NMC Managers Connect 2023 – Kingston

Meredith (she/her/elle) came to the National Managers’ Community (NMC) as the Ontario Regional Lead in May 2002 from Veterans Affairs Canada, where she was a Manager in Field Operations and The Office of Women and LGBTQ Veterans.

Meredith is a member of several different networks promoting the advancement of inclusion and accessibility in the government of Canada. She is also a Visiting Faculty at the Canada School of Public Service, facilitating courses in Positive Space, Advancing Anti-Racism, and Addressing Microaggressions. In 2017, she won the inaugural Veterans Affairs Canada Leadership Award for Mental Wellness in the workplace.

Meredith has a Bachelor Degree in Psychology/Neuroscience and will graduate with a Master of Public Administration degree in May 2024. Prior to her federal career, she was a Registered Psychotherapist working in a non-profit organisation.

As a Queer, disabled person, Meredith remains actively involved in those communities in both her personal and professional life. She lives in Kingston ON with a 3 year old Golden Retriever named Maggie and has an adult son who just graduated from University with a degree in Mathematics. He is currently teaching her how to create excel spreadsheets for her economics classes.

Meredith Richmond | LinkedIn

Jamshed Merchant started his career as a Faculty Lecturer/Research Associate in the Department of Geography at McGill University. Following this, Jamshed joined the Alberta Department of Environment as a soil scientist providing advice to landowners, energy industry staff and other government officials on land reclamation principles and practices across the province.

Whilst still in Alberta, Jamshed joined the federal public service as a Soil Conservationist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC). In this capacity he worked with farmers, local decision makers, farm organizations, academia and provincial officials across the Prairie Provinces to promote and implement environmentally sustainable agricultural practices. Jamshed also worked as Director of Communications for a branch of AAFC that was headquartered in Regina, SK.

Jamshed moved to Ottawa and assumed the role of Executive Assistant to the Deputy Minister of AAFC and then as AAFC’s Director General of Strategic Business Planning. Jamshed left AAFC to become the Director General of Government on Line and e-Services in the department of Canadian Heritage.

Following this, Jamshed joined the Treasury Board Secretariat of Canada. Initially as the Executive Director for Transport, Infrastructure and the Environment and then as Assistant Secretary responsible for Aboriginal and Northern Affairs, the Climate Change Review and the Blue Ribbon Panel on Grants and Contributions.

Jamshed returned to AAFC as Assistant Deputy Minister, Agri-Environment Services Branch. Following this, Jamshed assumed his last position in the federal public service, before retiring, as Consul General for Canada in the US Upper Mid-West, based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Jamshed has a BSc in Environmental Science from the University of East Anglia, UK and an MSc in Pedology and Soil Survey from the University of Reading, UK.

In May 2023, Camille was appointed as Executive Director, National Managers Community (NMC), where she will work to promote the needs and interests of federal managers to public service decision-makers. Prior to this, Camille was Assistant Director, Learning and Product Development Team within the Respectful and Inclusive Workplaces Directorate at the Canada School of Public Service. She has been with the School since 2018, having worked in various positions both operational, in Curriculum Management as part of the Registrar’s Office, and more strategic, as Chief of Staff to the Vice-president of the Public Sector Operations and Inclusion Branch.

Camille joined the federal public service in 2008, having previously worked at the Department of Canadian Heritage and the National Capital Commission, in a number of management and project management roles. Camille holds a bachelor’s degree in Psychology, as well as professional certification in HR Management and lives in the National Capital Region.

Crystal Thompson is the Assistant Deputy Commissioner, Integrated Services, for the Ontario Region of the Correctional Service of Canada. She is a graduate of Brock University with an Honor’s Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology.

She commenced her career with the Correctional Service of Canada as a Correctional Officer at Prison for Women in 1993. During her career, she has worked in various capacities at several institutions within the Ontario Region, including medium, maximum, multi-level security facilities and the Regional Treatment Centre.  In doing so, she has held a number of operational positions having responsibility for areas such as security operations, security intelligence, case management, health services, investigations and human resources.

On January 2, 2018, Ms. Thompson assumed her first command as Warden at Collins Bay Institution. In September 2018, she was appointed Warden of the maximum-security Millhaven Institution. Since September 2022, Ms. Thompson has held the position of Assistant Deputy Commissioner, Integrated Services and in July 2023, was appointed to this role permanently.

Larry Ringler is the Warden at Bath Institution. He began his 33-year career with the Correctional Service of Canada in 1990 as a Correctional Officer at Collins Bay Institution. In 1997, he transferred to the site that would later become Fenbrook Institution and worked as an instructor for Correctional Officers and new recruits.

