ARCH Board of Directors
ARCH is guided by a dedicated and committed volunteer Board of Directors. ARCH’s Board of Directors is consumer-controlled and more than half are people with disabilities.
Peter Wells, Chair
Peter Wells was called to the Ontario Bar in 1978. He has an LL.B. from Queen’s University Faculty of Law and a B.Sc. (Hon. Chemistry, Mathematics) from Queen’s University, 1973. Peter has been a Partner with Lang Michener since 1981 and is certified by the Law Society of Upper Canada (the governing body for lawyers in Ontario) as a Specialist in Civil Litigation and Intellectual Property Law (Patents, Trade Marks, and Copyright).
Bonnie Quesnel, First Vice President
Bonnie has been the Chair of London´s Accessible Public Transit Service Advisory Committee for the past 3 years, a Board Member of the Community Care Access Center, 1997-present, the Chair of the Neighborhood Legal Services, January 2004 - present, and a Board Member of Neighborhood Legal Services October 2002- Present. She was also a Board Member before this term. Bonnie is the Vice-Chair of London´s Accessibility Advisory Committee, October 2002- present, the Chair of the Transportation Sub-Committee of the Accessibility Advisory Committee, February 2003- present, and a member of the Alternative Access Community Computer Lab Advisory Committee, October 2000 - present. She is also a member of the London Muscular Dystrophy Chapter. Bonnie was a previous Board member of ARCH.
On January 18, 2003, Bonnie received the Queen's Golden Jubilee Award and on September 30, 2003, she received an Ontario Volunteer Service Award.
Sharon Twilley, Second Vice-President
Native of Swan River, Manitoba. Graduate of Osgoode Hall Law School (‘78). Called to the Bar of Ontario on 1980. Currently Executive Director of Waterloo Region Community Legal Services, directing seven other staff of a general community legal clinic covering Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge and surrounding rural areas. Currently treasurer for Southwest region clinics’ learning funds, member of the Provincial Learning Advisory Committee (responsible for funding learning events organized by regions or other groupings of clinics and developing strategy to enhance learning in the clinic system) and member of regional Learning Committee and annual conference planning committee. Formerly a member of the Quality Assurance Advisory Committee.
Served from 2001 to 2007 as a member of the Board of the Canadian Down Syndrome Society. Previously a Board member of the (now-named) North Halton Association for Community Living, and the YWCA of Kitchener-Waterloo, and a member of the Social Resources Council for Waterloo Region. A parent of a daughter who lives with Down syndrome. Residing in Brookville, in Nassagaweya Township, Halton Region.
Monica Ackermann, Treasurer
Monica is a partner in the company Assistive Vocational Technology Associates (AVTA). AVTA provides job accommodation consultation services for people with disabilities. Monica has been working in the area of assistive technology and job accommodation for 20 years. Her specialty areas include; job accommodation, assistive technology, business and home computer applications and software accessibility. She is Professional Systems Design Engineer and member of the Professional Engineers of Ontario and the Canadian Association of Rehabilitation Professionals. She is currently a Masters Candidate in the York University Critical Disability Studies program doing research into Accessible Technology Infrastructures.
Gary Malkowski, Secretary
Gary Malkowski is Special Advisor to President, Public Affairs at The Canadian Hearing Society. Gary is also a part time Civic and World History teacher of deaf at the International Yeshivas High School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in Toronto. He was the world’s first elected culturally Deaf politician and the first Parliamentarian to use a signed language in the legislature. He is a provincially and nationally recognized leader in human rights, anti-discrimination, and deaf and disability advocacy work. Mr. Malkowski has served as an advisor and a presenter to a number of government, human rights and ombudsman organizations on issues related to anti-discrimination, anti-audism and anti-ableism guidelines, policy, legislation, and regulation developments.
During his term as MPP for York East (1990-1995), he was the Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Citizenship. He was also Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Education and Training. He served as a member on numerous Standing Committees, including Administration of Justice, Finance and Economic Affairs, Social Development, Resource Development, General Government and Public Accounts as well for the Select Committee on Confederation of Ontario. In 1994, he introduced a Private Member’s bill for the Ontarians with Disabilities Act. This action ultimately led to the introduction and implementation of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act of 2005.
Lucy Costa
Lucy Costa presently works as a systemic advocate in the Empowerment Council, an organization representing the client voice within CAMH. Her work primarily involves outreach, education and advocacy both to individuals using psychiatric services and the wider community with a particular focus on the dissemination of rights information “on the ground” to individuals within psychiatric facilities.
