Childhood Cancer

Matthew von Teichman

Board Chair

President and CEO MAVT Holdings

Matthew is a long-time entrepreneur having founded nine businesses, sold four, and taken several public. He's a passionate believer in innovation, collaboration and creativity and brings significant enthusiasm to the cause. Matthew has been a Board Director at Childhood Cancer Canada since 2013 and founded one of Childhood Cancer Canada's most important fundraisers, Clay's for Kids in 2015, which has raised close to $1 million in 6 years. He's the twenty year husband of Jasmin and father of two testing teenagers. A passionate sports enthusiast, Matthew can be found playing golf, tennis and squash, as well as skiing, snowshoeing, biking, reading and travelling (when borders are open).

Patrick Sullivan

Past Chair

Childhood Cancer Research Advocate & Corporate Commercial Securities Litigator.

Patrick Sullivan is a passionate childhood cancer research advocate. Professionally, Patrick is a successful securities and corporate-commercial litigator at Whitelaw Twining in Vancouver, B.C. Patrick is also the proud father of three remarkable children and would do almost anything for the simple pleasure of holding his son Finn's hand again.

Tom Fenton

Board Secretary

Partner, Aird & Berlis LLP

Tom Fenton joined Aird & Berlis LLP as a partner in June 1997 after practising with a national, Toronto-based law firm for many years. He is Practice Group Leader of the Corporate Finance Group and a member of the Corporate/Commercial Group, as well as the Energy, Mergers & Acquisitions and Mining Groups. Tom’s practice is primarily focused on securities and corporate law, with an emphasis on corporate finance transactions and mergers and acquisitions. Tom also advises corporations with respect to securities, regulatory compliance, corporate governance matters, continuous disclosure obligations, general corporate matters and shareholder meetings. Tom currently sits as a director and/or officer of a number of public and private companies. Away from the office, and in addition to having an active family life with his wife Susan and three grown kids, Tom is a keen sportsman, enjoying running, cycling, hockey and other sports.

Deborah Potts

Director

National Account Executive, Procom

Deborah Potts is the National Account Executive at Procom, one of North America’s leading staffing and contract workforce providers. A graduate of Queen’s University (BAH) and a Diploma in Human Resources (CHRM). Deborah is the parent of a childhood cancer survivor (a daughter diagnosed at the age of 4). She has become an advocate for Childhood Cancer Canada, creating a video to raise awareness and funding for cancer research and hosting a number of fundraising events to raise much-needed funds.

Fred Bruun, CIM®, FCSI, CFP

Director

Senior Investment Advisor, Senior Portfolio Manager, BMO Nesbitt Burns

Fred has been providing Canadians with comprehensive Wealth Management advice for over 25 years. His designations to date include Fellow of Canadian Securities Institute (FCSI), Chartered Investment Manager (CIM), and Certified Financial Planner (CFP)® designation. Fred holds a BA in Economics and Finance from the University Of Kings College.

Through years of volunteer work with Childhood Cancer Canada, Fred has become a passionate advocate for the cause and has helped raise funds and awareness through the annual Clays for Kids event held each September.

Eva Tone

Director

Partner, BC Leader, Food & Beverage Processing, MNP

Eva Tone was drawn to Childhood Cancer Canada through her personal experience; being the sister of a two-time childhood cancer survivor (wilms tumor age 5 and lung cancer age 7). She has a unique experience and perspective having followed her sister’s journey through medical care in Germany. Her family spent 4 years cycling through hospitals and growing up around families and children experiencing the same life.

Her entrepreneurial journey started together with a co-worker, a laptop, a CPA designation and grew into placing 85^th as the top 500 fastest growing companies in Canada in 2019. Sangha Tone CPA’s subsequently merged with MNP in 2020. What bores some, excites Eva: auditing.

Eva lives in North Vancouver with her husband, three children (James, Adam and Erica) and their the dog Nova. To unwind, you can find Eva skiing with her family in Whistler or colouring and playing board games with her kids. As a newer member to the board, besides her audit lens, she is looking forward to finding new creative ways to fund raise.

Dr. James Whitlock

Director

Dr. James A. Whitlock is the Division Head and Women’s Auxiliary Millennium Chair in Haematology/Oncology and the Director of the Garron Family Cancer Centre at The Hospital for Sick Children, Senior Associate Scientist in the Translational Medicine Program at SickKids Research Institute, and Professor of Paediatrics at the University of Toronto. He is also the current Chair of the C17 Council for Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders. Dr. Whitlock’s research interests include the development of new drugs for the treatment of childhood cancers and histiocytic disorders.

Shantelle Bisson

Director

Two-time author Shantelle Bisson was born and raised in Toronto and splits her time between Toronto and her Kawartha marina Shantilly’s Place. Her Amazon best seller and second nonfiction book, Parenting Your Teen Without Losing Your Cool, is a thought-provoking, fun, light-hearted handbook that helps parents raise functioning adults during the challenging days of teendom when all you seem to do is “lose your cool.” Shantelle has three beautiful daughters and one four-legged son with husband Yannick Bisson, star of Canada’s number one drama series, CBC’s Murdoch Mysteries. Shantelle recently expanded her Without Losing Your Cool brand with a three-month daily journal and a weekly podcast that can be found on all your favourite podcast channels.

Since 2012, Shantelle’s raised more than $1.4M for Childhood Cancer Canada as committee co-chair of The Purple Party (now One Golden Night), joining the Board of Directors in 2022. Shantelle and Yannick also give generously to the Artists for Peace and Justice fund and sit on its Canadian Board and Advisory Board, funding secondary school for kids in Haiti. Shantelle also supports Boost for Kids, an organization that collaborates with police, child protection, and medical and mental health agencies to provide an individualized and child-friendly response for every single child who has sadly experienced abuse. Shantelle’s life has been centred around children since she became pregnant with her first daughter at nineteen, so it comes as no surprise that her charitable endeavours focus primarily on kids in need, and she writes books to help raise them well.

Barry Fishman

Director

Managing Director, Sequoia Advisors Inc.

Barry had a 30-year career in pharmaceuticals, and was previously the CEO of Merus Labs, Teva Canada and Taro Canada. Barry started his career in the pharmaceutical industry with Lilly Canada where his last position was Vice President, Marketing. After graduating from McGill University in Montreal with a concentration in finance and accounting, he went on to become a CPA at Deloitte in Costa Mesa, California. Barry is married to Lynda, the previous Founder of Adventure Valley, the author of Repairing Rainbows a clinical therapist and an inspirational speaker. Barry and Lynda have three children, two grandchildren and three rescue dogs.