Ottawa Churchill Society Directors
The following individuals are the Directors of the Sir Winston Churchill Society of Ottawa. Their principal goal is to ensure that the SWCSO members have a broad, stimulating and enjoyable series of programs available throughout the year. Please feel free to contact us if we can be of any help.
Andrew Z. Cohen
ANDREW Z. COHEN is a journalist, author and professor. A native of Montreal, he attended The Choate School, Carleton University, McGill University, and the University of Cambridge. Among his bestselling books are A Deal Undone: The Making and Breaking of the Meech Lake Accord; Trudeau’s Shadow: The Life and Legacy of Pierre Elliott Trudeau (with J.L. Granatstein); and The Unfinished Canadian: The People We Are. While Canada Slept: How We Lost Our Place in the World, was a finalist for the Governor General’s Literary Award; in 2011 the Writer’s Trust of Canada named it one of the top 12 Canadian political books of the last 25 years. His most recent book is Extraordinary Canadians: Lester B. Pearson. A former foreign correspondent and editorialist with The Globe and Mail, he has worked for United Press International, Saturday Night Magazine, and the Financial Post in London, Toronto, Ottawa, Washington, and Berlin. He writes a nationally-syndicated column for the Ottawa Citizen and appears regularly as a commentator on television and radio. In a career of 34 years, He has won three National Magazine Awards, two National Newspaper Awards and the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal. The founding president of the Historica-Dominion Institute, he serves on the boards of the Trudeau Centre and PEN Canada. Since 2001 he has been a professor of journalism and international affairs at Carleton University in Ottawa.
Ronald I. Cohen
RONALD I. COHEN, one of the three co-founders of the Sir Winston Churchill Society of Ottawa, attended Sir Winston Churchill’s funeral in January 1965, not by invitation but by standing with the crowds in Parliament Square as the funeral procession made its way up Whitehall and thence to St. Paul’s Cathedral. That interest grew into a collection of Churchill’s writings and ultimately led to Cohen’s authorship 40 years later of the definitive Bibliography of the Writings of Sir Winston Churchill (3 vols., London and New York: Continuum, 2006), for which he was honoured by The Churchill Centre (Chicago and London) by the grant of the Farrow Award for Excellence in Churchill Studies "for his magisterial three-volume Bibliography." In addition, Mr. Cohen has published many articles and notes over nearly 20 years in Finest Hour, the quarterly publication of The Churchill Centre and he speaks regularly on aspects of Churchill’s life to organizations and societies in Canada and the United States. He is also a recognized expert in broadcast standards and self-regulatory procedures, having spent nearly 19 years as National Chair and CEO of the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council. He was also a film producer, the founding Chairman of the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television, and Senior Counsel to the Quebec Inquiry into Organized Crime (la CECO) in the 1970s. A native of Montreal, Mr. Cohen holds an A.B. (cum laude) (Harvard) and a B.C.L. (McGill) and is now a Senior Fellow of the Faculty of Public Affairs at Carleton University.
The Honourable David Collenette, PC, FCILT
DAVID COLLENETTE was born in London, England in 1946 and emigrated to Canada with his family in 1957. He grew up and was educated in Toronto. A Member of the House of Commons for 21 years, Mr. Collenette served in the Cabinets of Prime Ministers Pierre Trudeau, John Turner and Jean Chretien for 11 years, variously as Minister of State (Multiculturalism), Minister of National Defence, Minister of Veterans’ Affairs, Minister of Transport and Minister of Crown Corporations. While at Transport, he oversaw Canada’s response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, which resulted in the closing of Canada’s skies and the emergency landing of 226 wide-bodied jets at Canadian airports. In the subsequent months he worked tirelessly with colleagues and his American counterpart Norman Minetta to redesign transportation security in North America. He has also worked in a volunteer capacity for the Washington-based National Democratic Institute, and is a member of the advisory board of Parsons Brinkerhoff; the board of Harbourfront Corporation (Toronto); the board of the Toronto East General Hospital Foundation and is Chair of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (North America). He served earlier as Chancellor of the Royal Military College of Canada, as a member of the International Advisory Committee of Stanford University, California and currently is Distinguished Fellow at Glendon College, York University. Mr. Collenette holds a B.A. (Honours) and an M.A. in political science from York University, and is a Fellow of the CILT.
