Board of Directors & Staff
The Chamber's volunteer Board of Directors is a committed group of leaders in the business community, serving as strategic visionaries for the membership. The directors represent all regions of Prince Edward County and a broad cross-section of business and professional excellence.
2023-2024 Board of Directors and Staff
Jason Clarke
Bare Bone Acres, Owner
Family owned business in Hillier with wife Nicole and daughters Sydney and Summer who attend CML Snider. 22 years as Private Club Chief Operating Officer. St. George’s Golf and Country Club, Mississaugua Golf and Country Club, Toronto Lawn Tennis Club, Manitoba Club, Halifax Club and Arts and Letters Club of Toronto. Educated in Business Management and Distilling at Cornell University. Past National President of the Canadian Society of Club Managers, First Canadian to serve on the Platinum Clubs of the World Advisory Board, Past President of the Chaine des Rotisseurs, Past Executive Committee and Board of Governors of the Winnipeg Art Gallery. Hosted the Invictus Games as the first venue to offer golf as an official sport.
Duarte Da Silva
PEC Modern
Duarte currently sits on the board and serves as President of the Prince Edward County Chamber of Commerce.
Lesley Cronk
Certified Financial Advisor, CP
Lesley Cronk is a Certified Financial Planner and Certified Executor Advisor. Lesley has worked in the financial services industry for the past 25 years and recently joined the Board to serve as Treasurer. Lesley is passionate about educating and helping clients navigate the ever-changing landscape of financial and estate planning. Since 2016, Lesley has also served as Treasurer on the Children’s Safety Village in Belleville. Lesley and her husband Dennis live on their family farm in Bloomfield with their son Emmanuel, and her 2 horses, Suede and Shady.
Lana Whitteker
McDougall Insurance Brokers Limited
Lana has lived here in PEC her entire life. Her passion for small business comes naturally as a child of entrepreneurs. Lana has worked for and with small business owners throughout her career, including working for her family’s business as their Production/Plant Manager; a Small Business Adviser for TD Canada Trust and now as a commercial insurance broker with McDougall Insurance. Supporting Small Business is important to Lana. Her role on the Board with the PEC Chamber of Commerce is the perfect fit.
Mark Noble
Templeman LLP, Lawyer
Mark lives in Ameliasburgh with his wife of 15 years and three children. He is a partner at the law firm of Templeman LLP where he practices corporate/commercial and real estate law. Mark enjoys exploring the County’s sideroads on his bike, playing on its beaches with his family, and walking the trails of its provincial parks and conservation areas.
Alyssa Zwonok
Nomad Cre8tive, Founder & CEO
Craig Robson
Crimson Cider, Founder & CEO
Craig retired from a 35 year career in Financial services and moved to PEC in 2018 to create Crimson Cider Company. With the business now able to sustain itself post-Covid, Craig is looking forward to giving more of his time to the community.
Interests- reading, golf, travel
Lawrence Mosselson
The Behar Group Realty Inc., Vice President, Retail Advisor | Broker
Lawrence is a seasoned real estate executive with 28 years of experience across Canada. He has significant experience in landlord and tenant retail leasing and sales, existing and greenfield strategic site analysis, hospital and healthcare retail strategy creation and implementation and a proven track record of asset management of retail, office, and industrial properties. Lawrence is a licenced real estate Broker in the Province of Ontario and he has an M.B.A. from Schulich School of Business, with a specialization in Real Property. Lawrence previously served as the Vice-Chair of the St. Lawrence Market Precinct Advisory Committee, and he is actively involved in the Board of Directors of Kehillat Shaarei Torah of Toronto, where he serves as Board Secretary.
Lawrence hopes to use his diverse experience in various areas of commercial real estate to help both new and existing Prince Edward County businesses.
Peter Drummond
PSD+G Strategy Group, Strategy Advisor
As principal and founder at PSD+G Strategy Group, Peter has devoted over 30 years to helping his clients achieve business success. With his wisdom, wit and creativity, he partnered with a keen desire to understand their core strategic challenge. Peter has earned a loyal following among big brands, start ups and not-for profits. With a passion to share his knowledge and experience and help grow a new generation of thinkers, Peter has recently joined the Smith School of Business at Queen’s University as an Adjunct Professor teaching in the Executive MBA program and the Master Management of Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Peter has a BFA in Communication Arts & Design from Virginia Commonwealth University and attended the Graduate School of Business Executive Management Program at Columbia University. Peter also sits on the Board of the Council of Great Lakes Region and Gilda’s Toronto.
Chris Braney
Council Representative
Chris is our Prince Edward County Councillor representing Hillier, and brings 30 years of leadership experience in municipal governance, policy, and finance. Chris has also had the privilege of serving as Vice-Chair and Chair of two school boards.
He is also a proud Chamber Member and farmer who grows apples and grapes for Cider production at his farm, Cold Creek Vineyards in Hillier. His connections to the Prince Edward County municipal, farming, and business communities has given him extensive experience with integrated strategic planning that addresses community development, advocacy, community engagement, and relationship building with elected officials and local agencies.
Meet Our Staff
Lesley Lavender
CEO
The key representative and advocate for business owners and employers in the community. Providing leadership and direction to the achievement of the PEC Chamber’s mission and objectives, Lesley acts as a liaison among members, the board of directors, staff, volunteers, government, and partners. She is an effective leader who is dedicated to nurturing people and ideas into new beginnings. Lesley is also a dedicated volunteer, giving her time to various special interest groups and organizations.
Erin Braney
Member Relations and Communications Coordinator
Contributes to delivering value to our membership base, ensuring that members enjoy a high-quality customer experience throughout every step of their membership journey. Erin is a long-time resident of the County and young professional. She recently graduated from McMaster University with a degree in political science, focused on Canadian and global political systems, law and communications. Her work experience is an asset to the chamber as a brand ambassador, advertising and marketing coordinator and restaurant manager.
Rita Romano
Office and Special Projects Administrator
Manages and oversees the daily operations of the office and has significant impact on hospitality and information resources for guest services. Rita came to the County in 2019 to work remotely for a corporate insurance company located in Toronto. She then started her own business as a virtual assistant/bookkeeper. Her deep experience in office management supporting, at times, over 350 employees combined with an outgoing, friendly personality makes her a strong ally for our members.
The Prince Edward County Chamber of Commerce represents members and advocates for business across all industries in Prince Edward County.
We are continuing to build a diverse and representative Board of Directors to drive the Chamber’s strategic direction and governance. Broad business experience, skills and spirit of service are critical as we look to the future.
If you are an advocate for local business, can lend your voice and skills to the Board of Directors, and are a member in good standing with the Chamber, you could be on the Board.
