ABOUT US

Alan Cobb enjoyed a long career in the senior ranks of the federal public service and the private sector. He has worked in policy and operations for the Industry, Science and Technology, Treasury Board, and Employment and Immigration federal ministries. He also headed the initial federal offshore oil and gas regulatory agency, based in St. John’s. After retiring from the federal government, Alan provided strategic-management consulting services to the public and private sectors, and worked with a leading technology firm as advisor to the CEO. 

Judy Brinson is from Change Islands, and moved to Fogo Island in 1998 to work as a nurse. She is a Cub and Beaver Scout leader and a Sunday School leader with the Church of the Holy Spirit. Judy helped pioneer a Junior Canadian Rangers group on Fogo Island and is a World Ocean’s Day Beach Clean-up Leader. She is actively involved in many facets of community life. She and her husband, also from Change Islands, have three children and continue to live on Fogo Island.

Tim Brodhead was President and CEO of The J.W. McConnell Family Foundation and served as Interim President of the Pierre Elliot Trudeau Foundation, after a 25-year career in international development. He was Founding Executive Director of ACORD and co-founder of the Canadian development agency Inter Pares. Tim co-chairs Canadians for a New Partnership and is a board member of The Natural Step, Engineers Without Borders (EWB-Canada), the Arctic Inspiration Prize, the Fondation Lucie et André Chagnon, and the Jarislowsky, Omega, Inspirit, and Ottawa Community Foundations. He is a member of the Waterloo Institute for Social Innovation and Resilience (WISIR) and is on the Advisory Boards of the McGill Institute for Health and Social Policy, and the Children and Youth in Challenging Contexts Network. In 2001, Tim was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada.

Growing up on Fogo Island, Zita developed a deep belief in the inherent value of place and profound respect for the human ways of knowing that emerge from respectful relationships with nature, culture, and community. She held senior financial roles in the high-tech industry, notably with JDS Fitel, subsequently JDS Uniphase, where she contributed to building the company into one of the most successful high-tech innovators in history. Zita returned home to Fogo Island in the early 2000’s and, along with her brothers Anthony and Alan, founded Shorefast. In 2016, Zita was awarded the Order of Canada. She volunteers her time and energies to the active direction and management of Shorefast and our projects on Fogo Island.

Kelly LaRocca serves as Chief of the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation. She has degrees in Philosophy and Law and studied Aboriginal Law, after practicing as a civil litigation lawyer. Kelly was the Portfolio Chief Representative during the claim negotiations arising from the 1923 Williams Treaties. Upon a Council recommendation, the MSIFN approved the start-up of the Noozhoo Nokiiyan Limited Partnership (NNLP) to manage economic-development opportunities. Kelly is an ex officio Director of the Board for NNLP. She is also an elected Director for the National Lands Advisory Board for First Nations Lands Management and serves as Vice-Chair for the Ogemawahj Tribal Council. She previously served on the Aboriginal Justice Committee for the former Attorney General for Ontario and was a Director of the Baagwating Community Association.

Barbara McInnes (1943-2021) retired as President and CEO of the Community Foundation of Ottawa in 2014. She was with the Foundation since its inception in 1987, overseeing its growth. Barbara was awarded the Order of Canada in 2008 for her contributions as a leader and catalyst for the development of community-based philanthrophy in her city, across Canada, and around the world. She served as a Governor of Carleton University, President of the Ottawa Estate Planning Council and of the Ottawa School of Art, and board member of United Way, Impact Hub Ottawa, and numerous other professional associations and voluntary sector boards. In addition to serving on the board of the Shorefast, the Telus Ottawa Community Board, and the Match International Women’s Fund, she was on the Advisory Board of PAL Ottawa and helped develop Refugee 613 and Compassionate Ottawa.

Josh Quinton manages the US east coast business at Bloomberg L.P., from New York City. An award-winning global business manager, he builds analytics to bring transparency to the financial markets and advises money managers of multinational corporations, pension funds, hedge funds, and central banks, as well as heads of government in the United States and Canada. Josh serves on the finance committee of the Grenfell Association of America in New York and volunteers as a mentor and advocate for Memorial’s Faculty of Business, as well as working with several charities. He received Memorial’s Alumni Horizon Award in 2012 and appointed to the Innovation Council of Newfoundland and Labrador in 2017. The son of small business owners, he is passionate about local entrepreneurship, self-sustainability and innovation in Newfoundland.

Robert Sirman is a retired cultural executive who enjoyed a distinguished career in the Canadian cultural sector before hanging up his hat as Director and CEO of the Canada Council for the Arts in 2014. He served as co-director of Canada’s National Ballet School, where he reinforced its standing as a world leader in professional dance training. Other highlights include 10 years at the Ontario Arts Council, five years in Ontario’s first Ministry of Culture, and a stint as acting-CEO of the George Cedric Metcalf Charitable Foundation. Bob has an MA in Sociology from the University of Toronto, where he taught in 2016. He volunteers on several not-for-profit charitable boards. In 2002 Bob served as librettist for James Kudelka’s full-length ballet, The Contract.

Originally from Placentia Bay, Gordon Slade served as Deputy Minister of Fisheries for Newfoundland and Labrador, and as Vice-President of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency. In 1996, Gordon became an independent consultant in the fields of heritage, cultural tourism, and community development. He was CEO of One Ocean, an organization that encourages dialogue between the fishing and petroleum industries, and is the former Chair and Managing Director of Battle Harbour Historic Trust. In 2005, Gordon was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada, and, in 2020, he was invested into the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Judy Stein-Korte has guided law firm leaders, lawyers and marketing teams in embracing innovative ways of building and burnishing brands. For most of her three-decade career, she assumed roles at Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP, one of Canada’s leading law firms. Judy is a trusted business-strategy adviser to many of the firm’s national, regional, office and practice leaders and currently serve Osler in a part-time role as media relations counsel. Judy has collaborated with Zita Cobb and her team in building greater awareness of Fogo Island Inn and Shorefast. A proud Maritimer, she has experienced hospitality throughout her life experiences and travels. She grew up in her father’s restauran,t which for decades was the best place to dine in the Maritimes, and holds a commerce degree in hospitality management.