Danielle Ingram

Chair

Danielle Ingram was born and raised in Stratford and continues to live here with her two children. Danielle holds a BA in Economics, as well as a Diploma in Urban Planning with a specialization in GIS. Having been employed by the City of Waterloo for the past 21 years in Planning, she is also a former two term Stratford City Council member from 2014-2022.

Kevin September

Vice Chair

Kathy Vassilakos

Secretary

Kathy joined the Board of Gallery Stratford in September 2023 and served as Secretary from December 2023. Kathy was a two term Stratford City Councilor (2014-2022) and was appointed to the Gallery Stratford Board from 2014 to 2018. She is currently the Director of United Housing, United Way of Perth Huron.

Kathy as sat on over a dozen boards and community committees and has been Chair of the Perth District Health Unit/Huron Perth Public Health, Social Research Planning Council, Active Transportation Advisory Committee, and Spruce Lodge and Non-Profit Housing.

Arts and culture play a central role in the Vassilakos/MacPherson household and family vacations often start with the question of what gallery, museum, library, or concert will be experienced.

Aesha Patel

Treasurer

Bio coming soon.

Jo-dee Burbach

City Council Rep.

Jo-Dee Burbach, grew up in Toronto, has lived in three countries, and along the way earned a BA in Liberal Arts and an MA in Communication Studies. Since 1999, Jo-Dee has lived in Stratford, Ontario, where she currently resides with her three children. She runs her own businesses in graphic design and communications, and has published and edited an online magazine about the Arts in Stratford. In 2018 she became a City Councillor for the City of Stratford and became the Council representative for Gallery Stratford’s Board of Trustees. She received Optimism Place’s Woman of the Year Award in 2020 in the category of Allyship & Advocacy for her efforts focused specifically on anti-Black racism in our community

Bettianne Hedges

Board Member

I am excited by the sense of renewal currently felt at Gallery Stratford and I am happy to be able to contribute as a Trustee. 

I have a great deal of governance experience but in the arts specifically I have served on the Board of the Art Gallery of Burlington (also Collections), the Woodstock Art Gallery (including a strategic planning project with Lord Cultural Resources and a capital campaign). I also Chaired the Ontario Trillium Foundation – Thames Valley. I owned a retail gallery in Woodstock from 199 to 2004 (providing additional services, collections management, writing/marketing advice for artists).  I have a degree in Philosophy and studied Not-For-Profit Governance from the Rotman School of Business. Four years ago I chose to live in Stratford.  I have been a Real Estate Broker for twenty years and teach the licensing program at Humber College.

Brad Douglas

Board Member

Brad was born and raised in Guelph, and after living in Toronto for 16 years, he and husband, Tong, moved to Stratford in January 2020, where they work with Home and Company Real Estate. Brad’s first spark with Stratford began with a High School trip (many years ago) to the Stratford Festival to see King Lear, and has been hooked ever since. Brad served on the Board of Toronto Artscape for 9 years, the Board of the Toronto Mendelsohn Choir, was Chair the Board of the Edward Johnson Foundation (Guelph), Board member of The Guelph Spring Festival and Chair of the Board of Governors for St John’s Kilmarnock School, Breslau and is currently a member of the Rotary Club of Stratford. He served on the Gallery Board in 2021/2022, and looks forward to sharing any of his former volunteer experiences in support of Gallery Stratford and the community.

Tom Hamza

Board Member

Tom Hamza is the President of Trow Avenue Partners. He is a strategy and operations professional focussed on service industries and manufacturing, and works with business owners and private equity to improve their companies. He is passionate about Stratford, and lives here with his wife and daughter.