Board of Directors 2012-2013


 

Candace Skrapek

Candace Skrapek
SCOA Co-president

Candace Skrapek is a retired nurse educator and started as a volunteer with SCOA in 2005. Currently Candace is co-president of the SCOA Board of Directors and is interested in governance and policy development of nonprofit organizations. She co-chairs the Age-friendly Saskatoon Initiative Steering Committee, and is a member of the Executive Committee, Advocacy Committee, Communications Committee and the Older Adult Abuse Task Force. She also serves on the board of the Saskatoon Housing Authority.

Elliot Paus Jenssen

Elliot Paus Jenssen
SCOA Co-president

Elliot Paus Jenssen is co- president of the SCOA Board of Directors, volunteer coordinator of the Older Adult Abuse Task Force and member of several SCOA committees. She is also actively involved with SCOA's Age Friendly Saskatoon project. Elliot first worked with SCOA in the early 1990's on its first project on older adult abuse as a member of the committee working on a protocol for community and health agencies. She was very impressed with what older adults and SCOA can do and was very pleased to be invited to join the Older Adult Abuse Task Force in 2005 after she retired. Elliot is also on the Board of the Canadian Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse and serves as recording secretary. Elliot is a retired social worker who worked with the Saskatoon Health Region for over twenty-five years, mostly on the geriatric assessment unit. She is married (49 years!) and has three children, five grandchildren and two cats and loves living in the City Park area of Saskatoon.

Muriel Baxter

Muriel Baxter
Member at large

Muriel Baxter is a retired social worker who has been associated with SCOA for more than ten years. She was Chair of the Board from 2003- 2005. Muriel's specific interests and involvements with SCOA include advocacy and elder abuse. As well as being a SCOA Board member, Muriel is currently a member of the Services for Seniors and the McClure Place Association Boards. She volunteers regularly at Amy McClure House, a personal care home and was previously a Food Bank volunteer. Prior to her retirement Muriel worked in long term care and continues to have a keen interest in issues of care for seniors. She is a mother of three, grandmother of five and she has given up golf and curling for gentle yoga and walking. Time at the cabin and travelling are important to her.

Sharon Fyke

Sharon Fyke
1st Vice-President

Sharon Fyke is a retired educator/teacher/guidance counselor. Since retiring from the Public School system, she has worked as assistant project manager for the Saskatoon Community Service Village, done contract work for Communities for Children, Sexual Assault and Sask Native Theatre, worked for The Kids Not in School Program, coordinated a mental health intervention in the core neighbourhood schools and has worked various other contracts. She has chaired the Tragic Event Team, helped to organize the Breaking The Silence conference at the U of S and has volunteered with other organizations most recently as a former board member of the Saskatoon Preschool Foundation. She has been a board member of SCOA for 4 years serving on many of the committees and the executive. She has two children, son Chad and daughter Stacy both with young families. Her 4 grandchildren are her "reason for being". She curls competitively and golfs for fun.

Leo Monseler

Leo Monselor
Member at large

 

Leo Monseler has been a licensed preacher at Sharon United Church of Canada, Maymont for 14 years now. In his former life he worked with all hospitals in Saskatchewan, and the Cancer Clinics in the four Western provinces. He graduated from the University of Saskatchewan and has a Double Honours BA. Leo also received a Masters in Theology, and a Masters in Sacred Theology from St. Andrew College Saskatoon. Leo Monseler has been on the Council for two years, and is involved with the Finance Committee. He has been involved with civic and church boards and committees, and also with U.of S. student organizations. He chaired committees appointed by Saskatoon’s City Council. As an active volunteer he was involved as a communications chair at the Summer Gains. His passion for writing was seen when he published “Kivilski” - the cross country news. Leo and his wife Nancy have four sons and a daughter, 15 grandchildren, and 7 great-grandchildren. During a period of ten years Nancy and Leo were asked to look after infants, and children with disabilities to the total of 45. 

Joan Lidington

 

Joan Lidington
Chair, Spotlight on Seniors

 

Joan is a retired nurse and a social worker. Her work experience has included teaching nursing students and working in geriatrics and the community. She and her sister Dorothy began Saskatoon Home Support Services in 1988 and provided service through this agency for 20 years.
She has been a volunteer with SCOA for 6 years as a member of the Older Adult Abuse Task Force and a board member since 2010. She is currently serving as a Chair of Spotlight on Seniors and liaison for the SCOA/Bishop Klein School partnership.

Janet Barnes

Janet Barnes
Co-chair Age Alive

Janet Barnes works as a Senior Recreation Therapist with Continuing Care and Senior’s Health, Saskatoon Health Region. Janet has worked for the health region for the past 30 years in a number of areas including therapies, mental health, acute care, rehabilitation, and the Acquired Brain Injury Outreach team. Janet has been involved with SCOA for a couple of years now. She is a partner with the Seniors Walk. She was the Co-chair of the Age Alive Committee and contributes in motion articles to the Coming of Age newsletter. Janet is also a board member at SCOA. Janet has volunteered for many organizations including the Saskatoon Brier 1989, 2000, and 2004, Interchristian Varsity Fellowship, her church board and various committees, Saskatchewan Brain Injury Association Board. She has sponsored and supported a number of refugees to Canada. Janet and her husband Norm have two children and two grandchildren. Janet enjoys spending time at their cabin, curling, golfing and travelling. 

