Honorary Patrons

• Paul Bennett, Former Headmaster, Halifax Grammar School
• Rodney Clifton, Professor, Faculty of Education, University of Manitoba
• Joseph Freedman, Former President, Society for Advancing Educational Research
• Mark Holmes, Professor Emeritus, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education
• William Robson, President and CEO, C.D. Howe Institute
• John Tibbits, President, Conestoga College

Board Of Directors

Malkin Dare, President

• Mrs. Dare began her career as an elementary school teacher after graduating from the University of Western Ontario and London Teachers’ College. She later joined the Department of External Affairs and served in Hong Kong and Barbados. As a result of her concern for the state of education in Ontario, Mrs. Dare was one of the founding members of the Organization for Quality Education (OQE). She was OQE’s founding president, a director of the Society for Advancing Educational Research in Education, a member of the Advisory Committee on Judicial Appointments for the Province of Ontario (West and South), and the author of How to Get the Right Education for Your Child and Stairway to Reading. Mrs. Dare is a member of the editorial board of the Journal of School Choice. She has two children.

John Bachmann, Vice President

• Mr. Bachmann is a professional engineer who currently works as a Sales, Marketing and Quality Manager for an industrial distribution company in Mississauga. After graduating from the University of Manitoba in Mechancial Engineering, Mr. Bachmann went to teachers’ college and taught high school in Winnipeg for five years, during which time he earned his BEd. Since that time, he has accumulated 30 years’ experience in industry, along with an MBA. He is currently the Chairman of the Canadian Fluid Power Association and is very involved, with other international associations, in projects intended to improve technology education in elementary and secondary schools, and to promote careers involving fluid power technology. Mr. Bachmann is thrilled at the prospect of teaching his recently-arrived granddaughters how to read using Stairway to Reading.

Nancy Wagner, Secretary-Treasurer

• Mrs. Wagner has a diploma in nursing from St. Mary’s Hospital in Kitchener, Ontario and practiced her profession for many years. She and her husband own and operate their own business, The Bow Shop in Waterloo, Ontario. She has sat on various boards in her local community. Mrs. Wagner was a member of the Training and Education Committee of the Greater Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber of Commerce. She is past executive committee member of Resurrection High School. Also an advocate for education reform,  Mrs. Wagner served as President of the Organization for Quality Education. She has three children.

Frank Gue, Director

• Mr. Gue is a retired professional electrical engineer, BSc Alberta, MBA McMaster (Hamilton), who worked in the manufacturing and systems management fields and has written published works on these subjects. Mr. Gue also taught technical and management subjects at the college and university level. Mr. Gue has published a hardcover book on factory management and many articles in various professional periodicals, and he has consulted world-wide on this subject. He has served on provincial education task forces, such as the one for ‘Standards of Practice for Teachers” and several education policy advisory councils. He and his wife are residents of Burlington.

Gerry Nicholls, Director

• Gerry Nicholls is one of Canada’s most prominent defenders of our economic and political freedoms. For more than twenty years he was a senior officer at the National Citizens Coalition, Canada’s largest independent pro-free market advocacy group. While at the NCC Gerry directed the group’s political strategy and oversaw its communication campaigns. Gerry now works as a freelance writer and as an independent political consultant. His columns on political affairs have appeared national newspapers including the National Post, The Globe and Mail, and the Sun Media chain. Currently Mr. Nicholls is a Senior Fellow with the Democracy Institute. He is the parent of two sons.

Staff

Doretta Wilson, Executive Director

• Mrs. Wilson holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in business, economics and psychology from the University of Western Ontario. She has worked in the private sector mostly in the area of accounting. Mrs. Wilson has also been a strong advocate for improving the quality of education offered in Ontario schools. She served on the board of Ontario’s Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) from 1997 to 2005 and chaired its audit committee. She was also a director of the Organization for Quality Education,  co-chair of the Ontario Coalition for Education Reform, founder and past-president of the Madonna High School Alumnae Association, and a past member of the St. Gregory Catholic School Council. Mrs. Wilson is a member of the Canadian Language and Literacy Research Network’s National Literacy Strategy Advisory Committee. Mrs. Wilson has been involved in her local community in various capacities and is a parent of three.