The ALS Society of Canada (ALS Canada) is excited to welcome Dr. Leslie Green, Jude Groves, and Kris Noakes to our Board of Directors. Comprised of leadership volunteers with a variety of backgrounds and expertise, our Board ensures ALS Canada is well-governed and donor dollars are maximized to serve our charitable purpose.
Dr. Leslie (Les) Green is Professor Emeritus in the Law Faculty at Queen’s University, and the University of Oxford. A widely published expert in human rights, ethics, and constitutional theory, he has served on the boards of educational and cultural organizations in Canada and the UK. Les is a resident of Toronto, and lives with ALS. Having been born in a tiny village in the West of Scotland, a few years ago, he decided to go ‘back to school’ and study Scottish Gaelic, which he spoke as a child but later lost. Continuing his education as a student has given him a new perspective to his teaching to be able to sit (virtually) in the students’ seats again.
Jude Groves has several years’ experience in health and safety within the transportation industry taking on various leadership roles. He is currently the Vice President, Safety, Compliance, Injury Prevention and Training for the Kenan Advantage Group. Jude has also been a part of a number of boards, committees, and working groups including Chair of the Board for the Alberta Motor Transport Association. Jude lives in Alberta and has two young children. He enjoys travelling with his wife and exploring both on and off the beaten path around Canada and beyond, capturing moments along the way with his photography.
Kris Noakes is a citizen of the Anishinabek Nation and a member of Nipissing First Nation and a community advocate at the municipal, provincial, and federal levels. Her diverse experience includes leading a NGO, building Indigenous services in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). Kris has supported community initiatives for the City of Mississauga and City of Brampton’s Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Committees and has served as a member of the Region of Peel’s Homelessness Partnering Strategy Community Advisory Board (CAB), the First Nation, Métis and Inuit Advisory Circle for the Peel District School Board (PDSB), the Toronto Area Education Leads for the Indigenous Education Office of Ministry of Education and as a Director for Art Gallery of Mississauga.
Kris currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors and Treasurer for the Hamilton Community Legal Clinic and an appointed member of the Federal Judicial Advisory Committee for the GTA, she is also a member of ALS Canada’s Revolution Ride Committee and a member of 100 Women Who Care. Outside of volunteering, Kris spends time with family including her two dogs. ALS has greatly impacted Kris and her family, losing previous generations, they continue to live with the disease and a hope for a future without ALS for everyone.
We asked our newest appointees to share a bit about their connection to the cause and what they hope to bring to the ALS community as part of the Board of Directors.
Dr. Green: I have enormous admiration for all the work ALS Canada does, from funding research in basic science to supporting caregivers and clients who are living—as I am—with ALS. I have been enormously fortunate in life, and I am now able to put time and energy into an organization that deserves as much support as it gives to others. I know this first-hand. Within a couple of weeks of my own diagnosis, ALS Canada was there for me, and it still is.
I am a law professor by trade, specializing in human rights and ethics. These issues come up in almost every aspect of the work ALS Canada does: from how research is conducted, to how drugs are regulated and how healthcare is provided. The Board is a talented and diverse one; I hope my own perspective might complement the fantastic resources it can already draw on.
Jude: In late 2021 my father was diagnosed with ALS. The personal impacts ALS has had on our family is what led me to volunteer, asking what I could do to support an organization that has been pivotal in supporting our family through this trying and tiring journey.
This is an opportunity to give back and to put my experience and education to use to support creating the opportunities to better research, better support, and most importantly improve the quality of life for people living with ALS and their families. ALS Canada is such a foundational group in supporting the fight against this devastating disease.
Kris: As a patient and from a family that has been devastated by ALS, it has not been easy navigating the healthcare system. Through ALS Canada, I was connected to the services and supports I needed, I couldn’t be more honoured to join this organization and the dedicated people that support the ALS community and research. I hope I can help in advocacy and building awareness of this disease.
Our entire Board is guided by the challenges and complexities of living with ALS, and its approach to governance is rooted in working together to improve the lives of people affected by ALS through support, advocacy, and investment in research for a future without ALS.
We welcome Jude, Les, and Kris and look forward to working with them as members of our Board of Directors.