A highly seasoned board
The leadership and experience to open the doors of Eli’s Place.
Dr. Howard Hamer
MD, FCFP, MSC(A), FCBOM
Chair
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Howard is a Family & Occupational Physician; now semi-retired, he works part-time as an industry consultant in worker health and safety. Past leadership roles include: Board Member of the Humber Memorial Hospital (now Humber River Hospital), past president of the Occupational & Environmental Medicine Association of Canada and the Medical Director of the Function & Pain program at Altum Health, a division of the University Health Network.
Deborah Cooper
BScN, RN
Vice-Chair, Founding Director Emeritus & Co-Chair Fundraising Committee
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A community volunteer and advocate for over 50 years, Deborah retired from the family business in 2015. Earlier in her career Deborah worked as a Toronto Public Health Nurse & Nurse Educator at Seneca College with a special interest in maternal and child health. Deborah is the co-author of Bridge over the River Why, a guide for parents who have lost children to suicide. A suicide loss survivor, following her son, Eli’s death, Deborah is a Founding Board Member of Eli’s Place.
Carol Cowan-Levine, C.M.
BA, MSW, RSW, RP
Secretary
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Carol is a Registered Psychotherapist in private practice, and a passionate advocate for excellence in healthcare. Her investment in community is reflected in her work on the numerous Boards on which she has served: Past President of the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario (CRPO), Past Chair and Honorary Member of the Board at Women’s College Hospital, Past Chair and Member of the Advisory Board of the Child Development Institute, Chair of the Advisory Council of Women’s College Hospital Foundation, an elected trustee of the Holland Bloorview Rehabilitation Hospital (Children) and a worker bee invested in making a difference.
Carol was named to the Order of Canada in December 2024, for her exemplary work in the field of mental health.
Janis Lemon
BSC, FSA, FCIA
Treasurer & Finance Committee Chair
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Janis is an actuary with over 25 years of experience working with both public and private sector organizations. Her expertise lies in managing and assessing risk within pension programs and designing retirement solutions that support the needs of a diverse workforce. Throughout her career, Janis has been committed to helping organizations build sustainable and inclusive retirement strategies that align with their long-term goals and values.
David L. Cooper
Founding Director Emeritus
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David, Eli’s father, is a retired business owner with extensive corporate and non-profit experience. Founder of STUFF Canada, a non-profit created in 1999 to reduce homelessness and poverty in Toronto, David was the 2004 recipient of the New Spirit of Community Award, Canadian Centre for Philanthropy, and the Peter F. Drucker Award for NFP Innovation in 2003. David, a suicide loss survivor, is the co-author of Bridge over the River Why, a guide for parents who have lost children to suicide, and is currently a volunteer grief facilitator for the Toronto Distress Center. David is a Founding Board Member of Eli’s Place.
Brendan Brooks
CFA
Director
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Brendan is a CFA Charterholder with an extensive background in real estate investment, mainly with Revera Inc. where he oversaw the development and operations of high-end assisted living and memory-care facilities in Canada, the USA and UK. Brendan is currently Director, Real Estate Management at Forum.
Debra Bond-Gorr
BA(Hons) CFRE(retd)
Director
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Debra Bond‑Gorr has been a mission‑driven, impact-focused philanthropic leader for 37 years. A social justice advocate, she has dedicated her life’s work to making a positive difference for the individuals, communities, and organisations that have been a part of her life journey. Currently, a Senior Consultant with Global Philanthropic (Canada) Inc., Debra has previously been CDO at Centennial Infant & Child Centre Foundation, a professor at Loyalist College, VP at Prostate Cancer Canada, CEO at Humber River Health Foundation and ED at Hart House, University of Toronto.
Jon Finkelstein
CA
Director
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Jon is a Managing Director at PwC Canada with more than 30 years of experience across advertising, brand strategy, and complex organizational change. He has spent his career helping leaders and institutions build trust, sharpen direction, and communicate clearly when the stakes are high. Jon knows personally what it means to navigate mental health, and what it means when the right support isn’t there. He is determined to help move Eli’s Place from vision to operations.
Michael Greenspan
BMOS
Director
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Michael brings lived experience and over five years of volunteering at mental health organizations, including his current role as a trained peer support facilitator at the Frederick W. Thompson Anxiety Disorders Centre. With a background in community engagement and mental health advocacy, he offers insights grounded in lived experience and is connected to the community Eli’s Place will serve. Michael is passionate about improving the continuum of care and reducing stigma, and is committed to strengthening collaboration between clients, peers, and clinicians to create sustainable pathways to mental health recovery in Canada.
Kate Kostandoff
BA, B.ED
Chair of Communications Committee
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Kate is a retired secondary school teacher with the York Region District School Board. Her leadership experience includes many years as a department head of the library learning commons. She is currently a facilitator with the Children of Inmates Reading Program (a program of Book Clubs for Inmates). Kate believes in the moral imperative to create treatment programs for young adults with serious mental illness.
Rachel Lebovic
BS, MHS, PhD Student
Director
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Logan Seymour
BSc, M.Sc.
Director
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Logan Seymour is a healthcare leader with over a decade of experience in quality improvement, patient safety, and system transformation across hospital, government, and nonprofit sectors. She holds a Master of Science in Healthcare Quality, Risk, and Safety from Queen’s University and has led initiatives focused on improving care quality and advancing mental health and suicide prevention efforts. Logan’s work is shaped by her lived experience navigating mental health challenges and the healthcare system which led her to focus on addressing system-level gaps and improving care for others. She is particularly drawn to Eli’s Place’s community-driven model of care and its focus on supporting young people. She is committed to advancing equitable, compassionate, and culturally safe mental health systems, and to improving how care is experienced by individuals and families.
Brian Zeiler-Kligman
MA, LLB
Governance Committee Chair
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Brian is the Vice President of Ontario Government Relations at Sussex Strategy Group. A member of the Ontario Bar, Brian has spent his career at the intersection of government, politics, business and the law. Brian works to ensure the public, private and non-profit sectors understand each other’s respective priorities and to create effective public policy solutions that can be supported by all actors. Brian is passionate about mental health and excited to contribute to achieving Eli’s Place’s vision.
