About AlgomaTrad

Dedicated to building community through music, dance, art and heritage craft traditions

AlgomaTrad is a charitable organization dedicated to building community through the celebration, sharing, and learning of traditional music, dance, arts, and heritage craft. Since 2004, AlgomaTrad has produced over 300 programs and events, including community dances, concerts, workshops, festivals, and its annual Family Camp, while hosting over 200 nationally and internationally renowned performers, artists, and mentors. We are currently developing the year-round, environmentally-sustainable AlgomaTrad Centre on St. Joseph Island.

Behind the scenes or out front, we can’t do it without our fabulous Board!

Chair/President: Barb Willoughby

Barb Willoughby

Barb Willoughby and her family have been deeply involved with AlgomaTrad since 2008. As a parent of campers, a camper herself, a volunteer, a board member, and now Chair of the Board, she has an intimate understanding of AlgomaTrad’s strengths, possibilities, and impact. She co-chairs the annual AlgomaTrad Camp auction and the bi-annual Trivia Night, keeps the annual AlgomaTrad Camp office ship-shape, secured a grant for the planting of 1,350 native seedlings and saplings for the site, and steps up wherever needed. A self-described stubborn hard-worker, Barb lives with her husband in Desbarats. She is a veteran teacher of science and chemistry at Central Algoma Secondary School where she has honed her skills at finding the best in people, managing boisterous groups, and introducing youth to the wonders of science. Having coached high school sports for 20 years, she knows the importance of teamwork. She loves every minute that she spends outdoors, especially gardening and biking, and brings great energy to the Board.​

Michael O’Gorman

Treasurer: Michael O’Gorman

Michael O’Gorman is a Chartered Professional Accountant and Certified Financial Planner and the sole practitioner in his own accounting and financial planning firm in Milton, Ontario since 1990. Previous employment experience in Canada Revenue and the private sector brings unique and informative perspectives to the AlgomaTrad Board. Michael has broad volunteer experience including serving on the Milton Downtown Business Improvement Board; as a Board Officer with the Milton Chamber of Commerce and the local chapter of the Knights of Columbus; as Treasurer for several non-profits (Family Place, Milton Branch of the Canadian Red Cross); as Small-Business Coordinator for the local annual United Way campaign; and serving on the Ontario Parent Council advisory body to the Ontario Minister of Education. He’s also been an instructor of accounting and business at Sheridan College Of Applied Arts and Technology.

Michael’s experience in accounting and as a Board member on several non-profits brings a vast wealth of experience and knowledge to the AlgomaTrad Board.

Sarah Fleming

Secretary: Sarah Fleming

Sarah is an educator, advocate, leader, and creative thinker. She has a passion for working with children and youth, and giving back to her greater community. Having spent the past 21 years in the field of education, with a focus on working with students with special education needs, Sarah has had a wide variety of experiences that have transferred to her charitable work, such as her organizational skills, social media/design and tech skills, ability to work collaboratively, and come up with creative solutions to challenges she is faced with.

In addition to her work as a teacher, she is the Board Chair for Glowing Hearts Charity, and was previously the Communications Chair for the Magnetawan Watershed Land Trust. She also enjoys being the Simcoe County District School Board team member on a multi-disciplined design team with Georgian College faculty, working toward creating technology-based solutions for students with special education needs.

“The moment my family set foot at the Centre for our first family camp experience back in 2012, I knew I was a part of something magical. ​I feel honoured to be a part of AlgomaTrad’s past, present, and future.”

Steve Schneider

Director: Steve Schneider

Steve Schneider is a long-time supporter of AlgomaTrad, father of an AlgomaTrad camper from its inception, and an AlgomaTrad teacher and performer.

A multi-instrumentalist, Steve has played on Broadway, holds a masters degree in Music Therapy, and worked as a music therapist with hospice patients and their families.

Steve has served as President of the board of directors of Tibetan Home of Hope, a non-profit serving Tibetan orphans, and was a board member of the American Association for Music Therapy.

Steve and his wife, Mary, live in Michigan, spend summers in Canada, and own the land on St. Joseph Island where all things AlgomaTrad happen. Steve and Mary are the proud recipients of the Best Adult Pizza award at a very early AlgomaTrad gathering.  ​

Amy Wheeler Reich

Director: Amy Wheeler Reich

Amy has been involved with AlgomaTrad since 2008 as a camper, a parent of campers, a volunteer and now a board member. The AlgomaTrad Camp, with its multigenerational learning philosophy, has become an important part of her summer every year, and the AlgomaTrad family has become an important part of her life.

Amy brings to the AlgomaTrad Board 15 years of experience running events, facilitating fundraising, and sitting on governance committees, through her time working on several boards, including the Sault Area Hospital Foundation and the Soo Finnish Nordic Ski Club.

Amy looks forward to helping bring the AlgomaTrad vision to people in the Algoma region and beyond.

Samantha Giguere

Director: Samantha Giguere

Samantha Giguere is a member of the Thessalon First Nation and spent many years as a camper at AlgomaTrad which fostered her passion for music and the arts. She is a recent graduate of the University of Toronto where she studied Indigenous Studies and Archaeology. Samantha brings experience in Indigenous community engagement through work with the Loran Scholars Foundation and the City of Toronto, as well as a personal connection to the Indigenous communities in the Algoma region. She hopes to use her skills to further connect AlgomaTrad to Indigenous communities as well as help to further incorporate an Indigenous lens to their work moving forward.

Eli Howard

Director: Eli Howard

Eli Howard is a twenty-five year old Irish traditional musician from Toronto. Eli’s relationship with AlgomaTrad began when he first attended the summer music camp at age eight. Since then Eli has become deeply embedded in the AlgomaTrad community, attending, teaching, and performing at many subsequent events. Eli’s nearly lifelong experience with AlgomaTrad makes him an asset to the board, as he has a deep understanding of the organization’s vision and the people who attend AlgomaTrad events.