Gerlinde Sarkar

Gerlinde Sarkar
Corporate Secretary

She was born in Germany, but has lived in Canada for most of her adult life. She has three grown sons who live all over the world. Gerlinde has been highly active in the Canadian society as well as international societies as well. She has received the ATHENA Leadership award and the Saskatchewan Centennial Leadership award in 2005 for her contribution to the community. Gerlinde retired from her position at SIAST of Academic Director of Research, Planning and Program Development. During her last three years of employment Gerlinde worked in Qatar. Her special areas of expertise were Strategic Planning, evaluation and workshops.
Gerlinde has a rich background in volunteering. She was made aware of SCOA through some friends on the executive and she was very impressed with the range of programs and services that are offered, so then she became more involved to shape the direction to make Saskatoon a more age-friendly city. Gerlinde is a board member-at-large at SCOA.

Burna Purkin

Burna Purkin
Member at large

Burna Purkin was born in Saskatoon and attended the Victoria School and Nutana Collegiate. She spent her teaching career in Calgary and was a school principal for twenty of those years. She has a particular interest in students with special learning needs. After retiring, she taught sessions at the University of Calgary and Columbia College in Calgary. These courses were in effective communication for teachers and understanding and teaching students with special learning needs. Since her return to Saskatoon, she has been actively involved in the community. Burna has been on the Board of the Mendel, Saskatoon Opera, and the Consumer Association and Saskatoon Council on Aging. She has conducted workshops and seminars for the Saskatoon School Board and the Tri-City Teachers' Convention. Burna also participated on the steering committee for the Nutana Collegiate 100 Anniversary in 2010. As a senior, she is devoted to increased awareness and providing for a range of considerations and provisions for seniors. She is so proud of Saskatoon and in particular the Fine Arts present in this city. She also mentioned that she enjoys working with others in a team situation, meeting new people, writing and presenting.

Brett Bayda

 

Brett Bayda
Member at large

 

Brett Bayda is the Chief Executive Officer and founder of Navacare.ca, a website that helps adult children learn how to plan and have fun while assisting their aging parents.  When Brett’s grandmother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, he observed the struggles that families go through emotionally and wanted to make a difference.  Brett’s Education degree from the University of Alberta helped him come one step closer to helping families navigate aging.  Brett was excited at the opportunity to sit on the board of directors at the Council on Aging to learn from distinguished experts in the field of aging.  He shares a common goal among the other council members of helping seniors remain independent.   Brett started volunteering on the board with SCOA in 2010 as well as the Caregiver Information and Support committee.  Brett loves business, real estate and traveling the world observing other cultures and history. 

Bruce Irvine

Bruce Irvine
Treasurer

 

Bruce Irvine is a retired Professor of Accounting. His career at the University of Saskatchewan was devoted particularly to teaching as well as research and administration. 
Over four decades his volunteer activity was primarily with professional organizations, particularly the Society of Management Accountants of Saskatchewan (where he served on many committees, as a Council member, and as a President) and the Society of Management Accountants of Canada (as a Board member and member and chair of many national committees). As a volunteer Bruce also served as a Canadian delegate on the Board of the International Accounting Standards Committee and as a Canadian technical advisor to the International Federation of Accountants Council. He was on the Board of the Canadian Academic Accounting Association for 10 years, including a term as President. Outside of professional and academic organizations, Bruce has enjoyed terms on the Boards of Cheshire Homes of Saskatoon, the Saskatoon Golf and Country Club, the Sutherland Curling Club, and Saskatoon Big Sisters.
Bruce and his lovely wife Marilyn have three children and four delightful grandkids. Beyond family, Bruce’s interests include time at an Emma Lake cabin, golfing, curling, wine making and participating in a fantasy baseball league.

Shan Landry

Shan Landry

Member at large

Shan is a lifelong member of the Saskatoon Community committed to improving the quality of life and health of all. She recently retired from her 34 year career with the Saskatoon Health Region most of those years serving as the Vice President of Community Services. Educated as a Social Worker (she has a BSW from the University of Regina and an MSW from UBC) she practiced directly with clients and families for the first years of her work and then moved into Health Care Management and Administration overseeing the developments of many Home Care, Community Care, Seniors’ Health and Mental Health and Addictions programs and innovations. Over the years she has seized many opportunities to be involved in some of the developmental aspects of health care regionalization and the broadest elements of strengthening Medicare in our province; amongst these opportunities was a yearlong secondment to work with the Saskatchewan Commission on Health Care culminating with the seminal report “Caring for Medicare, Sustaining a Quality System” in 2000-2001. 
Shan is passionate about the determinants of health and working with others to create a system and a community that sponsors and supports mind, body and spirit. In her retirement Shan is offering her knowledge and enthusiasm through consulting and as a volunteer with a number of organizations. Often described as a Community Engagement Visionary and Facilitator she enjoys public speaking and loves to inspire and enthuse others with a boost to their well being!
 

Pabitra “Peter” K. Sen

Peter Sen
Member at large

A resident of Saskatchewan for nearly 40 years, Pabitra “Peter” Sen has been involved in numerous community and volunteer activities. Peter is a chartered professional engineer (semi-retired) having lived and worked professionally in Canada, England and India as well as 7 years in two African countries – Nigeria and Ethiopia. As a long time member of Rotary, his skills have also been used to support the causes of many Rotary International Service projects. Peter’s past community involvement include 16 years in the Board of Jubilee Residences - the owner of long term care facilities of Porteous and Stensrud Lodges, Saskatoon United Way, Polio Eradication Program, Honorary Ambassador of Saskatoon Folkfest, in the Boards of Saskatchewan Multicultural Advisory Council, River Heights Community Association, India Canada Association, Saskatoon North Rotary Club and a few more. He is a recipient of Rotary’s Golden Wheel Award. Peter is married to Chitra and they have two married daughters and two grandchildren. He is a firm believer in Rotary’s principle of “Service Above Self” and is always willing to serve the community.

Jan King

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Member at large

Bio to follow