About

Board of Directors

PresidentVice-President
Charmaine CrooksPaul-Claude Bérubé

Dale T. BriggsKelly Brown
Brian BurdenCharisse Bacchus
Charlie CuzzettoStephanie J. Geosits
Dominique GrégoireOrest Konowalchuk
Pierre Marchand
Don StoryBrittany Timko Baxter

Board of Directors

CHARMAINE CROOKS (President)

Charmaine Crooks was appointed as President of Canada Soccer in March 2023. Crooks, a Member of the Order of Canada (CM), is a five-time Olympian (Athletics), a former Member of the International Olympic Committee, an award-winning business leader, an entrepreneur, a corporate director (non-profit and public Boards), a technology advisor and a community sports leader.

Crooks is recognized as a values-based sports and athlete-focused advocate with over 25 years of expertise in local, national and global sports from grassroots, high performance, administration and governance levels. She is committed to supporting soccer excellence on and off the pitch as a member of the Canada Soccer Board of Directors since 2013-14. Crooks has served on several Canada Soccer committees, notably the Emergency, Strategic Planning and Risk Management Committees. She has served as Head of Delegation with Canada Soccer’s National Teams starting in 2014, notably the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Canada 2014, the 2018 Concacaf Women’s Championship, and the 2020 Concacaf Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

Based in West Vancouver, she is the founder and President of NGU Consultants Inc. (since 1997), a global consultancy delivering strategic advisory, marketing and corporate development services to a variety of sectors including technology, health/wellness, sports and hospitality. 

PAUL-CLAUDE BÉRUBÉ (Vice-President)

Paul-Claude Bérubé has served on Canada Soccer’s Board of Directors since 2015-16. Originally from Trois-Pistoles, Québec, Bérubé earned a Bachelor of Law degree from Laval University in 1983 and became a member of the Québec Bar in 1984. Throughout his career, he has been very actively involved in the sport sector and social causes.

His various commitments have granted him the positions of Mayor of his municipality, Commissioner of the Regional School Board as well as Vice-President of the Regional Health Authority. 

Recognised worldwide for his expertise in human rights, he has given seminars and conferences on five continents. His passion for human rights is matched only by his passion for soccer, which he played since he was a young boy. In 2002, he returned to his roots as President of the Club de soccer juvénile du Richelieu, then as Vice-President of competition for the Richelieu-Yamaska region before joining Soccer Québec in 2010.

A specialist in governance, he has written and rewritten the general regulations of many organisations and has given provided training sessions in this area. It is therefore not surprising to find him on Canada Soccer’s Governance Committee. He has also chaired the Risk Oversight Committee.

He has served as a member of the Arbitration Tribunal of the Québec Bar, the Appeals Committee of Soccer Québec, and the International Senior Lawyers Project in New York. He was also named an honorary member of the Port-au-Prince (Haiti) Bar in 2015.

He has been retained by the United Nations Human Rights Commission on more than one occasion. In 2019, he received two Honorary Doctorates in India for his sustained commitment to the rights of people with disabilities in that country. In August 2019, the Government of Canada appointed him to head a brand new federal agency, “Accessibility Standards Canada”, for a four-year mandate.

Along with all these national and international commitments, he has been actively involved in his community by teaching Introduction to Law at Marcellin-Champagnat High School in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Québec.

DALE T. BRIGGS

Dale T. Briggs was raised in rural New Brunswick and attained both an LLB and BA from the University of New Brunswick in 1984.  He has resided and practiced law in Moncton since his admission to the New Brunswick Bar in 1985, including his time at regional firm of Cox & Palmer as a partner.

He became involved in his local soccer community first as a recreational player and progressed through coach, Director and President of Moncton Codiac Soccer. He has served on Canada Soccer’s Board of Directors as the representative for Atlantic Canada since 2019-20.

Briggs has been involved in his community having served on numerous committees and boards. He has been active in his profession as senior counsel to firm clients and as a frequent presenter at continuing legal education and industry specific seminars on a wide variety of topics from real property, corporate, construction, community planning, estates and trusts, transportation and taxation.

