Board of Directors

Carole Brault
Director, Member Services

Carole has an educational background in Business Administration and Social Service Work, has a certification in Life Skills Coaching and is completing a certification in Non-Profit Management.  Carole played recreational softball in grade school.  And, only returned to it eight years ago when she joined the Notso Amazon Softball League.  During that time, she volunteered as Social Representative and Team Representative for her respective teams during four seasons.  And, most recently as President of the league for over two years.  Aside from softball, Carole plays flag football in Flags of Glory.  It is a sport she first learned to play in high school.  She understands how sport and recreation can contribute to an individual’s health physically, mentally and socially.  And, believes it is important to foster environments in which all individuals feel included.  Carole is eager to work with OUTSPORT TORONTO assessing members’ needs and ultimately, helping members deliver their services successfully.

Lyle Brockman
Secretary / Treasurer

Lyle holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Wilfrid Laurier University, and is a member of the Institute of Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario.  His career has placed him in senior financial roles at entrepreneurial and multi-national corporations.

Lyle's first foray into Toronto's LGBT sports environment was through the Toronto Gay Football League.  He has played three seasons in the league, and was proud to join its rep team, the Canadian Mounties, at the Chicago Pride Bowl of 2013.  In addition to playing, Lyle has also volunteered his time as a sideline referee to support the league.

Lyle has been an enthusiastic participant with the Toronto Triggerfish Water Polo team since October 2012.  With a background in competitive swimming, he continues to adapt to a very demanding and strategic game.  He has played in a number of tournaments on its Recreational team, including a Silver standing at Outsports 2013 in Antwerp and a fun time at Gay Games 2014 in Cleveland.  Lyle also volunteered as Tournament Director for Toronto's annual international LGBT water polo tournament, Polopalooza 2014.

Of all aspects of these activities, Lyle has enjoyed the camaraderie the most.  He's had the opportunity to meet so many great people while playing in gay-friendly environments.  He just wished he had started earlier!

Bryan Fautley
Director, Marketing

Bryan has a deep understanding of the Canadian and international sport landscape, with a particular focus on how sport articulates as a sociocultural system.  Educationally, Bryan finished his undergraduate degree at Queen’s University in Physical and Health Education, specialising in sport sociology, where he focused the majority of his research on the intersections of sport, masculinity, and homosexuality.  Upon completing his degree, Bryan returned to school to complete a Masters in the Organisation and Management of Olympic Events at the International Olympic Academy.

Professionally, Bryan currently works at the Canadian office of the Movember Foundation, where he is responsible for managing corporate partnerships.  Prior to Movember, Bryan was the indoor program coordinator for the Ontario Volleyball Association (OVA).  In this role, he managed the competition schedule for over 400 teams in Ontario, and was on the organising team responsible for the planning, organisation, and implementation of Ontario Championships – an annual marquee event consisting of over 6500 athletes from across the province.  Outside of his direct responsibilities in organising and managing the youth competition schedule, Bryan was also the inclusion officer for the OVA, and was responsible for developing the transgender inclusion policy for the organisation.

Outside of work, Bryan has a passion for all sports – in particular volleyball, which he plays and coaches regularly.

Christine Hsu
Director at Large

Christine is a fitness professional (personal trainer, group fitness/bootcamp class instructor) and currently an events coordinator in physical activity promotions to the students population at University of Toronto, particularly the LGBT community on campus.  She is also a sports inclusion advocate in the LGBTQ community, where she is constantly looking for ways to make our recreational leagues as inclusive, welcoming and engaging as possible.  Her passions lie in sports, physical activity, and inclusion and equity in sports.  Growing up as an athlete with an absolute love for teaching and helping people, these passions continue to shape the work she does in the community as a professional and dedicated volunteer.

As an alumni of University of Toronto, she holds a Bachelor of Physical & Health Education and Bachelor of Education - she is also a certified member of Ontario Teachers College.  Her extensive volunteer experience started during her academic career in her co-curricular involvement at U of T.  Her co-curricular involvement and accomplishments were as follows:

  • a goal tender of the Women's Varsity Lacrosse team;
  • Vice President of Equity of the undergraduate association of her faculty;
  • an executive member in coordination for Lead with Pride - LGBT Student Leadership Conference;
  • Chair of UofT Pride Planning Committee;
  • Athletics Director of LGBTOUT; and
  • assistant coach of Junior Blues Girls' Lacrosse Programme.

