About Us
Meet the Chair
Giselle Goguen, B.A., LL.B
Chair and Commissioner of Local Governance Affairs
Giselle Goguen worked as a journalist with the CBC and the Telegraph Journal and then as a public affairs advisor to several leading New Brunswick companies and institutions before joining the provincial government in 2003 to help establish the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages. She went on to fill several senior roles with the provincial government, including Assistant Director of Employment Standards, where she represented the province in cases at the New Brunswick Labour and Employment Board, and Director of Post-Secondary Affairs in 2013, overseeing funding to public universities and colleges. Most recently, Ms. Goguen was the Manager of Engagement at the City of Fredericton from 2019 until her appointment in 2024.
Ms. Goguen is fluently bilingual and has served on several boards in the province, including the Harvest Music Festival, le Centre communautaire Sainte-Anne and the Fredericton Playhouse Inc. She has also taught as a sessional lecturer at St Thomas University and Université de Moncton.
Originally from Rogersville, Ms. Goguen obtained her journalism and law degrees at Université de Moncton.
Commission Members
Troy Stone CPA, CA
Vice Chair
Troy Stone held several leadership roles with McCain Foods Limited during a 30-year career where he advised on both national and global financial matters, serving most recently as the company’s Director, Canadian Taxation before retiring in 2022. Mr. Stone was the Mayor of the Village of Bath from 1995 to 2021 and has served as a director and treasurer with several local and municipal organizations, including the Western Valley Regional Service Commission, the Carleton Minor Hockey Association and the New Brunswick Institute of Chartered Accountants. Mr. Stone currently serves on the board of directors of River View Manor.
Appointed: 2024
Term ends: 2029
Donna Redmond Gates
Commission Member
Donna Redmond Gates has acted as a strategic advisor to businesses throughout the region and has held many senior roles in the province’s non-profit sector, including with the Heart and Stroke Foundation of New Brunswick, the Saint John Regional Hospital Foundation and Living Saint John, a community organization that tackles generational poverty. She is also an active volunteer, serving in senior roles with the Port Saint John, the Horizon Health Authority’s Governance Committee and the Board of the YMCA of Southwestern New Brunswick. Ms Redmond Gates is currently a Senior Advisor with Inclusion NB.
Appointed: 2024
Term ends: 2027
Lizon Chiasson-Foulem, B.Sc., LL.B, LL.M.
Commission Member
With 23 years in private practice, Lizon Chiasson-Foulem is an experienced lawyer specializing in commercial and corporate law, bankruptcy, insolvency, and debt collection. A former partner at McIntyre Finn, she has advised clients across sectors on acquisitions, restructurings, and financing matters. She holds an LL.M. from Osgoode Hall Law School, along with a Certificate in Administrative Law focused on administrative agencies and tribunals. She currently serves as an alternate chair on the Mental Health Act Tribunals and volunteers on several boards, such as the Atlantic Cancer Research Institute and Mothers Matter Canada and also contributes to the Law Society of New Brunswick.
Appointed: 2025
Term ends: 2030
Barbara Quigley
Commission Member
Following her graduation from l’Université de Moncton, Barbara Ann Quigley began a career with the City of Moncton that spanned close to 40 years, during which she worked with seven Mayors, numerous City Councils and four City Managers. At the time of her retirement in 2022 she was the City Clerk and Director of Legislative Services for the City.
Barbara served as President of the Association of Municipal Administrators of NB and has provided local governance training to managers and councils across New Brunswick. She has previously served on the Horizon Health Network Board, the Frye Festival Board, among others, and she is currently the Vice Chair of the Capitol Theatre Board of Directors in Moncton.
Meet the Director and General Counsel
Mary Oley Bsc. LL.B.
Director and General Counsel
Originally from Fredericton, Mary Oley obtained a Bachelor of Science with a major in biology from the University of Prince Edward Island and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of New Brunswick. Mary was called to the bar in New Brunswick in 2009 and again in 2024. She is a member in good standing with the Law Society of New Brunswick.
Following law school, Mary was briefly engaged in private practice with a law firm in Saint John, New Brunswick, where she worked mainly in the areas of human rights law and employment law. She later worked with the New Brunswick Human Rights Commission, focusing on investigations and mediations.
Looking for a new challenge, Mary accepted a position with the Department of Environment and Local Government as a policy analyst. During her time with the Department, she led the development of the Local Governance Act.
Mary then moved to St. John’s, Newfoundland, where she worked with the Department Municipal and Provincial Affairs as the Director of Local Governance and Land Use Planning. Among her many other duties, Mary was responsible for legislative interpretation of, among others, the former Municipalities Act, the Municipal Elections Act, and the Urban and Rural Planning Act. Mary was later appointed Director of Policy and Strategic Planning, responsible for developing amendments to the Urban and Rural Planning Act, developing Regulations under the Municipal Conduct Act and developing the new Towns and Local Service Districts Act.
In April 2024, Mary accepted the position of Director and General Counsel with the newly established Local Governance Commission of New Brunswick.
Mary has also recently instructed a course at the University of New Brunswick Law School on municipal and community planning law.
Organizational Structure