KELLY BROWN

An experienced board director, corporate lawyer and business leader, Kelly Brown has been on Canada Soccer’s Board of Directors since 2020. She has served as the Executive Vice President, People, Legal & Corporate Affairs for Arterra Wines since 2018, the leading wine producer in Canada. In her role, her responsibilities include People and Culture, Legal, Risk Management, Government Relations and Communications. Brown has also served as the Chair of Wine Growers Canada since 2018. Before joining Arterra, Brown was the Chief People, Legal & Corporate Affairs Officer for Molson Coors Canada and served as a board director for The Beer Store.

Brown received her Bachelor of Arts (Honours) from McGill University and her law degree from Dalhousie University. Early in her career, Lexpert named her one of Canada’s “Top 40 Lawyers Under 40”. She was a finalist for Canadian General Counsel of the Year.  She also went “undercover” for Molson on the popular television series “Undercover Boss Canada”.

A lifetime soccer player and coach, she is proud to have served on Canada Soccer’s Board of Directors since 2020-21. Originally from Montréal, she now lives in Toronto with her husband and her daughter.

BRIAN BURDEN

Brian Burden has served on Canada Soccer’s Board of Directors since 2012-13 and has been Chair of the Audit & Finance Committee and Chair of Risk Management. He is a dual citizen of both Canada and the United Kingdom and has been a senior corporate director with over 15 years of board experience in public, private and not-for-profit companies. He was Chief Financial Officer of a public company for eight years. Burden has worked in Canada, USA and Europe and has played a leading role in strategy, corporate development and capital allocation processes.

Burden has experience in raising bonds and equity in both US and Canadian markets and has been involved in several key mergers, acquisitions and divestitures. He attended the Director Education Program and has achieved the Institute of Corporate Director Accreditation (ICD.D).

He has background experience in several industries including consumer goods and energy.

CHARISSE BACCHUS

Charisse Bacchus from Saskatoon Saskatchewan has been involved in Sport and Community work for most of her life. She has represented her country both nationally and professionally in regional and international competition in Track and Field for over 18 years.

As an athlete, she earned many awards in Regional and International competitions as a jumper, pent-athlete and sprinter for the University of Kansas and Trinidad and Tobago. This has played a big role in her personal and career development.

Bacchus graduated from the FIFA Master of Sport Management, Law and Humanities, an international program conducted at: De Montfort University in Leicester, United Kingdom; SDA Bocconi, School of Management in Milan, Italy; and the University of Neuchatel in Switzerland. Recognised as the leading program in Sport Law/Management in the world, Bacchus’ experience motivated her to pursue sport for development as a means of improving the social circumstances of at-risk-youth as a program coordinator at CIES/FIFA.

She has been elected to the Board as an Independent Director and hopes to create and instill a culture of diversity and inclusion while leading in pursuit of excellence in soccer. Experiencing sport from both sides of the spectrum (as an athlete and as a sport administrator), it’s only natural that she has made the transition to sport and financial management, where she runs her own Sport Management and Financial Management Firm. 

With experience as a sport financial advisor, she believes in educating and empowering athletes to reach their managerial and financial goals.

CHARLIE CUZZETTO

Charlie Cuzzetto has served on the Canada Soccer Board of Directors since 2009-10 in numerous capacities. Cuzzetto is a BC Soccer Life Member, having coached, played, and managed Vancouver Columbus FC. He served as Director (2004-2012) and President (2009-2012) of BC Soccer.  

Cuzzetto has served as Head of Delegation with Canada Soccer’s National Teams, including men’s FIFA World Cup Qualifiers, the 2004 Concacaf Futsal Qualifiers, the 2012 Concacaf Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament, two Concacaf Beach Soccer Qualifiers, two FIFA youth tournaments, and one Concacaf youth tournament. He has served on FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee as well as Concacaf and Copa America’s Appeals Committees. He also officially participated in the FIFA World Cup Russia 2018 and FIFA U-20 World Cup Poland 2019. He has served on the FIFA Football Tribunal and has served as the Deputy Chair of the Concacaf Appeals Committee. 

