(October 29, 2020) A dynamic trio of community members have been added to Laurentian University’s Board of Governors. The three new board members represent a variety of experiences, cultural backgrounds, further holding significant leadership roles in our communities.
“Our Board members play a critical role in guiding the University and these three new members have key qualities that will have a positive impact as we move forward. Laurentian will benefit from their experiences and leadership for many years to come. We are very fortunate to benefit from their insights and commitment to community.” Robert Haché - President and Vice-Chancellor, Laurentian University
“We could not be more pleased to welcome Martin, Natalie, and Karen to the Board. They come to us with an impressive depth of experience and exemplify a commitment to public service and volunteerism that will absolutely compliment our existing slate of engaged and dedicated Board members. We are very much looking forward to working with each of them and extend a heartfelt welcome to the Laurentian community.” Claude F. Lacroix - Chair of the Board of Governors, Laurentian University
Martin Gran
A hard-working self-starter, Martin Gran started as a student with Pioneer Construction and took on a variety of roles throughout his career, eventually ascending to one of the organization’s most senior roles as Chief Financial Officer, not only for Pioneer Construction but also for Fisher Wavy and the group’s equity arm, Silver Peak Capital. He has also served on the Board of Directors at the Ontario Road Builders Association (ORBA) from 2002 to 2018 and took on the role of President of the Board in 2008, the youngest to do so in the organization’s more than 90 year history.
Gran is a graduate of Laurentian University (Master of Business Administration, 1995) as well as Western University (Economics, 1991), and he also holds a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CA) designation. He lives in Greater Sudbury along with his wife and three children.
Karen Restoule
Currently, Karen Restoule serves as the Alternate Executive Chair of Tribunals Ontario where she has been leading the delivery of administrative justice across Ontario. Previously, she worked with Indigenous leadership to advance policy in her role as Director of the Justice Sector at the Chiefs of Ontario. Karen is also the co-founder of BOLD Realities, a non-profit organization that convenes discussions and develops tools to strengthen relationships between industry and Indigenous leadership.
Restoule is a graduate of the University of Toronto and the University of Ottawa’s French Common Law Program, where she was inducted into the Faculty of Law’s Honour Society in 2014 for using her legal education as a foundation for making a significant contribution to society. In 2018, she was named Public Policy Forum’s 2018 Prime Ministers of Canada Fellow.
Karen is a member of Dokis First Nation and a beneficiary of the Robinson-Huron Treaty 1850.
Natalie Turvey
A world traveler and pioneer, Natalie Turvey is a passionate advocate of journalistic ethics. The current President and Executive Director of The Canadian Journalism Foundation, a Toronto-based not-for-profit which supports and celebrates excellence in journalism through education, fellowships, research and one of the industry's most prestigious awards programs.
Under Turvey’s leadership, the CJF co-developed a national news literacy curriculum that teaches students to cultivate habits of news consumption and critical thinking which support informed citizenship, and later expanded the program to voting-age citizens to help all Canadians understand the difference between fact-based journalism and misinformation in the digital world. This year, Natalie is leading the launch of a Black Journalism Fellowship program to develop emerging talent and give rise to Black voices and Black stories in Canada’s major media.
Turvey is a graduate of Laurentian University (Baccalauréat en éducation), Western University (Bachelor of Arts), and European University (Master of Business Administration) in Brussels, Belgium.