Board of Directors

Dr. Jim Douketis, President

Dr. James Douketis is the Director of the Vascular Medicine Program and Staff Physician in Vascular Medicine and General Internal Medicine at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton. He is a Professor in the Department of Medicine at McMaster University and the Associate Director of the Clinical Teaching Unit at St. Joseph’s Healthcare. He received his Doctor of Medicine degree and completed his residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Toronto. He then completed a fellowship in thromboembolic disease at McMaster University.

Dr. Douketis’ research interests include perioperative antithrombotic therapy, prognosis of patients with venous thromboembolism, bleeding risks during antithrombotic therapy, hormonal therapy and thrombosis, prevention of venous thromboembolism in medical patients, and clinical practice guideline development for the prevention and treatment of obesity.

Dr. Douketis is the Deputy Editor of ACP Journal Club and has 160 scientific publications, of which over 100 are peer-reviewed articles.

Dr. Douketis lives in Hamilton with his wife, Dr. Margaret Nowaczyk, a clinical geneticist, and two boys, Jack and Luke, and is a cellist with Symphony on the Bay.

Fonda Loft, Vice President

Burlington resident Fonda Loft is Head of Special Education and ESL at White Oaks Secondary School in Oakville. She is active as a volunteer and fundraiser with Ronald MacDonald House, Hamilton, and the Junior League of Hamilton-Burlington, taking a special interest in liaison with community partners.

Kristan Gray, Treasurer

Kristan Gray is a branch manager with FirstOntario Credit Union. She is also a Branch Compliance Manager and a licensed Mutual Fund Investment Specialist. She serves as a director for the Credit Union Professionals’ Association and is a member of Zonta II of Hamilton, an international women’s advocacy group, and the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce and has just joined the Downtown Hamilton Business Improvement Association.

Kristan studied classical piano for many years through the Royal Conservatory in Toronto. She enjoys music and making jewellery and is an avid golfer. Kristan lives in Dundas with her husband, Alan, and they are proud parents of Jessica, a reporter in Egypt and Patrick David, an industrial designer in Toronto.

Fran Cohen, Secretary

Fran Cohen is an elementary French teacher and teacher librarian. She is an accomplished in International dance as well as clarinet. She enjoys playing in clarinet choir and chamber ensembles and has been a member of Symphony on the Bay for many years.

Andrea Battista, Director

Andrea Battista has been a private piano and violin teacher for over 40 years. A resident of Chatham for 20 years, she was twice president of the Ontario Registered Music Teachers’ Association Chatham-Kent branch, as well as Artist Section Manager for the Chatham Concert Association, and a member of the Chatham Kiwanis Festival Board. Since moving to Burlington in 2002, she has been a member of the violin section of Symphony on the Bay. She was Music Chair of the Burlington Rotary Music Festival for five years and a member of the Hamilton-Halton ORMTA executive for seven years. She was named 2011 Special Teacher by her colleagues in the Hamilton-Halton Branch of ORMTA.

During the past two years Andrea chaired the successful Keys to the Future campaign which raised money for the purchase of a 9-foot Shigeru Kawai Ex grand piano for the new Burlington Performing Arts Centre. She is currently chair of the ORMTA provincial convention to be held in Burlington in July of 2012.

Andrea has been a member of the Canadian Music festival Adjudicators’ Association for 20 years and has adjudicated on piano and violin all over Canada. She is also an examiner on both instruments for Conservatory Canada. She performs on both instruments and is active as a collaborative accompanist and chamber musician.

Tom Gaasenbeek, Director

Tom Gaasenbeek...

Nancy Patterson, Director

Nancy Patterson is in her second year of playing bassoon with Symphony on the Bay. As a Certified Forensic Investigator, she is by day a fraud investigator and risk officer with Canada Guaranty Mortgage Insurance in downtown Toronto. Nancy has lived in Burlington for the last four years. She is an avid motorcycle enthusiast, canoe paddler and Shetland sheepdog owner. Nancy brings to Symphony on the Bay her passion for music and her skill in developing arts partnerships with businesses.

Muna Pirhbai, Director

As a partner with Taylor Leibow since 1986, Muna Pirbhai has built a large clientele which profiles largely owner-managed businesses and in particular, auto dealerships. Drawing on three decades of accounting experience, he provides general accounting and auditing services for his business clients and for several charitable organizations.
Raised in Kenya, Muna moved to India to obtain his undergraduate university education. He graduated with a degree in Commerce from the University of Bombay in the 1960's. In 1965, he moved to London to gain his CA designation from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales, which he received in 1969. He returned to Kenya for four years before finally moving to Canada in 1974.
Muna lives in Ancaster and enjoys being with his family. He has twin daughters, one pursuing a career in dentistry and the other a career in accounting.