Staff and Board

General Rick Hillier joined the Canadian Forces in 1973. He then had a long career as a commanding officer. In 2000, he took command of NATO’s Stabilization Forces in Bosnia-Herzegovina. In 2003, he was appointed as Commander of the Army and of the NATO-led ISAF inKabul, Afghanistan, and promoted to his present rank and as the Chief of the Defence Staff in 2005. He retired in 2008.

Credit: National Speakers Bureau

Carolyn Patton is a Creative Strategist with Patton Communications and her expertise in merging creative thinking with strategic communications is sought after in both the private and public sectors. She has advanced the creative offerings of multiple corporations in Canada and Europe.
A granddaughter of a Great War veteran, she is honoured to serve with the Vimy Foundation. Carolyn is a recipient of the Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteers.

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Christopher Shannon has been a board member since the establishment of the Vimy Foundation. He chairs the foundation’s Education Committee. Mr. Shannon has had a distinguished career in education. Since 1999 he has led two of Quebec’s top independent schools - Lower Canada College (LCC) and StansteadCollege.  He believes deeply in connecting youth and the broader Canadian population to the importance of Canada’s WWI legacy.

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Andrew Beckett CD MD MSc FRCSC FACS is a Lieutenant-Colonel in the Royal Canadian Medical Services, where he serves as a trauma surgeon and critical care physician.  He has served on multiple military missions overseas, including in the former Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Africa and Iraq.  He is currently the chief of general surgery for the Canadian Forces, and the trauma advisor to the Surgeon General.

An entrepreneur and a native of Lachine, Québec, Mark Cahill has been a passionate collector of First World War Canadiana for over thirty years. In 2014, he founded the Canadian Centre for the Great War, a heritage organisation dedicated to telling Canada's First World War story through the eyes of those who lived it. Mark served as Chair of the Board until 2020 and now sits on the Heritage Committee as an advisor.

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Steve Desgagne is Vice-President, Human Resources & Communications and Chief Human Resources Officer for Saint-Gobain Canada.  He has a proven track-record of outstanding achievements in leading change and implementing comprehensive programs in large organizations. Prior to joining Saint-Gobain, he was Vice-President, Human Resources at Maple Leaf Foods Inc. and held progressively senior leadership roles at Bell. He holds an MBA from UQAM.

Born in Montreal, Dan joined the Canadian Forces in 1998 and graduated in 2002 in civil engineering. Over the next 8 years, Dan deployed to Afghanistan and Sudan. Between 2010 and 2019, he completed his MBA and deployed with the UN as well as on several domestic operations. Dan now works with WSP Canada. He is also the Commanding Officer of 34 Combat Engineer Regiment.

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Daniel Frajman is a partner at the Montreal law firm of Spiegel Sohmer Attorneys, where he has practiced since 1995 in the areas of not-for-profit/charity law, trusts,estates and estate planning, and in commercial law.  Daniel serves on several community boards and committees, is a past president of the Montreal branch of STEP, guest lectures at McGill University and enjoys speaking and writing in his field.

Originally from Stellarton, Nova Scotia, Rob graduated from the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC) and served for 20 years in the Royal Canadian Navy. His service was highlighted by a deployment to the Persian Gulf, participating in numerous domestic operations, and as an associate professor of psychology and leadership at RMC. Rob holds master’s degrees in industrial/organizational psychology and business administration from Saint Mary’s University in Halifax. Since retiring from the Canadian Armed Forces, Rob moved to Toronto with his family and has undertaken several entrepreneurial endeavours, including his current venture as the CEO of FOCI, an organizational development consulting firm. He is very active in supporting veterans in their transition from military to civilian life.

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Geoff grew up in Smith’s Cove, N.S. and now lives in Halifax.  He has enjoyed a 25-year career in the international seafood industry and has been Executive Director of the Lobster Council of Canada since inception in 2010. Geoff studied Military History at Acadia University. He has been a Governor of the Army Museum, Halifax Citadel and a member of the Canadian Forces Liaison Council in Halifax.

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A seasoned professional, with over 27 years of federal public service, in operations, heritage, Indigenous affairs, science and innovation and international portfolios with Parks Canada, the Canadian Space Agency, Global Affairs and Environment and Climate Change Canada. A graduate of both Concordia and McGill universities, Lauren has been instrumental in three major legislative projects including the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, the Species at Risk Act, and the Remote Sensing Space Systems Act. Lauren also proudly serves as a Reservist with the Royal Canadian Navy, HMCS Radisson in Trois-Rivières, Quebec and is a recipient of Concordia University Alumna of the Year Award, the Queen Elizabeth ll Diamond Jubilee Medal and the Governor General's Caring Canadian Award (Sovereign’s Medal)

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For more than 40 years, Angus Watt has served clients and the community as founding partner of the well-regarded Angus Watt Advisory Group, and Senior Wealth Advisor with National Bank Financial. Angus is a trusted specialist in Wealth Management and Portfolio Strategy. A dedicated and passionate community builder, Angus has founded, led or co-led dozens of major community initiatives, including the most recent Cross Cancer Institute fundraising campaign that raised over $30 million. Angus also served as an Honorary Colonel for the South Alberta Light Horse Regiment.

In 2023, Angus was inducted as a member into the Alberta Order of Excellence and inducted as a laureate into the Junior Achievement Business Hall of Fame. He is a past recipient of the “Paul Harris Fellow,” awarded by the Rotary Club of Canada. In 2012, Angus received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal and in 2023 he received the Queen Elizabeth Platinum Jubilee Medal.

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Deborah Wolfe, P.Eng., is a civil engineer licensed in the province of Ontario and is a former Military Engineer having served with the Canadian Armed Forces.

Today, she is the Executive Director, National Committee on Accreditation and Law Schools Programs with the Federation of Law Societies of Canada. Ms. Wolfe also leads the process to approve Canadian common law, law school programs.