FUSION Saint John Inc. || Board

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*Shawn Peterson - Chair*
	Shawn Peterson is a Developer/Analyst with T4G Limited in Saint John. Born, raised, and educated in the city, he works to make it a better place to live, work, and play by getting involved with various groups such as FUSION Saint John. He currently serves as the Chair of FUSION Saint John's Board. Previously serving as the Co-Chair on FUSION's Community Engagement and Government Relations Committees. Other groups he is involved with include the Saint John Board of Trade. He is also very active in municipal, provincial, and federal politics. Shawn loves Saint John for the friendly people, work opportunities, and its amazing quality of life.
*Katie Emrich - Vice-Chair / Ambassadors Committee Co-Chair*
	Raised in Rothesay, Katie moved back to Saint John after university and recently bought a house in the South End. Katie is proud to say that she lives Uptown, and is excited about all the great things going on! Katie is a high school teacher (French Immersion Math) at KVHS and, as cliché as it may sound, she is very excited to see the leaders of tomorrow develop in her classes. Who knows, perhaps the next generation of FUSION Saint John!! Having been raised by eco-friendly and civic-minded parents, Katie is very passionate about her community, foreign aid, and environmental issues. She is very active in Saint John and the wider global community, having travelled Europe, worked in Zambia (2006) with Habitat for Humanity International, been a Big Sister with BBBS, and captained many fundraising teams throughout the years (Skate to Care, Dragon Boat Festival, Rally of Hope, Germain St. Open). Katie credits FUSION Saint John for bringing her the many opportunities she has enjoyed in the last 3 years, being instrumental in planning and implementing the Parties with a Purpose, and looks forward to the next year as she serves as Vice-Chair of the organization.
Sarah Craig - 2nd Vice-Chair
	Sarah Craig is a Saint John native who has recently moved back to the city to pursue a Master’s of Business Administration at UNBSJ. Sarah is currently working for Enterprise Saint John as a Labour Force Development Officer, and is responsible for accurately forecasting workforce shortages as well as developing and implementing innovative solutions. Sarah is currently the board’s 2nd Vice-Chair and Secretary, as well as a member of both the Ambassador and Immigration Committees. Other groups she is involved with are; the Royal Canadian Air Cadets, the Workforce Action Steering Committee, the Saint John Board of Trade, and Biathlon Canada. Sarah has a passion for the city, and is very interested in the benefits blueprint initiative, and how everyone has a role to play in New Brunswick’s energy boom. She is especially interested in meeting new people, helping them feel welcome, and maintaining lifelong connections
Claire Ryan - Communications
	Claire serves as the communications chair of FUSION Saint John. An active member of the community, Claire lends her communications skills to a variety of organizations, including the Tim Horton’s Marathon by the Sea and KidSport™ New Brunswick. She is also on the board of directors of the Saint John Board of Trade, and sits on the StFX Alumni Board of Directors. Claire has experience in event planning and communications planning in the non-profit, government and corporate sectors. An account coordinator with MT&L Public Relations, she has worked with clients such as the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, Commercial Properties Limited, Corridor Resources, the Saint John Board of Trade and the IWK Children’s Hospital. Claire is certified by the International Association of Public Participation (IAP2). A Saint John native, Claire received her Advanced Diploma in Public Relations from the Nova Scotia Community College. She is also a graduate of St. Francis Xavier University, where she studied political science.
Jane MacEachern - Legal
	Jane, a lawyer at Cox & Palmer, grew up in Saint John and always had the intention of returning here to live and work following the completion of her education. She is now developing her practice in the areas of labour & employment and corporate & commercial law while remaining involved in the Saint John community. Jane travelled while pursuing her education and earned degrees from Saint Mary’s University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario and the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton. She is currently taking classes at the University of New Brunswick Saint John towards the completion of a Masters in Business Administration. Jane returned to the city following her law degree in Fredericton and immediately found many ways to become involved in her community, primarily through Fusion. Jane is excited about being involved with FUSION and believes that FUSION provides a great forum for Saint John residents to become involved and engaged in their community. She truly believes that FUSION contributes to making Saint John a better place to live, work and play.
