MEET OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Mike Roma is a partner at RC Strategies+PERC, a consulting firm specializing in recreation and parks planning. Mike is the past President of the Alberta Recreation and Parks Association and has also served on the Leisure Information Network Board and the Recreation for Life Foundation Board. Mike has been involved in the recreation and parks sector for over 15 years and truly believes in the benefits of these essential services to the individual, community, and environment. Mike is an active volunteer, participant, and coach and lives in Sherwood Park, Alberta with his family of four.

Elizabeth Ayers is Director of Recreation and Sport Services at the City of Richmond. She has been a participant and leader in the recreation and parks field for over 30 years. Her strong background in the field has been gained from working in four progressive municipalities: Oak Bay, Surrey, Abbotsford, and Richmond. She has managed all areas of recreation including aquatics, arenas, community recreation, sports, and parks programs. She has also worked with a variety of operating models including direct delivery, contract services, partnerships, as well as the Community Association model used in Richmond. She has extensive experience working with not-for-profit boards, and is an active volunteer in her own community.

She holds a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Victoria, a Bachelor of Commerce in Finance from the University of British Columbia, and is a Leadership Vancouver Graduate. She is a believer in continuing education and continues to take a variety of courses, and attends workshops and conferences to remain current in the recreation and parks sector.

Elizabeth is a member of the BCRPA Board of Directors.

Laine is a graduate of the University of Manitoba’s Bachelor of Recreation Management and Community Development undergraduate degree program. Having worked in the field for almost ten years in various community recreation roles, she is currently the Recreation Facilitator for the Rural Municipality of Rockwood and Town of Stonewall, which she proudly calls home. Laine is a past board member and the current President of Recreation Manitoba. She is passionate, and pleased to be part of a great organization.

As the proud mom of three active young kids and wife to a fantastic hubby, she sees the fundamental proactive role recreation and community development play in increasing the quality of life for everyone. Recreation, community and leisure have been an integral part of her life, and Laine is thrilled to have the opportunity to share her passion for the value of recreation, parks, leisure and community, alongside the other board members of CPRA. Laine enjoys spending quality time with family and friends, fishing, the majority of mainstream sports, volunteering and relaxing at the lake.

Rob is currently the president of the Recreation and Parks Association of Nunavut (RPAN). He is the Physical Education teacher at Aqsarniit Ilinniarvik in Iqaluit, Nunavut. He has made the north his home living in Pond Inlet and Iqaluit, Nunavut for the past 20 years. Originally from Kamloops, British Columbia, sports and recreation have always been a passion that has provided him with countless opportunities and experiences. He is an avid believer in the power that sport and recreation can play in the lives of today’s youth. He enjoys both coaching and playing a variety of recreational sports and is dedicated to providing Nunavut’s youth with positive opportunities in their communities.

Sport and recreation has been the focus of Lindsay’s life since childhood – from participating in organized sport at the community, University, and recreational level; to acquiring her Business & Entrepreneurship Degree, Majoring in Sport & Recreation and pursuing a passionate career in the field. After independently starting and running a recreation tourism and event based business for 7 years in the East Kootenay Rockies of BC, Lindsay was drawn to the fly-in community of Old Crow, in Yukon’s remote north, to take on the role of Recreation Manager for the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation Government. While there Lindsay received a Graduate Certificate in Indigenous Sport & Recreation, was a coach with Team Yukon for the 2017 NAIG games, and solidified her passion and determination to help make a difference in peoples lives through physical activity and strong community recreation programming. After 5 years in the far north, Lindsay took on the role as Recreation Manager for the Village of Teslin and Teslin Tlingit Council in Southern Yukon, where she has been since the fall of 2019. She is a member of the Canadian Rangers, has been on the board of directors for the Recreation and Parks Association of Yukon for the past few years and enjoys playing hockey, golf, snowboarding, paddling and camping in her free time.

Originally hailing from Northern Ontario, Mike has spent the last 8 years in the NWT, serving as the Pool Supervisor in Inuvik from 2013–2019. While in Inuvik, he served on the NWTRPA Board as the Beaufort Delta Director. He took a short break from aquatics in Yellowknife before taking over the reins as Aquatic Supervisor in Hay River in November 2020.

Mike is a Lifeguard Instructor and Trainer for the Lifesaving Society and is also a member of their Technical Committee. When he’s not working, he loves spending his spare time obsessing over Star Wars as well as camping and kayaking. He’s married and is the proud dad of two teenagers.

