OHEA's 2018-2019 Executive & Board of Directors

Shown above (left to right): Lesley Macaskill, June Matthews, Rachelle Provost, Cindy Hartman, Cailin Whincop, Cathy Enright, and Joyce De Decker.

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Co-Chair – Cindy Hartman, P.H.Ec.

Cindy graduated from Brescia University College as a mature student in 1996 with a Bachelor of Science in Home Economics. She is employed as Healthcare Account Manager for Summit Food Service at their Head Office in London and oversees all Ontario Healthcare chain business for the company including hospitals, nursing and retirement homes. Working in food distribution has given Cindy the opportunity to work very closely with food manufacturers and suppliers and with several organizations (DOC, OSNM, CSNM, OLTCA, ORCA, and OANHSS) at industry events. Cindy joined both OHEA & LHEA in 2010 and became LHEA Co-Program Chair in 2012, planning events for the London Chapter members, including a tour of Summit Food Service for the members and Brescia students. She organized a tour of London’s Growing Food Industries for the IFHE Conference in July 2014 and enjoyed meeting the delegates. Cindy lives in London, enjoys cooking and taking cooking classes as well as decorating and sewing for her home. Cindy Hartman served as President and President-Elect for the last 4 years.

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Co-Chair – Diane O’Shea, P.H.Ec.
​Diane has recently retired as a Family Studies teacher and Department Head in Family Studies and Social Sciences with Thames Valley District School Board (London and surrounding counties of Middlesex, Elgin, and Oxford). Since 2007 she has been the pre-service instructor in Family Studies education at the Faculty of Education, Western University. Her work as an educator has incorporated a strong presence in curriculum writing and development. In 2012, Diane was awarded the Adelaide Hoodless Award of Excellence by the Ontario Family Studies Social Sciences Educators Association which recognizes the vision and contributions of Adelaide Hoodless. Diane and her husband, Mike, are retired farmers and now live in St Marys, Ontario. Their four children are off living their lives leaving Mom to enjoy doing the things she loves best: gardening, food, culinary history, sewing and community volunteer work.

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President –June Matthews, PhD, RD, P.H.Ec.
Dr. Matthews is an Associate Professor in Food and Nutritional Sciences at Brescia University College and an Adjunct Research Professor with the School of Graduate and Post-Doctoral Studies at Western University. Dr. Matthews joined OHEA in 2000, the same year she graduated from Brescia University College with a degree in Human Ecology (Food & Nutrition). She completed her MSc in 2002, became a Registered Dietitian in 2003, then finished her PhD and began teaching at Brescia in January 2006. Dr. Matthews received the Brescia University College Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2008, the President’s Distinguished Service Award from OHEA in 2010, and has been recognized with Outstanding Reviewer Awards from Elsevier Publishers in 2016 and Emerald Group Publishing in 2017. Dr. Matthews has presented at many professional conferences, including the 2014 UN/DPI Conference at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, and has published in several academic journals. Dr. Matthews lives in London.

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Secretary-Treasurer Elect – Cathy Enright, P.H.Ec. Cathy Enright is a Fellow in Board Governance from the Canadian Board Diversity Council (CBDC). She has dedicated her career to having consumers’ voices heard and has been recognized for her “Life Long Contribution” by the Ontario Home Economic Association. She is the Secretary Treasurer of the Association. Beginning her career in the private sector, Cathy directed a national publicity, complaint and liaison service for customers and clients of a large food manufacturer. After joining the public service, she has held several positions and retired as the Director of Consumer Services and Outreach at Industry, Science and Economic Development, Canada. Cathy has worked extensively to protect the rights of consumers through strategic communications. In addition, she directed a Contribution Program, which provides funding for research and development for non-profit and consumer, voluntary organizations. As a result of her accomplishments, she has received many awards, including the Deputy Minister Award for Innovation, as well as “Mentor of the Year” from the University of Alberta. Cathy’s mentoring endeavours continue with both public and private sector young people with an interest in communications, public relations and government relations. Cathy continues her volunteer efforts in both Church and school communities in various capacities. She is a member of the Program Advisory Committee for the Bachelor of Public Relations at Conestoga College. Married to a professional accountant, Cathy is a vocally proud mother of three adult children.

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V.P., Communications (Social Media) – Jason Eaton P.H.Ec. Jason graduated from Brescia University College in 2014 with a double major in History and Family Studies. He was a member of SHEA while attending Brescia, and is currently a member of OHEA, and LHEA. Jason brings a wealth of experience with social media to this role. He is an accomplished food and travel blogger, Canadian Beef Blogger Ambassador, cooking class instructor for both the YMCA and City of London, and oversees the production of small batch preserves while mentoring youth for a non-profit in Middlesex County. Any social media inquiries, including interest in volunteering as part of OHEA's social media team, can be sent directly to Jason at [email protected].

