The Surrey Place Foundation is governed by a passionate team of community leaders who make up our Board of Directors. They generously volunteer their time and expertise to shape and support initiatives, collaborations, projects and other efforts that support Surrey Place clients, families and staff. 

Michael Rooke, BBA, CPA, CA, LPA – Chair

Michael Rooke is an Associate Partner with Tinkham LLP with extensive experience providing assurance, business advisory, tax and financial reporting advice to owner-managed businesses, not-for-profit organizations and registered charities. 

Michael provides professional services in areas of financial risk management, budget analysis, board governance and advancement, financial policy development and charity and government reporting and compliance. 

Michael holds a Bachelor of Business Administration, Honours from Wilfrid Laurier University, is a Chartered Professional Accountant and a Licensed Public Accountant. 

Michael joined the Board of Directors in 2020.

Fern Gonzales, Fern Goncalves, M.Ed., CHRL – Vice Chair

As a Human Resources executive with almost 30 years of experience, Fern Goncalves has extensive experience in providing human resources and training services within healthcare and a regulatory association She has been actively involved in numerous board and committees, including the United Way of York Region and the Catholic Community Services of York Region. She is an active member with the Canadian Society of Association Executives and Human Resources Professionals Association (HRPA), She has also served on various HRPA committees and participated in mentorship programs. Fern holds a Masters of Adult Education (M.Ed.) from the University of Toronto – OISE as well as the designation of Certified Human Resources Leader (CHRL) from the Human Resources Professionals Association. Currently, Fern is currently the Director of People Development at Professional Engineers Ontario. Fern joined the Surrey Place Foundation board in September 2022.

Andrea Englert-Rygus, B.Comm., CSMP – Treasurer  

Andrea Englert-Rygus has extensive business experience from the chemical, retail, healthcare and public sectors. Her career has included roles in finance, sales, customer service, human resources, labour relations, operations and manufacturing. Previously, Andrea held leadership positions with Baxter Healthcare, PepsiCo and DuPont Canada. Andrea holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Toronto and has been actively involved on numerous boards and in associations.  

Andrea is currently Chief Procurement Officer and Vice President Customer Relationship Management at Plexxus, a Toronto based healthcare shared services organization with expertise in supply chain management, IT and business transformation. Andrea is also currently a member of the Conference Board of Canada Innovation Procurement Council. Andrea joined the Surrey Place Foundation board in October 2016 and was appointed as Treasurer in May 2020.

Dr. Terri Hewitt – Chief Executive Officer   

Terri is a highly recognized leader in the developmental services and health sector with extensive experience in clinical program leadership. As Chief Executive Officer, Terri has been instrumental in bringing together collaborative partnerships in new ways to support clinical programs and service gaps. She has worked at Surrey Place for more than 25 years, starting in the Adult Program as a Psychologist and moving to more senior clinical management roles including Vice President of Clinical Services. Prior to joining Surrey Place, Terri held psychology roles at various school boards, the Autism Clinic at CAMH. Terri is extremely passionate about the organization she leads, and the clients and families that Surrey Place supports.

Terri is a registered Clinical-Developmental Psychologist with a specialization in developmental disabilities. She received her Bachelor of Arts and Master’s in Developmental Psychology at the University of Manitoba and her Ph.D. in Clinical Developmental Psychology at York University. She completed her Executive Leadership certificate with the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. She has volunteered as a board member at a development services residential agency and a community health service agency.