Team Members

PAUL MACKILLOP

Hola Team!!! My name is Paul MacKillop and this will be the third build for Tony and I as team leaders. I'm from Ottawa Ontario and I'm married with no kids.  I can't wait to land in Nicaragua and get to work.   Looking very much forward to experiencing Nicaragua for the first time with our team! 

TONY BENNETT

  Hola. Greetings to our Habitat team.  My name is Tony Bennett and I am from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.  I am married to Carolyn and have three children, Steven who is married to Julie, Lauren and Jordan and three grandchildren.  For fun I work in the financial industry as a VP and Regional Director at BMO Harris Private Banking.

This will be my sixth Habitat trip to Central America.  My previous trips have included Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica and El Salvador.  I look forward to experiencing a Habitat trip with all of you.

DAVE GERVAIS

 Hello fellow “Habitatters”. My name is Dave Gervais and I live in Ottawa, ON. I am married with 1 daughter (23 years old) who is currently in college. During the week, I work at TD Commercial Bank…+ 25 years. I love to travel and meet new people, experience new cultures, foods etc…. In my spare time I enjoy playing soccer and golf. I’ve been on several trips with Tony and never a dull moment. This is trip will be my 3^rd with Habitat (ie. previous 2 trips were to El Salvador) and 1^st to Nicaragua. I look forward to seeing my friends from last year’s trip and meeting those new for this year.

JEFF DARWIN

I was born into an entrepreneurial family in Ottawa, where I continue to reside with my wife of 24 years.  Together, Wendy and I have raised three great kids and brilliant student/athletes:  Brad (Aerospace Engineering – Carleton University), Jackie (Nursing – Queens University), and Allie (Journalism – University of King’s College).  This will be my 3^rd Habitat build in Central America, and the 2^nd with Wendy (to do the heavy lifting)!  When I get a chance I love to fly small aircraft.

JANE MARIE OBST

 Greetings Fellow Team Members!!!

My name is Jane Marie Obst and this will be my very first Habitat build experience.
I live in Ottawa with my husband Dwight (27yrs) and we have 3 children, Matthew, Nicholas, and Ellen..  I was born and raised in Newfoundland, completed university there and moved to Ottawa shortly there after.
I enjoy many team sports and have been active member in the Ottawa community coaching basketball at various levels.    As I have said many times in the past... All good teams need at LEAST one Newfoundlander!!! :-))
BTW... I am looking to Wendy to do all the heavy lifting as well...    Looking forward to being part of a GREAT experience.

ANDREW PARKE

Hi everyone… my name is Andrew Parke and I currently live in Toronto working for BMO’s Foreign Exchange Sales Team. This will be my first Habitat experience and I am pumped. I will be landing in Nicaragua a week before our trip so I should be plenty relaxed before we get to work! I am an avid hockey fan who is desperate for playoff hockey in Toronto and spent my summer watching as many Blue Jay games possible. This will be my first trip to Central America and I look forward to meeting every one of you.

JILL WOODLEY

Hi Nicaragua team!  My name is Jill Woodley and this is my second build with the incredible Bennett/MacKillop team.  Last year the build in El Salvador gave me new insight into the power that 20 people have to help make a difference.  My heart was stolen by the culture, the children and the incredible gratitude.  I came away with more than I could have possibly given.  This year I cannot wait to share this experience with my daughter, Morgan.  We hope this is a graduation gift she will never forget. I am a water girl, and building by the ocean will be a dream come true.  I cannot wait to meet the new members, and reconnect with those who I shared such a strong bond with in El Salvador.  Hasta Luego !

MORGAN TESSIER

Hello my name is Morgan Tessier and I am 17 years old in Grade 12.  I go to a small high school in a rural area of Ottawa and look forward to finally doing my part in helping people less privileged than I am.  I have had a very good life!  I am looking forward to University next year, and hope this build will inspire some decisions about my future studies.  I am glad my parents, Jill and Chris, who will be on the build gave me this opportunity for my graduation gift this year.    Oh….and I plan on working way harder than Paul!

  JOANNE WATSON & STAN THOMPSON

Hello, we are a married couple who live in Val des Monts, Quebec on Lac St. Pierre, St.Pierre de Wakefield. We have 2 sons and 4 grandchildren. Stan was born and raised in Ottawa and Joanne grew up in Kirkland Lake, Ontario. Joanne is retired from the government and Stan is President and owner of Novel Dynamics, Inc. A very dear friend of ours, Terry Byrne, told us of his fantastic experience last year and we were hooked. We are looking forward to meeting everyone and looking forward to helping those in need. 

CHRIS TESSIER

Hola my friends! I’m Chris Tessier and this will be my 4th build with the stellar Bennett/MacKillop leaders and I can’t begin to tell you what these trips have meant to me. You not only build homes, you build friendships that last a lifetime. I am very excited to be sharing this build with my beautiful daughter, Morgan. She has been a part of these builds through stories and pictures, and I feel so fortunate to be sharing Nicaragua with her. Looking forward to seeing this beautiful country and leaving some sweat behind. I am an avid volunteer in my community and love it, but there is something to be said about challenging your horizon and going global too. I am always inspired by the incredible people along the way. See you all in a couple of months

CHERYL PETIT

Hello all!
This will be my second build....went last year for the first time and LOVED it! I can't wait to share some more time with those of you who went last year, and, of course, meet the new team members. I'll be practicing my digging in the interim!! See you all very soon, cheers, 

JOHN LINDSAY

This is my third trip with Habitat for Humanity. Tony first introduced me to the experience  and I had to go back. The smiles on all the faces during the week we there just makes your day.
During the week I work with BMO Harris Private Banking as an Investment Counsellor. I am married and unfortunately my wife Gail can not attend this trip. We have one son named Grant who is 14 years old.
My other main responsibility is driving Grant from one soccer practice to the other 52 weeks out of the year. Looking forward to meeting everyone shortly,

JENNIFER OUELLETTE

Hola mis amigos!!  Yomellamo Jennifer Ouellette (ok that’s it for the Spanish)!  This will be my second adventure with habitat.  I was fortunate to join this great group of folks last year in El Salvador and I am equally excited to be reliving the fun (and work) this year in Nicaragua.  I have been married to a great guy, John, for 23 years and we have two children together (Matt and Renee).  Can’t wait to see everyone from last year and meet some new faces!!