From 2002 to 2005, Mr. Ringler stepped out of the institution and into a position with National Headquarters as a Program Officer with Learning and Career Development, where he was trained as a Correctional Supervisor Training Program facilitator.

Mr. Ringler returned to the institutional setting in 2006 and worked at Collins Bay, Fenbrook, Beaver Creek, Joyceville, and Millhaven Institution, holding positions of Coordinator of Correctional Operations and Deputy Warden.  

As Deputy Warden of Millhaven Institution, Mr. Ringler assisted with the transition of inmates from Kingston Penitentiary to Millhaven during the closure of Kingston Pen in 2013.  Mr. Ringer was appointed to the position of Warden in 2016 at Warkworth Institution and has since held the position at several institutions in the Ontario Region, until he was appointed to Warden of Bath Institution in 2022.

Over his correctional career Mr. Ringler has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the Long-Term Service Award with the Correctional Service of Canada and the Corrections Exemplary Service Medal.

Lesley Kenyon is the District Director for the Greater Ontario and Nunavut District (GOND).  As an executive with the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC), she is responsible for leading a team of staff who supervise the community release of approximately 1200 federal offenders throughout Ontario and Nunavut. Lesley is the CSC Ontario regional champion for Employment Equity and Diversity and a founder of the Ontario Regional Women’s Forums. She has previously chaired site Wellness Committees and is focused on contributing to healthy and respectful workplaces.

Lesley holds a Bachelor of Arts – Honours degree in Psychology and a post graduate diploma in Behavioural Science Technology.  She has worked for the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) for 26 years, and for the past 23 years has held management positions institutionally, in the community, and at Regional Headquarters. Positions she has held include: Regional Program Manager, Manager Programs, Manager Community Correctional Centre, Associate District Director, Regional Administrator Assessment and Intervention, Assistant Warden Interventions, Regional Administrator Communication and Executive Services, Deputy Warden, and Assistant Deputy Commissioner Integrated Services. Lesley enjoys taking on new roles to expand her knowledge and understanding of federal corrections and to continually develop her skills as a leadership.

Louis Seabrooke accepted a permanent appointment from the Audit, Evaluation and Risk Branch (AERB) to the Ontario Region as Director, Eastern Ontario Tax Services Office (EOTSO) effective April 1, 2023. EOTSO is a Tax Services office where Louis leads over 1200 employees in Audit, Collections, Call Centres and Criminal Investigations environments.  Louis is committed to mentoring people from all areas of the CRA and the Federal Public Service.

Louis began his career in the private sector at PricewaterhouseCoopers performing and leading financial audit and tax preparation services, after which he joined the public service as an Internal Audit Manager, at Public Services and Procurement Canada, followed by opportunities with the Canada Border Service Agency, and the Office of the Comptroller General.

His drive and passion to have an impactful career brought him to AERB at CRA in January 2015, as the Director of the Internal Audit Division. In 2017, he started an acting assignment as Director General in the Internal Audit and Evaluation Directorate which was followed by a permanent appointment in 2019.

Louis holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Concordia University and is a Chartered Professional Accountant and Certified Internal Auditor.

Louis Seabrooke | LinkedIn

Christine Stewart was appointed to the position of Assistant Director, Income Tax Audit, Eastern Ontario Tax Service Office, on April 1, 2023.

Christine began her career with the Canada Revenue Agency in 2005 as a Team Leader in Government Programs Collections in the London office. She has gathered experience in a wide variety of areas through assignments in Human Resources, Finance and Administration, the Collections and Verification Branch, and with the Office of the Assistant Commissioner, Ontario Region. Prior to her most recent appointment she held a number of executive leadership positions, including Assistant Director, Revenue Collections and Client Services; Assistant Director, Income Tax and GST/HST Audit; and interim TSO Director in East Central Ontario.

Kevin Snedden is the Regional Deputy Commissioner for the Ontario and Nunavut Region of the Correctional Service of Canada.  He is a graduate of Queen’s University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology, and Georgian College with a diploma in Law & Security Administration. He commenced his career as a Correctional Officer at Collins Bay Institution in 1995. During his career, he has worked in various capacities at several institutions within the Ontario Region, including medium, maximum and multi-level security facilities as well as Regional Headquarters in the capacity of Assistant Deputy Commissioner, Corporate Services.