Steve Martin is originally from the West Coast of Newfoundland but now calls the Town of Holyrood home. After spending some time in the education system, Steve fell in love with the recreation field as he accepted an event coordinator position in the Town of Torbay. Today, he holds the position of Director of Recreation and Community events in the Town of Holyrood and Vice-President for the Recreation NL Board of Directors. Steve is thankful for the working relationships with various communities, community groups, volunteers and other key stakeholders to ensure quality recreational opportunities happen in his town.

A member of Recreation NB | Loisirs N.-B. since 2017, Matt Pryde has been involved with community recreation and physical activity promotion for over 15 years. As a recreation professional, Matt has worked for all three levels of government as well as both the private and the not-for-profit sectors. For education, Matt has both a Bachelor of Science in Recreation and a Bachelor of Management from Dalhousie University as well as a Master in Adult Education degree from St. Francis Xavier University with a focus on informal learning in adult recreational sport.

Matt volunteers for a wide variety of organizations in his community of Sackville, New Brunswick; often organizing fundraising activities including a Slo-pitch Tournament for Minor Baseball, a Glow Ball Golf Tournament for Minor Hockey and the Westcock Dyke Walk/Run, one of the first COVID Friendly events in New Brunswick, in support of the local Food Bank to name a few.

Happily married with two boys, Matt enjoys spending time outdoors, coaching hockey and baseball, and hanging out with his family.

Amy Robertson started her career in recreation 13 years ago, joining the Capital Area Recreation Inc.’s management team just a year prior to it hosting the 2009 Summer Canada Games. Amy is still with the facility working as the Administration & Scheduling Manager as they now prepare to host the 2023 Winter Canada Games. The complex currently known as the Bell Aliant Centre is a NFP and the largest most comprehensive recreation complex on the Island with an aquatics facility and 2 NHL-sized ice pads.

Amy is the current VP of Recreation PEI, lives in Brackley PE with her husband and 2 boys, and is a semi-professional wood carver/folk artist.

Martin holds a master’s degree in management and organizational development and a certificate in organizational management from Université Laval. He has been the recreation manager at CFB Valcartier for 15 years.

He represents the Capitale-Nationale region on the Board of Directors of the Association québécoise du loisir municipal (AQLM). Martin grew up in the English-speaking community of Shannon, north of Québec, where his father, a veteran of the Canadian Armed Forces, instilled in him a love of sports, physical activity and the outdoors.

Howie Dayton is the Director of Community Recreation for the City of Toronto, joining the City in 2015. He is Past President of Parks and Recreation Ontario, Founding Chair of the Ontario Playworks Partnership for Youth and former Task Force Chair responsible for the Affordable Access to Recreation Policy Framework for Ontario.

Howie has worked in several GTA municipalities in progressive positions both in the recreation and social service sectors. He has continued to champion policies that position community recreation, after school and youth development programs as a public good and an essential service that improves quality of life and builds community resiliency.

Gord spent his early career working in recreation in Northern BC and Halifax. He owned a kayak outfitting company before landing in the Municipality of Chester for the past ten years as the Active Living Coordinator. In this position, Gord tries to inspire and activate citizens, and create a culture of physical activity that is supported by the built environment and policy changes that are needed to sustain the change. In addition to Board duties with RNS, he has served for several years on the NSFM Active Transportation Committee and the NS Connect provincial management team. He currently volunteers on the Board of Our Health Centre in Chester and is logistics lead for the annual QEII Foundation’s Ride for Cancer. Lastly, Gord thinks his family is cool and doesn’t understand why more people don’t play bike polo.

Jody Boulet has been the City of Prince Albert’s Director of Community Services since 2013. He is a dedicated contributor to the recreation industry, both on the ground in Prince Albert and across the province. He is also a passionate volunteer: in addition to his role as President of the SPRA Board of Directors, Jody serves on the Board of the Prince Albert Sports Hall of Fame and has volunteered on the organizing committees of countless sport events. Jody loves the inclusive aspect of recreation and considers providing positive opportunities for people of all ages and backgrounds the most rewarding part of working and volunteering in recreation. In his free time, Jody can be found on the links and at the rinks playing golf and hockey, in addition to getting outside and exploring Saskatchewan’s many lakes and parks.