“Pine River gave our family everything we needed to heal and more importantly, gave us back our son.”

- Pine River Institute Parent

Pine River is a place for hope.

Pine River Institute was created as a place for youth experiencing mental health troubles and addictive behaviours–and their families–to get support and most importantly, to find hope. Our family model not only provides a custom treatment plan for youth that visit the Institute, but also treats the entire family through a process that promotes family and community healing. Pine River’s 80 percent success rate would not be possible without the medical professionals, psychologists, and clinicians at the Institute.

Learn More about Pine River Institute

Our four phase journey

At Pine River, we support young people’s developmental transition towards maturity – which includes empathy, lack of narcissism, the ability to be separate in relationships, future orientation, social ethics, regulation of emotion and abstract thought.

Each of the four phases, which are entirely customized for each student, focuses on a different stage of our youths’ journey, from the outdoor leadership experience, to the live-in portion, to transition and aftercare. Learn more about the work we support:

PINE RIVER INSTITUTE

Our Team

Jill has dedicated her career to the charitable sector. For more than 35 years, she has been a leader in marketing communications, advocacy and fund development in charities ranging from the arts, social justice, the environment, independent schools and hospitals. From grassroots giving to capital campaigns, Jill has served with dedication and kindness.
An active volunteer, Jill currently supports RE:Think Long-Term Care, as well as a refugee settlement group and local causes in her new hometown of Paris, Ontario.
Jill holds a B.A. in English Literature & Political Science from McGill University, an Honours Bachelor of Journalism from Carleton University and the Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE) certification. She has two adult sons and has a heartfelt commitment to Pine River, grateful for the outstanding support it has provided her family.

With more than 20 years of experience, Ruth Ann provides accounting and financial services.
After attending Carleton University and Calvin College, Ruth Ann went on to a career in finance, mainly in the marketing and advertising sector. In 2004, she started her own financial management and consulting company, working with various clients including charitable and not-for-profit organizations.

Vaughan Dowie joined Pine River Institute as its CEO in October 2011. He has more than 30 years of experience as a senior manager in public sector and community organizations, including as President of la Commission de Protection des Droits de la Jeunesse; Executive Director of Batshaw Youth and Family Centres; and Assistant Deputy Minister in three different ministries for the Government of British Columbia. He has served as a volunteer on a number of Boards of Directors of not-for-profit organizations, both local and national in scope. He has served as Board Chair of the Child Welfare League of Canada and Board President of Addictions and Mental Health Ontario and is the current Board Chair of the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction. Prior to joining Pine River Institute, Vaughan was the Executive Head of Public Affairs at McGill University in Montreal.

Abigail is a natural community connector, passionate about engaging people through storytelling. She graduated from UBC in 2013 with a B.A. in Political Science & English Literature and is currently on her way to obtaining a Masters in Communication. Her previous experience in both small business and complex organizations, including higher education have enabled her to become a multi-faceted, adaptable leader. She is an engaged community member, passionate about female empowerment, equity and diversity, continued education, and leadership, with a true commitment to global citizenship. Abigail's passion for curiosity, strategic thinking, and challenging the status quo is infectious to both colleagues and friends. When not at work, she is busy learning to speak Spanish, experimenting in the kitchen, getting down her GoodReads Wishlist, and wrangling her three dogs.

Our Board

Board Chair
CEO, Canada Colours and Chemicals
Guy Carr-Harris is the controlling shareholder of Canada Colors and Chemicals Limited. He holds the position of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer and is located in their head office in Toronto, Canada. Guy Carr-Harris graduated from Proctor Academy, a private school in New Hampshire and attended the University of Vermont where he studied Business Management. Guy has spent more than 30 years in various positions with Canada Colors and is the 3rd generation to manage the company. Other responsibilities include being the President and Chairman of Carr Investments and other family holding companies, President of Roseneath Properties as well as being on the board of The Canadian Art Foundation, Branksome Hall, Proctor Academy and The Beaumaris Yacht Club. Guy Carr-Harris lives with his wife Margaret in Toronto and has two daughters.

Founder, Augustina Boutique and Auggie Home Collection
Cristina Burgess is the founder of luxury boutique, Augustina, and co-founder of baby and child lifestyle brand, Auggie Home Collection. Augustina launched in 2001 as a retail shop in Toronto’s Yorkville neighbourhood while Auggie Home Collection came on the scene a decade later, the joint-creation of Cristina and her sister Gen. Having shifted from a bricks and mortar operation to an e-commerce platform in 2013, the brands now enjoy a loyal following across Canada, the US and Europe. From 2014 to 2016 Cristina served on the board of Friendship in Action, a non-profit organization working to promote collaboration and inclusion in the classroom, and has hosted events in support of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) and Camp Oochigeas. Cristina, who lives in Toronto with her son, continues to serve as a member of Friendship in Action’s Advisory Committee and is excited to contribute further to initiatives benefiting children and youth with Pine River Foundation. She is particularly interested in applying her skills to build awareness of Pine River and advance the reach of its expertise.