She has been a frequent workshop facilitator in addressing homophobia and transphobia in sports and physical activity and continues to do so at University of Toronto in her current role.  This line of work also continued upon graduation with PrideHouse TO as an education Specialist and volunteer lead.  Her volunteer work extends to Toronto Distress Centres as a HELP line/Crisis Link volunteer, and recently, as a fitness influencer with IN Magazine.  She is currently the chair for the Women's Division of Toronto Gay Flag Football League, where she seeks to engage as many women and trans folks to be physically active through learning and playing the sport.  Moreover, she hopes to re/create spaces and new spaces to facilitate sports and physical activity, for those who may face more barriers to participate.  More specifically, her goal is to help create and build better, inclusive, and healthier environments to engage people from the various LGBTQ communities in physical activities (with the intersectionality of different identities and anti-oppression framework in mind).  She aims to help improve people's wellness as a whole, particularly in building communities with LGBTQ-identified people of all abilities.

Christine currently stays active playing flag football in her league in the summer, basketball in Rainbow Hoops and leagues alike, and running and training at the gym.  She is always looking for ways to stay active and have fun - this includes learning and playing new games and sports as well as dancing.

Yanick Landry
Director, Membership

Yanick is the current president of the long-running Toronto Gay Ski and Snowboarding Club, and of the newly formed Toronto Gay Sailing Club. Under his direction, both organizations joined OUTSPORT TORONTO, which afforded him greater insights into the needs of the LGBTQ Sport’s Community.

While “coming out” late to the sport world, Yanick has been a longtime activist of LGBTQ rights, a founder and first director of the McGill Gay and Lesbian Legal Information Clinic, a first in North America, while a second year law student, convincing the faculty to grant graduating students credits for volunteer hours. He acquired his LL.B and BCL from McGill University where he joined the diving team, before studying for a Masters in Copyrights and Intellectual Property at Université Paris XI.

While his childhood memories of organized sports remain of the bullying type, he took to individual sports: swimming, windsurfing, biking, rollerblading and x-country running in the summer; downhill and x-country skiing in the winter. He also added snowboarding to his winter activities and has recently become an avid fly-fisher in the summer to spend more time with his Dad.

Balancing his career as a talent agent and partner at Newton Landry Management - one of Canada’s foremost talent agencies - with his family life with husband of twenty years Tommy and their adopted greyhound daughters Geisha and Stella, Yanick has previously dedicated his volunteer hours as president of the Talent Agents and Managers Association of Canada (TAMAC) and Greyhounds in Need of Adoption (GiNA).

Catherine Meade
Vice Chair

Catherine earned a B.P.E. degree from McMaster University; an M.A. degree focused on sport administration and management from the University of Alberta; and an LL.B. degree, cum laude, from the University of Ottawa.

Catherine has a long history of involvement in the LGBT movement.  She was the President of Womonspace, a lesbian social and recreational organisation in Edmonton in the early 1990’s.  She attended the 1990, 1994, 1998 and 2002 Gay Games.  As well, she led city teams preparing for each of those Gay Games and was a member of Toronto’s Bid Team to host the 2002 Gay Games. 

In 2004, Catherine became a founding board member and Co-President of the Gay & Lesbian International Sport Organization (GLISA).  As such, she oversaw the delivery of the 2006 World Outgames in Montreal, the 2005 North American Outgames in Calgary and the 2008 Asia-Pacific Outgames in Melbourne.  In addition, Catherine served on the Site Selection Committee for the 2009 World Outgames in Copenhagen.

Catherine also has an extensive volunteer background in mainstream sport, the highlights of which include working with the 1993 World University Games, the 1994 Commonwealth Games, the 1996 Olympic Games and the 1999 and 2011 Canada Winter Games.  

Through the years, Catherine has served on the boards of the National Association of Women & Law, the Metropolitan Community Church Toronto, the Nova Scotia Rainbow Action Project, and numerous other community organisations such as women’s shelters and the Black Educators’ Association.

Before commencing her law degree, Catherine worked as a human rights/equity professional for eight years with organisations such as: the Canadian Human Rights Commission, Acadia University and the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society.

Shawn Sheridan
Chair

Shawn has been involved in sport in various capacities for more than 25 years. He spent over 15 years actively involved in aquatics as an instructor, lifeguard, swimmer, and examiner for the National Lifeguard Service, over 20 years as an avid rock climber, 17 years as a horseman, picked up cross-country skiing a few years ago, is a sailor, and has dabbled in running, squash, and other sports activities.  As the representative of Crag Crux Climbers (the former LGBT climbing group), he was involved in the formation of OUTSPORT TORONTO as a member of the governance committee, and was appointed its Chair in June of 2010.  He has participated in various consultations with the City of Toronto’s City of Sport initiative in the wake of the 2015 Pan / Parapan Am Games, and is a member of the Toronto Sport Hall of Honour’s Selection Committee.

Outside of sport, Shawn has also held a number of executive-level information technology positions with national and international financial services firms, and has worked in consumer packaged goods, retail, insurance, consulting, financial audit, and nuclear power generation.  He is a graduate of the University of Waterloo with an Honours Co-op Bachelor of Mathematics in Computer Science.