Our Board

Doug Hogeboom, Board Chair

Doug began his role as Chair of the Board in June 2022, was pleased to be asked to join the Board of Providence Village given his deep belief in the vision that the Sisters have for a neighbourhood of people helping people.

He has a long-standing relationship with the Sisters of Providence of St. Vincent de Paul beginning with an invitation to join the Board of the Providence Care Foundation by Sister Sheila Langton. He served on that board for nine years with a portion of that time as Board Chair. He also served on the Board of Providence Care hospital for a few years. He says he continues to consider Sister Sheila a friend and mentor.

Doug has served on numerous community fundraising initiatives including past chair of the United Way campaign, the Healthcare 2000 Campaign, and the recent St. Lawrence College Uncommon Campaign. He has contributed as member of community foundation boards including Kingston General Hospital Foundation Board, University Hospitals Kingston Foundation Board, and the Providence Care Foundation Board. He has been on the governance Boards of Junior Achievement of Kingston & District, Ongwanada Hospital Board, St. Lawrence College Board of Governors, and the Providence Care Hospital Board. Over many years has also served on the Boards of three area churches and been active in their activities. Doug’s working career comprised 35 years at The Empire Life Insurance Company, from which he retired as the Senior Executive of the company. 

Brian Hogan, Past Chair

Brian Hogan served as the Chair of PVI for its inaugural five years. He felt drawn to join the Providence Village Board by the mission of the Sisters of Providence to serve the needs of the vulnerable populations. The vision of the Sisters to build a community that could bring together a range of partnerships and collaborations that would provide support to those populations within our community is what attracted him to accept the invitation to become formally engaged.

He hopes Providence Village becomes a community that not only provides support for the vulnerable, the elderly and those suffering from mental illness, but will also be a safe place where people can feel hope and a sense of belonging.

Brian has been associated with the Sisters of Providence through many years on the Board at Providence Care, which began with an invitation by Sister Sheila Langton.

Brian has a personal connection to the Sisters of Providence. A family member was a member of the order. That relationship made it possible for him and his wife to be married in the Chapel of the Providence Motherhouse. He says he has always been, and forever will be, a strong supporter of upholding the legacy of the Sisters of Providence.

Brian served for many years as Vice Chair for the Board for Providence Care. During his tenures he also served on and chaired committees of that board. He is currently a a member of the Campaign Cabinet of University Hospitals Kingston Foundation. He is a past member of the Rotary Club of Kingston and Gananoque. Professionally, Brian is partner with Baker Tilly (formerly Collins Barrow), an international association of Chartered Professional Accountants. 

Larry Norman

Larry Norman believes Providence Village has the potential to make a significant impact in Kingston and surrounding area by helping people in need while at the same time honouring the legacy of the Sisters of Providence of St. Vincent de Paul. He feels the Sisters have contributed a great deal to the community over their long history.

He envisions Providence Village as a place of diverse entities of people helping people in need. He sees it as a place to develop a stronger and caring community in a way that benefits all citizens.

Larry has known and worked with the Sisters of Providence since the mid-1970’s and not always in the Kingston area. When his career took him to cities where the Sisters had a presence he would connect with them and be of service wherever he could. His first board appointment in working with the Sisters was as a member of St. Vincent’s Providence Manor and Providence Care.

He chaired the Providence Manor building committee during its last major expansion and renovation. He also chaired the Providence Care Board for four years and was part of finding the funding for the new hospital. He is an engineer by education and worked for a large international company. He has managed large sites, developed training programmes, and run a business segment. His last post was as Director of Operations at DuPont Canada, where he was responsible for all manufacturing, engineering and purchasing, reporting directly to the company’s President.

Sister Frances O’Brien

Sister Frances O’Brien has been a member of the Sisters of Providence for over 50 years and part of the evolution of the Providence Village initiative since the beginning. She has been a part of all the consultations and studies that were carried out by the Sisters of Providence as they began dreaming about 10 years ago for the future use of the Providence Motherhouse property as part of their legacy to serve the vulnerable.

Sister Frances hopes Providence Village will become a vibrant and life-giving neighbourhood where all who come to access services or who have housing on these grounds will find support, respect and opportunity to interact across all boundaries of age, gender, race, and creed. She hopes that people in the surrounding neighbourhoods will also feel welcome to use the beautiful grounds and to access events and activities that will take place. She hopes that the Sisters’ dream will be actualized over the course of the next 10 years.

“We have faced the reality that we are coming to completion and are trying to ensure that our ministries and mission will continue on into the future after we are gone. The Providence Village initiative is the culmination of a dream that is giving us new life and hope for the future,” she says.

