Council of General Synod approves hiring of new treasurer

Michele George will be the new treasurer for General Synod and director of the financial management department. Council of General Synod approved her hiring in an email vote Friday following what Archdeacon Michael Pollesel, general secretary of the Anglican Church of Canada, described as an “enthusiastic approval by the panel who interviewed candidates and by the financial management and development committee.”Ms. George is a chartered accountant with extensive experience working for health care and not-for-profit organizations as well as in the private sector, including real estate, financial services, computer services and small business. Most recently, she was the chief financial officer and business administrator for the Sisters of St. Joseph of Toronto, a Roman Catholic organization. Archbishop Fred Hiltz, primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, said one of the things that made Ms. George stand out as a candidate to the interview panel, which also included Archdeacon Pollesel and members of the financial management and development committee, was her experience working for faith-based organizations, such as the Sisters of St. Joseph. “She’s going to bring to the position an appreciation of what we are all about as church, and, I think, some wisdom in terms of stewardship of the resources that we’ve got for the work that we are called to do,” he said. “That’s a gift that she is going to bring alongside all her abilities and background and experience.”Ms. George has a bachelor of commerce degree from Dalhousie University in Halifax and a certificate in Catholic leadership from St. Michael’s College at the University of Toronto. She is a member of both the Ontario and Canadian Institutes of Chartered Accountants. She will join General Synod staff and the General Synod’s management team at the end of April.Archbishop Hiltz thanked Michael Herrera, who has been working as acting treasurer since the former treasurer, Peter Blachford, resigned in December. “We are grateful for his willingness to assume that position and for the work that he has done. I think we’ve been well served by his expertise and commitment to the task,” the primate said.