Charlotte Gray, C.M., FRSC
CHARLOTTE GRAY is one of Canada’s best-known writers, and author of eight acclaimed books of literary non-fiction. Her most recent book, Gold Diggers, Striking It Rich in the Klondike, is currently in production as a television mini-series. Her next book, Carrie's Case, will be published in September 2013. Her previous seven books, which include Reluctant Genius: The Passionate Life and Inventive Mind of Alexander Graham Bell, and Sisters in the Wilderness, The Lives of Susanna Moodie and Catharine Parr Traill, were all award-winning bestsellers. Born in Sheffield, and educated at Oxford University and the London School of Economics, Charlotte came to Canada in 1979. She worked as a political commentator, book reviewer and magazine columnist before turning to biography and popular history. Charlotte currently chairs the board of Canada’s National History Society, which publishes the magazine Canada’s History (formerly The Beaver.) Charlotte is a member of the Order of Canada, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and holds honorary degrees from five Canadian universities.
Don Newman, C.M., LL.D., FRSC
DON NEWMAN, Journalist, Broadcaster and Consultant, is a Principal of Day-Newman Network Inc., Chairman of the Advisory Board of Canada 2020 and Senior Strategic Advisor to Bluesky Strategy Group. An expert on Canadian and international politics, public affairs and the media, he was previously Senior Parliamentary Editor for CBC Television, anchor of live specials and his own daily and weekly political affairs programs; a national and foreign correspondent with CBC and CTV; and a reporter with the Winnipeg Tribune and the Globe and Mail. In recognition of his influential career, chronicling over four decades, Don Newman has received Canada’s highest civilian honour, the Order of Canada, was named a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. and has numerous career achievement awards and honorary degrees.
Monica S. Olney
MONICA S. OLNEY, one of the three co-founders of the Sir Winston Churchill Society of Ottawa, is a Senior Wealth Advisor and Director of ScotiaMcLeod Ottawa, a full service investment brokerage firm. Monica is a former Board Member of the Alzheimer Society of Ottawa, the Canadian National Institute for the Blind and One Voice. She has also been involved with minor hockey and the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club. Originally from Sherbrooke, Quebec, Monica is an Economics graduate from Bishop’s University. Her keen interest in Canadian Military History owes its origin in some measure to both her father’s six years of military service overseas in WWII and her mother’s wartime service for the British Government and the French Provisional Government. No doubt, they are smiling at her involvement with a Churchill Society.
Pamela Reynolds
PAMELA “PAM” REYNOLDS, one of the three co-founders of the Sir Winston Churchill Society of Ottawa, is a retired administrator who recently moved to the nation’s capital from Vancouver Island. Born and raised in Great Britain, she and her husband Peter and young family emigrated to Canada in 1966. Prior to her relocation from Victoria to Ottawa, Pam was active in the Vancouver Island chapter of the Sir Winston Churchill Society, of which she and her late husband were founding members (in 2004). Since that time, Pam has been an avid member, including participation at the International Society meetings in Vancouver, Boston, San Francisco and London, England (2011). Even before relocating to Ottawa, Pam knew our nation’s capital should have, indeed even needed, a local chapter - not least of all because Sir Winston’s fondness for our country - and Pam is excited to play a part in this endeavour. Not to date her (too much), Pam retains vivid memories of Churchill on V-E Day!
Marie Danielle Vachon
MARIE DANIELLE VACHON is presently the Acting Director, Management and Development at Security Operations of the Privy Council Office Security and Intelligence Secretariat. In this capacity she is responsible for the development of strategic advice, analysis, briefings and recommendations on the Government of Canada security orientation and framework. Previous to this, she was responsible for Table Research Branch, the centre of research, analysis and training on parliamentary procedure. She also served in the House itself, sharing responsibility with other Table Officers for the provision of advice to the Speaker and other officials. In 2009, Marie Danielle was Acting Chief of Protocol and Director of Events for Parliament. Marie Danielle Vachon holds a certificate in Linguistics from the Sorbonne Nouvelle, a B.A. in History from the University of Waterloo, and a M.A. in Public Policy and Administration from Carleton University.
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