Executive Directors
Past Chair
Ian Mackay
Ian Mackay is the past Chair of ACO Port Hope. Ian’s background is in law, business and music, having worked as General Counsel at Sony Music Canada, and President of Re:Sound. He is passionate about architecture and landscape, and has restored two heritage homes in Port Hope (the Marion Garland house on Augusta Street and the Little Bluestone on King Street).
Co-Chair
Katherine McHarg
Katherine has been an active member of our chapter for several years, opening her previous home on Ellen St. for ACO’s 2012 House Tour. She holds degrees in Fashion Design, English Literature, and Education, and retired from teaching with the Toronto District School Board recently. She served as a Trustee of the Port Hope Library Board for six years, known for bringing creative ideas forward for both outreach and design elements. A member of the Marketing working group, Katherine also works on strengthening internal partnerships within our branch. Katherine joined the Executive in 2021.
Co-Chair
Susan Layard
Susan Layard is a retired school administrator and teacher of history and mathematics. She taught for 21 years at The Bishop Strachan School, where she also served as Head of Mathematics, and for 13 years at St. Clement’s School, where she was the Director of Curriculum and Student Services and Principal of the Summer School. During the 2006-07 year of school construction, she was the Principal. After formal retirement in 2011, she went on to direct the school’s annual professional development institute for teachers of Advanced Placement courses. Throughout her career, Susan was also heavily involved with music, coaching music groups at both BSS and St. Clement’s, and outside, working extensively with Canadian composer Udo Kasemets. Since moving to Port Hope in 2016, Susan has been a Board member of St. Mark’s Maple Court, which provides affordable housing for seniors, and an active volunteer for ACO Port Hope. Susan joined the Executive in 2019 and serves as Co-Chair of the Advocacy Committee.
Treasurer
Brenda Willows
Brenda is a retired CPA and her 45 years business experience includes 15 years at Trent University as Financial Reporting Analysis and nine years as Accounting Manager of the Canadian practice of McKinsey & Company. In addition to volunteering with ACO Port Hope, she also works at the Port Hope food bank and Municipal Animal Services. She enjoys art classes and fitness classes at the YMCA.
Secretary
Jennifer Wadds
Jennifer and her husband Denzil are the (slightly overwhelmed) owners of 77 Augusta Street, also known as the Wickett Mansion. Jennifer’s family has a historic farm on Rice Lake and she grew up appreciating the wealth of history and heritage buildings found in Northumberland County. Jennifer andDenzil escaped the city in 2015 when they moved to Port Hope with their three children and an assortment of animals. When she is not chasing bats out of her attic, Jennifer is an assistant professor at the University of Toronto in the Department of Speech-Language Pathology as well as the owner of a small private practice. She is the past vice-chair of the board of her professional provincial association(OSLA) and is currently co-chair of the Ontario sub-committee of the board of the Canadian professional association (SAC). Jennifer looks forward to contributing to the preservation of the historic architecture of our beautiful community.
Directors
Laura Antonik
Laura is a graduate of Art History from U of T and holds a certificate in New Media Design from Centennial College. Laura moved to Port Hope during the start of the pandemic and joined the ACO to share her passion for architecture and beauty. As an award-winning designer with 20+ years experience, her career includes the redesign of The Globe and Mail’s website, digital editorial design for the magazines FASHION, Toronto Life and Weddingbells, and broadcast website design for HGTV, Food Network and History Television. She now lives in a mid-century bungalow and enjoys exploring Port Hope with her husband and their two dogs.
Lydia Bell-Gradon (Svenningson)
Lydia and family moved to Port Hope in 1996 and she joined the ACO in 2010, thoroughly enjoying volunteering for house and garden tours. During her career as a senior administrative assistant, Lydia worked at financial holding companies, developers, a Toronto law firm, and most recently finished 20 years at Trinity College School, Port Hope, in September 2021.
Brian Buttery
I was born in this area and have never really left. My ancestors came here generations ago and it has a hold on me too. Early years in brief: I attended the old Dr. Hawkins Senior Elementary on Pine Street and then Port Hope High School, before graduating Trent University with an Honors B.A. in English and History. I got a teaching degree from The University of Windsor and ended up teaching right back at Dr. Hawkins. My wife (Pamela) and I bought our first home on Walton Street and it was (and still is) a beautiful red brick heritage house. We moved around the county and lived in two other historic homes where we learned to appreciate the joy (and challenges) of living with/in history and attempting to preserve the past. I have been a collector and sometime antique dealer for the past 30 years and continue to grow an appreciation for our cultural and material heritage. We currently live at 240 Ridout Street, another great historic home that we have enjoyed living in and restoring to its former glory. This home was featured on the 2021 virtual tour of historic homes. My wife and I have enjoyed attending Port Hope’s garden and house tours for decades now and have always appreciated the work that the local ACO does. I believe it is important work and look forward to contributing to the best of my abilities.
Tom Cruickshank
Tom has been a member of the ACO since he was in university in the 1970s, served the Port Hope LACAC in the 80s and the ACO board in the early 2010s. He has an abiding interest in local history and heritage architecture, a subject he has pursued in no less than five books, some with architect Peter Stokes. His work includes Old Ontario Houses, Old Toronto Houses and Port Hope: A Treasury of Early Homes. For the better part of 25 years, he worked in the Canadian magazine industry, first as editor of the Century Home here in Port Hope and later, Harrowsmith Country Life. He is currently at work on an inventory of the older buildings of Hamilton Township.
Marina Smirnova
Marina Smirnova holds a Masters of Urban Planning from TMU (formerly Ryerson University) and has recently found her calling as a heritage planner. Marina left Toronto during the pandemic and currently lives and works in Cobourg, though she is enamoured with Port Hope. Marina’s early years in Tallinn, Estonia, instilled in her a deep appreciation for historic architecture, where centuries of cultural and societal change are expressed in the built environment. With a keen interest in both the art and science of heritage conservation, Marina is actively pursuing a certificate in Architectural Preservation through the Chang School of Continuing Education at TMU. Her dedication extends to outreach and education initiatives aimed at emphasizing the significance of conservation. In her role as Heritage Planner with the Town of Cobourg, she designed a Town-wide Heritage Hunt during Heritage Week 2023, and a well-attended three-part heritage speaker series. Marina aspires to one day own and restore a historic home.
COMMITTEE CHAIRS
Advocacy
Bruce Bowden & Susan Layard
Port Hope ACO Auction Committee
Blaise Gaetz & Brian Buttery
Communications/Marketing
Laura Antonik
Grants
Susan Carmichael
Education
Katherine McHarg & Jenny Wadds
Membership
Lydia Bell-Gradon Svenningson
Newsletter & Bus Tour
Patsy Beeson
NextGen
Marina Smirnova