Toronto for the ICD.D designation.

  In addition to RCA, she currently sits on the Boards of Sport BC, the YMCA of Greater Vancouver Foundation, and the 2010 Olympic Games Operating Trust.

  Heather’s been rowing since 1988, first at Mercyhurst College, then Brockville Rowing Club followed by Waterloo during her graduate studies, and now as a masters competitor with Vancouver Rowing Club and False Creek Rowing Club.

  

  Heather Holden

  Heather Holden

  Director

• Jennifer Walinga

  Director

  Dr. Jennifer Walinga, a professor and consultant based in Victoria BC, has enjoyed a successful and wide ranging career in sport and education. She began as a multi sport athlete and gradually focused on rowing under the fortunate tutelage of Carol Love.  A two-time Olympian in rowing, Walinga was a member of Canada’s Commonwealth (1986), World (1991), and Olympic champion fours and eights, and, in 2013, was inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame along with her extraordinary crew.

  She has been an educator and consultant for 30 years in all areas of communication including digital communications, branding, organization and culture development, stakeholder engagement, and strategic planning. She earned her PhD in Organizational Studies from the University of Victoria, where she developed an award-winning problem-solving intervention called Integrated Focus and now consults to organizations from a variety of realms including health, sport, media, education, government, and private industries.

  She holds a particular passion for the ideals of sport believing strongly in the Olympic values and the positive power of sport to transform and inspire communities. The experience she gained training and competing at an elite level forms the basis for her research and practice which includes cultural development in organizations, optimal human and team performance, women in leadership, and promoting values through sport. She is a mother of three and, along with her husband Craig White, is an active member of the athletic and educational communities in Victoria, BC.

  

  Jennifer Walinga

  Jennifer Walinga

  Director

• Marisha Roman

  Director

  Marisha Roman is a lawyer, adjudicator, workplace investigator and a competitive Masters rower with the Argonaut Rowing Club and the Toronto Sculling Club. She was appointed as an adjudicator with the Child and Family Services Review Board in 2016. She focuses her private practice on investigating complaints in the post-secondary sector.

  From 2004 to 2016, Marisha was the Aboriginal Initiatives and Policy Counsel for the Law Society of Upper Canada, the regulator for lawyers and paralegals in Ontario. There, she worked directly with its board of governors in strategic policy development.

  Marisha is an active volunteer with extensive not-for-profit board experience. She has served on the Aboriginal Legal Services (ALS) board for more than 20 years and has held positions of president and treasurer. She also volunteers with the ALS Community Council Program, a criminal offence diversion program. She supports community-level and elite athletics in Ontario as the City of Toronto appointee to the Pan Am-ParaPan Am Legacy Fund Allocation Committee, which oversees facility compliance with the tri-level government funding model.

  Marisha holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature and Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Toronto, where she also competed in Varsity swimming and rowing.

  

  Marisha Roman

  Marisha Roman

  Director

• Peter McClelland

  Athlete Director

  Peter’s  experience as a competitive rower over a decade culminated in being one of the travelling spares for the 2012 Olympics. He first began rowing as a novice at Western University, where he progressed to eventually become a provincial and national champion. He then moved on to the University of Cambridge where he competed in and won The Boat Race in 2010. Finally, he joined the RCA National Team full-time just after returning to Canada in 2010 where he medaled at the 2011 Pan American Games, was a spare at the 2012 Olympics, and won a bronze medal at the 2012 World Championships in the coxed pair.

  After retiring from rowing in 2012, Peter moved back to Toronto and entered the field of finance and spent his first two and a half years in investment banking with Scotiabank, covering large consumer product and retail companies across North America.  He now works for OMERS (the Ontario Municipal Employee Retirement System) in their private equity group.

  Peter has always been involved on the leadership front as well. While at Western, he was captain of the team and President of the student executive committee that oversaw all operations of the team. Since leaving Western, he has also been a part of the Western Rowing alumni association, acting as its President for the last seven years.

  

  Peter McClelland

  Peter McClelland

  Athlete Director

• Thomas Hawker

  Director - Treasurer

  Tom Hawker started rowing for recreation with his daughters  in 2002_ and has gone on to compete in local and international regattas.

  Tom completed his economics degree at the University of Victoria, obtained his CA designation in 1983, and has been a partner with Field & Company since 1990 and works with family-owned businesses and entrepreneurs.

  In addition to his volunteer work with RCA, Tom gives his time to a number of community organizations and has been a long-serving member of the Camosun College Foundation Board of Directors.

  

  Thomas Hawker

  Thomas Hawker

  Director - Treasurer

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• Terry Dillon

  Chief Executive Officer

  Terry is responsible for the operations of RCA and the fulfilment of RCA’s operational and strategic priorities. As CEO, he has responsibility for administration, planning, financial management, communications, partner relations, and all programs of RCA. He works closely with the Board of Directors in fulfilling their governance role, as well as standing committees, operating committees, staff and key volunteers to achieve Rowing Canada Aviron’s goals.  

