About Us

Our Board

Our Board of Directors includes the following volunteers.

Mark Adams – Board Member, and member of the Hall Renovation Committee
Mark Adams is the head of the technology department at an area secondary school, a former coach, and a third-generation volunteer with Wooler Scouting.  Mark’s grandfather Vaughan, attended the Wooler School, was a founding member of 1^st Wooler Scouts in 1955, and helped transfer the school to the Scouting community in 1968. Mark’s father Doug, who also attended Wooler School is a former scout, Group Committee member and helped with the maintenance of the Wooler School.  His mother Brenda also served on the 1^st Wooler Group Committee for over 10 years.  Mark is a former Scout, Venturer and Rover with 1^st Wooler, and earned his Chief Scout Award and Bar to the Medal of Merit for service to Scouting. He has 30 years of service to 1^st Wooler as a leader, Group Committee member and volunteer for many fundraisers to help youth in the community and maintain the Wooler School. 

Dr. Susan Dorland, BSc (Agr), DVM – Board member, and member of the Business Planning Committee
Dr. Dorland grew up in the village of Wooler and has fond memories of the community and of the Wooler School.  Her father, Arthur Dorland, was a School Board Trustee for the school.  Sue attended the University of Guelph where she completed degrees at the Ontario Agricultural College and at the Ontario Veterinary College. She is a leader in the Ontario veterinary community, having spent several years as a member of the Board of Directors of the Ontario Veterinary Medical Association (OVMA), and is a Past President.  Sue is the former owner of the Oshawa Animal Hospital and currently on the Board of Directors for the Farley Foundation, the charitable foundation of the Ontario Veterinary Medical Association.

Bob Lawson, Ph.D – Board Chair
Bob grew up in Wooler and was a member of 1^st Wooler Scouts for over a decade.  Bob served 12 years in the Canadian Army, followed by 26 years with Global Affairs Canada, where he specialized in international negotiations, including acting as the Senior Policy Advisor for Canada’s 1997 initiative to Ban Landmines.  Bob was the 2000-01 International Humanitarian Law Scholar in Residence at the Canadian Red Cross and later led Canada’s efforts to address the illegal trade in conflict ‘blood’ diamonds.  He also led the 2005-07 Global Affair’s initiative to develop a Corporate Social Responsibility framework for Canadian extractive industries working internationally.  Over the last decade Bob served as a senior executive at Global Affairs Canada, providing leadership in corporate business planning and performance management.  He was the Corporate Risk Officer for Global Affairs Canada from 2010-2016.  He retired in 2021, after leading the team supporting the renovation of the historic Lester B. Pearson building, the Global Affairs Canada Headquarters in Ottawa.

Laird Nelson – Board Member, and member of the Hall Renovation Committee
Laird Nelson was born on a farm west of Wooler to parents who attended the Wooler Continuation School.  He is 77 years old and is a retired Woodlands Manager for Domtar Forest Resources and a member of the Professional Forester’s Association. He also recently retired as a partner of the Northumberland Tree Planters, who supported Ontario’s Fifty-Million Tree program.  Laird attended Scouts in the Wooler School starting in 1958 and after completing college worked for ten years in Montreal and Vancouver for the Pulp and Paper Research Institute of Canada.  Laird returned to Wooler in 1975 and started the Wooler and District Recreational Association to create recreational opportunities for youth in Wooler.  He joined the 1^st Wooler Group Committee in the early 1980s and was Group Commissioner for 20 years overseeing Scouting programs and fundraising to support Scouting and the Wooler Scout Hall.  Laird has devoted  40 years of volunteer service to  Scouting.

Jeanne Powell – Board Member, and member of the Hall Renovation Committee
Jeanne Powell has raised a family and lived in the Wooler area for 43 years. She was warmly welcomed and inspired by the wonderful network of Wooler women who volunteered so much time to support the community and its many activities.  Jeanne was a Cub Leader, Scout Leader and served on the 1^st Wooler Group Committee. She has a keen interest in preserving Wooler history and architecture and ensuring there are recreational programs in place to support the development of area youth. 

Chris Rose – Board Member, and member of the Hall Renovation Committee
A lifelong member of the Wooler community, Chris is an electrician by trade and a member of the First Wooler Scout Group as a child.  Chris is Site Foreman with Diamond Electric in Trenton, Ontario.

Michael (Mike) Smith – Board Member and Board Secretary
Mike Smith grew up and raised his family in Wooler.  He joined the 1^st Wooler Cubs in the 1960’s and continued with Scouts and Rovers.  He was a Scout Leader in Wooler for 30 years, a Venturer Advisor, and was also the Secretary for the 1^st Wooler Group Committee for several years.  received an award for 50 years of service to Scouting in 2021.  Before retirement, Mike was a certified Network Engineer, obtained a Certificate in Adult Education from Loyalist College, and trained technical staff across Ontario.  He spent many years coaching area youth in T-ball, soccer, and hockey.