She is a former Board member of the Psychiatric Survivor Archives of Toronto and co-founder of the Mad Students Society, an advocacy and peer support group for students with psychiatric disabilities. She is currently a part-time student at York University. Her areas of interest includes, psychiatric survivor research, Mad identity politics, and in particular the utilization of litigation as a means to achieve the movement’s goals.
Rachelle Denny
Rachelle is a recent graduate of the University of Toronto with a Hons. B.A in English and Political Science. She is currently the Chair of Students for Barrier-free Access (SBA), a levy-funded, student-run organization that advocates for the rights of undergraduate and graduate students with a broad spectrum of visible and invisible disabilities on the U of T, St. George Campus. She would like to gain further understanding and volunteer experience in the areas of mental health, disability, equity and access. She hopes one day to return to an academic environment in the area of social services, research or law. Her other interests include: reading, writing, running and the performing arts.
John Feld
John Feld has been an activist in the disability rights movement since the late 1980s. In fact, one of his first jobs was with ARCH as Legal Communications Coordinator, where he edited ARCH*TYPE and ARCHAlert. He has worked for the Multiple Sclerosis Society, the Office of the Employment Equity Commissioner, and Transportation Action Now, where he served as Executive Director. John is the Founder of the Abilities Festival: a Celebration of Disability Arts and Culture, which has produced an art show by artists with disabilities. He wrote Oops! a satirical play which was performed at the Summerworks Theatre Festival. He sits on the board of Transportation Action Now! Which advocates for accessible transportation services for people with disabilities and seniors. John has been living with MS for nearly 25 years in Toronto. Please don't get the wrong idea from this biography. Feld is dedicated and has done some good work, but he's not a serious person; some would even call him a clown.
Marian MacGregor
Marian MacGregor graduated from the University of Windsor Law School and has been practising law in community legal clinics for the past 12 years. She has worked at several legal clinics in the Toronto area including Parkdale Community Legal Services and Neighbourhood Legal Services. Currently Marian is the Director of CLASP the student legal aid clinic at Osgoode Hall Law School. In addition to her responsibilities as Clinic Director she has also been appointed an Adjunct Facility Member and teaches for the faculty of law. Marian has previous experience as an executive member of the ARCH Board (2000-2002).
Ann Martindale
Ann was born in Toronto. She was diagnosed with Epilepsy at the age of 29 and diagnosed with Osteoarthritis in her mid-thirties.
Ann is currently serving as Epilepsy Toronto’s Representative on the Special Education Advisory Committee of the Toronto District School Board. She is also a member of the Arthritis Society’s Canadian Arthritis Patients Alliance (CAPA) and the AODA Alliance. She previously served on the board of directors of Epilepsy York Region for a period of 4 years ending in April of 1999. She is a Certified Health Care Aide but due to the physical limitations imposed by severe Osteoarthritis she is no longer able to work in that field.
Marianne Park
Ms. Marianne Park holds an MA in cultural/medical anthropology from the University of Tennessee. She is presently a guest instructor of Dynamics of Domestic Violence in the Basic Constable Program at the Ontario Police College.
She is the disability strategy co-ordinator for Neighbours Friends and Families imitative. She has worked in the violence against women field for over twenty years as a recovery/treatment group facilitator, trainer and researcher with a multitude of career accomplishments.
Marianne lives in Woodstock. She is vice chair of Echo-Improving Women’s Health in Ontario. She chairs the board for the Income Security Advocacy Centre a specialty clinic of Legal Aid Ontario dealing with poverty law, serves on the board for Assaulted Women’s Helpline.
Effie Prattas
Effie C. Prattas, B.Sc., LL.B. is a lawyer in private practice with the firm of Prattas & Prattas in Toronto. She is a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada, the Canadian Bar Association (Ontario Bar Association), the Toronto Lawyers Association, the Medico-Legal Society, and has been a past member of the Board of Governors of Toronto East General Hospital, the Equity Advisory Group of the Law Society of Upper Canada, and the Executive of the Women's Law Association of Ontario, Toronto. She has been involved with/active in the creation and organization of the Hellenic Hope Center for Persons with Special Needs here in Toronto. She has received an award from the Ontario Ministry of Culture & Communications and the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship in honour of her volunteer work.
John Rae
John Rae retired in 2005 after a 24-year career in the Ontario Public Service. He was an active member in his union, OPSEU , and served on Committees within the trade union movement with OPSEU, the OFL and CLC. As a retiree, he remains involved in OPSEU's Disability Rights Caucus. John Rae is currently active in a variety of human rights and disability rights organizations. He serves as 1st Vice President of the Alliance for Equality of Blind Canadians, 1st Vice Chair of the Council of Canadians With Disabilities, and is a member of the of the ODSP Action Coalition.
While most know John best as a disability rights activist, first and foremost he considers himself a human rights activist.