WENDY DARWIN



Hola, my name is Wendy Darwin and I live in Ottawa with my husband, Jeff...yes, he's the one in the pilot's seat! After the incredible experience I shared with everyone on our team last year in El Salvador, I knew I had to do this again. I'm really looking forward to our build in Nicaragua and meeting those of you new to the team this year. As for the heavy lifting...I just stay close to Chris & Paul!

CAROLYN COLLINS-BENNETT

Greetings. My name is Carolyn Collins-Bennett. This will be my second Habitat Adventure with Tony and Paul.  Habitat has been a wonderful experience for my family. Tony and I have 3 children and 3 grandchildren. During the day I am an elementary school teacher (grade 6). My hobbies include running, skiing, reading, yoga, gardening and just staying busy. I love being outdoors during all seasons. I enjoy meeting new people and I look forward to being thrown into the culture of Nicaragua.

TERRY BYRNE

Hola amigos! This is my second build and I am looking forward to it. With Bill Collins not joining us this year, I guess I will be the resident senior. I expect to receive all the honours that are bestowed on seniors on these trips!! I am retired from the Feds, actively involved in the community, writing a second book and living in the bustling community of Clarence Creek. Senor Terry Byrne

CAMILLE EWERT & GERRY ECKER

This is our third trip with Paul and Tony and we are really excited to be going to Nicaragua!  We can’t wait to see the returning crew members from last year and really look forward to meeting the people joining us for the first time.  Gerry works with Habitat for Humanity as the Manager of the Restore in Saskatoon and Camille is a Nurse Aide in Geriatrics and Mental Health while studying for her LPN.  We are in the process of building our dream cabin on a bush quarter in northeast Saskatchewan on every available day off – except for the days we go on the Global Village trips with Paul and Tony!    As in previous years, we will be staying in Nicaragua after the Build is finished to explore the country on our own for a while.  If you have any ideas for interesting things to see and do, let us know!  P.S. This trip is going to change the way you look at your life!

RITA CONTI

Hello Fellow Habitaters! I am looking forward to another trip with Tony and Paul. I was born and raised in Ottawa. I`ve been married to Steve Ryan for 17 years and have two children, Liam, age 12 and Sarah, age 10. When I`m not shuttling kids to hockey and ringette, I spend my days working as an Information Assistant in the Animal Health Division of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. I was on last year`s trip to El Salvador with Tony and Paul. It was definitely one of the most rewarding experiences I have ever had. I am looking forward to seeing everyone from last year and meeting all of you new to the team. Much fun and adventure to be had!

BARRY MACKILLOP

Hello all! My name is Barry MacKillop and I was born and raised in Hull along with my little brother Paul . ! After working for over twelve years with the Youth Services Bureau in Ottawa and a couple of years addressing youth and violence issues in Ottawa, I took a position with the federal government. I currently work as the Deputy Director with the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada. I have been lucky to share my life for the last twenty-nine with a beautiful and wonderful woman and we have two teenagers to keep us busy. This will be my 3rnd build and I am looking forward to what promises to be a great experience.

WAYNE ROGERS

Howdy Fellow Team Mates!!! 
My name is Wayne and this will be my very first Habitat build but hopefully not my last. I was born in Georgetown, Guyana but currently live in Ottawa, Canada and traveled around the world.  I am an avid team sport member (Indoor Volleyball, Beach Volleyball, Ultimate, Paintball and Dodge Ball) I also enjoy solo activities such as snowboarding, SCUBA, photography and writing.  I will be bringing my camera(s) to help capture the build (I have done volunteer photography for the Canadian Ski Patrol, Will2Intervene and Youth for Climate Change)  and I also have my advanced first aid skills from 12 years volunteering with the Canadian Ski Patrol System.  I'm looking forward to being part of this FANTASTIC experience and helping my fellow man where I can.

DAVID COLLINS

 Hey everyone, my name is David Collins and this will be my 2nd build. I did my first build with Tony, Paul and Chris about 4 years ago in Costa Rica and now I am due for another great adventure. Between my job and personal life, I have been to a lot of places in the world where you would never think of wanting to go to and others where you want to go back. (Palestine, East Timor, Mongolia, Uganda, Paris, London….) I was a volunteer ski patrol for 10 years where you perform first-aid to injured skier and made a lot of lifetime friends with one being on this trip with me.

During the week I am a Quality Assurance Specialist for an accounting software company that have clients as close as the Federal Government and as far away to many war stricken countries that need to get their financial platform back in order.
I am looking forward to meeting all the new people and reconnecting with the friends from the last one.

MEHDY KHALID

Hola...This will be my first Habitat experience, and I can't wait to get to know the team.  From what Paul and Chris have told me, there will be at least one social gathering!! See you all soon.