Meet Our Team

David Plant

Executive Director
davidplant@paltoronto.org

Melanie De Sousa

RSW (IPR), HBSc
Health Services Coordinator
healthservices@paltoronto.org

Rachel Taylor

CFRE
Fractional Fundraising
rachel@paltoronto.org

Leslie Wall

Building Manager
bldgmgr_pal@rogers.com
(416) 955-4645

Our Board of Directors

Rex Hagon

Board Chair & Executive

  • Rex Hagon started acting in the early 1950s, starring in numerous CBC TV and radio productions, including Maggie Muggins, HowdyDoody, and Jake and the Kid. He was a lead in the internationally acclaimed Canadian series The Forest Rangers, then hosted CBC’s Drop-In for three years, and co-hosted of TVOntario’s Polka Dot Door for five years.

    While continuing to perform, Rex also is a professional coach and trainer in effective business communications. He draws upon his performance training and corporate experience to guide companies in establishing strong corporate communications, through consistent, cohesive messaging.

    ACTRA Fraternal recognized Rex’s contribution by granting him their Leslie Yeo Award for Volunteerism. Rex served as President of ACTRA Toronto and Treasurer of ACTRA National. For 10 years, he was on the Board of the Children’s Aid Society of Toronto, and a key fundraiser for the Make-a-Wish Foundation.

Jean-Marc MacKenzie

Vice Chair & Executive
Fund Development Committee

  • Jean-Marc MacKenzie brings a broad range of experience to PAL Toronto. He was a professional hockey player and a Bay Street lawyer before becoming a successful business executive in the Canadian healthcare field, with firms such as Medcan Health Management, and Morneau Shepell. Currently, Jean-Marc is Chief of Strategy and Co-founder of ReGen Scientific. In these leadership roles, he supported the development of health and disability management programs for the ACTRA Fraternal Benefit Society.

    Jean-Marc has been a strong supporter of PAL, including through ONTogether, a not-for-profit group he founded to assist organizations through the pandemic. He is a member of the Board of Directors for a publicly traded company, and volunteers his time with several non-profit Boards.

    Jean-Marc has a combined Juris Doctor of law degree (JD) and a Master of Health Administration (MHA) from Dalhousie University. He also holds a Master of Education (Med) in Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology, with an emphasis on positive coaching and leadership, from the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Rochelle Porter

Board Secretary & Executive

  • A trained, professional child actor, Rochelle Porter performed on radio, television, in films, and on stage. As an adult, she managed the communications department, connecting the CBC to its audiences in Windsor and Essex County. For more than two decades, she worked as a radio and television promotion producer, program marketing coordinator, in public relations, and in community outreach. Her multimedia marketing campaign to promote CBC Radio 1550. Rochelle won an International PromaxBDA Award for "A Windsor Perspective."

    CBC cutbacks opened a new career path for Rochelle. At the Multicultural Council of Windsor and Essex County, she was a special projects manager, grant writer, and media liaison. She also helped government-assisted refugees to adapt to their new lives in Canada. Rochelle was part of a team that created a welcoming community for all, through education, community engagement, and the promotion of equity, diversity, and inclusion.

Jocelyn Reneuve

Board Treasurer & Executive
Governance Committee

  • Jocelyn Reneuve has enjoyed a wide range of experience in the performing arts, and arts administration fields. A University of British Columbia graduate with a B.A. in English literature and theatre, she worked and studied at the Arts Club Theatre School. Jocelyn performed at the James Cowan Theatre, as a member of the Chameleon Theatre Group.

    Relocating to Toronto in the early 1990s, she continued to study literature at the University of Toronto, and attended theatre classes at George Brown College. Jocelyn balanced her pursuit of professional roles with manuscript editing, arts administration, and accounting.

    A long-time supporter of PAL Toronto, she was the coordinator of the charity division from 2005 to 2011, working with the Board and residents on multiple projects, and was first elected to the Board in 2019. Jocelyn also liaised with Autumn Productions for The Limelighters, a documentary about the residents of PAL Toronto.

