OBIN Coordinating Team
The OBIN Coordinating Team (C-Team) meets regularly to make decisions and implement the members' direction for OBIN. Coordinators and Co-coordinators are elected each year preferably for a two-year term in alternating years (where feasible)
Current Coordinating Team (C-Team) Members
(click on the link to go to each bio)
Facilitator/Coordinator: Kerry Lubrick
Co-facilitator: Tom Cooper
Treasurer: Richard Pommainville
Recording Secretary: Barbara Toccacelli
Promotion and Communications (General)
Coordinator: Jessie Golem
Co-coordinator: position is open
Internal Relations
Coordinator: Wil Robertson
Co-coordinator: position is open
External Relations
Coordinator: Courtney Evans
Co-coordinator: position is open
Special Programs
Co-ordinator: position is open
Co-coordinator: position is open
Technical Team
Website Developer: Saul Bottcher
Web Content Manager: position is open
Arts Community: Craig Berggold
Former Facilitator: Joe Foster
FACILITATOR/COORDINATOR
Kerry Lubrick [email protected]
Kerry is a retired public servant (2020) with more than 30 years of experience in the field of Human Services. Kerry joined the Basic Income Hamilton Steering Committee in 2020. Since that time, she has been active in many Basic Income working groups.
Seeing first hand the inadequacy of social assistance rates in Ontario (and Canada), the numerous sub-systems created to assist those living in poverty, learning about the positive outcomes of the Basic Income Pilots and the impact of the pandemic on those in financial need, it is easy and logical for her to support and advocate for a national basic income program. A basic income would simplify the income security system and provide an adequate level of income.
Kerry has a strong understanding of the social services systems and works towards making positive improvements for the most marginalize people. Kerry also possesses strong administration skills and is committed to seeing a Basic Income come to fruition.
In addition to her volunteer work with Basic Income, she is an active volunteer with the Primates World Relief and Development Fund and the Anglican Church.
Her career highlights include:
- Employment Manager for the City of Hamilton’s Ontario Works Division
- Director for the City of Hamilton’s Employment and Income Support Division
- Advisor to Workforce Planning Hamilton
- Ontario Municipal Social Services Association Board of Directors 2013-2017
Kerry has a Bachelor of Arts (Psychology and Law & Justice) and further credentials in Leadership and Management Studies.
CO-FACILITATOR
Tom Cooper
Tom Cooper (he/him) has been Director of the Hamilton Roundtable for Poverty Reduction since 2010, but his heart (and much of his time) has been devoted to advancing Basic Income. He played an active role in Ontario’s first Basic Income Pilot, from advocacy to analysis, and continues to champion it as a way to stabilize housing, improve health, and reassert dignity.
Alongside Basic Income advocacy, Tom has campaigned for fairer social assistance rates, taken on those creepy predatory payday lenders we all love to hate, and co-founded the Ontario Living Wage Network, now 30+ communities strong in the fight against working poverty. In 2022, he also co-founded the Hamilton Alliance for Tiny Shelters (HATS), because everyone deserves a safe place to call home.
A McMaster University graduate with a public policy analysis certificate from the London School of Economics, Tom also teaches civic engagement and resource development at Mohawk College, to anyone willing to listen (and sometimes those who aren’t).
When not blathering on about Basic Income, Tom lives on Hamilton Mountain with his family and two cats; and you may find him sneaking off to go fishing, watching old episodes of Star Trek for the umpteenth time or staring through his telescope at the craters of the moon (which, rumor has it, may indeed be made of cheese).
TREASURER
Richard Pommainville
Richard is a strong believer that by providing opportunities, we can provide alternatives to certain social and economic disadvantage situations.
Richard is the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) of the Catholic Archdiocese of Ottawa-Cornwall. Previously, Richard was Executive Director for the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul for the National Council of Canada. Richard also worked for over 30 years in the Telecommunication equipment provider sector working for Nortel and Ciena.
Richard holds an M.A. in Economics from Carleton University and a B. Math Honors Statistics/Computer Science from the University of Waterloo.
