Our Board of Directors

Any inquiries about Strongest Families Institute (SFI), its services, projects, or research projects can be directed to: Dr. Patricia Lingley-Pottie, Co-Founder, President & CEO, at

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Dr. Patrick J. McGrath, Founder, has stepped down from his role as Board Chair; however, he remains committed to SFI’s cause in a supporting role as an Expert Advisor.

Robert Hunt, a seasoned chartered professional accountant, joined the Strongest Families Institute’s Board of Directors as Treasurer in November 2011. In 2023, he transitioned to Vice Chair and currently serves as Interim Chair. In addition to being a business leader and executive coach, Robert is also a licensed insolvency trustee, a Fellow Chartered Insolvency & Restructuring Professional, and a distinguished member of the Insolvency Institute of Canada. He also holds the esteemed Fellow CPA designation.

Patricia Murray joined the Board of Directors of the Strongest Families Institute in November of 2019. Patricia Murray is retired from the Department of Health and Wellness, Mental Health and Addictions Branch. She served as Director of Children’s Services, Acting Executive Director and finally Special Advisor to the Associate Deputy Minister on Mental Health and Addictions. She previously worked at the IWK as Director of Ambulatory Services in the Mental Health and Addictions Program. She has held both chair and director positions on several boards which provided services to children, seniors and families.

Liz Snide joined the Board of Directors of the Strongest Families Institute in November of 2017. Liz is the VP of Finance at Hanmac Captial and is a chartered professional accountant and certified management accountant.

Fae J. Shaw, Q.C. joined the Board of Directors of the Strongest Families Institute in June of 2015. Fae is a Partner with the law firm of McInnes Cooper where she practices primarily in the areas of corporate, M&A and corporate finance.

Dr. David Lovas joined the Board of Directors of the Strongest Families Institute in April of 2018. Dr. Lovas is the physician co-leader of the Emergency Mental Health & Addictions Service (EMHAS) at the IWK Health Centre. Dr. Lovas is the Program Director of the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Residency Program and Assistant Professor with the Department of Psychiatry at Dalhousie University.

Jen Richard joined the Board of Directors of the Strongest Families Institute Board in January of 2020. Jen is the VP, Human Resources with Citco Canada. Her expertise is in Human Resources providing guidance and advisory direction to senior level executives in employee engagement, performance and morale.

Kristy Wolfe joined the Board of Directors of the Strongest Families Institute in June 2021. Her family originally became acquainted with the Strongest Families Institute when they participated in the Parents Empowering Kids program. Kristy brings with her a variety of experiences within education, healthcare and non-profit sectors throughout Alberta.

Cynthia is a veteran / military spouse and mom to two base brats. She’s always very involved in defence community organisations and has worked as a veterans’ transition project manager, as an advisor to a Member of Parliament who was a member of the veterans’ affairs committee, and deployed for six months as a civilian to Kandahar Afghanistan. She’s also worked in a lot of communications and project management positions across the country and internationally and is always up for new challenges.