OMA Team

CHRIS HODGSON

President

 

Chris leads all OMA activities and represents the association publicly. He is a member of OMA's Board of Directors and its Executive Committee and provides broad policy guidance to the OMA Chair. Chris joined the OMA following a distinguished career in government. He entered the Legislature following a by-election in 1994 and he won general elections in 1995 and 1999 representing the riding of Haliburton-Victoria-Brock. While in government, Chris served in several positions including Minister of Northern Development and Mines, Minister of Natural Resources, Chairman of Management Board and Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. Contact Chris

 

PHILIP BOUSQUET

Manager, Industrial and Government Relations

 

Philip is responsible for industrial relations (worker health, safety, training and the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board) and government relations. He works with association members to promote policies and regulations that support a healthy work environment. From 2004 to 2012, Philip worked for the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC), initially as Director, Sustainability, and then as Senior Program Director. Born in New Brunswick, and raised in Ottawa, Philip has a B.A. (Hons.) in law and political science from Carleton University and an M.A. in political science from the University of Toronto. He served 14 years with the Canadian Forces (regular force and reserve). Philip completed the Ontario Legislature Internship Programme (OLIP), and has worked in a variety of senior policy and executive positions in the Ontario government. He is a recipient of a Natural Resources Canada Departmental Merit Award and the Canadian Forces Decoration. Contact Philip

 

KATHY DOWNS

Manager, Membership and Operations

 

Kathy works on fostering the association's member relations. In addition, she is the Secretary for the OMA Board of Directors. Kathy has a B.A. in History from Trent University and a post graduate degree in Museum Management from Fleming College. Prior to the OMA, Kathy served as the Communications and Operations Coordinator at the Ontario Museum Association, organizing Annual Conferences and advocacy events at Queen's Park and managing communications and social media accounts. Contact Kathy 

 

AYNSLEY FOSS

Issues and Policy Manager

 

Aynsley oversees both the Environment, and Energy, Innovation & Clean Technology committees, where her work involves researching the future potential of new technologies, funding models and policies required to address evolving mining trends. Aynsley originally began her career in mining at the OMA, but then spent some time working in industry for De Beers Managed Operations’ asset retirement department, before rejoining the association in 2020. During her time at De Beers, Aynsley managed stakeholder relations at three of their closure assets across Canada (Ontario and Northwest Territories) and in South Africa. Aynsley holds an Honours B.A. in political science from the University of Western Ontario, where she wrote her Honours Thesis on Canada’s taxation system; she is also currently enrolled in the school’s Mining Law, Finance and Sustainability graduate program, focusing her coursework on energy law. In her spare time, Aynsley sits on the Board of Directors for the Canadian Sport Horse Association, and she volunteers her time judging competitions and training young riders. Contact Aynsley

 

ADRIANNA STECH

Manager, Communications and CSR

 

Adrianna delivers a variety of communications projects at the OMA, including This is Mining, the public campaign to mark the association's centennial in 2020. Previously, she worked on developing and executing the So You Think You Know Mining video contest. In addition to managing web content development, growing OMA's social media presence, and other communications functions, she supports the activities of the OMA Environment Committee.  Adrianna brings a high level of international experience in communications, government relations, stakeholder engagement and corporate social responsibility to her position at the OMA.  A graduate of the University of Toronto, Adrianna has worked for the Embassy of Canada in Ukraine, the New York-based Open Society Institute (George Soros network of foundations) and a financial consultancy firm in Hong Kong. Contact Adrianna 

 

ELLEN CHIN 

Coordinator, Communications and Government Relations

 

Ellen supports the implementation of OMA’s communications and social media strategy. Prior to joining the OMA, she worked at OPSEU Pension Trust as an HR Assistant and at Mount Sinai Hospital as an HR Recruitment Assistant. At the OMA, her responsibilities include media management, digital and content design, event planning and industry monitoring. She is the curator behind the This Is Mining campaign and has grown the OMA’s social media presence on all channels.  Ellen graduated with an Honours B.A. in Political Science from Queens’ University. She is also a graduate of Humber College’s Public Relations post-graduate program. Contact Ellen