Janet Townsend, MSW
President and Founder of
Hearts & Hands Foundation

Joan Lawton is the administrative assistant to Janet Townsend. Joan comes from a medical background and has been involved volunteering in many fields while raising her five children. After her first trip to Guatemala, Joan was inspired to continue the work of Hearts & Hands with the Mayan people knowing in some small way not only were their lives being changed but hers as well.

Director Doug Jones, is a retired sales and marketing executive from Ford of Canada. He was born and educated in Ontario and moved to Canmore with his wife Lynn in 2000. To determine their interest, adaptability and contributions in ‘voluntourism’, together with others from the Calgary area, they helped re-build and expand a church in the poor, inner city area of Santiago, Chile in 2002. Doug is a Rotarian and a believer in the Rotary motto of ‘Service Above Self’ and has assisted in fund-raising for recent Hearts & Hands projects.

Director Margaret Larsen has lived in the Edmonton area for almost 40 yrs. with husband John, raised 2 children, and is a grandmother to soon-to-be 3 times. She was  a stay-at-home mother, always very active in school and community groups and held the position of President of The Solar Energy Society of Edmonton for 2 years in the early 90's. Currently she's very involved with a group called "The Avenue Initiative" , a community revitalization project in the Edmonton's inner city neighborhood in which she lives.  She has travelled quite extensively with her husband and first went to Guatemala in  the winter of 2005. It has always been a dream to work as a volunteer in another country and after reading about Hearts and Hands in the Edmonton Journal she took her first trip with us in January, 2006. It was so fulfilling on many levels for her and she came home feeling she had helped others and been rewarded abundantly herself.

Director Neil O'Connor: Worked in Capital Markets and Treasury Risk for 34 years including Vice President at Chase Manhattan, Senior VP Nikko Securities, Treasurer, KR Bank, Treasurer KIPCO.

John Waterhouse retired as Vice President Academic and Provost from Simon Fraser University in 2009 and now lives in Canmore. He has held academic and administrative appointments at the University of Alberta, the University of Waterloo and Simon Fraser University. He currently divides his time between volunteer service and consulting, primarily in international education. As a member of Rotary, Academics for Higher Education Development and Hearts and Hands, John is interested in promoting human development in advancing nations through education.

Linda has worked for non governmental organizations and not for profit organizations for almost thirty years bringing to the board experience from front line to executive director, and has worked in Ontario, Alberta and the Northwest Territories. Linda has always found time to volunteer in her life, reading the newspaper to visually impaired seniors as a teenager, helping children with their literacy skills while in university, working on political campaigns as a young adult, guider, teaching church school and participating in various special interest and peer councils through her work life. Most of Linda’s career life has involved supporting adults with developmental disabilities, and she currently coordinates the volunteers at Brenda’s House, a family shelter in Calgary operated by the Children’s Cottage Society. Linda’s interest lies in policy development and planning for organizations. Linda has participated in a couple of stove building trips and is pleased to be able to continue to help by participating on the Hearts and Hands Foundation board.

Director Adria Lund works in the museum field and has a background in Art, Anthropology and Archaeology. She has travelled extensively and has a particular interest in Indigenous art, culture and healing practices. She believes, as Gandhi said, that you need to “be the change you wish to see in the world”, and that “the best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others”. Adria is passionate about making an ongoing contribution to improving the health and education of the Mayan people through the work of the Hearts and Hands foundation. During her first stove building trip to Guatemala in January of 2010, she learned that each one of us truly has the power to make a positive and lasting difference in the world. It just takes one brick, one stove, helping one child to make a start.

Cathy Sturgeon has lived in the Bow Valley since 2004. She has studied, worked and travelled extensively in South America, Europe and South East Asia. She is fluent in French and Spanish and has had a passion for Latin America and its people since the tender age of 13. This passion began when Cathy held a baby from an under privileged family in her arms in a remote village in Mexico. This inspired her to learn Spanish, but most importantly, confirmed that she wanted to help families in developing countries. Her passion for Latin America led her to graduate with a Bachelor of Commerce in International Management, as well as Bachelor of Arts in Spanish Literature with several University exchanges. Such exchanges included terms at the University of Querétaro, Mexico (business), the University of Madrid, Spain (Spanish literature) and a brief post at the Canadian Embassy in Santiago, Chile on behalf of the Canadian Commercial Corporation. Her travels to Peru and Bolivia, amongst others, have given her rich and rewarding experiences and exposed her to poverty in remote rural areas. Some of her work experience includes a project management position with the Canadian Commercial Corporation and a director level position with Cross Country Canada. She has been on the board of directors of the Banff Volunteer Centre and is now pleased to be joining the Hearts and Hands Foundation. She is elated to have had the opportunity to volunteer in Guatemala to better the lives of the Mayan people. It has now come full circle and she will draw from her past experience of working with boards of directors, not-for-profit organisations and as a volunteer herself to help grow the Hearts and Hands Foundation.

Sharon is a geologist with 25 years experience in the oil industry with the last 10 years of it running her own consulting company. Like so many parents with children she has had the opportunity to volunteer on many boards in her community, with various schools and as a coach and President of  a number of sports organizations  in both Calgary and Canmore.  She has also had the privilege of volunteering with The Mustard Seed in Calgary, cooking meals for the homeless. Although she has travelled extensively in North America, Europe and Africa, her experience travelling and working in developing countries is quite limited. She has followed the growth of Heart and Hands from its inception as a sponsor of students but only recently had the pleasure of participating in a stove building project in Uspantan.  It took only one trip to Guatemala to realize that she wanted to be a part of this organization after seeing the profound effect the projects have on the people of the communities Hearts and Hands worked in, the participation of the locals in the projects and the follow through Heart and Hands does to ensure ongoing success of the projects and the students.

(PHOTO UNAVAILABLE) Rick Davison is a retired lawyer, having practiced in the area of civil litigation for 37 years in both Edmonton and Calgary. He has lived in Canmore part-time with his wife Carol since 1995 and moved permanently there just before retiring in 2009. He was born and educated in Halifax, Nova Scotia with a B.Comm. Finance from St. Mary’s University and a LL.B from Dalhousie University. Since retiring, he has the time and interest to contribute to causes that are making a difference in the world, which includes Hearts and Hands.

Director Arleah Bloxam works as a registered dental hygienist. Originally from Ontario Arleah moved to Alberta in 2006. Shortly after arriving in Canmore she discovered the good work being done through Hearts and Hands and knew she wanted to take part. Her first trip to Guatemala in 2008 was life changing and she continues to work with hearts and hands to provide dental relief in areas of need.