Trustee Erika Lougheed believes public education is one of the strongest and most important building blocks to help create healthy communities. She believes that schools where students feel safe, supported and understood promote growth, development and wellness. A former East Ferris councillor, Trustee Lougheed is interested in policy. She wants to ensure that no student is left behind and that the needs of all students are met, setting them up for future success. She says the relationships between staff in the education system and her two school-aged children were a big motivator in her decision to run as a trustee. Trustee Lougheed has an interest in outdoor education and has worked as a wilderness guide. She believes that land-based settings are opportunities for students to learn about the importance of reconciliation and supports creating conditions for people to find common ground. Trustee Lougheed lives in Corbeil with her family, is an active volunteer, a potter and an advocate for equity and the environment.

Trustee Shane Hall says he was motivated to run for trustee because he wants to ensure that quality education and schools are available for children in local communities, and that good schools encourage families to grow and live in small communities. His volunteer experience includes having been a volunteer firefighter and he is involved as a coach and member of the executive of a minor hockey organization. Trustee Hall is passionate about keeping small schools open, outdoor education and tech programs. On the business side of education, he is interested in staff satisfaction, board assets and use, and funds allocation. Trustee Hall is married to an elementary school teacher, and they have two sons. In his spare time, Trustee Hall enjoys sports and the outdoors.

Trustee Jeanie Fuscaldo wants to contribute to an education system that represents all voices within the communities served by NNDSB. She acknowledges that collective strengths and struggles propel organizations to work towards solutions. Trustee Fuscaldo served on two parent councils, has been a family advocate and tutor for dyslexic learners for the past seven years and has collaborated with advocacy organizations across Canada to improve education systems for all learners. She believes that children come first, and she is passionate about independent literacies, Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths (STEAM) and the trades. Trustee Fuscaldo enjoys writing and is an avid reader who strives to learn something new each day.

Trustee Phillips wants to see a school system that works with families to support diverse and unique learners in every classroom. She strongly believes in the public school system’s mandate to provide a supportive and engaging education for all children. Trustee Phillips has extensive community service experience working with newcomers. She is also a Board member of HANDS the family help network. She is passionate about challenging behaviours and non-punitive approaches to discipline, and inclusion, diversity and equity. As the Manager at KIND Forest School she works everyday with children ages 4 to 10 in a small nature-based independent school. Trustee Phillips and her family moved to North Bay in 2014. She is completing a Master’s in Education at Nipissing University and loves to sing with the Near North Voices Choir.

Trustee Bill Steer believes that to assume a leadership position such as a school Board trustee, a high-quality system needs to be promoted; a system that focuses on improving every student’s success and well-being. He values equity, diversity and inclusion, Truth and Reconciliation, student voice, quality and innovation, environmental stewardship, good governance, accountability, collaboration and integrity. He values the Multi-Year Strategic Plan for its consideration of all stakeholders in the board’s goal of student achievement and well-being. Trustee Steer is a former NNDSB teacher at both elementary and secondary levels, teaches part-time at Nipissing University and is the founder and head of school/general manager of the Canadian Ecology Centre. He is the father of a grown daughter who is a product of NNDSB, and in his spare time, he writes as Back Roads Bill for CBC and Village Media.

Louise Sargent was born and raised in North Bay. This is her third consecutive term as a Near North District School Board Trustee after retiring from teaching locally for 33 years. She believes accessibility, listening, working hard, and using her educational knowledge and experiences are key to continuing to be an informed representative for students in the decision-making process at the trustee level. Louise continues her committee involvement in the Equity Advisory Circle, First Nation Advisory Committee, Special Education Advisory Committee and the W.J. Fricker Building Committee.