Leah Vanderwey

Leah (she/her) retired two years ago after 33 years in education. She has worked for Lakehead Public Schools, three regional school boards, and the Ministry of Education in various roles, including teacher, principal, superintendent, Student Achievement Officer, and Thunder Bay regional manager for Field Services. Many of these roles allowed her to work with different staff and students across Northwestern Ontario. Those work opportunities provided Leah with not only a local perspective but a regional and provincial one. As a Trustee, she believes she can bring that breadth of knowledge as the elected board of trustees participates in making decisions that would benefit all schools and their communities. She remains committed to quality education and would love the opportunity to be a voice of education experience for the community at the trustee table.

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Kelly Fettes

Kelly Fettes aims to offer the fresh perspective of a community-minded parent with a goal to advocate for students actively and prepare them to thrive and grow. Her perspective is important in the quest to improve the school experience, making it work for all students, parents, teachers, and partners alike. Kelly has served on a number of volunteer boards, including Little Lions Waldorf Daycare, Leadership Thunder Bay, and most recently, the Thunder Bay Country Market. These commitments have included executive designations (President & Vice-President) and Director at large. She is an active volunteer who strives to improve this community, donating her time to several community initiatives. Currently, Kelly is employed as an Administrative Officer at Lakehead University, where she utilizes her superior skills in staff, client and stakeholder relationships and provides her expertise in administrative procedures and protocols.

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Ellen Chambers

Ellen has spent her entire career in education, beginning as an elementary teacher and then continuing in the classroom and special education. She was the president of the local Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) and an ETFO Provincial Executive Member. She advocated locally, provincially, and nationally for LGBTTQI+ students’ rights and safety. Ellen was on the Project Advisory Panel for the Egale First National Survey on Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia in Canadian Schools. She is co-chair of Diversity Thunder Bay (DTB), chair of DTB Education Committee, volunteer for Birds Canada, and a founding member and past co-chair of Thunder Pride. She is the recipient of the ETFO provincial Humanitarian Award, the ETFO President’s Award, the Thunder Bay Mayor’s Hero Award and the Thunder Pride Visionary Award. Her passion is education and children. Her love is her family and friends (and dogs and nature). She pledges to help whenever she can.

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Yuk-Sem Won

Yuk-Sem Won is a Labour Law litigator, Part-Time Faculty Member at Confederation College specializing in Business, and has a background in Education. She has raised her family, established her career and has over 30 years of volunteering and governance experience, including the Thunder Bay District Labour Council, TBay Business Women’s Network, Accueil francophone, TBay Chinese Canadian Association, and the Orange Abinoojiinh Movement for Residential School Survivors. She has never been able to ‘just wait’ for change to happen but chooses to invest time and energy to be a part of the change she wants to see. This is the foundation of her community leadership and interest in politics. As Neebing Ward Councillor, she wants to bring her experience, knowledge, and advocacy skills to city council. She appreciates the non-partisan structure of municipal politics, focusing on collaboration and respectful advocacy for the needs of the people, economic development and the community's well-being.

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