President
Britt is a Creative Development Specialist at the Canadian War Museum. She holds a Master of Museum Studies and a Juris Doctor from the University of Toronto, and a Bachelor of Arts & Science from McMaster University. Her passion for cultural heritage was ignited as a student intern at the Immigration Museum in Melbourne, Australia. Since then, she has put this into practice, developing exhibitions, programs and online offerings with the Multicultural History Society of Ontario (Toronto), the Canada Science and Technology Museum and the Canadian War Museum. Her work focuses on exhibition storytelling, as well as promoting accessibility and inclusion in museums. Britt comes to the Board as a strong believer in the importance of collaboration and mutual support within the heritage sector. She looks forward to contributing to the work of CHC|CPC.
Vice-President
Sarah Catterall is an MA student in the Public History program at Carleton University. She graduated with her BA Hons. in History from the University of Victoria in 2015, and she then worked as a high school history teacher. After relocating to Ottawa in 2019, she joined the Goulbourn Museum as the Education Officer, where she developed public programming and supported the Museum’s transition to a virtual model during Covid-19. Previous accomplishments include land title archival work, digital transcription with the Multicultural Historical Society of Ontario, conducting oral history interviews for the University of Victoria’s Military Oral History collection, publishing academic papers (including with the Royal United
Services Institute, Vancouver Island), presenting at the BC Studies conference in 2015, and developing a historical television spot. Additionally, she has eight years of administrative experience in the non-profit sector.
Secretary
Joanna Dean teaches environmental history at Carleton University, where she is an associate professor in the History Department. Her research focuses on the history of Ottawa’s urban forest, the history of urban animals in Canada, and the gendering of environmental activism. In 2012 she curated an exhibit at the Bytown Museum, “Six Moments in the History of an Urban Forest.” Recently she co-edited Animal Metropolis: Histories of Human Animal Relations in Urban Canada (2018). Joanna moved to the Gatineau Hills after living in Ottawa for many years and serving on numerous environmental bodies, including a term as president of the Ottawa Forests and Greenspace Advisory Committee.
Secretary
Cindy Stelmackowich is an artist, curator, and academic. She has a BA and BFA from the University of Saskatchewan, MA focusing in Cultural Studies and Women’s and Gender Studies from Carleton University, and Ph.D. in the History and Theory of Art from Binghamton University, New York. She has a studio at the Enriched Bread Artists in Ottawa, and her artworks have been exhibited across Canada, the United States, and Europe in solo and group exhibitions.
As a museum professional, Cindy has developed innovative curatorial projects that often feature historical artifacts. She has planned exhibitions for the Canada Science and Technology Museum, Canadian Museum of Nature, Bytown Museum, Canadian Consulate in New York, as well as for contemporary art galleries, including the Dalhousie University Art Gallery, Carleton University Art Gallery, Enriched Bread Artists, and Artists Space in New York City.
Past President
Jim is the Creative Director of Haunted Walks Inc., Canada’s largest walking tour company offering experiences in Ottawa, Kingston and Toronto, Ontario. He holds a BA from the University of Western Ontario and an MA in Film Studies from Carleton University. For the past 15 years he has lead product innovation and marketing initiatives for The Haunted Walk. This includes, the popular “Haunted Talks” podcast he hosts, and the hours of video content he has produced. Jim is also the owner of James Dean Creative, which offers consulting services in the areas of marketing, innovation and customer service.