Board of Directors

Jump to Cameron Montgomery, Chair Jump to Yvonne Ruke Akpoveta Jump to Martyn Beckett Jump to Sanjay Dhebar Jump to Mandy Nwobu Jump to Mark Stewart Jump to Kyle Wilson Jump to Dan Koenig, Chief Executive Officer
EQAO’s work is overseen by its Board of Directors, which is composed of leaders from the education and business community.

Dr. Cameron Montgomery, Chair

Photo of Cameron Montgomery, ChairDr. Cameron Montgomery (Ph.D., Educational Psychology) is a passionate multilingual educator who, for more than 20 years, has trained future teachers in Canada. He has expertise in the areas of stress, coping and burnout in French-language minority settings, and he has worked with teachers, students, teaching support staff, parents, guardians, governments and the media. He has also worked at Centre Jules-Léger, where he assisted students with special needs, and he has first-hand experience with promising practices and challenges in Ontario’s French- and English-language school systems. Dr. Montgomery believes strongly in the importance of assessment and will provide a valuable perspective as chair of EQAO’s board of directors.

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Yvonne Ruke Akpoveta

Photo of Yvonne Ruke Akpoveta Yvonne Ruke Akpoveta is a change management strategist, adviser and change leadership advocate with over 20 years of experience helping public and private sector organizations navigate through change. She is passionate about helping professionals and organizations both lead and respond to change better and faster, for the greater benefit of society. She believes that change, done right, provides invaluable benefits to stakeholders and the community at large. Yvonne has worked with organizations such as RBC, TD, Deloitte, Loblaws and JP Morgan Chase to lead and manage their strategic, technology and change initiatives. She is the founder of The Change Leadership, a community focused on preparing leaders, change agents and organizations to lead and respond to change in today’s fast-paced and disruptive business environment. She holds a B.Sc. honours degree in business information technology from the U.K.’s London Guildhall University, an M.B.A. from Warwick Business School, and a Change Leadership Certificate from Cornell University.

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Martyn Beckett, Vice Chair

Photo of Martyn Beckett Martyn Beckett has served in many roles during his career in education, from teacher to school administrator, and from superintendent to director of education. In 2016, he moved to the Ministry of Education in Ontario to serve as assistant deputy minister in the Learning and Curriculum Division and the Student Achievement Division, with responsibilities for curriculum, skilled trades, apprenticeship, leadership and governance, teaching policy and special education, serving in this capacity until 2020. He is currently president of Beckett Education Consulting. Mr. Beckett holds undergraduate degrees in biology, geology and education, and a Master of Science degree in geology. In addition to his MSc, he holds certificates in strategic leadership from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, and the Ivey Business School at Western University.

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Sanjay J. Dhebar, M.B.A.

Photo of Sanjay J. DhebarApplied Learning Coach, Facilitator, Motivator and Author

Sanjay is co-founder of Leonnova, an education consulting firm, along with being a highly rated faculty member of the Schulich Executive Education Centre of the Schulich School of Business at York University. He coaches and develops senior leaders in organizations including the Four Seasons Hotel, Siemens, Hoffmann-La Roche, TD Bank, Nielsen Norman Group, Mercedes Benz, Samsung, GlaxoSmithKline, the Dubai Government and Sick Kids Hospital. He uses the case-study methodology in his teachings, drawing on best-practice approaches across sectors. Sanjay has developed a respected process and practical approach called “The Business Workout,” which enables business leaders to achieve better performance and success. Furthermore, Sanjay is an adjunct faculty member at York University’s Schulich School of Business, and at the University of Salzburg Business School in Austria. Sanjay’s teaching focus includes sales, marketing and strategy. Building on his decade-long international teaching experience, and his expertise in developing cutting-edge experiential curriculum design, Sanjay has partnered with different universities to re-evaluate their pedagogy and enhance their new programs with current best practices, including the flipped classroom and online learning. In 2019 and 2020, Sanjay was nominated for a Schulich teaching excellence award as a top faculty member. In 2022, Sanjay received the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Community Service pin. In 2018, Sanjay published his first book: Toolbox for Performance Driven Leaders. Sanjay holds a B.A. in public policy from the Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly known as Ryerson University) and an M.B.A. in marketing from the University of Leicester, UK. Recently, Sanjay completed an advanced certificate in digital marketing from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Boston, along with a train-the-trainer certificate in quality service from Disney.

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Mandy Nwobu

Photo of Mandy Nwobu Mandy Nwobu is a Toronto-based legal practitioner and entrepreneur. Her practice focuses on immigration, real estate and civil litigation. She is an associate member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and the American Bar Association. Mandy interned and volunteered with the Criminal Division of Legal Aid Ontario. She articled with the Crown Law Office—Civil within the Ministry of the Attorney General in Toronto, and continued to serve there after her articles. She assists international students to settle into different vocations in their respective schools and subsequent new homes both in Canada and the United States. Mandy is an Igbo-speaking extract of Eastern Nigeria and continues to play a prominent role in both her Nigerian community and the African-Caribbean-Canadian community. She played a significant role in setting up the Scarborough Business Association, the Anambra State Association and the Igbo Canadian Community Association. She started her legal career in the legal department of a merchant bank in Nigeria many decades ago. She joined Sower and Messuarius Solicitors as a partner in 2005. Outside her legal practice and volunteering, Mandy is an editor and a playwright.

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Mark J. Stewart

Photo of Serge Demers, Vice ChairMark J. Stewart is a lawyer based in Newmarket, Ontario, and a part-time professor at Seneca College. In his law practice, Mark has acted for clients before the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, including both the Small Claims and Divisional Courts, and the Ontario Court of Justice. Before becoming a lawyer, Mark was a communications professional in the financial sector and a legislative aide. He is currently on the board of directors of NewMakeIt, an industrial and artistic facility located in York Region. A twenty-seven-year cancer survivor, Mark is passionate about cancer activism and sits on the board of directors of the Sarcoma Cancer Foundation of Canada. He has also spoken about cancer-related topics to media outlets across Canada and to numerous private and corporate groups. Mark has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Guelph, a master’s degree from the University of Ottawa and a law degree from the City, University of London (UK).

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Kyle Wilson

Photo of Dr. Kyle Wilson, Chief Executive OfficerDr. Kyle Wilson is the Director of Information Systems and Chief Privacy Officer at Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health, and he resides in Halton Hills. Previously, Dr. Wilson managed the Research and IT Infrastructure departments at Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board (K–12). He has provided in-person and online instruction for over 10 years at Mohawk College, Lambton College and the University of Guelph. His education includes an honours B.Sc. degree and a Ph.D. degree from McMaster University and a M.Sc. degree from Western University. Dr. Wilson’s community involvement includes the German International School in Toronto, Burlington Tennis Club, Alpine Ski Club in Collingwood and YMCA.

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Dan Koenig, Chief Executive Officer

Photo of Dan Koenig, Chief Executive OfficerDan Koenig has served in the former Metro Separate School Board (MSSB) and the Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB) in a number of roles, including as a teacher, principal, superintendent of curriculum and accountability, superintendent of schools, superintendent of human resources and labour relations, and, most recently, as associate director of academic affairs and chief operating officer. With more than 37 years of public service in education, Dan is a highly respected educator and a key member of the TCDSB’s senior leadership team. While serving as principal of St. Brendan C.S. in 2007, Dan was selected as one of Canada’s Outstanding Principals. His record of professional experience demonstrates his passion for public education with a student-centric focus, his comprehensive knowledge of the sector and his innovative leadership skills. Dan obtained his bachelor’s and master of education degrees from the University of Toronto.

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