Strategic Plan 2023-2026
We are pleased to present DeafBlind Ontario Services’ new three-year strategic plan.
As part of the process, we consulted with our partners, employees, and the individuals and families we support. We heard intervenors and direct support professionals speak passionately about the critical services they continued to provide for deafblind individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic and their concerns about the future of these services. We consulted with the families of people we serve to better understand their needs and how we can best support them. We spoke with external stakeholders to understand a different perspective, the view from the outside looking in.
This strategic plan provides the roadmap for acting on what we heard and continuing to deliver and enhance the services we know individuals who are deafblind, as well as those living with a developmental disability who are Deaf, hard of hearing or use non-traditional forms of communication require to lead healthy, safe, vibrant, LIMITLESS lives.
Click here to view our Strategic Plan 2023-2026
Click here to view our High Level Strategy Risk Report
Board of Directors
DeafBlind Ontario Services is governed by a volunteer board of directors, consisting of up to 10 members from various professional backgrounds across the province. Our board of directors is responsible for the long-term health of our organization ensuring our mission, vision, values and the individuals we support are always at the forefront of everything we do. Up to 4 of our board members are related to people we support.
The board’s primary responsibility is providing strategic leadership by setting direction, making policy and strategy decisions, overseeing and monitoring organizational performance, anticipating, mitigating and managing risks to the organization, ensuring prudent and proper management of the organization’s resources and has overall accountability.
Board of Directors
- Lise Gagnon – Chair
- Tiffany Barker – Vice Chair
- Rick Boychuk
- Raymond Coutu
- Kevin Daoust
- Joe Filippelli
- Kathryn Heier-Siemens
- Greg Paget
- Kathy Peters
- Sunny Shah
Board Committees
A Committee’s function is to bring experience, expertise and judgment. Its job is to assist the Board by considering matters in greater depth than would be possible by the whole Board. The Committee isolates key issues requiring Board consideration; proposes alternative actions; presents the implications and makes recommendations to the Board. The Committee cannot speak or act on behalf of the board. In addition, each Committee is responsible for developing and executing an annual board-approved work plan.
Governance and Human Resources Committee
Chair – Tiffany Barker
The Governance and Human Resources Committee develops and oversees the approach DeafBlind Ontario Services takes on matters of corporate governance and human resource policy and makes recommendations to the Board with respect to such matters.
Finance and Risk Committee
Chair: Greg Paget
The Finance and Risk Committee assists the Board of Directors in meeting its fiduciary oversight and related obligations in relation to financial management and reporting, risk identification and oversight and related matters to ensure DeafBlind Ontario Services is led and managed in the best interest of its mission.
Testimonials from DeafBlind Ontario Services’ Committee Members
“As I continue my role as a committee member, I look forward to continuing my journey of learning and advocacy within the DeafBlind Ontario Services community.” – Meerab Anwar
Read more about Meerab’s experience.
“It’s a high performance organization and has a well-defined mission that conveys the reason for the organization’s existence and inspires others like myself to join the cause.”
“Fully constructive dialogue which leads to conclusions, during the meeting, and then timely and complete follow-up with actions. I’ve done a huge amount of volunteer work in my careers, and have to say that this is probably the most effective group I have worked with…”
Recruitment for Board and Board Committee members is the responsibility of the Governance Committee. Interested applicants can download a volunteer application form and email [email protected] for consideration.
