Class notes

1980’s

Paul Born C.M. (BA ’87, Liberal Arts) – The Faculty of Arts’ 2020 Alumni Achievement Award recipient and co-founder of Tamarack Institute for Community Engagement, Paul recently retired, after 20 years as CEO/co-CEO of the organization. Paul starts a six-month sabbatical in April to finish his fifth book and will then return to Tamarack as a coach and consultant. Tamarack supports more than 42,000 learners and over 1000 cities globally who are embarking on large scale (population level) community change initiatives such as: Ending Poverty, Deepening Community, Building Youth Futures and Community Climate Transitions.

Nancy Mattes (BA ’89, Drama with a specialization in Arts Administration) received her master’s degree in Economic Development & Innovation in June 2021. Nancy is a long-standing and passionate employee of the University of Waterloo, where she is the Associate Director of Arts Advancement in the Faculty of Arts. She resides in Kitchener with her husband Joe and their two daughters Megan (BA ’19, English) and Samantha.

Ian Pomroy (BA ’87, Economics / Applied Studies) After completing an MA in Economics at McGill in 1988, Ian spent 31 years in the Federal Public Service, mainly in the Tax Policy Branch at the Department of Finance, and retired in 2019 to pursue other interests and focus on family obligations. Ian received the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012 and the Thomas K. Shoyama award for outstanding achievement in public policy development in 2019, in recognition of his work at Finance Canada. He resides in Ottawa with his wife and has taken up creative writing in retirement, penning two novels. He is currently revising both novels and plans to submit them to literary agents and publishers in 2022. In his spare time, Ian plays guitar in a cover band, songs in their repertoire of which he fondly remembers bopping to at Village 2 quad parties, The Bombshelter and Fed Hall.  

John Webster (BA ’87, Philosophy) is a lawyer at international law firm Gowling WLG, working at the Waterloo Region office. He’s ranked in the Canadian Lexpert Directory 2022 for corporate/commercial litigation. John began a wellness journey in 2016. He got in touch with physicality and came to enjoy distance running. He shares his setbacks and successes, along with insights he gained about wellness in his book Accidentally Well and on a weekly podcast Let’s Be Well Together.

2000’s

Deann Brown (James) (BA ’01) recently joined Saniflo Canada in the newly created position of Marketing and Communications Manager, responsible for developing, communicating and managing all company marketing initiatives in pursuit of its master marketing goals. In this role, Deann collaborates with all three sales divisions across Canada, as well as the customer service team and U.S. Marketing and Communications team. Since graduating from Waterloo, Deann has held numerous marketing and brand management positions with various business entities (incl. Staedtler, Farleyco Marketing, and Maple Leaf Foods). In addition to her English degree, Deann also holds an MBA from Wilfrid Laurier University.

Matthew LeBlond (BA ’08, History) joined The Globe and Mail as HRIS & Compensation Manager in March 2022. Meanwhile, he is also a Board Member & Secretary at The Get REAL Movement, a Canadian non-profit organization whose mission is to energize and empower 2SLGBTQ+ youth and their allies to voice their stories. Matthew is an experienced Human Resources professional in Benefits, Disability Management, Employee Relations and HR Technology. He is also certified in Mental Health Leadership at Queen’s University, as well as Mental Health First Aid Basic at Mental Health Commission of Canada.

Keanin Loomis (BA ’00, Political Science) recently announced he was stepping down as President & CEO of the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce to run for Mayor of the City of Hamilton in October's municipal election. Keanin spent the last nine years as Hamilton's Voice of Business, transforming the 177-year old institution into an industry model. He sits on the Board of the Hamilton-Oshawa Port Authority and lives in Hamilton's Lower City with his wife, Patricia Loomis (BA '00, Drama) and three children. Keanin served as the VP, Administration and Finance of the Federation of Students in '98-99 (serving with the current Mayor of Sault Ste. Marie, Christian Provenzano, who was Feds' President) and is putting his undefeated election record on the line this year. 

2010’s

Kristopher Kinsinger (BA ’16, History) was appointed in August 2021 as the national director of the Runnymede Society, a non-partisan organization of Canadian students and jurists committed to constitutionalism, freedom, and the rule of law. Kristopher also practices law at Jordan Honickman Barristers in Toronto, and having completed the requirements for his LLM last year at McGill University on a Joseph Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship. Kristopher also holds a JD from York University’s Osgoode Law School.

Kaitlin Stone (O'Brien) (BA ’15, English and Social Development Studies, MA ’17, Rhetoric and Communication Design) has recently accepted a secondment as the Senior Manager, Liaison and Integrated Communications at the Institute for Quantum Computing at the University of Waterloo. In her new role she will collaborate with researchers on communications initiatives aimed at showcasing the incredible research happening within the Institute. Previously, Kaitlin was the Graduate Recruitment Officer in the Faculty of Arts where she was instrumental in helping the faculty reach its domestic master’s and doctoral recruitment targets through combined communication and digital marketing strategies. Kaitlin is celebrating the six-month anniversary of her wedding on April 2.

Kelvin Tran (BA ’18, Legal Studies) recently joined Ownr, an RBC Ventures company, as an Account Specialist supporting the growth of the Sales Team. Ownr, as a legal-tech solution, makes starting a business simpler and more affordable for entrepreneurs looking to register and grow their business.  "I have the privilege of speaking to hundreds of entrepreneurs every week to learn about their dreams and aspirations of starting a business and look to help them understand what's required as they start their journey." says Kelvin.

Share your news! We invite all Arts alumni to submit a class note with any personal or professional updates (in about 75 words), which we will be happy to include in a future issue of Arts & Letters.