Shilo Boucher - Immigration Co-Chair
	Shilo grew up in Fredericton and then moved to Saint John to attend the University of New Brunswick, Saint John (UNBSJ). Shilo graduated from the co-op program in business administration at UNBSJ in 1999. From 1999 to 2006, Shilo worked in a public accounting firm, where she obtained her chartered accountant qualifications in 2002. Currently during the day Shilo is the Chief Operating Officer for the Saint John YMCA-YWCA and also acts on a part-time basis as the Chief Financial Officer for the Moncton YMCA. Shilo is actively involved with The Resource Centre for Youth (TRC) as a member of the Board of Directors and sits on the executive committee. By taking a bigger part in charitable organizations Shilo has seen the generosity and willingness of the people of Saint John to lend a hand whenever possible. Shilo loves Saint John because of the people. To this end Shilo believes it is important to help out as needed, trying to go above and beyond to ensure Saint John continues to excel forward. . She is excited to part of the FUSION’s Board of Director’s to help develop even more of Saint John’s potential.
Kristen Coombs - Community Engagement Committee Co-Chair
	Kristen is a member-at-large on the FUSION Board of Directors and is the co-chair of the Community Engagement Committee. A native of Saint John, who was born and raised on the West Side, Kristen joined FUSION while completing her studies in Fredericton as a way to remain involved in her community. Kristen is thrilled to be back in Saint John full-time, and is keen to help create opportunities to engage others. Kristen completed her undergraduate degree at UNBSJ and studied abroad for a semester in Denmark. She is a recent graduate of UNB's Faculty of Law and is currently completing her articles with Cox & Palmer. Kristen is a proud advocate for Saint John. She believes that the city has a lot to offer and that those who choose to become involved will realize that Saint John is a dynamic place to live, work, and play.
Eric Savoie - *Ambassadors Committee Co-Chair*
	Eric Savoie is a Staff Accountant for Ernst & Young LLP Advisory Services. He was appointed to the New Brunswick Advisory Council on Youth in October 2006 to advise the provincial government and public on issues relating to youth. Subsequently, in 2007 he was asked to sit on the New Brunswick Population Growth Advisory Board to represent the Youth Council with respect to immigration, repatriation and retention in the province. Eric was most recently asked to sit on the Canadian High Commission for UNESCO’s Youth Advisory Group along with other young leaders from across the country. He is a graduate of the University of New Brunswick (UNB) Saint John campus, where he obtained a Bachelor of Business Administration with a major in Human Resource Management and concentration in Accounting. Through the course of Eric’s studies at UNB he was a Millennium Scholar and was most recently inducted as a Scholar to the University of New Brunswick’s Sir Howard Douglas Honour Society. While studying on exchange at the ESCEM School of Business and Management in Poitiers, France he was elected to the position of Vice President, External of the UNB Saint John Students’ Representative Council for the 07’-08’ academic year, and throughout university served as a student representative on a number of UNB committee’s. Eric is a strong advocate for youth engagement, believes in the province of New Brunswick, and demonstrates a real desire to help contribute to making it a better environment for all to live, and work. Eric is a currently co-chair of FUSION Saint John’s Ambassadors Committee and wants to help you find ways to become engaged in our community.
Kelly Lawson - Ambassadors Committee Co-Chair
	Kelly is a born and raised Bluenoser who grew up down the road from Bubbles in Pictou County, Nova Scotia. Educated at Acadia and Dalhousie Universities, she is an Occupational Therapist with Atlantic Health Sciences in Saint John. Kelly joined FUSION upon moving to Saint John in 2007 to get to know people and to contribute to making our city a welcoming community for newcomers like herself. She loves to explore the world and has lived and studied in many parts of Canada, France, and Australia in addition to visits throughout the USA and Carribean. She enjoyed living uptown before making a recent move to the outskirts of the downtown business district where she can still walk to work and enjoy all of the great amenities and activities that uptown Saint John has to offer. Kelly loves animals and grew up riding horses, caring for dogs, cats and furry creatures of all kinds. Locally, Kelly actively supports our Animal Rescue League. During the weekday evenings and weekends Kelly can be found uptown enjoying great food with just the right glass of red wine, or in her own kitchen where she loves to experiment and entertain.
