Executive Biographies

John Fleming is President of CSDA and was the senior editor of Ornamentum magazine. Professor at the University of Toronto, he is retired from the French Department, having served as director of the Museum Studies program in the School of Graduate Studies (2004-2006), and as Coordinator of Graduate Studies at the Centre for Comparative  Literature (1999-2008).

His academic research lies between 18^th and 19^th century French novels, and the nouveau roman in 20^th century France. A secondary research field has been in museology and the material history of Canada. His book publications in this area have won first prize from the Alcuin Society of Canada in 2005, and the American Association of University Presses (best Illustrated trade books in 2005), and more recently, gold in the American Association of University Presses“ Best of the Best” category in 2013 (with co-author Michael Rowan) for Canadian Folk Art to 1950.    

Henry Wiercinski is Chair of the CSDA and practiced business law in Toronto at McCarthy Tetrault LLP,  for over forty years until his recent retirement.  His focus included financial services, structured products, project finance and infrastructure as well as transportation elements related to aircraft and rolling stock financing.  Interested in transportation and urban development,  he is currently Vice-Chair of Rail Safety First, a coalition of residents and business improvement associations that advocates for safe, transparent and accountable rail, Vice-Chair of the Annex Residents Association, and Director of Smart Commute North Toronto, Vaughan. Henry and his wife Faye are interested in a wide range of art and decorative arts. 

Jennifer Franks Jennifer Franks is an art advisor and historian specializing in Decorative Arts, specifically Ceramics and Glass (1600 to present), with a MA in the History of Decorative Arts and Curatorial Studies via Parsons, The New School for Design (New York). She has worked for Christie’s (New York), Waddesdon Manor (Buckinghamshire, UK) on behalf the National Trust and Rothschild estate, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, among other leading art institutions as museum Researcher, Chief Curator, and Executive Director.  In recent years her work has explored intersections of the arts and sciences, including how historic collections inspire contemporary artists and design.

She is an active member and trustee of Decorative Art societies & museums/institutions throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe, fostering local to global collaborations with the belief arts best illustrate and foster our shared humanity.  

Susan Golets has spent more than 30 years working in the not-for-profit and public sector. She is an experienced leader with the Ontario provincial government, and  has worked in a variety of ministries. Over the years she has lead transformational change initiatives in complex policy and political environments by: conceptualizing strategic policy frameworks, designing integrated programs, building partnerships and effective relationships with stakeholders, and developing high performing teams to deliver timely results.

She is currently the Director, Sport Recreation and Community Programs Policy Branch for the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport. Susan has a Masters degree in Social Work from the University of Toronto and most recently, for six years, served on the board of the Fred Victor Centre, where she also chaired the Service Quality Committee. Susan and Nestor love to travel in Canada and abroad, and they are avid collectors of whatever moves them.

Steven Blevins originally trained as a Forest and then Parks Technician and worked for several years in the field in Nova Scotia. He went on to get a Bachelor of  Landscape Architecture from the University of Toronto and was employed with the Metro Toronto Housing Authority, as an in-house landscape maintenance consultant.  In 1995 he built his own home in the Muskoka area.

Inspired by his mother's love of antiques, Steven went into the antique business and was fortunate to learn from several professional dealers, including Peter Baker and Allan Clairman. He now deals primarily with folk art, ethnographic materials, high country furnishings and decorative arts.  Steven participates in numerous antique fairs and shows across Canada and the United States and has been  Secretary of the Canadian Antique Dealers Association for several years.  Steven collects bird sculptures by Jacob Epp and is currently building a second home in the Muskoka area!

Gilles Latour, Treasurer - has contributed to the growth of the Canadian education sector for over 15 years as Chief Operating Officer of the EdCan Network - Canadian Education Association. As COO Gilles’s role included the management of budgets, oversight of all areas of membership, events management, sponsorship and patron development, circulation and publishing areas of the association. For his professional volunteering background Gilles is Past President of the Canadian Society of Association Executive Trillium Chapter – a non-profit professional association providing knowledge and resources to the association sector. Gilles has contributed greatly towards arts related organizations such as the Past President of Craft Ontario (formerly the Ontario Crafts Council), Past President of the Canadian Crafts Federation (CCF/FCMA). Past Board member of Visual Arts Ontario (VAO). Gilles currently sits and Chairs on a number of committees at the professional and arts volunteer sectors.

Janice P. Warren is a lawyer whose practice focusses on business immigration, primarily representing Canadians wishing to relocate to the United States. She is an ardent collector of art glass, keenly encouraging young makers in Ontario. She was on the Board of Craft Ontario for 10 years as well as chairing its event/fundraising committee. Until recently Janice volunteered in the same capacity with Dress for Success. She was a regularly published restaurant reviewer/critic. 

Dr., Marlo Alexandra Burks holds a doctorate in German from the University of Toronto, an MA in German from Dalhouse University, an MA in Medieval Studies from University of Leeds and a BA in English from St. Thomas University.  She is a sessional lecturer at University of Toronto as well as a German instructor at Goethe-Institut. Marlo has coordinated workshops at the University of Toronto and conducted research as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Freie Universitӓt Berlin. She also worked as an editorial assistant for Seminar: A Journal of Germanic Studies (2011-2016).

Dr., Michael J. Prokopow is an historian and curator. His areas of expertise include material culture, design and architecture, cultural theory and curatorial practice. He has published widely on aesthetics, craft, and modernism. Most recently he completed a study of a house designed by Canadian architect Arthur Erickson for Vancouver artists Gordon and Marion Smith. In 2016 he co-curated with Dr. Rachel Gotlieb the critically acclaimed, traveling exhibition “True Nordic: How Scandinavia influenced design in Canada.” He is currently working on a survey of contemporary domestic architecture in the pacific west (housing in Oregon, Washington and British Columbia) and a monograph on the practice of British artist Hurvin Anderson. In addition, he is also working on a study of middle class taste in North America between 1940 and 1975. Currently, Michael serves on a number of non-profit boards, including the Arthur Erickson Foundation, C Magazine, and the editorial board of Studio: Craft and Design in Canada. Previously, he served on the boards of the Architectural Conservatory of Ontario and Craft Ontario. He is a faculty member at OCAD University. He holds a Ph.D. from Harvard University.