Board of Directors
Jennifer Bazar
Jennifer Bazar is the Curator of the Lakeshore Grounds Interpretive Centre at Humber College's Lakeshore campus. Through exhibits, tours, and events, she aims to engage a public audience with the unique local histories of South Etobicoke. She is particularly committed to de-stigmatizing mental health care by contributing to open discussions about the history of institutionalization.
Jennifer completed her doctoral degree in the History and Theory of Psychology at York University where she specialized in the history of mental health institutions. Prior to beginning her position at the Interpretive Centre, Jennifer completed a postdoctoral fellowship with the Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care and the University of Toronto where she created the Remembering Oak Ridge Digital Archive and Exhibit. She serves as recording secretary for EHS Board meetings.
Laurence Dutil-Ricard
Laurence has always had a passion for history, as far as she can remember. First obtaining a law degree from Laval University in Quebec City, she decided to do something about that passion by studying for an MA in World History & Cultures at King's College London in the UK. When she moved to Toronto, she wanted to get involved in promoting and saving the heritage in this city. She ended up volunteering for the Etobicoke Historical Society and working for Historica Canada, before moving on to work for the Université de l'Ontario Français (UOF), a new French-language university in Toronto. Laurence has been a board member of the Etobicoke Historical Society since September 2018.
Phil Enros
Philip has been a member of the EHS since 2011. Over the years he has been involved in a number of its projects. He helped reorganize the Society’s archives and records, and continues to maintain them. He worked to update the Society’s by-laws. He helped with making the Society’s photo collection available online. And, most recently, he coordinated the publication of the Society’s book Glimpses into Etobicoke’s Past.
Philip brings to the Board a deep interest in history and several years of management experience in the public service. He is especially interested in the history of science and technology, having earned a PhD in this field from the University of Toronto. Philip has authored many scholarly articles and a book on aspects of the history of Canadian public policy for science. His career was in the federal public service. Upon retirement, he was director of science policy for Environment Canada.
James Geneau
James brings close to 25 years of sales and marketing expertise to the board at the Etobicoke Historical Society. Prior to joining the Etobicoke Historical Society, Mr. Geneau served as the volunteer marketing chair and a board member of the Enoch Turner Schoolhouse and was the President of the Etobicoke Historical Society from 2013 to 2017. He currently serves as the marketing advisor and responsible for digital programs for EHS.
Professionally, he is currently the Chief Marketing Officer at ATP, a global information services and software solutions company focused on the aviation industry. He is an Executive Advisor and former VP of Marketing of Benbria Corporation, has served as the Director of Marketing for Simply Hired, and was also the VP of Marketing at Benecaid, one of Canada’s most successful benefits administration companies. He holds a BA in Urban Planning from Concordia University in Montreal, received his CMA certification in direct marketing from the University of Toronto, and Executive Studies in International Marketing from the Edinburgh School of Business.
Denise Harris
Denise Harris is a retired human resources development manager and a lifelong resident of Etobicoke. She credits her Mother for her love of local history, and the Canadian Studies program at York University for her skills in historical research. Denise has been leading historical walking tours and giving lectures on local history since the 1980s. She is a past president and the current chief historian of the Etobicoke Historical Society (EHS.) In this role, she researches Etobicoke history, assists EHS members and the pubic in finding answers to their history questions, liaises with media, and writes articles on Etobicoke history.
Denise also volunteers at Montgomery’s Inn, acting as EHS’s representative on the board of Montgomery’s INNovators and handling requests from the public for access to the Inn’s photograph collection. She has served on the Etobicoke York Community Preservation Panel and the board of the Heritage Etobicoke Foundation, and has written a column on Etobicoke history for the Guardian newspaper. For her volunteer work championing and preserving Etobicoke’s heritage, Denise has received EHS’s Jean Hibbert Memorial Award and LAMP’s Building a Healthy Community Award of Merit.
Richard Jordan
Richard Jordan has recently rejoined the Board of Directors of the Etobicoke Historical Society, having previously served as a Director from 1980 to 1996, including a two-year term as President. He also served two terms as a citizen member of the Etobicoke Historical Board in the 1980s.
Richard grew up in North York and studied Geography and Environmental Studies at York University before relocating to Etobicoke. Now retired from the City of Mississauga, where he was a Geographic Information Systems Specialist, Richard contributed a local heritage column to the Neighbours and GTA sections of Toronto Star from 1984 to 1991. His feature articles on a variety of topics have also appeared in the Saturday Star, the Sunday Star and a number of genealogy and history magazines.