Cuzzetto has advocated for Futsal development since 1985, leading him to manage and coached in four Futsal World Championships in Spain, Australia, Italy, and Argentina.  In 2017, he became the second inductee in Futsal Canada’s Hall of Fame.

STEPHANIE J. GEOSITS

An experienced executive leader, Stephanie J. Geosits has worked with prominent sports organizations across North America. She founded All About Sports consulting in 2019 to support her clients in increasing opportunities and building communities through sport at all levels.

In Canada, Geosits established the Marketing & Communications department at Ontario Soccer and led grassroots clubs in strategic planning and growth initiatives.

While earning a Master’s in Public Policy (MPP) from the Harvard Kennedy School, she wrote her Policy Analysis Exercise on diversifying hockey for the National Hockey League. She also has experience as the Executive Director of The Carnegie Initiative for Inclusion and Acceptance in Hockey.

As a journalist, Geosits wrote for the Associated Press Sports Department and created the New York Yankees’ website, while serving as their Editor in Chief. She graduated magna cum laude from Columbia University with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Spanish Language and Literature, and Anthropology.

DOMINIQUE GRÉGOIRE

Dominique Grégoire was appointed on the Board of Canada Soccer in May 2023. Formerly CFO at Alberta Blue Cross and CEO at Western Life Assurance Company, Dominique is a seasoned executive leader in businesses of various sizes, including large and complex organization. Dominique has served on many non-profit and corporate boards and is well-versed on current financial accounting practices, strategy, risk management, change management, human resources and governance.

Part-time CFO with The Terry Fox Foundation, Dominique currently serves on the Board of Calgary Coop (a large retail organization operating in food, pharmaceutical, petroleum, home health care, liquor and real estate) where she is also Chair of the Human Resources Committee. Dominique was also nominated for a position on the Board of Directors of the Canadian Olympic Committee in 2021 and now serves on the Board of Triathlon Canada since 2021.

Dominique is a graduate from McGill University, who began her career with KMPG in Montreal, including 3 years in their Paris office focusing on mergers and acquisitions. Fully bilingual in French and English, Dominique is CPA, CA, ICD.D, having recently completed the Directors’ Program from the Institute of Corporate Directors.

Dominique is very passionate about sports and is actively practising cycling, fitness training, golfing and skiing, both cross-country and downhill.

OREST KONOWALCHUK

Orest Konowalchuk resides in Calgary, Alberta and was elected to the Canada Soccer (“CS”) Board of Directors in May 2023. Mr. Konowalchuk was recently appointed as a committee member on the CS Audit & Finance Committee and Compensation and Management Development Committee.

Mr. Konowalchuk is a Managing Director with Alvarez & Marsal Canada and brings over 17 years of senior corporate restructuring, insolvency and turnaround advisory experience to financially distressed companies and to senior lenders with distressed loans in the Alberta, the Prairies and throughout Canada. Orest earned a bachelor’s degree in commerce from the University of Manitoba and a diploma in business administration from Red River College. He is a Chartered Professional Accountant, Chartered Insolvency and Restructuring Professional, and Canadian Licensed Insolvency Trustee and is a member of the Insolvency Institute of Canada and other related professional organizations.

In addition to his professional experience, Mr. Konowalchuk has been involved in soccer in Canada for over 35 years, as a player, coach and as a referee. Beginning in the early 2000s, Orest was invited as an official to the CS National Referee Program and achieved a Nominated National Referee status. Mr. Konowalchuk came off the active list of officials and focused his attention on referee development as a CS National Referee Assessor and National Referee Coach for 11 years until January 2020. During this time, Mr. Konowalchuk was involved in the highest CSA National tournaments, including Club Nationals, CIS, and CCAA championships, including evaluating the CS National and FIFA referees within the Canadian Premier League and certain international friendly matches in Canada.

