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In Loving Memory
Deborah Elaine Inglis
March 2, 1971 - November 13, 2017
Deb Inglis was a bright light in the world. A good baby, sweet and quiet, Deb was curious and loved learning from an early age. Deb graduated with a BSC Honors degree from the University of Toronto and established herself as a brilliant and accomplished professional. Deb was married to the love of her life, and their daughter is wonderful and bright, very much like her mother. Above all, Deb was loving, kind and thoughtful, loyal to family and friends.
Despite the deep love and appreciation of family and friends, her sense of pride and independence meant that she struggled alone with her mental health issues in the years before her death. No one knew how deep her pain was before Deb died by suicide on November 13, 2017. Creative and therapeutic programming at Deb's Circle offers a compassionate community of support so that women just like Deb will know there is a place where they are welcome, no longer alone in their struggle.
Make a donation
Help us launch Deb's Circle!
Every dollar counts!
Your donation helps fund the wellness programs we offer free of charge for participants. Designed and delivered by qualified professionals, these programs supporting women's mental wellness are the heart of Deb's Circle.
Tax receipts will be issued for Donations over $20.00 .
Charitable Registration Number: 79235 8665 RR0001
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Support for Deb's Circle is support for Women's Mental Wellness
Meet The Team
Esther Inglis, CPA
Founder and Chair
Esther is a Certified Public Accountant. With a career in financial services that spanned thirty years, Esther experienced continual progressive advancement and responsibility in the areas of finance, human resources, physical plant, computing and telecommunications operations and related policy development. She was well-known for her integrity and her ability to collaborate, as well as for her skill in revenue generation, budgeting, project planning and strategic planning.
In 2001, Esther became the Owner and President of the Gallery-on-the-Lake in Buckhorn, Ontario. Esther revitalized this business, turning the gallery into one of Canada's largest retail galleries, representing some of Canada's best artists in contemporary, traditional, impressionistic and high realism art.
Deep in grief after her daughter's death, Esther was struggling to find a way to make sense of what had happened and to find purpose in life. Through a grief support group, Esther began to learn more about suicide, which led her to offer a poster presentation at the Canadian Mental Health Association conference in 2018. This experience prompted Esther to search for other ways she could raise awareness and create opportunities to enhance women's mental wellness through compassion, creativity and community as a form of suicide prevention, which led her to found Deb's Circle.
Christina Bogdanow, P. Eng.
Treasurer and Fundraising Director
Christina is a professional mechanical engineer with extensive experience in both engineering and business. She has owned and operated her family business since 1992, demonstrating leadership and dedication throughout the years. A classical pianist, Christina graduated from the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, furthering her passion for music.
In addition to her engineering and business expertise, Christina volunteered for 13 years at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, a renowned institution focused on Canadian art with an emphasis on the Group of Seven and their contemporaries. During her time there, she taught art theory in the mornings and led watercolour landscape painting classes in the afternoons, following the Ontario School Board curriculum.
Christina also contributed to the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, BC as a "blue coat" heading up the two-way radio communications for the entire venue, operating out of the Thunderbird Arena during the women's ice hockey events.
Now, Christina is passionate about fine art, especially the works of Ontario artists, and she continues to explore and champion the province's rich artistic heritage through her own watercolour and acrylic landscapes.
Maureen Pollard, MSW, RSW
Secretary and Program Director
Maureen is a registered social worker operating a group private practice in Cobourg, Ontario. In the field since 1991, Maureen is a grief and trauma specialist, as well as a compassion fatigue and resilience recovery specialist and she developed the Write to Heal program to support healing through therapeutic writing and songwriting, which she has delivered to groups across North America.
Maureen is the author of The Twentieth Year: A Memoir of Miscarriage, Best Interests: a procedural novel about the front lines of child protection, What I Wish for You, a book of affirmations, Self Preservation: A Survival Guide for a Career in Trauma-Exposed Environments, In Angel's Wake, a historical romance novel set around WWII in Newfoundland, and Heart Work: The Transformative Power of Story and Song, A Memoir About Writing to Heal.
Maureen is also a singer and songwriter who plays a little guitar as part of her own self-preservation strategy.
Maureen performed at Hillside Festival in Guelph, Ontario as part of their 2024 Girls and Guitars showcase, a thoroughly magical experience that encouraged her to keep singing her songs.