Board of Directors

Kirstin Jeffrey Johnson

Founder

Kirstin is a George MacDonald scholar who lives at Windstone Farm in the Ottawa Valley, Canada. After an interdisciplinary Masters at Regent College, she earned her PhD through the Institute for Theology, Imagination, & the Arts at St Andrews University in Scotland. Kirstin writes and lectures internationally on MacDonald, the Inklings, the nineteenth century, Faith & the Arts, and Ecology & the Arts. She is on the Advisory Board of Inklings Journal VII, a founding Board Member of the C.S. Lewis & Kindreds Society of Eastern & Central Europe, and co-chair of the George MacDonald Society. She directs Linlathen, the Theology & Arts conference and lecture series based at Windstone Farm, and does work with online communities such as The Rabbit Room, C.S. Lewis Connected, and Pints with Jack. Passionate about integrating ecological care, local community, and academia, she occasionally partners with the environmental network of A Rocha. She delights deeply in the interweaving of the communities of Creation.

Nathan Lemphers

Chair

Nathan is a longtime friend of Windstone Farm and has a keen appreciation to Kirstin’s vision for Windstone Farm. He has a deep background in climate and energy policy and currently works for the federal government. Nathan has served on several board chairs (Hillhurst United Church in Calgary and St. Anne’s Anglican Church in Toronto) and has worked for A Rocha International as Peter Harris’ assistant. He has a Bachelor of Science (Conservation Biology) from the University of Alberta, a Masters degree in city planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a PhD in political science from the University of Toronto, where he was a Junior Fellow at Massey College. Nathan lives in Ottawa and is married to Marie-Camille and tries to keep up with his two young sons.

Ann Chow

Secretary

For 25+ years as a global strategist, Ann’s industry expertise, passion for innovation, and collaboration empower organisations and individuals with the goal of building towards a more hope-filled future. Ann brings innovative ideas to large global events, systems development, projects, and training in Toronto and around the world. She has shaped and trained global mindsets programmatically through InterVarsity’s powerful Urbana missions conference for 20 years.

Nationally, Ann is proud of her current involvement as Vice Chair on the Board of Directors for Partners International, a Venture Board member of Prescience Labs with Wycliffe Canada and a recent member of the Board of Directors for Food for the Hungry Canada. In Toronto she provides leadership as an elder at Knox Presbyterian Church. Ann has earned her Bachelors of Music from the University of Calgary and Master of Arts in Theology from Regent College in Vancouver, BC.

Sid Ypma

Finance and Development

Sid is a pastor of a Christian Reformed Church in Kemptville, ON. Previous to returning to parish ministry, Sid served as a campus chaplain at the University of Ottawa for 10 years, where he mentored university students in Christian faith and encouraged the development of the Multi-Faith Chaplaincy Services within the Wellness structure of the University. Sid’s time at the University of Ottawa coincided with the beginnings of the Linlathen Lectures and he has been involved with Linlathen since its inception. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Calvin Seminary and a BA in Political Science & History from Redeemer University. He has served on the Board of Governors for the Bread of Life Society in Port Alberni, BC (2009-2012) and has also served on the Board of Governors for Redeemer University in Ancaster, ON (2015-2021). He is the husband of Brenda and the father of Anna, Abram, and Eben and together they care for their chickens and land outside of Richmond, ON.

Chuck Ma

After nearly 35 years in Information Technology (IT), Chuck Ma retired from the industry and became a professor for the School of Business at Redeemer University in Ancaster, Ontario. He has taught courses in operations management, marketing, international business, and social enterprise, and leads the core fourth-year Pathways course, which encourages students from various disciplines to collaborate on real-world projects that serve God’s kingdom. Currently, he is developing an online 'redemptive social enterprise' course as part of Redeemer’s Non-Profit Certificate program. Additionally, Chuck co-founded Prevention is Better LTD, an Ireland-based EdTech company that trains schools and corporations on drug, alcohol, and tobacco use/misuse.

In his IT career, Chuck held numerous roles, including Director of Cloud Strategy, Director of Partner Alliances, and Director of the PMO at Buchanan Technologies. He holds an MBA from Quantic School of Business and Technology and an Honours Bachelor of Math from the University of Waterloo.

Chuck fosters puppies for Lions Foundation Dog Guides of Canada and has a variety of animals at home, including goats and tortoises. He dreams of starting a redemptive social enterprise on a farm. Recently, he has had the great joy of becoming a grandfather.

Brenda Henry

Brenda is a wife, mother of three, and a wearer of many hats. She has served in numerous advisory roles, from the Maternal and Child Health Care Committee at Joseph Brant Memorial Hospital to a seat on the Helping Hands Street Mission Board of Directors, and more recently as an advisor to the Bonnechere Baptist Camp Board of Directors. Her hope is to bring individuals and organizations into flourishing as God designed them to be.

Being involved in Summer Camp Ministry for over thirty years culminated in the Co-Directorship of Bonnechere Baptist Camp in the Ottawa Valley, alongside her husband. It was here as campers that Brenda (a city girl) began a lifelong friendship with Kirstin (a country girl), and so began a relationship with Windstone Farm. The land, the momentum, and the community were captivating from the beginning. With anticipation for all that God has yet to do, Brenda gladly joined the WFL Board.

She and her family make their home in Burlington, ON just a short walk from Lake Ontario. Most of the family still share the same roof, with one daughter (a country girl) who lives at the A Rocha Environmental Centre in BC.

Liba Straznicky

After being raised on a small hobby farm Liba moved to Toronto where she lived with Paul and their two children for 18 years. In 1989 the family moved to Ottawa, where she continued her accounting studies and then set up an accounting company. Returning to university part-time in 2004, Liba received her Bachelor of Theology from St Paul University in 2011. Upon ordination as an Anglican minister, she became part of Living Water, Healing Streams, a Christian holistic healing ministry.

Now retired, Liba and her husband spend their time beekeeping and restoring their property as a welcoming space to a variety of God’s creatures and a place of refuge for family and friends.

Emily Martin

Emily has a wealth of experience in teaching to various age groups. She received an M.A. in English from the University of Ottawa in 2004. Since then she has taught writing at the University of Ottawa, has led book discussion groups and intensive reading courses with homeschooling students, and has been teaching the Literature in Western Culture course at Augustine College for several years. Emily is passionate about introducing great works of children's literature to young minds at St Timothy's Classical Academy, as well as encouraging her students as they learn to enjoy reading across different subjects. She takes delight in steering her students towards the good, the true, and the beautiful, and helping to form their minds so that they naturally seek this out.

Board of Directors

For any board-related enquiries, please do write to us at: wflsocietyboard@gmail.com