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V.P., Communications – Rachelle Provost Rachelle Provost is currently completing her Bachelor of Science with Honours Specialization in Nutrition and Dietetics from Brescia University College and will be graduating in June 2018, when she plans to apply for PHEc status. In May, Rachelle will be starting a Post-Degree Diploma in Public Relations from Western University and looks forward to bringing this knowledge to OHEA and benefiting the association. Currently, she is employed as a Residence Assistant at Brescia’s Clare Hall Residence. Since 2014, Rachelle has been an active student leader, holding various positions on the Brescia University College Students’ Council (BUCSC), Brescia University College Residence Council (BUCRC), SHEA and the Association of Canadian Human Ecology Students’ (ACHES) Conference. In January 2017, Rachelle was a member of the Executive team responsible for planning and executing the ACHES Conference, which brought 49 students from across Canada to London. Outside of Brescia, Rachelle has volunteered with the Food for Thought program in Belleville, Ontario to plan and prepare nutritious meals for children in public schools. Also, she is a Program Coordinator and Junior Coach at Pegasus Cheer Athletics. She now lives in London, and her passions include cooking, lifelong learning and travelling."

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V.P., Membership – Maria Depenweiller, P.H.Ec. Maria Depenweiller is a Professional Home Economist, food writer, nutrition specialist and a recipe developer. Maria holds a BaSc degree in Food Science and nutrition and runs her own consulting business The Wooden Spoon, specializing in culinary workshops for metabolic diets and active promotion of cooking skills and local food. Maria is the author of five cook books on various topics ranging from food history to specialty diets. 

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V.P., Membership – Stacy Oleksy, P.H.Ec. Stacy is a graduate of the Human Ecology program (MSc, 2002; BSc, 1997) from the University of Alberta. She’s the Director of Education and Community Awareness at the Credit Counselling Society, where she’s worked for the last 10 years. Stacy has recently moved to Ontario from BC, where she lived for the last 18 years. In her spare time, Stacy loves to read, work with fused glass and hang out with her husband and dog Duke.

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V.P., Professional Development - Lesley Macaskill, MHSc, RD., P.H.Ec. Lesley is a proud Professional Home Economist, supporting students to meet their educational and career goals as a Dietetic Training Coordinator and Instructor in the School of Food and Nutritional Sciences at Brescia University College, where she has worked since 2008. Prior to that, she worked at Toronto Public Health for 12 years as a Public Health Nutritionist. She has found her career in academia extremely rewarding, through participating in research, teaching students about the history and value of Home Economics in the classroom and by counseling students about the wide variety of options available to them with this unique education and training. She is excited about creating new and interesting learning opportunities for OHEA members in this professional development role.

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V.P., Public Policy – Cailin Whincop, P.H.Ec. Cailin holds a human ecology degree in nutrition, family studies, and psychology from Brescia University College. She is passionate about building healthy communities and an equitable society. With a post-degree diploma in Not-for-Profit Management, she believes in the strength of the nonprofit sector and building cross-sector relationships for positive social change. Cailin is currently the Stewardship Coordinator at Girls Inc. of Durham. She provides fund development and administrative support in delivering research-based programming to address the unique challenges girls face and help them reach their full potential. In her spare time, Cailin loves to get creative in the kitchen!

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Member-At-Large - Pooja Mansukhani, P.H.Ec. Pooja Mansukhani is a Registered Dietitian and Food Safety Officer at the University of Toronto St. George Campus where she interacts with students, staff, administrators, health professionals, chefs and farmers in the role of mentor, teacher, care provider, overseer of food quality, and researcher. She graduated from Ryerson University's Nutrition and Food program in 2013 and completed her dietetic internship with Aramark Canada where she worked for the following 2 years in the Higher Education business. She also holds a degree in Honours Applied Economics, Co-op 4 from the University of Waterloo. Pooja volunteers with the Sport Nutrition Network of Dietitians of Canada and delivers presentations on student and career development at Ontario universities that offer accredited Nutrition undergrad and graduate programs. She was part of the OHEIB (Ontario Home Economists in Business) Executive for four years, most recently as Co-Chair for a 2-year term. Pooja has a passion for fitness and teaches cycling classes at GoodLife Fitness. She also sees clients for nutrition counselling at Body InVest Inc. fitness studio.

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Member-At-Large - Joyce De Decker P.H.Ec.  Joyce De Decker graduated in 1981 from the University of Guelph with a degree in Applied Human Nutrition.  She worked as a Food Service Supervisor and after several years returned to the University of Western Ontario, graduating with a Bachelor of Education in 2000 fulfilling her lifelong dream of teaching Family Studies.  She has been the head of the Social Science/Family Studies department at Stratford Northwestern Secondary School in Stratford, ON since 2002. After graduating from the University of Guelph with a degree in Applied Human Nutrition (BASc ‘81)  and spending time with her family, she returned to university and received a degree in education from the University of Western Ontario in 2000. She is a past-president of the Ontario Family Studies Home Economics Educators Association and has represented her school board on the Ontario Family Studies/Social Science Leadership Council.  She has collaborated with the local Health Unit to establish a student directed program called Water Does Wonders which focussed on making healthy beverage choices. As an educator, Joyce is very involved with developing inclusive strategies for students with learning challenges in her Family Studies classes. She was awarded Inclusive Educator of the Year by the Avon Maitland District School Board in 2017.

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