Staff & Board

Jennifer Stead, BFA, Dip in Art Ed, MFA  joined the Andrew & Laura McCain Art Gallery as Executive Director & Curator in February 2017.  Along with a successful professional art practice, Jennifer has over 25 years of art education experience having worked in five provinces and at all levels of visual art education.

She received her BFA at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in Halifax, completed an Arts Education degree at McGill University and completed her MFA at the University of Calgary, winning the 2007 Chancellor’s Medal for her thesis. As a practicing artist Jennifer’s art is based in painting and drawing and her public art sculptures are an extension of that practice. Her work is represented in various private, public and corporate collections nationally and she has been the recipient of many provincial and federal arts grants.

• Kevin Flanagan, Chair
• Nancy Whyte McCauley, Vice-Chair
  Nancy grew up in Montreal where she received her Bachelor of Commerce degree from Concordia University. In 1992, she and her husband Mark moved to Florenceville. In 2005 as a municipal councillor, Nancy joined the Andrew & Laura McCain Library and Gallery board, which originally operated as one entity. Nancy has been involved with the Gallery board ever since and loves the art journey that she is on. In that time, she has witnessed the Gallery and cultural community flourish in the Town of Florenceville-Bristol, a place that she is proud to call home.
• Wendy Rea, Secretary
  Wendy has enjoyed being a member of this Board since 2018 and being introduced to the world of art. Originally from Southern Alberta, her husband’s career has taken the family to Ottawa, the Northwest Territories, Toronto and Winnipeg. Wendy worked in administration for both local and the federal governments and specialized in human resource management in private industry. She and her husband Neville retired here in 2004 to be near family. Having lived in many places in Canada over the years, Wendy has found this community to be very welcoming to newcomers and feels fortunate to live in this beautiful setting, with its rich culture of music, drama and the visual arts.
• Carol Brennan, Treasurer
  Carol grew up on a farm in the Annapolis Valley and spent her career working in the agricultural industry. After graduating from the University of Maine, Orono with a degree in Agriculture & Resource Economics she was employed the the federal and provincial departments of agriculture for ten years, becoming the first female District Agriculturist in New Brunswick. Carol went on to work for ten years with the Mutual Insurance companies and twenty years with Farm Credit Canada.
  Carol was a long-time 4-H leader, a founding member of the Bath Access Centre and the Northern Carleton Minor Basketball Association, served as a member and chair of the CNHS Parent Support Committee, was treasurer for the CNHS music program for many years. She is a member of the Catholic Women’s League and the Florenceville Rotary Club.
  She and her husband, Joe, have four children and six grandchildren. They recently retired from thirty -five years of farming and enjoy still living on the farmstead in Johnville.
• David Bailey
• Karen Birnie
  Karen is a retired educator who dedicated her career, spanning over 30 years, to working with and advocating for children with Learning Disabilities. As a special education teacher, literacy lead and Vice Principal, in Toronto, Karen worked to build the literacy skills and confidence of elementary children. Karen graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Mount Allison University, a Bachelor of Education from Queens University, followed by Specialists in Special Education and Reading from the University of Toronto and then her Principal Qualifications from the Ontario Principal’s Council. Upon retirement in 2016, Karen returned to her Carleton Country roots, where she continues to support the development of literacy skills, as a volunteer Tutor Co-ordinator and Board member with Northern Carleton Laubach Literacy Council. Karen is honoured to be an ALMAG Board member, supporting the Gallery’s mission of
  increasing the access, awareness and appreciation of art in her community.
• James Buxton
  James was raised in this community and has served on the Board for several years. His creative gifts have come from his knowledge of trees, birds and animals. He shares his techniques in basket weaving and wood carving with many others, spending many hours creating works of art, or teaching others at his studio in the River Arts Centre. James is an asset on the Board, representing local artisans.
• Susan Galbraith
  Originally from Saint John, Susan studied Art and Art Education at Concordia University in Montreal, and has an MEd from UNB, Fredericton. She moved to Carleton County in 1990 to take on the position of art teacher at Carleton North High School, where she has built an award-winning art program. She has served on provincial curriculum development committees for elementary and high school visual arts and took on the role of Visual Arts Lead Teacher for Anglophone School District West from 2019-2020. She is a practicing artist and currently displays her work at the ALMAG Gallery Shop. Susan has been a member of the gallery board since 2018, but she has partnered with the ALMAG since her arrival in 1990. The gallery provides an important opportunity for her high school students to view quality art of regional, provincial, national and international acclaim.
• Dr. Clare Whelton McCain
  Clare is a North Shore New Brunswicker, living in Florenceville for the past 20 years. A Memorial University of Newfoundland Medical School 1968 graduate, she interned at McGill, then worked as a GP in Hartland, NB where she met her husband, Allison McCain. After 2 years, she returned to a year of residency in Internal Medicine at Dalhousie University. After marrying in 1981 Clare and her family moved to Australia and then to Scarborough, England where they lived for 16 years. Clare is now a retired GP, mother of 2 (one artist), grandmother of 2 (both artists), and, along with her husband Allison, now a new restauranteur. She is a keen gardener, walker of dogs, cross country skier and bridge player. Clare is committed to our community and likes to involve herself in fundraising projects that benefit our social milieu. A member of the Gallery Board for several years, she is committed to the success of our Gallery and very much enjoy the benefits of having a vibrant and successful art center in our town.
• Sonja Wright
  Sonja has called Florenceville-Bristol home since 1992. She is a Literacy Lead for ASD-W, a wife, and a mother of three. Sonja understands the importance of the arts in education – as she holds a music education degree from Mt. Allison University. She has been on the board of the gallery since 2017 and helps out on the social media side of things.