Elections to the College Council were held on March 31, 2025. We are pleased to announce the following results:
- District 1 (North) – Fred Schmidt, Ph.D., C.Psych. (Acclaimed)
- District 2 (Southwest) – Ian Nicholson, Ph.D., C.Psych. (Acclaimed)
- District 3 (Central) – Anja Marian Boer, Ph.D., C.Psych. (Elected)
The term of office for these Council Members begins on June 20, 2025 and continues until the first Council meeting following the elections in 2028.
We wish to extend our congratulations to the successful candidates and want to thank all those who participated in this year’s College Council elections.
To introduce these members of Council, we are providing the Biographical and Candidate Statements as they were submitted to the College as part of the election process.
Fred Schmidt (District 1 – North)
I graduated from the University of Windsor Clinical-Child program in 1991 and moved to Thunder Bay where I began work at Children’s Centre Thunder Bay, a community-based child development and mental health centre. Thirty-four years later, I am happily still in Thunder Bay and at the Children’s Centre Thunder Bay. From 1991 to 2014, I worked in many different frontline clinical roles, including outpatient mental health and youth justice assessment and treatment, and 14 years of intense consultation in the child welfare and court system completing parent capacity assessments. During this time, I expanded my competencies to include forensic work and added adults to my original training with children, adolescents, and families. From 2014 to 2024, I worked in a senior Director role supporting overall clinical services and Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) practices. In May 2021, I became certified as a Lean Black Belt practitioner and have actively supported Lean CQI practices across the agency. Focussed training and work in CQI has shown me the power of groups and organizational culture to enact change and enhance performance. In 2024, I moved into a part-time role with Children’s Centre and have continued to practice in my home community of Thunder Bay.
Given my strong belief in the scientist-practitioner model, I have intentionally complemented my full-time wok as a practitioner with regular teaching and research. My research experience has mirrored my clinical work, conducting projects on topics related to mental health, youth justice, and child welfare. I regularly included students on research papers with the goal of mentoring them in the scientist skills of our profession and have regularly taught undergraduate and graduate courses at Lakehead University. Over my career, I have also supervised many Psychologists/ Psychological Associates as part of the supervised practice requirements of the College. I believe these past experiences have helped me understand the issues faced by Psychologists/ Psychological Associates in clinical positions as well as the training needs of students from the first year of graduate school to supervised practice and becoming autonomously registered with the College.
A highlight in my career has been the recognition that I received from the Canadian Psychological Association when I was nominated and a recipient of the 2011 Distinguished Practitioner Award.
I have also been fortunate to have had multiple past and current opportunities to be involved with the College. Over the past 11 years, I have regularly participated as an Oral Examiner. In addition, I previously served on the Inquiries, Complaints, and Reports (ICRC) Committee for six years and more recently, over the past three years, served on the Registration Committee. I have also had the privilege of representing District 1 on Council for the past three years and served on Council Executive for the past two years. These past experiences have given me a deeper understanding of the College’s role in protecting the public and ensuring a high quality of practice standards. It has been rewarding and an honour to work with many knowledgeable colleagues and College staff who have impressed me with their integrity, dedication, and hard work.
Candidate Statement
My past professional experiences and current work with the College have increased my desire to continue to contribute to our profession through the work of the Council representing District 1. My hope is to apply my different background experiences to the needs of the College. I want to support the ongoing activities of the College while fulfilling the mandate to protect the public and regulate the profession by upholding our practice standards. Thank you for considering me in this possible role.
Ian Nicholson (District 6 – GTA West)
Thank you for the opportunity to introduce myself. I have been registered for independent practice with our College since 1994 and am currently authorized to practise in the areas of Clinical Psychology and Health Psychology, working with children, adolescents, and adults. Born and raised in Sault Ste. Marie, I completed my undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral training in Psychology at Western University. Most of my career has been dedicated to hospital psychology at London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC), with additional experience in chronic pain rehabilitation at St. Joseph’s Health Care, London, and as Director of the University of Waterloo’s Centre for Mental Health Research within their Department of Psychology. Until last year, I served as the Manager of Psychology at LHSC for the better part of 25 years.
