The Board of Directors of The Arts and Letters Club of Toronto Foundation are a dedicated group of volunteers working in the service of developing the arts and letters in Canada.
Judith Davidson-Palmer, M.A. – Director
Judith is a former management consultant, executive and social and educational policy researcher who throughout her business career also maintained a practice as a photographer and painter. For the past fifteen years she has been solely focused on her artistic practice. Her work is found in business and private collections. She has been a member of the Boards of both the Women’s Art Association of Canada and The Arts and Letters Club of Toronto and has in the past served on the Boards of the YWCA of Toronto, Humber Memorial Hospital, and the Special Services Support Committee of the United Way of Toronto. She is a graduate of Mount Allison University and Queens University.
Kimberly de Witte, M.Ed., MBA – Secretary
Kimberly is a graduate of The Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at University of Toronto and the Roy E. Crummer School of Business at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida. Kimberly is a writer, volunteer, and advocate for connecting kids with books. She has volunteered with the Ontario Library Association’s Forest of Reading for the past seven years. Whether running book clubs for kids, reviewing books on her website or penning her own novels, the written word surrounds her world. Kimberly is looking forward to furthering the love of literature with her new role with the Arts and Letters Club of Toronto Foundation.
Marianne Fedunkiw, Ph.D. – President
Marianne has served as a Foundation director since 2017 and is a past president of The Arts and Letters Club of Toronto. A writer, playwright, former journalist and university instructor, she is the author of three books including a study of large-scale funding of medical education in Canada. She has also designed logos and helped in re-branding various Canadian science and research organizations.
John McKellar, JD, QC, CM – Director
John, a Partner Emeritus with the firm WeirFoulds LLP, is known for the many performing artists and arts organizations he has advised, counselled and supported. In addition to being Chair of the Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund, he is Chairman of the Young Centre for the Performing Arts, an advisor to the Randolph Academy for the Performing Arts, and a board member of Tarragon Theatre, Off-Centre Music Salon and the Glenn Gould Foundation. John has, alone or with others, produced shows at ArtWorld Theatre Centre for the Arts, The St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts, The Princess of Wales Theatre, The Winter Garden Theatre, The National Arts Centre, The Manitoba Theatre Centre, John F. Kennedy Center in Washington and has several other theatrical projects in development.
Wendy Rowney, MMSt – Director
Wendy has worked in the culture sector for over 25 years, sharing history through museum programs and exhibits. She currently manages a living history museum in the Toronto region. An avid appreciator of the arts, Wendy frequents the theatre, concerts, and galleries. She has sat on several boards serving the adoption community including the Adoption Council of Canada, American Adoption Congress, Adoption Council of Ontario, and the Coalition for Open Adoption Records. She holds degrees from Western University and the University of Toronto.
Robert (Bob) White, CPA, CA – Treasurer
Bob is a chartered professional accountant and a past Treasurer of the Arts & Letters Club of Toronto. Before retirement, he was a partner in the small but prestigious firm, Oliphant + White which served as auditor of many charitable organizations in the arts and social services including Soulpepper Theatre Co., Opera Atelier, Toronto Dance Theatre, AIDS Committee of Toronto, and Caribana. Bob also compiled tax returns for young people in the arts – dancers, actors, singers, poets. Bob served on the board of a number of organizations including The Wellesley Hospital, Open Studio and Oxfam Canada. He is an enthusiastic traveller and includes Uzbekistan, Democratic Republic of Congo and Papua New Guinea among his favourite destinations.