Leadership
Centred Content
Board of Directors
Craig Ambrose
Craig is currently the Chief of the Owen Sound Police Service. He grew up and lived in rural Waterloo region and worked through the ranks of the Waterloo Regional Police Service during his 29 years prior to moving to Owen Sound in 2019.
Melissa Clancy
Ellen Dirstein
Ellen recently retired after working for more than 40 years with children and families. Ellen has a master’s degree in clinical psychology which has allowed her to work in the fields of education, mental health and child welfare. She relocated to the Grey Bruce area after living in Northern Ontario for 30 years. Ellen chose this area as her family has had ties to Grey Bruce going back more than a century.
Alison Fernandes
Alison holds a degree in Social Work and Psychology and worked in Child Protection for many years prior to transitioning her career into the Nuclear Industry. Alison is honored to be a member of the Board of Directors of the Bruce Grey Child & Family Services as she has an innate passion for engagement, collaboration and empowerment with children and families within our community along with supporting the frontline workers of BGCFS.
Rosanne Gallinger
Deepikaa Gupta
Selwyn ‘Buck’ Hicks
Board Chair
Selwyn J. Hicks – affectionately called “Buck” – was born in Georgetown, Guyana, S.A. and emigrated to Canada at age nine. Selwyn was raised in the troubled Jane/Finch community of Toronto. A graduate of Centennial College’s Social Service Worker program, Selwyn worked as a Social Services Worker for 13 years before making the decision to return to school and study law. Selwyn attended the University of Windsor and obtained a law degree (LL.B.) in 2000 and a Master of Business Administration degree (M.B.A.) in 2002. In 1997, Selwyn married Barbara Hicks (nee Caughy) who was born and raised in Hanover. Selwyn and Barbara (also a lawyer) moved to Hanover in 2003 and established law practices in Hanover and Walkerton. They have four children (Selwyn IV, Rylee, Connor and Chloe).
Selwyn served as a Councilor and Deputy Mayor for the Town of Hanover for 16 years. He was elected Warden for Grey County in 2019 and again in 2021 & 2022. He is the first and only visible minority person to hold that position. Selwyn is a coach with Hanover Gymnastics Club. He’s a member of the Board with Hanover Police Services, Community Foundation of Grey Bruce, Owen Sound Non-Profit Housing Corporation, Victim Services Bruce Grey as well as Bruce Grey Child & Family Services (CAS).
In 1991, Selwyn was named “Citizen of the Year” for Metropolitan Toronto. He received the Lieutenant Governor’s Award of Distinction for Community Service. He was awarded the Queen’s 125 Medallion and more recently received the Law Society of Ontario’s – Lincoln Alexander Award for Community Service.
Selwyn’s vision for Grey County is that it will be a place where residents can enjoy both small-town charm and big-city amenities. He wants Grey County to be a place where you can raise a family, do business and enjoy a high quality of life.
Dr. George Sanz
Treasurer
George was born in Spain where he obtained his undergraduate education. He studied medicine at Loma Linda University in Southern California, completed his pediatrics residency at Ohio University, and established his practice in Owen Sound. After his retirement in 2001, he spent three years as a Missionary in East Central Africa as Director of the Health Department for the Seventh-day Adventist Church, where he supervised a couple dozen hospitals and numerous medical clinics covering 32 countries and provided education to the membership.
John Tamming
John Tamming is a sole‑practitioner lawyer in Bruce–Grey who practices a broad range of civil litigation. After moving from Toronto to Bruce–Grey with his young family many years ago, he has built deep ties to the region and a grounded understanding of its social supports. He served as an Owen Sound city councillor and has worked extensively on employment and general litigation matters involving First Nations communities. Outside the office, John is a devoted golfer and recreational hockey player, and he volunteers as a Trail Captain with the Bruce Trail Association, reflecting his abiding passion for the natural wonders of this area. Inspired by his parents’ years as foster caregivers, John is proud to contribute to Bruce Grey Child and Family Services, working alongside dedicated individuals to support children, youth, and families across our communities.
Naomi Vodden
Wendy Woods
Wendy started her career in the private sector and shifted to the public sector after having her three children. Wendy completed her Master of Public Administration with a focus on local government at Western University in 2018. She has been working at the municipal level since 2008, first in Public Health and then in Social Services.
Currently she is the Business and Human Services Manager for the County of Bruce’s Human Services Department.
