Board of Directors:

Shawna Moffatt, President
Shawna Moffatt holds her BA in Art History and is a graduate of the Applied Museum Studies programme from Algonquin College. Shawna was the Curator of the Diefenbunker from 2002 until 2007. She currently works at Library and Archives Canada.

Mike Steinhauer, Vice-President
Mike’s museum experience spans across the wide range of the cultural field: from King Ludwig's castles in Bavaria to the Parliamentary Precinct in Ottawa.

As a graduate of the Applied Museum Studies Program (Intensive Stream) at Algonquin College Mike was responsible for the concept and exhibition design of the Sabra - Portrait of a Spinster exhibit at the Billings Estate Museum. Mike's undergraduate studies took him to Edmonton, AB and Florence, Italy.

He is an avid painter and photographer and several of his works have been used on book and catalogue covers. Mike is a Loans Officer, within the department of Collections Management, at the National Gallery of Canada.

Bob Acton, Secretary
Bob is a founder and principal of Pathwords Audio Publications, which produces audio tours of museums, galleries and historic sites.

Henriette Riegel, Treasurer
Since August 2003, Henriette has been the Director of Visitor Services at the Currency Museum of the Bank of Canada. She holds a BA from McGill and an MA from the University of Western Ontario with degrees in Anthropology, a Masters in Museum Studies (Toronto), as well as having ABD status in the doctoral program in Social Anthropology at York University. Her academic specialty is in open-air museums.

Her previous experience includes work as a visitor researcher with the Institute for Sociology at the University of Karlsruhe, a consultant with LORD Cultural Resources, an instructor at the Museum Studies Program in Toronto, a project manager at EXPO2000 in Hannover (in both the Thematic Area exhibitions and in Operations and Security) as well as free-lance consultant on cultural projects in Europe and the Middle East.

Francis Beaulieu, Director
Francis is a graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada and has worked in performing arts management and administration for Sur Scène & En Coulisses, Latitude 45 Arts Promotion, and Montréal Danse. He was responsible for the administration, human resources, fund raising and grant application writing, marketing and international market development. Francis has also worked as a consultant doing strategic planning.

He was the Executive Director of Centre culturel Frontenac in Kingston until Spring 2004 until his appointment as the first Executive Director of the Muséoparc Vanier Museopark in January 2005. Francis sits as a member of the City of Ottawa’s Arts, Heritage & Culture Advisory Committee.

Carolyn Cook, Director
Carolyn has an MA in Muséologie from l'Université de Montréal and a BA in Canadian Studies and Art History from York University. In 2005 Carolyn was awarded the Prix Roland-Arpin from the Musée de la civilisation in Québec City for her research pertaining to the relationships developed between Australian museums and Aboriginal communities

Tanya Woods B.A., LL.B., LL.M., LL.M., Director
Tanya received her Bachelor of Arts in Communications and Spanish Studies from the University of Ottawa in 2001 and subsequently pursued legal studies at the London School of Economics in England (2003-05), the University of Ottawa (2005-08), and American University Washington College of Law in Washington D.C (2008-09).

Her primary areas of interest are copyright law, the regulation and licensing of digital content on the Internet, and international IP and cultural property protection.

She has worked with a number of organizations including the Canadian Heritage Information Network (CHIN), the Copyright Board of Canada and the Canadian Conference of the Arts where she worked on a lobby proposal to include community arts activities in the Federal Fitness Tax Credit regime.

Staff:

Meg Hamilton, Executive Director
Meg is a graduate of McGill University (Bachelor Arts, and Certificate in Public Relations Management). She also holds a Diploma in Applied Museum Studies (Intensive Stream) from Algonquin College.

Since May 2004, Meg has held the position of Executive Director of CHOO/COPO. She has a wide network of contacts within the local heritage & museum community. Meg has also taught Museum Business Management as a part-time instructor in the Applied Museum Studies Program at Algonquin College.

Meg sits on the Board of Directors of the Bytown Museum and is a member of the Canadian Museums Association, Ontario Museums Association, and the Canadian Association of Conservators. She sat as a member of the City of Ottawa’s Museums Sustainability Plan Steering Committee.

Erin Snow, Communications and Training Coordinator
Erin holds a BFA from Concordia University and is a graduate of the Applied Museum Studies Program (Intensive Stream) at Algonquin College.  Her involvement with CHOO/COPO began when she was employed as a Young Canada Works student in the summer of 2004, and continued in a volunteer capacity.  She previously worked at the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum and is a strong advocate for arts and heritage.