Jessica Gozdzierski
	Born and raised in Mississauga, Ontario, Jessica moved to Saint John 2.5 years ago to pursue her career as an Interior Architect at an Architectural and Design firm located in the city. Educated in Oakville, Ontario at Sheridan College, Jessica is here to bring some “big city life” to the city of Saint John. Being brought up in a Polish home, she has had the privilege of traveling throughout Europe as well as the Caribbean and finds much inspiration in various cultures and their traditions. Jessica has had the pleasure of being part of some recent developments in the city as an Interior Architect. As a FUSION board member, she sees the potential in which the beautiful city holds and is looking forward to helping make Saint John a better place to work, live and play.
Alexander Pesold - Arts and Culture Committee Co-Chair
	Born and raised in Montreal, Alexander moved to Saint John in early 2008 from Montreal to manage and develop a beautiful heritage building located in the heart of the Uptown city core. It didn't take long for Alexander to claim the city as his new permanent home. Soon after arriving, he founded Pesold Solutions, an IT business dedicated to helping individuals and small businesses maximize their productivity using computers and the Internet. Alexander loves the “sense of community”, sporting activities, entertainment, abundance of nature, and the high quality of life that Saint John has to offer.
Thomas Roberts
	Thomas Roberts was born and raised in Saint John and loves living and working in the city. Tom is a graduate of the Communication Arts program at NBCC Woodstock and works as an embroidery technician for a local company and has varied interests in the community, from local sports to the history of the city. Tom joined FUSION after volunteering for Operation Red Nose last Christmas and attended his first Party with a Purpose. FUSION is a great way to meet new people and get involved in local interests. Tom has been involved with the Masonic Lodge, Scouts Canada, Royal Canadian Legion and Football NB. Tom looks forward to working with FUSION Saint John and to get involved to help improve Saint John for all.
Lenny Qian - Immigration Committee Co-Chair
	Lenny Qian moved to the City of Saint John in 2006 to pursue a Master’s of Business Administration at the University of New Brunswick. He is currently working for Fundy Engineering & Consulting Limited as a Junior Project Manager. Lenny is active in the SJ Chinese community, sharing study and life experiences with new students, and helping new business immigrants settle in the city and acclimate to their surroundings. While studying in the MBA program at UNBSJ, he was the Student Representative of the MBA society. Born and raised in Shanghai, the largest city in China, Lenny is here to bring diversity and “big city life” to the local community. As a FUSION board member, he is more than willing to contribute to making Saint John a better place to live, and is especially interested in the retention of newcomers for the wellness and development of the city.
Scott Walton - Urban Planning Committee Co-Chair
	Scott was born and raised in Saint John, but spent 7 years living in various cities around North America. He has perspectives of several different sub-cultures, behaviours, and lifestyles. He has 5 years of e-commerce related work experience and has a major in e-commerce from UNBSJ. Scott is a dynamic and energetic graduate who is looking to be at the forefront of sustainability. He formed an entrepreneurship group two years ago to brainstorm innovative ecological technologies. One of those groups has incorporated and is developing a technology to capture greenhouse gasses. The company is also looking at advising businesses on how to become more sustainable, and accountable for their operations. While Scott leads this company he plans to contribute to sustainability personally by attending seminars, conferences, events, and becoming apart of organizations (such as FUSION) that can improve the well being of Saint John and surrounding areas. Scott is one of New Brunswick’s 21 youth leaders (21 Inc). Just recently, he was one of 180 people across Canada (of 900) selected to attend Impact’s Youth Sustainability conference in Ontario, hosted by David Suzuki. He loves to snowboard, wakeboard, and eat rediculously spicy food.