Green Wood Governance Team

Caleb Carisse
Board Member 2017 - Present
Board Chair 2019
Born and raised in Port Hope, I have a special connection to this town and this community. After moving back in 2015 to raise my family here, I wanted to get involved with a community organization that valued a positive, inclusive, and non-judgmental approach to community building and strengthening; Free of the weights of political influence. I quickly fell in love with Green Wood Coalition. The people, the culture, and the values displayed through formal programming and every personal interaction I have witnessed. have made me a believer in the power of a connected community. When asked, I was honoured to join the board. As a board member, treasurer, and now chair, I understand how vital Green Wood Coalition is to our community. Bringing people together around a dinner table, helping with housing needs, and connecting people together are just some of the reasons I support, and will continue to work to ensure Green Wood Coalition functions in a responsible way, holding true to the values it set from inception.

Phil Redford
Board Member 2019- Present
I grew up surrounded by schizophrenia, bipolar disease, suicide, and mental illness. I lost my cousin to alcoholism and suicide and have had my own addictions and bouts with it. I moved out of my family home at a young age, looking for help and trying to start a family, but all of that baggage kind of makes it really difficult to have a relationship. Consequently, I've always been looking for a sense of community. Eventually I became an educator and an educational administrator. It was here that I chose to join many adhoc committees and the social justice community. Upon retiring from teaching, I saw an opportunity to become involved on a deeper basis. Having suffered abuse as a young teenager at the hands of someone I trusted as an older friend, I was honoured to be accepted and spent six years on the board of Kawartha Sexual Assault Centre. As I completed my last term, the KSAC Director suggested that I approach the radically inclusive Green Wood that had fostered such a wonderful sense of community. I was hooked. I drank the Kool Aid, and it's been transformative for me. I have found that sense of community that is here and I'm happy to try and make a difference in this way.
Shane Watson
Board Member 2022- Present |
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Leslie Lester
Board Member 2022 - Present
Board Member 2022 - Present
Emily Taylor
Board Member 2022 - Present
Board Member 2022 - Present