Governance and Advisory Council
The Canadian Centre for Sculpture is committed to institutional transparency and clear leadership. This page outlines the Centre’s leadership structure, governance framework, and the advisory bodies that uphold our national mandate for the advancement of sculptural arts.
Board of Directors
Christian Corbet
Founding Director & Chair of the Board
Christian Corbet governs the strategic oversight and leadership of the Centre’s national research initiatives. The Centre will transition to an independent Chair and Advisory Council as the institution expands nationally.
Dustin R. Chandler, H.BA.
Treasurer
Dustin R. Chandler is an Honours Business Administration graduate and alumnus of the Ivey Business School at Western University. Over the course of more than thirty years, he has demonstrated leadership within the Canadian Portrait Academy while also establishing a distinguished career in the corporate sector. He currently serves as Vice President for a leading multimillion-dollar business process firm, where he has been recognized for his expertise in operations, organizational leadership, and strategic development.
Throughout his career, Chandler has combined strong business acumen with a longstanding commitment to the arts and cultural initiatives in Canada. His experience bridging corporate leadership and cultural administration has contributed to the advancement and sustainability of numerous initiatives associated with portraiture and public engagement in the arts. Known for his disciplined leadership style and organizational insight, he continues to support projects that foster institutional growth, professional excellence, and cultural stewardship.
Mitch Davis-Mann
Secretary
Mitch Davis-Mann is a Canadian professional painter whose work is distinguished by its expressive use of light, texture, and emotional depth. Working primarily in oils, he creates paintings that emerge from introspection, memory, and lived experience, inviting viewers into richly layered visual narratives. Alongside his accomplished painting practice, Davis-Mann has developed a growing passion for sculpture, embracing three-dimensional form as another means of exploring the relationship between emotion, material, and human expression.
Beyond his studio practice, Davis-Mann is recognized for his generous patronage of the arts and his commitment to strengthening Canada's artistic community. Through his encouragement of fellow artists, support of creative initiatives, and advocacy for the importance of visual culture, he has demonstrated that artistic achievement extends beyond personal practice. His dedication to fostering creativity and supporting the work of others reflects a lasting belief in the value of the arts as an essential part of Canada's cultural landscape.
In his role as Secretary to the CCS he will ensure accountability through rigorous documentation and compliance with national mandates.
Mitch Davis-Mann
Secretary
Dr. Constantine Passaris
Vice Chair
Dr. Constantine Passaris is a Professor of Economics at the University of New Brunswick, a Lord Vinson Scholar (United Kingdom), an Onassis Foundation Fellow (Greece), a Dobbin Scholar (Ireland), a Research Affiliate of the Prentice Institute for Global Population & Economy at the University of Lethbridge, an Affiliate Member of the Canadian Institute of Cybersecurity, and a member of the Academic Scientific Board of the International Institute of Advanced Economic and Social Studies (Italy). His scholarly publications have been published in monographs, books, encyclopedias, and academic journals. He has written extensively on economic issues dealing with public policy, globalization, internetization, economic governance, regional development, human rights, demography, immigration, multiculturalism and the economics of culture. Professor Passaris has served as an advisor to the Canadian Commission for UNESCO, a member of the Economic Council of Canada, president of the NB Multicultural Council, chair of the NB Human Rights Commission, president of the Canadian Association of Statutory Human Rights Agencies, chair of the NB Advisory Board on Population Growth, a member of the NB Electoral Reform Commission, chair of the Board of Directors of the Atlantic Human Rights Center at Saint Thomas University, and a member of the NB Immigration Advisory Committee for the Atlantic Immigration Pilot Project. He is the recipient of numerous academic and civilian honours and awards, including the UNB Allan P. Stuart Award for Excellence in Teaching, the Government of Canada Citation for Citizenship Award, the NB Multicultural Council’s inaugural Legacy Award, the City of Fredericton, Community Recognition Award, the Government of New Brunswick Innovate NB Award, the UNB Neil Scott Educational Leadership Award, the Government of Canada Community Leader Award, the 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada Medal, the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal, the King Charles III Coronation Medal, and the Order of New Brunswick.
Dr. Constantine Passaris
Vice Chair
Advisory Council
Christian Corbet, PPCPA, FSc., FRSA
Senior Advisor, Institutional Strategy
Christian Corbet provides expert oversight on national cultural mandates and organizational transparency frameworks. He brings to the position over 3 decades of expertise working with prestigious international universities and institutions such as Buckingham Palace and Governments in Canada, UK, Scotland, Ireland, and Egypt including many of the worlds most important and influential leaders.
John G. McAvity, CM, D. Litt.
Governance Specialist
John G. McAvity has devoted himself to Canada’s arts and heritage. He received the Order of Canada and an honorary doctorate from University of New Brunswick, as well as the Queen’s Jubilee Medals. A native of Saint John, he has lived in Toronto and Ottawa and has travelled extensively. He is Director Emeritus of the Canadian Museums Association, having devoted 37 years to the organization as its CEO. In retirement, he remains active in fundraising and advising for the new home of the New Brunswick Museum, and serves on the board of the Canadian Fund for International Understanding Through Culture, among other organizations. He resides in Rothesay.
Sandra George
ADvocacy Advisor
Sandra George advises on community outreach and local engagement for underrepresented artistic voices across Canada.
