I was born and raised in Oakville, Ontario, with the support of tight relationships with extended family.  Since August 2015, I have lived in Bedford, Nova Scotia, with my three great kids (pictured above with our Border Collie, Oakley): Emi (April 2005), Ken (October, 2009), and Willa (July, 2011).  We put a heavy emphasis on hard work and dedication, the strength of a close-knit family, community involvement through volunteerism, and physical and leadership development through participation in sports.

I began playing competitive soccer at the age of six.  I was a youth “rep” player with the Oakville Soccer Club (OSC), and played varsity soccer at the Royal Military College of Canada from 1988-1992.  From there I went on to play senior men’s soccer wherever the RCAF moved me (Ottawa, Winnipeg, Greenwood, and Oakville), with trips to Regional and National CF Championships.  I “retired” from soccer in 2012, and coached year-round in the development programs at the OSC from 2008 until 2015.  Now that we have relocated, I am the President of the Suburban District Soccer Association and coach with the Halifax City Soccer Club (BU15AA, GU17AAA, Senior Women’s Premier); of course this means that I coach Emi’s and Ken’s teams.  I am recognized by the Coaching Association of Canada as a Registered Coach and have completed its Competition Development certification.  I hold a Canada Soccer Association National Youth License.

Education is a family passion as evidenced in our collective pursuit and transfer of knowledge.   My paternal grandfather, Edgar Foster, was known as “Mr. Education” in Milton, Ontario.  It is a source of family pride that the EW Foster School bears his name.  My father, Ian Foster, followed in his father’s footsteps with the Halton Board of Education.  Dad holds a MEd (UofT) and is regarded as a leader in special education programs. He applied his knowledge to the roles of teacher, principal, and superintendent.

Military service also runs in our family.  My maternal grandfather, Flight-Lieutenant Kenneth Marshall, was a Spitfire pilot with 403 and 416 Squadrons of the RCAF, and was stationed in Scotland, England, and India during WWII.  Captain Kenneth Dick (great-uncle) went ashore on D-Day with the Sherbrooke Fusiliers in a Sherman tank, and was later treated at a field hospital by his sister, Major Edith Dick, who was a nurse with the the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps.  Their two brothers, James and Sidney Dick, served in the Royal Canadian Navy, and the Merchant Marine respectively.  Even further back, Captain Robert Laurence (great-uncle) was a member of the 51st Regiment Soo Rifles, 119th Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force, and was present at the Armistice in Mons, Belgium, on 11 November 1918.

I am fluent in French.