In October 2008, Mr. Snedden assumed his first command as Warden at the medium security Collins Bay Institution. In April of 2012, he was appointed as Warden of the maximum security Millhaven Institution. Following a period away for training, Mr. Snedden was appointed as Director General, Security in 2017, responsible for security and population management matters at a national level. Shortly after arriving in Ottawa, he was asked to temporarily take on the duties of Regional Deputy Commissioner for the Atlantic Region. He did so from May 2017 to January 2019, at which time he returned to his position in Ottawa briefly, prior to being appointed as Assistant Commissioner Correctional Operations and Programs at National Headquarters on February 18, 2019. Mr. Snedden returned to Kingston in his current position as Regional Deputy Commissioner of the Ontario & Nunavut Region, effective June 1, 2020.

Colonel Sonny Hatton enrolled in the Canadian Armed Forces in 1994 and was commissioned as an Artillery officer upon graduation from the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC) in 1998. Following graduation, he has served in Shilo, Edmonton, Petawawa (twice), Ottawa (twice), Kansas, Latvia, Israel and Kingston (three times).
Col Hatton has served on operations domestically and abroad, helping fight forest fires in BC and providing security for the G8 Summit in Kananaskis, AB and the G20 Toronto Summit. Internationally, he has deployments in Bosnia, Afghanistan and Latvia.
Col Hatton has commanded at all levels, from the tactical, operational and institutional, including commanding 2nd Regiment Royal Canadian Artillery Regiment in Petawawa, acting as Deputy Commander of the Latvian Mechanized Infantry Brigade (yes Latvian!), and he is now the Commander of CFB Kingston. He has also served in a number of staff roles and has attended staff colleges in the US and Israel.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Software Engineering and a master’s degree in Defence Engineering and Management from RMC. He also holds a master’s degree in Military Arts and Science from the US Army School of Advanced Military Studies and a master’s degree in Political Science from the University of Haifa.
Having spent three postings and one-third of his 28-year career in Kingston,
Colonel Hatton considers the city his second home. He is happily married to Chantal Hatton going on 20 years and they have one child who attends Kingston Secondary School.

Cindy McDonald is the Assistant Director for Revenue Collections, Toronto Tax Service Office, as at April 1, 2022.

Cindy began her Public Service career with the Canada Revenue Agency in 1992 as an auditor in the East Central Ontario TSO. In addition to working in the Criminal Investigations Division, Cindy held a number of managerial and leadership positions with increasing levels of responsibility including: Audit Team Leader and Section Manager, Assistant Director of Program Services, and Regional Program Advisor for Appeals and SR&ED with the Ontario Regional Programs Division. In 2017, Cindy was appointed to the position of Assistant Director of Collections and Verification at the East Central Ontario Tax Services Office. Cindy took on the Interim Director role at East Central Ontario Tax Services Office from November 1, 2021 until March 31, 2022.

Cindy is a graduate from the CRA’s Agency Leadership Development Program (ALDP) 2015 intake. She is also a Chartered Professional Accountant/ Certified General Accountant (CPA, CGA).

Rochelle started her career with the federal government as a CR5 with Citizenship and Immigration Canada (now IRCC) working with sponsorship applications. Rochelle then applied for role at Service Canada, which at the time, was a new initiative. She never looked back! She is passionate about client service and through her various roles including ones that involved working with community partners, projects, policy but consistently going back to leadership roles with Service Canada. Rochelle She is currently the Area Director for Service Canada, Citizen Services Branch for East Central Ontario and resides in Kingston. Rochelle has completed a Masters in Public Policy Administration and Law.

Christine Anderson is the Warden at Collins Bay Institution. She started her career with the Correctional Service of Canada 1998 as a Program Officer at  Pittsburgh Institution. Over her 25-year career, Ms. Anderson has held positions in the Community, at both National and Regional Headquarters, and at the Staff College. In 2017, Ms. Anderson returned to the institutional setting where she has remained.

As Deputy Warden of Millhaven Institution, Ms. Anderson was a key member in the closing of segregation and the opening of the SIU. Following an assignment at Bath, Ms. Anderson was appointed as Warden of Collins Bay Institution in 2022.

Ms. Anderson is also the co-founder of the Ontario Women’s Forum, aimed to encourage discussion around some key challenges identified by women in CSC. She is an advocate for respectful workplaces and leads by example.

Over her correctional career, Ms. Anderson has been the recipient of numerous awards of recognition including: Long-Term Service Award with the Correctional Service of Canada, the Corrections Exemplary Service Medal, and Extra Mile Awards. Ms. Anderson is currently completing a Master’s degree in counselling.