Shirley and her husband Tom came to Mulmur over 14 years ago from Richmond Hill. Their 4 daughters had left the nest and on a weekend drive they found this wonderful place. All was fairly quiet until they attended Foodstock which turned out to be a game changer. Shirley then spent a number of years volunteering on the executive of NDACT/Food&WaterFirst and has advocated extensively for farmland protection including consulting with David Crombie on the Coordinated Four Plan Review. Currently, Shirley is the Executive Director of Headwaters Communities in Action (HCIA), a not-for-profit that initializes and supports a variety of projects via partnership and stakeholder engagement. Through HCIA Shirley oversees Headwaters Food and Farming Alliance (HFFA), Citizens of Headwaters for Active Transportation Team (CHATT ), Volunteer Dufferin, and is a key partner in the DC MOVES initiative – a collective of Dufferin Social Service agencies working together to address common issues. Most recently HCIA supported the Dufferin Community Foundation (DCF) start up. The DCF is now wholly independent and she continues to volunteer as the Secretary. Past roles include 4 years on both the Mulmur Heritage Committee and the Committee of Adjustment which oversees official plan and zoning bylaw issues. As well she spent over 20 years in the financial and IT sectors in a variety of roles including project management, business analysis, IT education and HR.
“I’ve learned many important things in my roles. We’ve all seen that community coming together can achieve tremendous things. As well, people feeling connected to their community is essential to personal and community health. When considering issues that impact the community, it’s essential to do your homework and understand all the inputs and options. We live in a wonderful place that is impacted by many growth demands due to our proximity to the city. These issues need to be carefully navigated while ensuring the community thrives. We have a varied population, some live here full time and some are part time. This means priorities may be varied too. As representatives we need to keep our ear to the ground, ask questions, and stay connected to what’s bubbling up. I look forward to extending my public service, the opportunity to bring all that I’ve learned, and my passion for this community into being a capable councillor in Mulmur.”
Phone: (647) 239-0347
519 941 0490 [email protected]