• Iain Brambell

  High Performance Director

  Iain is responsible for developing, leading and executing the vision for RCA’s high performance strategy and National Team (Senior, U23, Junior, Para) programs and for the daily management of all high performance competition and support programs leading to sustainable medal performances at World Championships and Olympic/Paralympic Games. He is responsible for the overall leadership of the National Training Centre and National Team programs, camps and competition. He provides leadership and direction to a team of coaches, sport science/medical practitioners, and RCA administrative staff. Working closely with the Director Coach and Athlete Pathways, he monitors and supports sound execution, delivery and accountability of the high performance pathway. 

• Jennifer Fitzpatrick

  Director of Partnerships and Sport Development

  Jennifer is responsible for developing and executing the strategic planning and implementation of domestic operations. This includes providing direction for the implementation of Coach, Umpire, Member Services and Engagement initiatives. Jennifer also oversees the Marketing and Communications strategy for the promotion of rowing in Canada. Jennifer works with government, corporate and community partners, member clubs and associations to increase inclusiveness, develop awareness of and increase participation in rowing across Canada.  

• Adam Parfitt

  Director, Coach and Athlete Pathways

  Adam is responsible for the effective alignment, development and delivery of the coach and athlete high performance pathway through RCA’s NextGen strategy. He works within RCA High Performance Program overseeing NextGen staff, and their relationships with HUB partners and Provincial Rowing Associations to ensure collaboration and engagement around a common strategy of plans and activities. In Adam’s role he oversees the NextGen Strategy, including Talent ID programs, NextGen HUBs and Provincial Rowing Association engagement strategies.  

• Kim Bell

  Manager, Finance and Human Resources

  Kim is responsible for implementing, evaluating and maintaining systems and processes of financial management and human resources and works in close collaboration with the Treasurer.    Kim is responsible for developing financial, budget and investment controls and reporting; directing effective and efficient office, human resource and administrative procedures and standards; managing benefit and insurance programs and contracts/leases of the organization and, ensuring adherence to all applicable regulatory requirements.   

• Michelle Boss

  High Performance Coordinator

  Michelle provides coordination, administration, facility management and operations support to the Rowing Canada Aviron High Performance rowing program and the National Training Centre. Michelle also works closely with the NextGen Program Coordinator in the development of event specific plans for National Team events and camps.  

• Lindsey Brown

  NextGen Program Coordinator

  Lindsey provides coordination, administrative and relationship support to the NextGen initiative. In her role Lindsey is also responsible for RCA’s outfitting of National Team Programs and she works closely with the High Performance Coordinator in the development of event specific plans for National Team events and camps.  

• Colleen Coderre

  Communications Lead

  Colleen is responsible for planning and execution of the Marketing and Communications strategy for the promotion of rowing in Canada and the promotion of our National Teams. Colleen is responsible for leveraging communication activities to enhance the growing presence of the sport in the media and the rowing community.  

• Kayla Cornale

  NextGen Para Rowing Lead

  Kayla directs the planning, implementation and operation of the Next Gen Para-Rowing Program and its integration with RCA’s High Performance program. Kayla is responsible for establishing the Para-Rowing Development Pathway and the implementation of an innovative program. 

• Matt Draper

  High Performance Manager

  Matt is responsible for the general administration of the RCA High Performance and National Team program and the logistical coordination of the Sport Science and Sport Medicine team. 

• Chuck McDiarmid

  NextGen Program Lead Coach

  Chuck is responsible for the development and implementation of RCA’s NextGen strategy. Chuck works collaboratively with RCA’s Director of Coach and Athlete Pathways, corporate and government partners, member clubs and associations, and other RCA staff, to identify and support athletes with potential to represent Canada internationally.  

• Stephen McMurray

  Member Services Administrator

  Stephen is responsible for providing administrative support for member services and sport development operations. Working closely with RCA staff, service providers and members of the rowing community, Stephen oversees and provides support for RCA’s event management and participant registration databases and procedures. Stephen also supports Sport Participation projects that help grow awareness and increase participation in rowing in Canada.

• Colleen Miller

  Manager of Coach Education and Development

  Colleen is responsible for the development and delivery of the NCCP coach education and certification programs and the implementation of RCA’s mentoring and professional development programs. Colleen works collaboratively with RCA’s Coach Education Development Committee (CEDC), Director of Partnerships and Sport Development, Director Coach and Athlete Pathways, High Performance Director, and the Provincial Rowing Associations (PRA’s).

• Sid Murdoch

  Secretary

  Sid’s duties include general office administration, web registration system administration including assisting participants and clubs with accounts, programs and reports. Members should contact Sid with general questions regarding insurance and insurance incidents. He also provides support to a number of committees including the Provincial Advisory Council and the RCA Board of Directors and he organizes the Annual and Semi-Annual Meetings.