National Board of Directors
Victoria’s Quilts Canada (VQC) is governed by a Board of Directors composed of volunteers from among our membership. The Board is appointed for a one-year, renewable term by our members at annual general meetings. New Board members can also be added at other times through a vote by the current Board members.
The Board holds regular meetings and is responsible for the overall management of the organization. It establishes the overall strategic direction, sets policy and monitors the operations of all the Branches throughout Canada.
President
Wendy Greenwood
Vice-President
Lucille (Lucy) Doré
Treasurer
Peter Greenwood
Secretary
Rowena Maxwell
Director IM/IT
Andrea De Meo
Wendy Greenwood
President
Wendy first joined VQC as a Friends Group volunteer in 2019, after retirement as the Head of Human Resources for a federal government department. She also had careers as a teacher and as a Community Education Coordinator, in addition to being involved in various volunteer organizations and community initiatives in both Nova Scotia and Ottawa. She still enjoys making quilts with the same Friends Group. She was elected National President at the AGM in September of 2024 when Lucy Doré stepped down.
Lucille (Lucy) Doré
Vice-President
Lucy joined the Board in the spring of 2019 following a twenty-five-year career in communications, marketing and client services for Ottawa’s public transit system, OC Transpo, and her ten-year second career with a not-for-profit national association. Lucy first heard of VQC several years ago through her curling friends who were quilters, and became involved with this very worthwhile organization after her retirement. She was elected National President when Blanche Dunn retired in March 2023, and stepped down from that position in September of 2024 after a very busy year of transition.
Peter Greenwood
Treasurer
Peter joined VQC as a Quilt Delivery Driver in 2021, after twenty-six years in the Navy, twelve more in the public service as a project engineer and project manager, and four years teaching software in the private sector. In 2023 he volunteered to be VQC's National Treasurer. He still delivers quilts in the Rockland and Cumberland area.
Rowena Maxwell
Secretary
Rowena was recruited by another VQC member in the summer of 2024 and is excited to take on the role of National Secretary. Her many years of experience in various roles with the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission has provided her with the opportunity to coordinate, lead and prepare minutes for meetings with licensee and international stakeholders. She has also developed many other documents related to her work. Rowena is enjoying putting her skills to work for VQC.
Directors at Large
Blanche Dunn
Carole Noël-Mills
Judy Callingham
Blanche Dunn
Blanche has been with VQC almost since the beginning. Her duties as the Coordinator of Friends Groups for National Office for so many years allowed her the opportunity to get to know many of our volunteers personally. She has been a member of the Board of Directors since the start of VQC and helped our founder Betty Giffin in a variety of capacities during her two years as Vice-President. Blanche became National President in 2008 and retired in early 2023.
Carole Noël-Mills
Carole has been involved with Victoria’s Quilts Canada for about twenty-one years. She joined while she was still working for the federal government, and continued volunteering after retirement. Over the years she has participated in different fundraising activities such as the Quilt-a-thons, and fashion shows, as well as other fundraising activities and kit making. She is now part of the Board of Directors as a Director-at-large.
Judy Callingham
Judy heard about Victoria Quilts Canada (VQC) from a sailing friend in 2008 and joined a friends’ group that met in the evenings. Her education and career were in high tech, but she was also a very experienced seamstress with her master’s thesis on “Computer Aided Graphics for Pattern Drafting and Design”. With all this sewing experience, she was still a complete newbie to quilting techniques. She has been involved in VQC activities such as quilt-a-thons, fundraising fashion shows, making quilt kits, collecting and sorting commercial fabric donation and using a very old longarm to complete dozens of Victoria Quilts. Her background in graphics and math was a real asset in designing VQC quilt patterns and adapting many patterns to post on the VQC website. She enjoys teaching quilting to friends and neighbours, who have also become addicted to quilting.
Andrea DeMeo
Andrea is a long-time quilter who enjoys volunteering. She was recruited by another VQC member to join the Board in 2022. Thanks to her many years of experience in the High-Tech sector she uses her skills to keep all our background data management systems working, and keep everything flowing in the right direction, while ensuring that we have all the necessary security protocols.