Province announces new appointments to Brandon University Board of Governors

Manitoba Education and Training advises it has appointed five and reappointed two members to the Brandon University Board of Governors.

Kerry Auriat is vice-president and an investment advisor with National Bank Financial in Brandon.  He also serves as a weekly columnist for the Brandon Sun.  He holds a bachelor of arts from Brandon University and previously served as a student representative on the Brandon University board of governors and Brandon University senate.  Auriat has also served on the boards of the Brandon General Hospital Foundation and Murray House Cancer Residence and as co-chair (fundraising) of the Brandon Riverbank Discovery Centre.

Brad Zander is a lawyer at MLT Aikins LLP specializing in corporate and commercial law.  He received his Juris doctor (dean’s list) from the Schulich school of law at Dalhousie University in 2010 and was called to the Ontario Bar in 2011 and the Manitoba Bar in 2014.  He volunteers as a member of the fundraising committee for the Delta Waterfowl Foundation, a pro bono legal advisor for the Breast Cancer Society of Canada, a member of the Professional Liability Claims Fund Committee for the Law Society of Manitoba, and a business advisor and coach for the Fast Pitch Program with The Winnipeg Foundation.

Jason Gobeil works as an Aboriginal community co-ordinator for the City of Brandon/Brandon Urban Aboriginal Peoples’ Council.  He has over 10 years of experience working directly in the areas of employment counselling, project management and community program development.  He has volunteered his time serving on boards of the Brandon School Division’s Indigenous Advisory Committee and the Interprovincial Association on Native Employment (Westman Chapter).  Gobeil is also a member of the Brandon Bear Clan Patrol and is bilingual (French).

Robyn Sneath is the president/owner of three companies:  Fraser Sneath Coffee, Brandon’s first high-end coffee shop featuring Manitoban products and located in a renovated historic building; Sneath Projects, a boutique construction company; and Bowerbird Holdings Ltd., a real estate development company that specializes in the restoration of heritage buildings in Winnipeg and Brandon.  She holds a master of theological studies from Harvard and a PhD in education from Oxford.  She has experience serving on numerous boards including the board of directors of CanU Canada, an intensive mentorship program at the University of Manitoba that helps at-risk kids, and Servants of Service, a not-for-profit organization developing affordable housing for seniors in downtown Brandon.

Grant Jackson is a third-year history major at Brandon University.

The two reappointed members include Shawn Chambers, vice-president with RBC Phillips Hager & North, and Caroline Stitt, a second-year student at Brandon University.

The Brandon University board of governors consists of 17 members, 10 of whom are appointed by the lieutenant-governor in council.  Of the 10 members appointed by the lieutenant-governor, two must be students of Brandon University.  The powers of the board are set forth in The Brandon University Act and include the appointment of the president, vice-president, deans and the other staff.

Appointments are for up to three-year terms except for students who have a one-year term of office.