Elva Mai Hoover

Board Director
Residential Accommodation Committee

  • Elva Mai Hoover was Chair of the Board of Directors of PAL Toronto from 2018 to 2022, and is serving the residents once again, as an active Board member. The Residential Accommodation Committee, which she chairs, reviews applications for residency according to our building mandate.

    Elva is the definition of a working actor, with more than six decades of experience, three ACTRA Award nominations and one Genie Award nomination. In 2015, ACTRA National Council granted Elva a Life Membership, in recognition of her contribution to building Canada’s cultural industry. She is also a Life Member of Canadian Actors’ Equity, and a member of British Equity.

    Elva has played leading parts across Canada, including the Stratford Festival, and has had continuing TV roles in Road to Avonlea, The Edison Twins, Queer as Folk. Her recent film and TV appearances include Strays, The Handmaid’s Tale, The Expanse, The Christmas Chalet, The Romanovs, Mama, and Murdoch Mysteries.

Elizabeth Hanna

Interim Board Director
Management Review Committee

  • Elizabeth officially joined the PAL Community, moving in December 2022.

    As an actor she has worked in all media: radio, stage, large and small screen, but she is best known as a voice artist appearing in dozens of cartoons including Care Bears, Barbar, Beetlejuice, Little Bear, Dog City, Sailor Moon, and most recently in Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora video game and Daniel Tiger’s Neighbourhood.

     

    A case of vocal nodules that she developed during a production of Ten Lost Years at TWP spurred an interest in Speech Language Pathology and she went back to school in her 40's.  She has since worked extensively in the hospital setting working with adults with neurological disorders. As an Educator and Co –Lead of Interprofessional Education and Care at the University Health Network she collaborated with students, trainees and professional teams across the health care system. She currently enjoys an active private practice focused on accent modification, voice and professional communication.

Danann Hawes

Board Director

  • Danann Hawes holds a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from Osgoode Hall Law School, and a Bachelor of Arts with Distinction from Carleton University. In 2015, after more than a decade as the Director of Content Development and Acquisitions at LexisNexis, he moved to Emond Publishing. Danann is experienced in creatively building businesses, and developing relationships between organizations. He teaches legal publishing at Toronto Metropolitan University, in the Chang School of Continuing Education.

    Danann has volunteered with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada, and has been a strong advocate for Cambodian Legal Education for Women, a charity that supports rural Cambodian women who pursue careers in law. He has also served on the board of directors of the Society of Sharing, and the Etobicoke Humane Society.

    As a published short-story author and screenwriter, he has written five feature-length, original screenplays. Danann is a grateful dog owner and tolerates his cat Felix, who treats all humans with disdain.

Colleen Murphy

Interim Board Director
Management Review Committee

  • Before moving to PAL in 2023, she resided in a building run by Artscape and lived through its bankruptcy. Passionate about subsidized housing for artists, Colleen is keen to be part of strengthening and guaranteeing the future of PAL Toronto. Born in Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec, and raised in Northern Ontario, Colleen won the 2016 and 2007 Governor General's Literary Award for Drama for her plays Pig Girl and The December Man / L'homme de décembre respectively. Both plays were also won the Carol Bolt Award for Outstanding Play. Selected plays include The Breathing Hole (nominated for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize in the U.S.), The Society For The Destitute Presents Titus Bouffonius, Armstrong's War, The Goodnight Bird, The Piper, and Beating Heart Cadaver (nominated for a Governor General's Literary Award). She is a librettist and an award-winning filmmaker. Colleen has been Writer-in-Residence at seven Canadian universities and Playwright-in-Residence at two Canadian theatres, as well as at Finborough Theatre in London, UK. She is President of the Board of Playwrights Canada Press, and is a member of the Order of Canada.

“I’ve been living at PAL since 1998.  I love this place. PAL is a unique community in a special location of a great city.  Living next door to one of the greatest markets in the world and living in a community of creative interests is also special.”

- Barbara Sadegur; PAL Board Member 2001-2005 & 2020-2022