Blaine Penny, P.Eng.
President (2009 to Present)
Shortly after his son, Evan, was diagnosed with a probable mitochondrial disorder, Blaine met several other Canadians affected by the disease at the annual UMDF Symposium in Washington, DC. Since that meeting he has been passionately involved with those same individuals in helping establish and Chair this organization with the hope that one day when an individual is diagnosed with a Mitochondrial disorder they have a place to turn to and eventually a cure.
Blaine has an engineering degree from Lakehead University and has worked has an engineering consultant and project manager for the last twelve years. He is presently employed with WorleyParsons as a Manager of Projects and is also involved in many aspects of operations management. He has served as a Chair and Treasurer for two other not-for-profit organizations and has over eight years of experience in the sector.
Email: blaine.penny@mitocanada.org
Stephanie Roung, B.A.
Vice-President (2009 to Present)
Stephanie is the mother to two children, Carter and Alexis. Alexis was diagnosed with mitochondrial disease at age one and she was severely affected by it, passing away at the age of five in September, 2010. Stephanie’s goal is to educate others about mitochondrial disease, so that one day there will be a cure.
Stephanie has a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from the University of Waterloo.
Email: stephanie.roung@mitocanada.org
Ruth McLelland M.Ed. PMP
Treasurer (2009 to Present)
Ruth’s interest in mitochondrial disease began with the diagnosis of her friend Suzanne’s child Jacob. After seeing the issues Suzanne had to deal with in getting appropriate care for Jacob, and participating in the Mito March, she became committed to raising awareness about mitochondrial disease and volunteered to help launch Mito Canada as a non-profit charity.
Ruth is a graduate of the University of New Brunswick and has worked in financial services for the past 12 years. She is currently employed by CIBC Mellon as a project manager. She has also served as past chair of the United Way workplace campaign at CIBC Mellon and has participated in a number of volunteer and fundraising activities.
Email: ruth.mclelland@mitocanada.org
Joelle Pokrajac, CMA
Vice-Treasurer (2011 to Present)
Joelle first heard of Mitochondrial Disease when she was pregnant with her daughter Nicole, at 27 weeks a fetal echo showed Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy and so the journey to find a diagnosis began, at the same time this not yet born girl started to defy the odds. At 18 months, they received the official diagnosis of Mitochondrial Disease Complex V deficiency. Nicole continues to impress her doctors and family on how strong and well this little girl is doing. She has a younger brother who is not affected. Joelle is excited about spreading awareness of Mitochondrial Disease and giving hope to patients and families.
Joelle has a B.Comm from McMaster University, an MBA from Wilfrid Laurier and is a Certified Management Accountant. She is lucky to be home with her two children but also teaches the odd course at Schulich (York University) and Nipissing University.
Email: joelle.pokrajac@mitocanada.org
Kitty Pryde
Secretary (2011 to present)
Kitty lives in Calgary and is a visual artist and graphic designer, receiving her accreditation(s) from the Alberta College of Art, Calgary, and The New England School of Art, Boston.
“I am a member of a mito family living in Calgary Alberta and have lost 50% of my family. I am 60 years old and the eldest of 4 children. In the 70’s, we should have seen the signs of mito symptoms in my brother’s and sister’s presentations in their teens – could not hike, ski or climb, and at age 13, they were exhausted, had small frame, poor musculature, ptosis, aphasia, and they became deaf at an early age. Their muscles diminished, had seizures, coma producing strokes and myclonic twitches. There was something wrong.
In the late 80’s, while my sister was working as a nurse at the Texas Medical Center she was finally diagnosed with Mitochondrial Disease (MELAS) long before its presence made its way to Canada. Fortunately, through the Alberta Children’s Hospital, and Dr. Casey, family genes were isolated, and it was proven that my now deceased mother and brother, both deaf, and with cardiomyopathy and encephalopathy, had the same disease. Unfortunately, my sister currently lives in a US hospice environment, is blind, deaf, non responsive and tube fed. I do not have mito, but have tremendous survivor guilt.
Watching a member of your family slowly die and know that CoQ10 is the only answer is not good enough. I miss my siblings, and the reason I have joined MitoCanada is because I think that many people have Mitochondrial Disease, and they don’t know it.”
Email: kdpryde@mitocanada.org
Duncan Marsden
Legal Advisor (2011 to present)
Email: duncan.marsden@mitocanada.org
Past Board Members:
Suzanne Gowland, B.A. & Sc.
Secretary (2009 to 2011)
Suzanne’s journey with Mitochondrial Disease began when her niece was diagnosed with Mitochondrial Disease in 2006, along with a diagnosis of Rett Syndrome. The journey became even more personal when her younger son was affected with hemiplegia at a young age after an episode of illness and seizures, and after many tests was diagnosed with Mitochondrial Disease. Suzanne has been fortunate to have the support of family and of other patients and parents in the Southern Ontario region. She knows first-hand the importance of, and the difficulties encountered, in trying to connect with others who are similarly affected in Canada, and of finding accurate, timely and Canadian information. She is enthusiastic about bringing Canadians together to work to support one another, spread awareness of Mitochondrial Disease and support research into diagnosis, treatment and a cure.
Suzanne has a Bachelor of Arts and Science degree from McMaster University and has worked as an IT professional for the past 14 years. She is presently employed with Loblaw Companies Limited as an SAP ERP Systems Director.