In addition to my clinical work, I have been deeply involved in teaching and training. I currently hold part-time faculty appointments at Western University as an Assistant Professor (limited duties) in the Faculty of Education and as a Lecturer and Adjunct Faculty in the Department of Psychology. I served as the Psychology Internship Director at LHSC from 1997 to 2007 and have been a Consulting Editor for the APA/APPIC journal “Training and Education in Professional Psychology” since 2008, as well as for the APA journal “Professional Psychology: Research and Practice” since 2023. I was a member of the CPA Accreditation Panel from 1999 to 2005 and had the privilege of serving as a site visitor multiple times. Additionally, I co-chaired the 2019 CPA National Conference on the Future of Professional Psychology Training in Canada.
Throughout my career, I have taken on leadership roles within the Ontario and Canadian Psychological Associations, including serving as President of both organizations. At the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards (ASPPB), I was a member of the EPPP Item Development Committee (2004–2011) and have served on the EPPP Examination Committee since 2012, chairing it since 2018. I currently contribute to the ASPPB Committee of Exam Chairs, the Long-Range Task Force, the Job Task Analysis Task Force, and the EPPP Collaborative Implementation Task Force.
My commitment to professional regulation has also remained strong. I have contributed to our College in various capacities, including serving on the (now defunct) Government Relations Committee (1999–2000), the Registration Committee (2009–2011), and the Jurisprudence and Ethics Examination Committee (2002–2017), where I was Chair from 2009 to 2016. I have also participated in the Inquiries, Complaints, and Reports Committee (ICRC) and contributed to College Task Forces on Supervision and Delegation (2008–2009) and Internship and Training Issues in Ontario (2010–2011). Additionally, I have been an oral examiner for our College since 2004 and have served as a peer reviewer and coach. Over the past three years, I have also served on our College Executive Committee, with the honour of being its President this past year.
Candidate Statement
Our College is undergoing a period of significant transformation. Since joining the College Council three years ago, I have witnessed major shifts, including changes in our long-serving senior management team with the appointment of a new Registrar and Deputy Registrar, as well as the transition to a two-profession regulator with the inclusion of Behaviour Analysts. At the same time, broader changes are underway, as the government re-evaluates the role of regulatory Colleges in ensuring both public access to qualified professionals and the maintenance of rigorous entry standards that protect the public.
As we navigate these evolving challenges, I believe my extensive experience with our College and my leadership within psychology organizations have equipped me with the skills and insight necessary to contribute effectively. I am committed to upholding our mandate of public protection and would be honoured to continue serving as a member of our College.
Anja Marian Boer (District 3 – Central)
I have many years of experience providing psychological services in educational and clinical settings. My practice includes the areas of school and clinical psychology and have worked in a range of settings including children’s mental health centres, school boards, hospitals, and private practice. I completed my Ph.D. in School and Clinical and School Psychology at the University of Toronto in 2002.
Prior to starting my doctoral studies at the University of Toronto, I worked in children’s mental health services in northern Ontario where I gained an appreciation of the variability of the health care resources available to children and families, as well as some understanding of the challenges experienced by clinicians across the province. After working with my master’s degree in northern Ontario, I returned to the Toronto area to work in a school board, and I began my doctorate. I have moved between school board and hospital settings over the past decade, and I have worked to promote high quality psychological services for children, youth and families, both as a front-line clinician and as a manager of clinical services. Most recently, I have been responsible for overseeing the work of teams of regulated health professionals, including Psychologists, Psychological Associates, Behaviour Analysts, Speech Pathologists and Psychotherapists as a manger of clinical services in a school board. I have supported and supervised students and interns and I continue to enjoy the process of supporting others to grow in their knowledge and skills. I have learned a lot from supervisees and colleagues along the way and continue to do so. I have now moved to private practice where I continue to provide assessment and intervention services.
On a personal note, I am fortunate to live in Barrie with my family. This is a wonderful area that allows me to balance my professional life and my affinity for the outdoors.
Candidate Statement
I see the opportunity to work with the College as an opportunity for me to contribute to a profession that provides vital care to so many in Ontario. I look forward to contributing to the work of the College from a practitioner perspective based on my professional experience in a range of practice settings. I intend to support the role that the College plays to maintain confidence in the profession. Through my participation on Council, I look forward to facilitating the sharing of knowledge to support practitioners as well as members of the public to understand the role of the College and its accountability to providing ethical and competent healthcare.