Richard is a director on the Board of the National Association for Charitable Textile Recycling (NACTR). Richard was previously on the Board of directors of the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace (CCODP), holding the position of treasurer, and chair of the Finance and Audit Committee.
Richard has been a mentor with the Ottawa Community Immigrant Services Organization (OCISO) since 2007, and has continued mentoring virtually during the COVID-19 pandemic.
RECORDING SECRETARY
Barbara Toccacelli
Barbara has a background in Human Resources, holding a BAS from York University and a Certificate in Human Resources Management from Seneca College. She has retired from a career as the Senior HR professional in a number of organizations, including health care, technology and retail.
Barbara has recently become involved with basic income, seeing it as an efficient and elegant solution to meeting the needs of the population. In addition to working with OBIN, Barbara is involved with GIrl Guides of Canada, running a Sparks unit for a number of years.
INTERNAL RELATIONS Coordinator
Wil Robertson
Wil Robertson holds a BA in Great Books and Political Science from St. Thomas University and is currently pursuing a Masters in Political Management at Carleton University. He is a basic income advocate with Basic Income New Brunswick and Coalition Canada Basic Income. Wil is an analytical thinker, with a passion for promoting the sharing of our truths.
He is proud to further the causes of social acceptance, sustainability, and justice.
EXTERNAL RELATIONS Coordinator
Courtney Evans
Courtney Evans (she/her) is an experienced social worker (BSW, MSW), psychotherapist and educator. Courtney has training and experience in various social work roles, including therapist, researcher, speaker, and clinical supervisor.
Courtney has worked in community mental health and primary care for over 18 years, supporting many people whose lives are deeply impacted, currently and generationally, by experiences of poverty and low-income. Courtney firmly believes that a basic income is a critical step in reducing poverty and the impacts of social determinants of health that negatively affect people’s wellbeing.
PROMOTIONS AND COMMUNICATIONS (GENERAL) Coordinator
Jessie Golem
Jessie Golem is an artist, storyteller, and advocate that utilizes art as a tool for advocacy, especially in politics. She is most known for a portrait series I produced called "Humans of Basic Income" that shared the stories of the recipients of the prematurely-cancelled basic income pilot that took place in Ontario from 2017-2018. She believes in building a better world, for the sake of the future of the world. She is a recipient of the King Charles III Coronation Medal.
Co-coordinator: position is open
SPECIAL PROGRAMS
Co-ordinator: position is open
Co-coordinator: position is open
TECHNICAL TEAM
Website Developer: Saul Bottcher
Website Content Manager: position is open
ADVISORS
Arts Community
Craig Berggold
Craig is a filmmaker, media artist, teacher and organizer. His award-winning films have been seen at festivals and galleries around the world. He is the lead researcher at The Canadian Farmworkers Union Archive Project at Simon Fraser University. His writings include, “The Colour of Food” and “Canada: Mexico found guilty of blacklisting pro-union migrant workers."
Craig also teaches media production, cultural studies, and labour studies, and is a key organizer for OBIN's basic income and arts campaign. "As a freelancer in the gig economy without benefits, I believe a basic income guarantee will lift up the precarious ensuring financial stability and support the remarkable creative capacity of individuals and a living culture."
Former Facilitator/Coordinator
Joe Foster
My career began in Montreal as an Electrical Engineer, followed by 2 years with CUSO in Zambia teaching at the University of Zambia. After completing an MBA at McMaster in International Business and Economics, I worked on multiple assignments overseas through the UN and Canadian government, including in Malaysia, Jamaica, Belize, and Pakistan.
As a volunteer, I worked with several downtown churches in Ottawa to create group housing and with Habitat for Humanity to build a house in El Salvador. Upon retiring, I served as President and then Human Rights Critic of the Green Party of Canada.
All of my past training, work and volunteer experience led to my interest in Basic Income as a solution to the issue of poverty and injustice. However, based on my training in engineering and economics, along with my political experience, I needed to be convinced that Basic Income was grounded on solid evidence, as well as being affordable and politically feasible. I am convinced that all of these conditions are met and that poverty in Canada is inexcusable.
For a stable and secure future, both economically and socially, Canada urgently needs a more enlightened social safety net in the form of a national Basic Income program.