Lindsay Wilson – Board Member and communications lead
Lindsay Wilson is a dedicated community advocate and lifelong learner originally from the Barrie area. She has called Trenton home since 2012 and now lives in nearby Stockdale with her son Caleb, bearded dragon Fuego and special needs cat Jooniper. With backgrounds in both Social Service Work and Policing, Lindsay brings a unique blend of empathy, structure, and curiosity to everything she does. She’s especially passionate about history and community heritage, which led her to become involved in the Wooler School Project. Outside of her community work, Lindsay is happiest near the water, cheering on a good hockey game, nurturing her plants, or curling up with a great book with her partner Jose. She also has a deep love for animals and finds fulfillment working with them whenever possible. Lindsay’s grounded, thoughtful approach and genuine care for people and the past continue to shape her contributions in both personal and community spaces.

Advisors to the Board

Veronica Madonna – Licensed Architect OAA, MAA, FRAIC, M.Arch, B.E.D.S., B.Arch.Sc
Veronica Madonna is a renowned Canadian Architect with nearly 20 years of experience, working alongside prestigious architectural firms. Licensed with both the Ontario Association of Architects and Manitoba Association of Architects, she has been honored as a Fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, recognizing her significant contributions to architecture. Currently, she is an Assistant Professor at the RAIC Centre for Architecture at Athabasca University and the founder of Studio VMA Inc., an architectural firm that focuses on the interconnection between people, the environment, and architecture. Veronica has provided advice to the WACO board for several years and is now leading on the design of the addition and the interiors for the Wooler Schoolhouse.

Dimitri Papatheodorou Architect – BES. B.Arch. OAA. MRAIC.
www.theperiphery.ca
Dimitri Papatheodorou is a Warkworth, Ontario–based architect whose career spans four decades. He has designed a wide variety of buildings in residential, commercial and institutional contexts. He has also worked on educational and community-oriented projects such as not-for-profit daycare centres.
In parallel with his architectural practice, he served for twenty years as adjunct faculty in the Architectural Science program at Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University). He currently leads his own practice from a six-acre collaborative studio and gallery on a former farmstead just outside Warkworth.
In addition to his professional work, Papatheodorou has been active in the local arts community. He was a founding board member and past chair of the Arts & Heritage Centre in Warkworth, and has served on the board of the Art Gallery of Northumberland. He also writes a regular column on design, visual art and music for Grapevine Magazine, a Prince Edward County cultural publication.
The Periphery is a combined studio, gallery and performance space. This integrated site serves as his home base and showcases his interdisciplinary work across art, music and architecture.

Luigi Ferrara, OAA, MRAIC, Hon. ACID O
Luigi Ferrara is an architect, designer, educator and storyteller. He is the Dean of the Centre for Arts, Design & Information Technology at George Brown College in Toronto, Canada and Director of the internationally acclaimed Institute without Boundaries. He has served as President and Senator of ICSID (now called the World Design Organization [WDO]) and lectures around the world on topics as diverse as design and sustainability, design management, urban planning, information technology, digital media, telecommunications and the Wisdom Economy. In addition to running the Centre for Arts, Design & Information Technology, Luigi also advises the College’s Senior Management Team on Academic Space Planning.

Greg Moran
Greg (Paul) Moran grew up in the Wooler area with his family farm being established on Gunter Settlement Road in the 1850’s. He is an HVAC Professor who teaches at Durham College and Loyalist College. Through extensive experience with the trades, Greg provides WACO with valuable technical expertise on energy systems and building operations.
Greg’s father, Paul (Charles) Moran, attended Wooler School in 1956 before being transferred to the new high school (ENSS) in Brighton. Greg has a strong connection to his community and feels it’s important to volunteer his time to support this project.

Mike Cowan
Michael Cowan, a proud Woolerite is the oldest of 4 children of Michael and Ann Cowan. He was raised on a farm 2.5 miles west of Wooler on the Old Wooler Rd. After having graduated from E N S S Michael joined the Royal Canadian Air Force. After 18 months he took his release and returned to his home and embarked on his Real Estate Licensing program through Durham College. He became licensed in 1976. Michael obtained his Brokers license in 1984 and later obtained his Appraisal Certification in 1992. He joined Royal Lepage in 1993 where he is a broker with the firm. Michael has been very active in the region primarily with the Trenton Memorial Hospital. In 2015 when there was an impending threat to close Trenton Memorial Hospital he and a number of other community organizers formed the organization Our TMH , to bring awareness to the community and to push back against Quinte Health Care. He has served as the chair of that organization from January 2015 to November 2024 and now serves as its treasurer. Michael is also active in the Quinte West Chamber of Commerce having been the president 4 times since joining in 2000 and is currently the Director of the Trenton Rotary Club..

WACO Members

As of Sept 2025, WACO work was being supported by a network of 90 WACO Builders Members who have donated and volunteered over 900 hours to cleaning, repairing, and painting the Old Wooler Schoolhouse.