Vice President, National Bank of Canada
Clare Gaudet is a financial services executive and lawyer and is currently Vice-President and Chief Anti-Money Laundering Officer at the National Bank of Canada. Prior to December 2014, she was Vice-President Enterprise Risk Management TD Bank Group. Clare started her career at Borden Ladner Gervais as a corporate and securities lawyer. After a decade in private practice, she joined the Toronto Stock Exchange as head of Senior Listings. She then worked at CIBC from 2005 in Regulatory Affairs and Internal Controls. Clare obtained her LL.B. and B.C.L (1984) from McGill University. Clare has been involved in a number of not-for-profit organizations in the arts and education and is currently Chair of the Governance Committee of the Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art in Toronto. What inspires Clare, as a parent and director of the Pine River Foundation, is the way forward to wholeness that PRI offers young people struggling with addictive behaviors. Clare lives in Toronto with her husband and visits her two grown-up daughters living abroad as often as she can.

Partner, MarchFifteen
Maria Milanetti has over 20 years experience working with senior managers and leaders in a variety of settings. She specializes in strategy development, succession planning, change management and leadership and team development. Known as an insightful and results-oriented business partner, Maria has worked in both large and small organizations in many different sectors. Maria holds a Master’s degree in business administration and completed her training in organizational development at The Canadian Organizational Development Institute.

Lifelong Volunteer of Children’s Charities
Janet is a lifelong volunteer who has been actively engaged in children’s charities for over 35 years. Janet holds both a Bachelor of Physical and Health Education (University of Toronto, 1977) and a Bachelor of Education (Queen’s University, 1978). Her educational background combined with a passion and commitment to youth-related initiatives naturally evolved into leadership roles as Director of the After Four Program at Whitney School, and Founding Member of the Children’s Book Bank. Janet has also volunteered with Covenant House and with the Art Gallery of Ontario serving on the AGO Volunteer Committee and as a Docent in their Elementary Department. In addition to her involvement with Pine River, Janet is also a current Board Member of Art City in St. Jamestown and a volunteer for Heart to Hand. Janet lives in Toronto with her husband Douglas and enjoys spending time with her three adult children (Geordie, Charlie & Whitney) and two grandsons. When not spending time volunteering or with her family Janet can be find playing tennis, skiing, golfing, practicing yoga or taking her yellow lab out for long walks.

Founder and Chief Questions Officer of Whatif? Advisory Inc.
Kevin created Whatif? to help leaders ask the essential questions to imagine, innovate, and invent new ways of creating stakeholder value. Prior to founding Whatif?, Kevin held various senior leadership and client serving roles in professional and financial services where he built a reputation as an inspirational leader, bold and innovative thinker, and trusted advisor to senior executives. Kevin has worked directly with entrepreneurial and large corporate companies in more than 20 countries, gaining tremendous insights in value creation, leadership effectiveness, and client engagement. In addition to advising senior executives, Kevin mentors and coaches future leaders. He is also passionate about diversity and inclusion and sees significant opportunity for organizations that create cultures of engagement and belonging. Kevin is the current Vice Chair of the Board for Pine River Institute. He also served as Chair of the Board for Learning Disabilities Association of Ontario.

Past Chair | Executive Member - Human Rights Watch Canada
For over 30 years, Nancy Hamm has been actively engaged in the advancement of charitable causes focused on education, social services, and human rights. Her involvement has extended from campaign fundraising, to event planning, and board leadership. As Chair of the Earlscourt Child and Family Centre Board of Directors, Nancy was largely responsible for the merger of Earlscourt and the West End Crèche, which established the Child Development Institute. She went on to serve as its first Board Chair and remains an Advisory Board Member. Nancy is an Executive Member of Human Rights Watch Canada and Past Chair of the Board of Directors and Executive Committee Member of Human Rights Watch Canada. In addition to serving as Chair of Pine River Foundation's Board of Directors, Nancy was also an active member of Pine River Institute's Board for 10 years.

What would you do if it were you?

For every Pine River student, a total of $7 million is saved to tax payers and society.

Of that:
$1.5 million is saved in costs to the justice system
$1 million is saved in costs to the healthcare system
$3 million is saved in costs like housing, income, clothing, etc.