Christopher Wren
Chair Elect
Christopher has been on the Board of Directors for BGCFS since 2021. He and his wife, Lisa, have lived in West Grey for the past 20 years. They are former foster parents. Lisa was also a volunteer instructor with BGCFS to foster parents in the PRIDE training program. Chris has a Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences from the University of Guelph. He is now retired after a career of over 35 years providing consulting services on environmental issues to industry and government in Canada and internationally. Chris previously spent 6 years on the Board of Directors for a large engineering firm in Guelph, and was Chairman of the Board for 3 years. Chris has three children and three granddaughters. His hobbies including fishing, boating, gardening and family history research.
Centred Content
Senior Staff
Julie Lipsett
Executive Director
Julie joined the Children’s Aid Society of the County of Grey in 1997 as a Family Services’ worker and became an Intake Supervisor in 2003 until 2008 when she was promoted to Director of Service for Protection Services. In 2016, Julie changed portfolios and lead the organizations’ Family Based Care team, Legal team and Quality Services team. On March 7th, 2022, Julie was appointed by the Board of Directors as the new Executive Director of Bruce Grey Child and Family Services.
Julie holds a Master of Social Work Degree from the University of Toronto.
She was also a foster and adoptive parent of teenagers and brings her caregiving experience to her understanding of the importance of fostering and adoption to a child welfare agency. She is currently involved in the implementation of Equity and Anti-Oppressive Practice at BGCFS. Julie believes in giving back to the community and has served both on the Board of Directors for Big Sisters and the Women’s Centre Grey and Bruce.
Julie has a tremendous passion for the work of the Society. The Board is confident in her ability to continue to build and grow the values-based organization to meet the current challenges and ensure the highest standards of care and service for the children and families in Bruce and Grey. She is committed to confronting racism and addressing systemic inequities in child welfare as well as ensuring BGCFS honors the nine (9) truth and reconciliation commitments that we have made to Indigenous children and families we serve.
Chad Zimmerman
Director, Business Administration
Chad had spent most of his life in Grey and Bruce counties. His child protection career started with the Department of Community Services in New South Wales, Australia, before he came to join the Bruce County Children’s Aid Society in 2004 as a Child Protection Worker, Family Service. Chad has been in leadership since 2015 including position as a supervisor in Human Resources, Quality and with the Office of the Director.
Chad was seconded to the Ontario Association of Children’s Aid Societies in 2017 and spent almost four years leading the provincial business harmonization efforts.
The role of Director, Business Administration includes Finance, Quality and Governance as part of the portfolio.
Anne Bester
Director of Service
Anne has a Master of Social Work (MSW) degree from Dalhousie University. She grew up in the Walkerton area and brings a strong sense of community connections to her work in child welfare. She has had the opportunity to work in every area of the child welfare field since she began her career in 1998 – working at The Children’s Aid Society of the County of Bruce, Chatham-Kent Family and Children’s Services and Bruce Grey Child and Family Services. Based out of the Walkerton office, Anne brings leadership to Protection Ongoing Services, which supports families in the community across Bruce and Grey. Anne has been a long-standing member of the Bruce-Grey Community Drug Strategy Leadership Group. Anne was the Chair of the Drug Endangered Children Committee and was instrumental in developing a community protocol designed to identify and protect children who are at risk due to the exposure and presence of street drugs in their homes. Anne has presented internationally on this area when she was a guest presenter at the National Drug Endangered Child Conference in Orlando, Florida.
Since 2018, Anne has held the lead for the implementation of Signs of Safety for BGCFS – a practice model designed to build on the strengths of the family network in ensuring safety and caregiving for children and families and prioritizing the importance of the family being at the centre of their own planning. Outside of work, Anne volunteers in the community and has lent her expertise to different not-for profit Boards as well as community events.
Rebecca Raynsford
Director of Service
Rebecca grew up in the Owen Sound area and started at BGCFS (then Grey CAS) in 1990 as a volunteer, progressing to the Summer Camp Coordinator and then to support positions like Emergency After Hours Worker before becoming a Child Protection Worker (at then Bruce CAS) in 1995. In 2002, Rebecca became a Child Protection Supervisor and worked in many areas of the organization until her transition to Director of Service in 2022. Rebecca enjoys working together to solve challenges as well as program implementation and development. She holds a strong commitment to community relationships most notably with the people of Saugeen First Nation and Neyaashiinigmiing as well as organizational and community health. She believes in the importance of families being in the center of their own service experience. Outside of work, Rebecca completed her MSW in 2018 and has participated in many not-for-profit Boards.