Mackenzie Browning
Karen Goodeve, Hon. BA, BEd.
Manny Travers
Educational Specialist
Karen Goodeve (she/her/hers) is a passionate and dedicated educator with 26 years of experience with the Peel District School Board, recognized for her unwavering commitment to supporting diverse and unique student populations. A graduate of the concurrent education program at Trent University and Queen’s University, she earned an Honours Bachelor Degree in English and Cultural Studies alongside her Bachelor of Education degree in 1995. Throughout her distinguished career, Karen spent 16 years teaching at-risk youth and later served as a secondary school guidance counsellor, where she became widely respected for her ability to build strong relationships with students facing academic, social, emotional, and behavioural challenges. A strong advocate for student well-being, she also founded and served as the lead teacher of her school’s Mental Health Committee and Mental Health Club, helping to reduce stigma surrounding mental health while creating supportive and inclusive spaces for students and staff. Her leadership, compassion, and dedication to equity and inclusion have consistently shaped the school communities she has served.
In 2022, Karen launched an innovative specialized program for neurodiverse high school students with complex learning needs, a program she continues to lead successfully today. Through individualized programming focused on life skills, communication, emotional regulation, and community integration, Karen has created meaningful opportunities for students to build confidence, independence, and a sense of belonging. Widely admired by colleagues, students, and families for her empathy, creativity, and tireless advocacy, Karen is known for going above and beyond to ensure all students are supported and valued. Her outstanding contributions to education have earned her numerous prestigious honours, including the Peel District School Board Award of Excellence in 2010 and the Award of Distinction in 2022. Most notably, she became the first recipient of the Ontario Teachers Insurance Plan Spirit of Teaching, Living, and Values Award in 2024, recognizing her exceptional commitment to student well-being, inclusive education, and compassionate leadership.
Mackenzie Browning is an Ontario based, Canadian professional artist who works primarily in screen-print, book arts, and print based sculpture. Mackenzie’s aesthetic can be described as bold, meticulous, and inventive, often blurring the lines between design, craft and fine art. His artworks are constantly pushing personal technical boundaries, often becoming architectural in nature. Mackenzie’s creations and installations reflect both his past and present lived experiences, a personal history that has primarily taken place in Southern Ontario, Colorado, New Jersey, and Saskatchewan.
Mackenzie grew up in contrasting landscapes. He spent his childhood on a one hundred acre Canadian sheep farm, before moving to several different small cities and suburban settings. Mackenzie uses the foundations of his rural upbringing as a strong counterpoint in his printmaking practice. His rural upbringing created an endless degree of respect for flora and fauna, this admiration is reflected in his print based installations, drawings, and sculptures. The forcefully fabricated setting of the suburban environment has distanced Mackenzie’s interaction with what is truly natural. Mackenzie’s obsession over nature and his personal history of contrasting constructed environments are common motifs in his print based art practice.
Mackenzie has exhibited locally and internationally, with a focus in contemporary practices in combination with arts outreach and education. Mackenzie’s works are held in the permanent collections of private collectors, Baylor University, Virginia Commonwealth University, The Art Gym Denver, University of Saskatchewan, Open Studio Toronto, and RedLine Contemporary Arts Center.
Mackenzie holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Saskatchewan and a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honours) degree from Queen’s University.
Paper sculpture SPECIALIST
2SLGBTqia+ Acadian/Lebanese specialist
Manny Travers (he/him/il) is a bilingual, queer, multidisciplinary artist of Acadian and Lebanese descent from Wolastoq (Fredericton NB) based in Adawe (Ottawa, ON).
Manny holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts and a certificate in Visual Communications & Culture from Mount Allison University, as well aa certificate in Contemporary Arts Management from the University of New Brunswick.
He held positions on various arts and culture boards, including Chroma NB, Atlantic (Association of Artist-Run Centre of Atlantic Canada), and AANFA (Atlantic Art at Night Festival Alliance). His artistic practice includes printmaking and drawings, and the subject matter of his work often revolves around flora and fauna, gender identity, and ambiguity.
Outside of his creative endeavours, Manny works as the Executive Director for Third Space, an itinerant artist-run centre in Uptown Saint John, NB. He spends his free time baking, rock climbing, video gaming, and enjoying the comopany of his partner and two cats.
John Moses
Indigenous Cultural specialist
Biography forthcoming
Karen Goodeve Hon. BEd
MANNY TRAVERS
Educational Specialist
indigenous Cultural Specialist
John Moses
Our Mandate
Governance at the Canadian Centre for Sculpture (CCS) is foundational to our commitment to transparency and public trust. By establishing a leadership framework, we ensure that our national mandate, the preservation and advancement of sculptural arts, remains aligned with domestic cultural priorities and national institutional standards.
Our responsibilities extend beyond administrative oversight; they encompass the stewardship of Canada’s sculptural heritage. Through a clear structure of accountability, the Centre empowers artists and researchers, facilitating a global dialogue that respects traditional techniques while embracing contemporary innovation and inquiry.
This model supports our mandate to document, educate, and advocate for the discipline on a Canadian and international scale. By maintaining these institutional standards, the CCS secures its role as a vital leader in the arts, ensuring that the architecture of form continues to inform our national cultural identity.
The Canadian Centre for Sculpture is presently advancing toward federal not-for-profit incorporation in Canada as part of its long-term national governance framework.
Educational Specialist