She has served in a variety of ministries and positions over the last 50 years. She began as a teacher of both elementary and secondary school. She was a Campus Minister at Queen’s University for five years and then was elected to two terms on the Leadership Team of the Sisters of Providence. In that capacity she served on various Health Care Boards and Social Agency Boards in the community. She has been a Pastoral Counselor for many years working with people struggling with all kinds of issues in their lives such as broken relationships, childhood sexual abuse, grief and loss, personality disorder, anxiety and depression, loss of faith or meaning. With one of the Sisters’ Providence Associates, she developed a practice of Process Facilitation which took her to groups across the country from Vancouver to the Maritimes and into the United States. Since 2011 she has been serving again on the Leadership Team to continue the work of the Long Range Plan for the Sisters’ future.

Sister Sandra Shannon

Sister Sandra is called into the work that is Providence Village because, as a Sister of Providence of St. Vincent de Paul, she sees Providence Village as the legacy of the Sisters. It will be the vehicle by which the Sisters, in their diminishment, can continue to serve the people of Kingston and beyond as they have done since 1861. Whatever she can do to bring the dream of Providence Village into reality is a privilege, she says.

She hopes Providence Village will become an oasis in the heart of Kingston where the vulnerable will first and foremost be respected, cared for and encouraged to live life to the fullest. Providence Village will become a place of healing whether of mind, body or soul. Hopefully it will be intercultural, intergenerational and equitable. She envisions the diverse partners of Providence Village as contributing to the whole — a community of people helping people.

As a Sister of Providence of St. Vincent de Paul who has been part of the last two leadership teams, Sister Sandra has been involved with Providence Village from the beginning. She has participated in the Master program/Master plan phases forming the original Providence Village concept. Now she is part of the initial Board of Directors whose mandate is to bring the concept into reality and manage the project into the future.

Sister Sandra has served as a Board member of various hospitals across Canada. She has participated in the transfer of the Sisters’ hospitals to other Catholic entities in the past. She has been part of renovation and construction projects at the Providence Motherhouse in the recent past. Working with vulnerable people, in her health care ministry, has schooled her to give empathy to those in need.

Bhavana Varma

Bhavana Varma was welcomed to the Board of Directors of Providence Village Inc. in April 2023. As President & CEO of the United Way of Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington, she is a skilled Governor and leader. Bhavana’s work with the United Way in our community gives her a unique perspective and understanding of the mission and vision of PVI. Her background and skill set will be a valued addition to our Board.

With all her accomplishments and acknowledgements, her interest is always in how to make things better for those less fortunate in our community and this aligns with PVI’s mission, values and guiding principles. Bhavana has been on the front lines of the challenges the community faces in today’s environment. She is especially attuned to the issues of homelessness, youth, and the early years being an especially important interest of hers. One of her passions is helping the non-profit sector, providing workshops, facilitation and coaching to help leaders be the best they can be.

She has received the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee medal, Queen’s University Alumni Association’s Jim Bennett Achievement Award, a Legacy Award from the Greater Kingston Chamber of Commerce, United Way of Canada’s award of staff excellence, the George Hart Award, a Platinum Jubilee Pin and has recently been appointed Honorary Colonel of the 77th Line Regiment. She has volunteered for a number of organizations, and has sat on Boards of Directors, including the Kingston Symphony Association, and the Kingston Frontenac Public Library.

Carrie Batt

Carrie Batt is a former senior leader with the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), where she became a specialist in working with entrepreneurs over the course of her 35-year career. During her tenure at RBC, Carrie held various account manager and leadership positions in diverse communities across Canada, from Winnipeg to Moose Jaw to Kingston. Notably, she served as a Specialized Commercial Account Manager in the Knowledge-Based Industry sector in Winnipeg, and later as the Manager, Business Products and Services in RBC’s Manitoba-Saskatchewan Regional Office. In her final role with RBC, Carrie was responsible for RBC’s team of Business Account Managers across Ontario North and East; a role which enabled her to travel across this vast and beautiful region of the country.

Indigenous and Métis on her father’s side and descendants of Ukrainian immigrants on her mother’s, Carrie’s personal background and heritage reflects the diversity of Canada. She is a member of Animakee Wa Zhing First Nation, a former member of Royal Eagles, RBC’s Employee Resource Group for Indigenous employees, and served as Chair of RBC’s Ontario North and East Diversity & Inclusion Council from 2018 to 2023.

Carrie also played a pivotal role in breaking gender barriers in the finance industry in Canada, being one of the few female Account Managers in Manitoba when she started her career. She proudly paved the way for younger women aspiring to follow in her footsteps and further contributed to the advancement of women in her field through her role as RBC Women’s Entrepreneur Champion for Manitoba.

Carrie has an extensive history of community engagement, including volunteer roles as a Board Member of UNICEF Manitoba, the Moose Jaw Chamber of Commerce, and the Moose Jaw YMCA. She also served as Past Chair of the Board Past Chair of the Campaign Cabinet for the United Way Serving Kingston Frontenac Lennox and Addington (KFL&A). For many years, she was also an active member of the Quinte Business Achievement Awards organizing committee. Carrie currently sits on the Women United Committee in KFL&A, and now serves as a member of the PVI Board of Directors.