Team
Get to know the people behind Pencils for Kids.
Our team is entirely volunteer and brings a wealth of experience to the table - most importantly everyone cares deeply about making a difference in the lives of children who are struggling to get an education. For more information on our team, or questions, please email info@pencilsforkids.com.
 Robin Mednick Robin Mednick is a founding member and Director of Pencils for Kids and a lifelong advocate for many charitable causes. In addition to having an M.A. from Oxford University in Politics and Economics and a degree in Law from Osgoode Hall, Robin’s accomplishments include creating and co-editing the bestseller, Heroes in Our Midst, Top Canadian Athletes Share Personal Stories From Their Lives in Sport, establishing the Urban Leadership Awards Program for the Canadian Urban Institute, serving as Manager of Canada House in the Commonwealth Games in Manchester, Manager of Special Events at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne and acting as Coordinator of 170 athletes who were ambassadors for Toronto’s Olympic Bid. For two years she worked as the Executive Producer of the Good Life Radio show hosted by Jesse Dylan on Sirius Satellite Radio. Now Robin donates her time, as a volunteer, to running Pencils for Kids. |
 Dan Galbraith Dan is a graduate of the Photo Arts program at Ryerson University and spent 9 years managing the Corporate Communications Department at Sears Canada's Head Office. This experience allows Dan to understand the needs of his corporate clients. Event management and photo assignments have taken Dan across the country and around the world. An accomplished photojournalist and producer, Dan has covered Pan Am, Commonwealth, Olympic, Paralympic and Francophonie Games as well as a number of other sporting and corporate events over the past 20 years. |
 Molly Killingbeck Molly has three decades of experience in sport as an athlete, coach and administrator. As an athlete, she represented Canada in the sport of Athletics in several multi-sport games and won numerous medals including a silver medal at the Olympic Games. She coached the men’s 4x100m relay team that won a gold medal at the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games (Atlanta, Georgia). |
 Michael Williams Mr. Michael Williams is a faith driven person who has a passion for helping those in need. Not taking ‘no’ for an answer, he responds to any challenge with kindness, persistence, and the moral obligation to do the right thing. He draws from his deep sense of inner faith to work on his tasks knowing that going the extra mile at the end is only the beginning of the journey. |
 Ian Chalmers Ian is a creative entrepreneur whose keen energy and passion for design have sparked many innovative start-ups. Ian’s operating principle champions methods and processes that embrace the human element. This translates directly into the success of the project, but more importantly, it impacts positively on the well being of business or organization. A graduate of OCAD in both Fine Arts and Communication Design, Ian has over 18 years of expertise in creative problem solving, graphic design, corporate communications, not-for-profit campaigns and user centered design. In addition to launching Pivot Design (1998), Ian also co-founded Torch Partnership (2006), a Design Strategy firm and Akendi(2008), a User Experience firm. Over the past 4 years, Ian’s philanthropic desire has found him lending his design hands as a board member and volunteer supporting Pencils for Kids, which provides school supplies, build schools and libraries in a small community in Nigér, Africa. |
 Louise Sherman Louise Sherman is the Pencils for Kids Program Director. Louise spent one of the best months of her life representing P4K in Niger in November 2008, living and working with the kids who are the direct beneficiaries of our programs. While there, she had the opportunity to truly understand the needs of these wonderful people. She developed and implemented a theatre program and a book club, both of which culminated in a fabulous presentation by the kids for parents, the community, the village and civic dignitaries. |
 Gilda Rovan Gilda Rovan, BA, ROHP, DIHom, HD, is the Administrator of Pencils for Kids. She received her B.A. at the University of Toronto and was an elementary school teacher for the North York Board of Education. Her business experience as the former general manager and vice-president of a weight loss company and owner and operator of a Toronto esthetic salon is an important asset to her role as administrator. Gilda is a Doctor of Homeopathy and Registered Nutritional Consultant and has a private practice in Richmond Hill. For the past eleven years, Gilda has coordinated and lectured at the Nutritional Preceptorship Programme which is designed to educate alternative health care practitioners. She is presently a board member of the Spirituelle Divas Organization. She has appeared on numerous occasions on the "Erin Davis Show”, "Michael Coren Live” and "Talk TV”. Her new role as "Grandma” is her favorite role of all and reminds her how blessed our children are to have the gift of education as their birthright. |
 Carolyn Taylor Carolyn is addicted to grass roots start-ups! In 1986 she launched ArtsWeek for the then Arts Foundation of Greater Toronto, followed by The Word On the Street Book and Magazine Festival in 1990, which grew to 5 cities across Canada during her tenure. After cycling across Canada, she project managed Toronto’s 2008 Olympic Bid Arts & Culture Committee, which led to her next grass roots start-up – a pilot project for an ’08 Bid legacy called World Youth Centre. She has produced concerts, galas and festivals for the culture and heritage sector, national recognition programs for emerging entrepreneurs, large-scale youth gatherings, an Olympic education program and participates on various boards of small to mid-sized culture and social-change organizations. She is over-the-moon to be Executive Advisor to Pencils for Kids (and finds it curious to be writing about herself in the third person!) |
Advisory Board |
 David Crombie David Crombie is a former Mayor of Toronto, Member of Parliament, and has served as Federal Cabinet Minister. He served as Chancellor of Ryerson Polytechnic University in Toronto and was conferred to the title of Chancellor Emeritus in 2006. He has received a Doctor of Laws (honoris causa) from the University of Toronto for his contribution to his native Toronto and a Doctor of Laws (honoris causa) from the University of Waterloo for his contribution to the quality of life of Canadians and the environment. A member of many community organizations, he is Chair of Ontario Place Corporation, the Founding Chair of the Waterfront Regeneration Trust and President of David Crombie & Associates Inc. He also serves as Chair of the Advisory Council for the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO). David Crombie has been appointed as an Officer to the Order of Canada. |
 David Kraft During the past 10 years David has been associated with Strategic Communications, a firm that specializes in research, communications and fundraising for the not-for-profit sector. As senior consultant he has directed and facilitated strategic planning, designed quantitative and qualitative research projects, and developed communications campaigns for dozens of clients including Greenpeace, Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, Working Women’s Community Centre and Hamilton’s Centre for Civic Integration. |
 Brad Gibson Brad is the President & COO of Sym-Tech, which supplies environmental (rust, paint, fabric), tire and appearance protection plus the related warranties and extensive training to New Car Dealers. As a Chartered Accountant, he is passionate about adding value to organizations and measures his success through bottom line enhancement. He has an outstanding track record of developing dedicated, high performing teams. Brad has extensive contacts in the consumer packaged goods industry and is assisting in our fund raising activities and strategy development. Brad is an avid golfer and was a member of the organizing committee which contributed over $1million dollars for cancer research in the name of Canadian golfing great, George Knudson. With a young son, Brad is a firm believer and supporter of education. |