Chris Hodgson, President

Chris leads all OMA activities and represents the association publicly. He is a member of OMA's Board of Directors and its Executive Committee and provides broad policy guidance to the OMA Chair. Chris joined the OMA following a distinguished career in government. He entered the Legislature following a by-election in 1994 and he won general elections in 1995 and 1999 representing the riding of Haliburton-Victoria-Brock. While in government, Chris served in several positions including Minister of Northern Development and Mines, Minister of Natural Resources, Chairman of Management Board and Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.  Contact Chris

Philip Bousquet, Manager, Industrial and Government Relations

Philip is responsible for industrial relations (worker health, safety, training and the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board) and government relations. He works with association members to promote policies and regulations that support a healthy work environment. From 2004 to 2012, Philip worked for the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC), initially as Director, Sustainability, and then as Senior Program Director. Born in New Brunswick, and raised in Ottawa, Philip has a B.A. (Hons.) in law and political science from Carleton University and an M.A. in political science from the University of Toronto. He served 14 years with the Canadian Forces (regular force and reserve). Philip completed the Ontario Legislature Internship Programme (OLIP), and has worked in a variety of senior policy and executive positions in the Ontario government. He is a recipient of a Natural Resources Canada Departmental Merit Award and the Canadian Forces Decoration.  Contact Philip

Kathy Downs, Manager, Membership and Operations and Executive Assistant to OMA President

Kathy works on fostering the association's member relations, managing the networking events, like the annual Meet the Miners, and oversees the operational activities of the association, including human resources, information technology, finance and facilities management. In addition, she is the Secretary for the OMA Board of Directors. Kathy has a B.A. in History from Trent University and a post graduate degree in Museum Management from Fleming College. Prior to the OMA, Kathy worked at the Ontario Museum Association, the Royal Ontario Museum, and Empire Life.  Contact Kathy 

Aynsley Foss, Manager, Issues and Policy 

Aynsley oversees the Environment, Energy, and Innovation & Clean Technology committees. She also leads OMA’s economic research. Aynsley has a keen interest in Ontario’s critical minerals and how they can contribute to clean and emerging technologies. Aynsley originally began her career in mining at the OMA, and then spent some time working in industry for De Beers Managed Operations’ asset retirement department, before rejoining the association in 2020. During her time at De Beers, Aynsley managed stakeholder relations at three of their closure assets across Canada (Ontario and Northwest Territories) and South Africa. Aynsley holds an Honors B.A. in political science from the University of Western Ontario. In 2022, she graduated from the University of Western Ontario’s Mining Law, Finance and Sustainability graduate program, where she published two papers on the applications of Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance standards within in the mining sector. She is a guest professor at Western Law, teaching Canadian Mining Law, Environmental Law, ESG and Critical Minerals.  In her spare time, Aynsley competes in dressage, sits on the Board of Directors for the Canadian Sport Horse Association, and volunteers her time judging competitions and training young riders.  Contact Aynsley

Adrianna Stech, Manager, Communications and CSR

Adrianna delivers a variety of communications projects at the OMA, including  This is Mining, the public campaign to mark the association's centennial in 2020. Previously, she worked on developing and executing the So You Think You Know Mining video contest. In addition to managing web content development, growing OMA's social media presence, and other communications functions, she supports the activities of the OMA Environment Committee.  Adrianna brings a high level of international experience in communications, government relations, stakeholder engagement and corporate social responsibility to her position at the OMA.  A graduate of the University of Toronto, Adrianna has worked for the Embassy of Canada in Ukraine, the New York-based Open Society Institute (George Soros network of foundations) and a financial consultancy firm in Hong Kong. Contact Adrianna 

Kankshi Amin, Coordinator, Issues and Policy 

Kankshi Amin supports the Issues and Policy Manager as a coordinator on the OMA team contributing to OMA deliverables and member objectives. She is currently involved in the Environment, Energy, and Clean Technology and Innovation committees, and their affiliated subcommittees. Prior to joining the OMA, Kankshi was completing a Master's in International Public Policy, specialising in International Environmental Policy and Human Security. She also completed an Honours B.A. from Queen's University in Sociology. Kankshi has worked with several non-profit organizations and has contributed to government discussions through her educational institution. Contact Kankshi