The Project Amigo Canada Society Board

Project Amigo Canada Society was incorporated in Alberta as a nonprofit society in September of 2009 and is currently waiting for charitable status.
It is governed by a Board of Directors comprised of the talents of:

Elly Contreras

PRESIDENT. Elly is a retired graphic designer and has over 25 years experience in marketing and promotions. She and her husband Ramiro own a commercial property management company in Spruce Grove, Alberta, Canada. During the summer months, hey live on their acerage in Spring Lake, Alberta. As a member and Past President of the Rotary Club of Stony Plain, Elly has been very much involved in International Projects. Prior to her year as District Governor in 2005, she traveled to Siberia to explore an orphanage project and has also been a key element in getting funding for the APU, Malawi, Africa School for girls. Elly and her husband Ramiro have made several visits to Project Amigo in Colima, Mexico. In October of 2010, they took on a six month volunteer assignment to serve as volunteer coordinators and will do it again for the 2011-2012 season. Elly has been instrumental in getting Project Amigo Canada Society off the ground and worked hard to obtain charitable status in Canada. Elly is also a Director for PACAC (Proyecto Amigo Colima, A.C. Mexico) and PA (Project Amigo US).

Heather Kennedy-Peddle

SECRETARY. Also serves on the Board as Project Amigo's Special Education Program Chair. Heather is a member of The Rotary Club of Parkland After Dark and lives in St. Albert, Alberta. She currently works for The City of St. Albert in a variety of recreation positions. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Recreation Administration specializing in Community Development. She has many passions including advocating for persons with special needs. Heather first visited Project Amigo in January 2010 during the Vision Work Week and again in January 2011 during another Vision Work Week. Her passion to bring HOPE to children with special needs inspired Project Amigo to expand their mission to provide educational, enrichment and medical services to poor children and their families in Colima living with disabilities. Heather spear-heads fundraising efforts in Canada to support Special Educations programs in Colima.

Robert Buckley

TREASURERr. Robert is a Branch Manager at Coastal Community Credit Union in Courtenay, BC, and has been in the financial industry for over 17 years. He is a Past-President of the Rotary Club of Courtenay and is also a Director on the North Island College Foundation. Robert has a university degree in Economics and Sociology from the University of Victoria. He has been happily married to his wife Maria for 20 years and they have three beautiful girls. They both really love the Comox Valley area and are ardent golfers and travelers. Roberta and his wife Maria participated in their first Vision Clinic in 2010 and again in 2011.

Ted Rose

DIRECTOR. Ted is the founder and executive director of Project Amigo. He owned an Office Equipment business in California for 12 years. He sold his business in 1986 to move to Colima. In 2000, Ted, a member of the Rotary Club of Colima, Mexico, received Rotary's prestigious Service Above Self Award for his work with Project Amigo. Ted oversees Project Amigo in Colima and is the liaison for Project Amigo with Rotary Clubs in Mexico, the US and Canada.

Joe Schrijvers

DIRECTOR. Joe is a retired Electrical Engineer. He joined Rotary in 1993 and is a member of the Spruce Grove, Alberta Club; His main interest being in International Service. Since his retirement in 2000 he has been actively promoting Project Amigo through presentations  within his Rotary district and fundraising for various International projects. He has been a long-term volunteer since 1998, serving three months each year in Colima, Mexico. He has been instrumental in the construction of low-cost housing units, medical and dental offices, a community centre, and computer labs. He has assisted with countless workweeks, assembling and distributing literacy libraries and wheelchairs. In addition, he teaches English to high school and university students in the Colima area.

Ramiro Contreras

DIRECTOR. Ramiro, a native of Chile is a millwright by trade. He joined Rotary in 1994 and is past President of the Rotary Club of Spruce Grove. Ramiro has been involved in several international humanitarian projects, including a Microcredit project and housing project in Chile after the 2010 earthquake. Ramiro was recently named honorary member of the Rotary Club of Talagante, Chile. He has traveled to various parts of the world for International humanitarian projects. Together with his wife Elly, he spends the winter months in Colima, Mexico to oversee the projects and to serve as volunteer coordinator for Project Amigo. Ramiro traveled to Chile in 2004 as team leader for a Rotary Group Study Exchange. His ability to speak Spanish is a great asset to his volunteer work in Mexico and Chile.

Dee Louis

DIRECTOR. Dee is a long time resident of Stony Plain, Alberta where she owned several ladies wear shops. She served as a Member of Council for the town of Stony Plain and is past President of the Rotary Club of Stony Plain. Dee has been involved in various international humanitarian projects and first visited Project Amigo in 2008. She returned in 2011, bringing six other members of her Rotary club and their spouses with her. Dee is deep passion for the welfare of others, in particular children, spurred her to become more involved in Project Amigo.

J. Ross White

DIRECTOR. Ross is a member of the Rotary Club of Nanaimo, British Columbia holding the classification of Education Administration. He retired in 1995 as Superintendent of Schools and following retirement he served as an educational consultant. Ross was District Governor of Rotary International for 2002-03 and has been involved in numerous district and zone Rotary activities including training and literacy. As a member of his club is World Community Service Society he has supported Project Amigo. Ross and his wife Pam participated in a Project Amigo Christmas Work Week in 2001. In 2009, they participated again with their grand-daughter Megan. The development they have witnessed in programs and accomplishments of the children has made them advocates for Project Amigo.

Shirley Zinman

DIRECTOR. Shirley is a retired Core Resource Teacher (Special Ed Assessment, Programming, Consulting, Teaching) living in Ontario. Shirley has a Masters in Special Education from OISE. Shirley has volunteered in many areas to date: Chair for Grass Roots Concerts with The Associates of the Toronto Symphony; Tactilist for the CNIB; volunteer Probation Officer; Vice Chair of the Funeral Advisory and Memorial Society; ad hoc volunteer at Variety Village. Shirley is a member of the Scarborough Rotary Club. She visited Project Amigo for the first time in March of 2008 for the Literacy Week and returned for the 2011 Vision Clinic. Shirley remains impressed with the organization, its progress and the success of the goals and spirit of Project Amigo.