Richard’s family genealogy book, Beyond the Great Pine Ridge, was published in 2004 and he is now working on a book about Irish Protestants in Canada. He has recently produced a mini-documentary about a true incident from his family’s past entitled Murder in the Family Tree. Richard is well known for his speaking engagements with historical societies and seniors groups.
Mireille Macia
Mireille has lived in the west end of Toronto for over 30 years and has a strong interest in local history research particularly focusing on Etobicoke and West Toronto. At the present time she works in corporate human resources. Early in her professional career she worked as a museum exhibit researcher and as a librarian. She also sits on the board of Heritage York, a heritage society that manages historic Lambton House.
Mireille holds an undergraduate degree in archaeology and anthropology from the University of Toronto and Masters in Library and Information Studies from the University of Western Ontario. She is avid hiker, cross-country skier and cyclist.
Neil Park
Neil Park is a telecommunications professional having completed a 37 year career in problem resolution management for a national communications provider. Past volunteerism has included: supporting the Board of Directors of The Toronto Bicycling Network by researching and leading heritage rides in Ontario, and as a physiotherapist assistant at West Park Hospital.
Neil’s interest in history was fostered during 30 years of family history research as a member of the Ontario Genealogical Society and the Northeast Scotland Family History Society. Neil became a member of the Board in 2017, serving in the roles of Membership Secretary and Speaker’s Night Coordinator. He is also involved in digitizing archives, and researching/writing articles for the Aldernews.
Joel Winter
Joel Winter is a retired elementary school teacher. He first fell in love with history as a child when visiting a museum about the rebellion of 1837 in Lloydtown, and a later visit to Fort York. From this he realized the importance of sparking a love of history in children and adults. He went on to take every history course he could in high school and then completed a degree in Canadian history at Carleton University. Later he worked at museums such as Ste-Marie Among the Hurons and Toronto’s First Post Office. Joel initiated a 17 person historical re-enactment of a 1649 Jesuit / First Nations voyage from Quebec City to Ste-Marie in 1982. He still enjoys getting into a canoe, but doesn’t go as far. Joel lives in Etobicoke with his wife and son. He serves as Chair of the EHS Board of Directors and the Society’s President.
Jennifer Bazar is the Curator of the Lakeshore Grounds Interpretive Centre at Humber College's Lakeshore campus. Through exhibits, tours, and events, she aims to engage a public audience with the unique local histories of South Etobicoke. She is particularly committed to de-stigmatizing mental health care by contributing to open discussions about the history of institutionalization.
Jennifer completed her doctoral degree in the History and Theory of Psychology at York University where she specialized in the history of mental health institutions. Prior to beginning her position at the Interpretive Centre, Jennifer completed a postdoctoral fellowship with the Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care and the University of Toronto where she created the Remembering Oak Ridge Digital Archive and Exhibit. She serves as recording secretary for EHS Board meetings.
Laurence Dutil-Ricard
Laurence has always had a passion for history, as far as she can remember. First obtaining a law degree from Laval University in Quebec City, she decided to do something about that passion by studying for an MA in World History & Cultures at King's College London in the UK. When she moved to Toronto, she wanted to get involved in promoting and saving the heritage in this city. She ended up volunteering for the Etobicoke Historical Society and working for Historica Canada, before moving on to work for the Université de l'Ontario Français (UOF), a new French-language university in Toronto. Laurence has been a board member of the Etobicoke Historical Society since September 2018.
Phil Enros
Philip has been a member of the EHS since 2011. Over the years he has been involved in a number of its projects. He helped reorganize the Society’s archives and records, and continues to maintain them. He worked to update the Society’s by-laws. He helped with making the Society’s photo collection available online. And, most recently, he coordinated the publication of the Society’s book Glimpses into Etobicoke’s Past.
Philip brings to the Board a deep interest in history and several years of management experience in the public service. He is especially interested in the history of science and technology, having earned a PhD in this field from the University of Toronto. Philip has authored many scholarly articles and a book on aspects of the history of Canadian public policy for science. His career was in the federal public service. Upon retirement, he was director of science policy for Environment Canada.
James Geneau
James brings close to 25 years of sales and marketing expertise to the board at the Etobicoke Historical Society. Prior to joining the Etobicoke Historical Society, Mr. Geneau served as the volunteer marketing chair and a board member of the Enoch Turner Schoolhouse and was the President of the Etobicoke Historical Society from 2013 to 2017. He currently serves as the marketing advisor and responsible for digital programs for EHS.
