Kinark Child and Family Services announces Board of Directors appointments 

October 23, 2023

Kinark Child and Family Services is pleased to announce the appointment of Sharon Cochran as our new Chair of the Board of Directors. Cochran, formerly the Vice Chair, joined the Kinark board in 2018. 

Sharon has extensive experience as a senior administrator in the post-secondary education system. Her areas of expertise include financial services, human resources management, facilities and capital management, purchasing, risk operations, and business development, both in public and private organizations. 

Sharon has held several senior executive positions including the Director of Faculty Bargaining Services – Canadian Association of University Business Officers, Vice President of Special Projects and Vice President of Administration and Finance at the University of Northern British Columbia. Prior to this, she was an Associate Vice-President of Human Resources for the University of Saskatchewan and Director of Academic Relations for Simon Fraser University. 

“The work that Kinark does is more important today than ever before. As a board member since 2018, I have seen first-hand how this extraordinary team works to create a healthy future for Ontario’s kids and youth. As Chair, I will work to make the agency even stronger, building on our strengths and working towards our collective goal of helping children and youth with complex needs achieve better life outcomes.”

Sharon Cochran, Board of Directors

The board has also appointed three new board members to join the group of dedicated volunteers who devote their time and energy to support Ontario’s most complex kids. 

Anthony Milonas has held several senior positions in healthcare where he has scaled and significantly grown models of care across Canada. Most recently, he was CEO of Canadian Orthodontic Partners (COP) based in Toronto, Ont. and joined COP to help support the team to accelerate the growth of the organization Prior to joining COP, he was the Chief Operating Officer at CBI Health Group, the largest provider of outpatient rehabilitation and community healthcare services in Canada. Along with his prior healthcare experience, Anthony sits on many boards including Waterstone Human Capital, the chapter board of Young President’s Organization, and the Canadian Abilities Foundation. 

Ron St. Pierre is a strategic and management consultant, an associate with Part Time CFO Services LLP, and an accounting professor at Georgian College. He spent over 30 years working in the accounting and advisory business for a large national accounting firm ultimately taking on the role of Managing Partner and Strategic Leader of Talent including responsibility for the execution of the firm’s strategy related to Talent Recruitment, Leadership Development, Training, and Coaching. 

Ryna Young is Partner and Head of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Practice at Odgers Berndtson. A seasoned practitioner with a track record of 25 years in executive search, DEI strategy and coaching, she oversees the development and integration of the firm’s DEI expertise. Ryna works with clients in executive search onboarding, coaching, leadership development, and DEI strategy and consulting internationally.   

“Kinark’s Board of Directors are dedicated in their support of our mission, vision, and values. We are honoured to welcome these new members and are excited to add their viewpoints and skills to the board as we execute on our strategic priorities. We also thank Larry Doran as he steps down from the Board after many years of service.” 

Cathy Paul, President and CEO, Kinark Child and Family Services 

Kinark’s Board of Directors is comprised of volunteer members elected to act as representatives of the agency. The Board effectively guides the agency in its achievement of our Strategic Plan and oversees the operation of Kinark in terms of client services, quality, financial, legal, people and culture, planning, parent and youth engagement, information technology, government and public relations. 
 
A full list of board members can be viewed at kinark.on.ca/about-us/board/