PAUL-CLAUDE BÉRUBÉ

Paul-Claude Bérubé has served on Canada Soccer’s Board of Directors since 2015-16. Originally from Trois-Pistoles, Québec, Bérubé earned a Bachelor of Law degree from Laval University in 1983 and became a member of the Québec Bar in 1984. Throughout his career, he has been very actively involved in the sport sector and social causes.

His various commitments have granted him the positions of Mayor of his municipality, Commissioner of the Regional School Board as well as Vice-President of the Regional Health Authority.

Recognised worldwide for his expertise in human rights, he has given seminars and conferences on five continents. His passion for human rights is matched only by his passion for soccer, which he played since he was a young boy. In 2002, he returned to his roots as President of the Club de soccer juvénile du Richelieu, then as Vice-President of competition for the Richelieu-Yamaska region before joining Soccer Québec in 2010.

A specialist in governance, he has written and rewritten the general regulations of many organisations and has given provided training sessions in this area. It is therefore not surprising to find him on Canada Soccer’s Governance Committee. He has also chaired the Risk Oversight Committee.

He has served as a member of the Arbitration Tribunal of the Québec Bar, the Appeals Committee of Soccer Québec, and the International Senior Lawyers Project in New York. He was also named an honorary member of the Port-au-Prince (Haiti) Bar in 2015.

He has been retained by the United Nations Human Rights Commission on more than one occasion. In 2019, he received two Honorary Doctorates in India for his sustained commitment to the rights of people with disabilities in that country. In August 2019, the Government of Canada appointed him to head a brand new federal agency, “Accessibility Standards Canada”, for a four-year mandate.

Along with all these national and international commitments, he has been actively involved in his community by teaching Introduction to Law at Marcellin-Champagnat High School in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Québec.

DON STORY

Don Story has served on Canada Soccer’s Board of Directors since 2010-11. He has primarily operated as Chair of the Canada Soccer’s Governance Committee as well as Chair of Concacaf’s Governance Committee. Story managed DCS Consulting, a consulting business which provides support to non-profit and sport organizations that request assistance in dealing with their organizational/governance challenges. 

Story has conducted assessments of the effectiveness and efficiencies of governing structures and processes, provided Board training, reviews and written by-laws and governance policy documents, and provided consultation on Board leadership and change management.

Story is a retired university professor, having served as a member of the University of Saskatchewan’s tenured faculty for 39 years. He has a PhD in Governance and Politics from the University of Toronto.

BRITTANY TIMKO BAXTER

Brittany Timko Baxter is an Olympic Games Bronze Medalist (London 2012) and has been honoured by the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame, the Soccer Hall of Fame of British Columbia, the Coquitlam Sports Hall of Fame. As part of the London 2012 team, she was inducted in the team category to both the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame and BC Sports Hall of Fame.

As a coach, Timko Baxter has earned the Canada Soccer Coaching Children’s Diploma, the Canada Soccer Coaching B Diploma, the National Coaching Certification Program Learning Facilitator, and the BC Soccer Technical Director Diploma.

As a player, Timko Baxter won the Golden Boot Award at the FIFA U-19 Women’s World Championship Thailand 2004. She was also the Big 12 Player of the Year at the University of Nebraska (2004, 2005, 2006); an NSCAA All-American (2004, 2005); and the BC Soccer Player of the Year (2003). She made 132 international “A” appearances with Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team and featured at three FIFA World Cups (2003, 2007, 2011) and two Olympic Games (2008 and 2012). She played professionally in five countries (Australia, Sweden, Germany, USA, Canada) and won two USL W-League Championships with the Vancouver Whitecaps FC (2004, 2006). She also played for the University of Nebraska Huskers (2003-2006).

Timko Baxter, who speaks English and French, earned her Bachelor’s of Psychology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2008. She lives in Coquitlam, BC with husband Sean and children Johnny and Zoe and she has served as Technical Director of the Port Moody Soccer Association.