The CMEA/ACME Board of Directors is pleased to announce that the following individuals were elected to the Elected Board.
Vice President/President Elect
Kirsten Maclaine
Kirsten MacLaine currently teaches grades K-5 Music, 6-9 Band and TRAP (The Rhythmic Arts Project) at Gulf Shore Consolidated School in scenic North Rustico, Prince Edward Island. A native of Toronto, Ontario, Kirsten is a trumpet player who earned her Bachelor of Music, with a specialization in Education, from the University of Prince Edward Island in 1998. She went on to complete her Bachelor of Education from Nippissing University in 1999, and most recently a Master of Education degree from the University of New Brunswick in 2012. Over the past 14 years, Kirsten has taught music in both Toronto and on PEI, from Pre-school to Grade 13, and served in various positions of responsibility and on many different Professional committees. A passionate Music Educator, she was President of her Provincial Association, PEIMEA, and has served on the Board of CMEA for the past 5 years. Kirsten lives in New Glasgow, Prince Edward Island with her husband, Matthew, and their four young children Emma, Charlotte, Flora and Callum.
Secretary
Rebecca Brown
Rebecca teaches grades 6-8 at Ecole Leila North Community School in Winnipeg. For the last 10 years she has taught choir, vocal jazz, dance, and theatre arts to both English and French immersion students, and has co directed the school musical and travelled to the Brandon Jazz Festival each year with her jazz choirs. Outside of her school day, she is also the musical theatre director for Exhale Dance Studio. Rebecca also sits on the provincial Special Area Groups council and is Head Councilor Representative for her divisional teachers union. She is also looking forward to the birth of her first child in June. After 10 years involvement with the Manitoba Music Educators Association and 7 years on the CMEA/ ACME board, she is excited to be stepping into the Executive role of Secretary on the Board.
Members at Large
David Gueulette
David Gueulette is currently the Head of Music at Ashbury College in Ottawa, Ontario where he teaches instrumental music, jazz band and guitar. He has served on the Board of Directors’ for the Ontario Music Educators’ Association since 2006 and is currently President of the organization. David is pleased to be carrying on his role as a Member at Large on the CMEA Board and will continue to focus his energies on managing and improving the membership database and the eNewsletter.
Helen Coker
Helen Coker is currently the Past President of the Ontario Music Educators’ Association (OMEA) and co-chair of Soundscapes 2014, the annual OMEA/CMIEC conference. In addition to her work on the OMEA board, Helen is currently Learning Coordinator for The Arts in the Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB) in the London area. Prior to her time at the board office, she has taught strings, vocal, guitar, and most recently, winds and developmental special education music in three local secondary schools. She has also written curriculum support documents and lessons for the OMEA and TVDSB. Helen is excited to be working with a dynamic group of music educators across the country. She hopes to help create a unified presence across Canada to make music education a priority for every school and every student. She is looking forward to collaborating with others on the CMEA board and working for her fellow music educators across the country.
Congratulations to these successful candidates. Our sincere thanks also to Donalda Westcott, Krista Brown, and Kara Helms who willingly ‘stepped up to the plate’ by allowing their name to stand for office.
Thanks also to all members who made their voice heard by voting. This was the first time in memory that an actual election was necessary. We see that as a very healthy sign for our organization. After some initial technological glitches we had a reasonable response rate (12.5% of the membership voted). For a breakdown of voting by MEA see Table 1 below.
Table 1. Click to enlarge and open in a new window/tab.
