John Horrelt

John Horrelt of Stratford built his career in the Island’s corporate sector. However, it is his vast community service which equips him to lead the Advisory Committee of the Alliance for Mental Well-being.

John’s community interests have been wide-ranging, encompassing health, housing, vulnerable populations, education and amateur sport. He has contributed his passion to these sectors through years of service on boards, committees and fundraising campaigns.

John’s experience and expertise will propel the Alliance forward to meet the mental well-being needs of Islanders.

Paula Gallant

Claudette Gallant

Born and raised in Prince Edward Island in a rural francophone community, Claudette has been an active member of her community since her high school years as treasurer of her graduating class and continues to this day, as a member of many non-profit associations and cooperatives, either as a board member, consultant or chairperson.  She is currently Chair of Le Centre Goéland Inc.-Le Village des Sources where they offer a successful anti-bullying program to the six Francophone schools since 2012, where students and teachers participate.

Claudette retired from a 30 year management career which allowed her to apply her skills and her ability to ‘think outside the box’.  Her passion for the past 20 years is Emotional Intelligence management which contributed to her success in building loyal, flexible and productive teams by empowering employees to establish goals, set priorities and practice accountability and transparency.

Claudette looks forward to her participation as a Board Member of the PEI Alliance for Mental Well-Being.

Mary Pendergast

Pendergast has been involved in her rural Kensington area/North Shore community all her life.

In earlier years, she was a Board Member with the East Prince Business Development Centre, on the Parish Council of St.Mary's/Holy Family Parish, Chair of the Kensington Area Community Development Association, Founding Board Chair of the Indian River Festival, and Board Chair of the Watermark Theatre. 

Pendergast has received several awards for community development work, the most memorable being the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal in 2002 and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012, both in recognition of community development efforts. 

Mary Pendergast's career has primarily been as an educator, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts from St. Thomas University, an Honours Arts Degree from University of Guelph, and a Master’s Degree in Literacy Education from Mount St. Vincent University.  

Following several years raising her four children, she taught for 20 years in the Unit 2/Western School Board, primarily in English Language Arts and Social Studies. Pendergast participated in extensive curriculum development work provincially, in Language Arts, Law, and Drama, and for the Atlantic Provinces Education Council (APEC). The Language Arts curriculum outcomes (K-12) developed by APEC became the Canadian standard, and she then worked with Pearson Education writing a Grade 10 Language Arts textbook based on the APEC curriculum outcomes and adopted by several provinces across Canada. 

Following her years teaching at KISH, Pendergast taught communications/report writing and research skills at the college level in the Middle East for three years. 

Mary's community work has been as a member of the Heritage and Education committee for the Benevolent Irish Society, and with the Parish Council of St. Mary's/Holy Family Parish, where she also has been church organist for many years.

Since 2014, Pendergast has been employed full-time as a Board Member of the Parole Board of Canada, work she describes as always inspiring and interesting. The role of the Parole Board in Canada's criminal justice system is crucial for public safety, and, as a Board Member, she has learned much about the role of parole in the reintegration of offenders into society, the legislation and policies of the Board, and the ongoing work and effort to address issues surrounding conditional release for women, Indigenous peoples, African Canadians, and other marginalized individuals.

Mary is happy to come to the table as a Board Member of the PEI Alliance for Mental Well-Being. 

Carolyn Francis

Carolyn is an active member of the PEI community. Coming to our table from Kensington,   she brings a wealth of professional experience from her involvement in the PEI School system as a teacher, principal and university program coordinator. Personally, Carolyn also brings her experience as a parent, step-parent and foster parent of many adolescents over the years. She exemplifies the core values of the Alliance in that she has remained active and involved in the community by taking charge of her well-being through a combination of healthy living (diet, exercise, and sleep) and a continuous interest in learning, community involvement and new experiences.

Chelsey Rogerson

Chelsey is currently the Director of Communications for the PEI BioAlliance. She is a skilled communicator with extensive experience working in federal politics as well as non-profit and startup environments. An avid volunteer, she is the President of the Rotary Club of Charlottetown and serves as board chair for the PEI Coalition for Women in Government. She is a certified SMART Recovery facilitator and has previously sat on the board for Pride PEI, working with the Island’s LGBTQ2+ community. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from UPEI and a Public Relations Diploma from Algonquin College. Originally from Crapaud, she now resides in Charlottetown with her partner and their two west highland white terriers. Chelsey is highly motivated and eager to begin her work with the Alliance’s Board of Directors.

Ryan Maxwell

As a member of the BIPOC community, Ryan works as a Transitions Program mentor at Holland College. Within the hockey realm, Ryan has coached with Hockey PEI, served as the Head Coach and General Manager for the Holland College hockey program, as well as played hockey.  He currently sits as vice-chair of the Development Council for Hockey PEI, as well as Ethics and Discipline council member, overseeing and investigating issues dealing with racism, gender, and sexuality. Based in Queen’s county, Ryan believes in a proactive approach to address some of the long-standing challenges that marginalized groups face. He also recognizes the need for a strong reactive approach that includes allyship, solidarity and empathy.

Lucas MacArthur

A practicing lawyer in the Charlottetown area, Lucas’s community involvement and passion for bettering the lives of Islanders has led him to the Alliance. Lucas has worked on many projects and initiatives that have already impacted the lives of Island youth: from his past work with the UPEI Student Union, to his work as the Chair of the Charlottetown Youth Advisory Committee, Lucas is ready and energised to work in the upstream realm of mental well-being.