Professionally, he is currently the Chief Marketing Officer at ATP, a global information services and software solutions company focused on the aviation industry. He is an Executive Advisor and former VP of Marketing of Benbria Corporation, has served as the Director of Marketing for Simply Hired, and was also the VP of Marketing at Benecaid, one of Canada’s most successful benefits administration companies. He holds a BA in Urban Planning from Concordia University in Montreal, received his CMA certification in direct marketing from the University of Toronto, and Executive Studies in International Marketing from the Edinburgh School of Business.
Denise Harris
Denise Harris is a retired human resources development manager and a lifelong resident of Etobicoke. She credits her Mother for her love of local history, and the Canadian Studies program at York University for her skills in historical research. Denise has been leading historical walking tours and giving lectures on local history since the 1980s. She is a past president and the current chief historian of the Etobicoke Historical Society (EHS.) In this role, she researches Etobicoke history, assists EHS members and the pubic in finding answers to their history questions, liaises with media, and writes articles on Etobicoke history.
Denise also volunteers at Montgomery’s Inn, acting as EHS’s representative on the board of Montgomery’s INNovators and handling requests from the public for access to the Inn’s photograph collection. She has served on the Etobicoke York Community Preservation Panel and the board of the Heritage Etobicoke Foundation, and has written a column on Etobicoke history for the Guardian newspaper. For her volunteer work championing and preserving Etobicoke’s heritage, Denise has received EHS’s Jean Hibbert Memorial Award and LAMP’s Building a Healthy Community Award of Merit.
Richard Jordan
Richard Jordan has recently rejoined the Board of Directors of the Etobicoke Historical Society, having previously served as a Director from 1980 to 1996, including a two-year term as President. He also served two terms as a citizen member of the Etobicoke Historical Board in the 1980s.
Richard grew up in North York and studied Geography and Environmental Studies at York University before relocating to Etobicoke. Now retired from the City of Mississauga, where he was a Geographic Information Systems Specialist, Richard contributed a local heritage column to the Neighbours and GTA sections of Toronto Star from 1984 to 1991. His feature articles on a variety of topics have also appeared in the Saturday Star, the Sunday Star and a number of genealogy and history magazines.
Richard’s family genealogy book, Beyond the Great Pine Ridge, was published in 2004 and he is now working on a book about Irish Protestants in Canada. He has recently produced a mini-documentary about a true incident from his family’s past entitled Murder in the Family Tree. Richard is well known for his speaking engagements with historical societies and seniors groups.
Mireille Macia
Mireille has lived in the west end of Toronto for over 30 years and has a strong interest in local history research particularly focusing on Etobicoke and West Toronto. At the present time she works in corporate human resources. Early in her professional career she worked as a museum exhibit researcher and as a librarian. She also sits on the board of Heritage York, a heritage society that manages historic Lambton House.
Mireille holds an undergraduate degree in archaeology and anthropology from the University of Toronto and Masters in Library and Information Studies from the University of Western Ontario. She is avid hiker, cross-country skier and cyclist.
Neil Park
Neil Park is a telecommunications professional having completed a 37 year career in problem resolution management for a national communications provider. Past volunteerism has included: supporting the Board of Directors of The Toronto Bicycling Network by researching and leading heritage rides in Ontario, and as a physiotherapist assistant at West Park Hospital.
Neil’s interest in history was fostered during 30 years of family history research as a member of the Ontario Genealogical Society and the Northeast Scotland Family History Society. Neil became a member of the Board in 2017, serving in the roles of Membership Secretary and Speaker’s Night Coordinator. He is also involved in digitizing archives, and researching/writing articles for the Aldernews.
Joel Winter
Joel Winter is a retired elementary school teacher. He first fell in love with history as a child when visiting a museum about the rebellion of 1837 in Lloydtown, and a later visit to Fort York. From this he realized the importance of sparking a love of history in children and adults. He went on to take every history course he could in high school and then completed a degree in Canadian history at Carleton University. Later he worked at museums such as Ste-Marie Among the Hurons and Toronto’s First Post Office. Joel initiated a 17 person historical re-enactment of a 1649 Jesuit / First Nations voyage from Quebec City to Ste-Marie in 1982. He still enjoys getting into a canoe, but doesn’t go as far. Joel lives in Etobicoke with his wife and son. He serves as Chair of the EHS Board of Directors and the Society’s President.
Nominating a Director
Elections for the Board of Directors are held at the Society's Annual General Meeting (September). Should you wish to stand for election or to nominate a Society member for one of the nine Director's positions, please click on instructions. Nominations should be made no later than a month before the Annual General Meeting.