Meet Our Team

We are proud of our committed and diverse staff driven by our common goal to create meaningful art experiences for our community.

Our Staff

Virginia Eichhorn

Grants & Major Gifts Officer, Quest Art School + Gallery

Virginia Eichhorn has worked in the visual arts field for thirty years and has been the Executive Director and Curator for Quest Art since 2018. Previously she was the Executive Director & Chief Curator for the Tom Thomson Art Gallery, was the first full-time curator for the Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery and was one of the founding members of the Queen West Gallery District in Toronto.

She is a graduate of the Art History programme at Queen’s University and continued her studies at the University of Toronto. As an independent curator she has presented exhibitions at numerous prestigious venues including the XII Biennale of Art at Villa Nova Cerveira in Portugal. She has worked extensively with artists from across Canada and abroad, developing exhibitions for high profile Canadian galleries and museums.

In addition to curating, she has written numerous catalogue essays and has contributed articles to prominent Canadian and international magazines such as Ceramics Monthly. She was president of the Ontario Asociation of Art Galleries and a board member for Cahiers métiers d’art /Craft Journal. She is currently the Vice Chair and Treasurer for Craft Ontario (formerly the Ontario Craft Council) In 2009 she won the Jean Johnson/Melanie Egan Award for Curatorial Excellence given by the Ontario Crafts Council.

Sarah Scanlon

Operations Manager, Quest Art School + Gallery

Born in Ontario, but growing up in East Africa, Sarah Scanlon received her MA in History and Philosophy of Art from The University of Kent at Canterbury, UK, specialising in the paintings of Edvard Munch. After several years of travelling throughout Europe and Asia, Sarah earned an MEd at The University of Hong Kong majoring in Global and Comparative Education. She has worked alongside many different communities, from the serene foothills of Nepal to the hectic streets of Vietnam, and looks forward to exploring and working alongside the community here in Midland.

Amanda Langdon

Communications Coordinator, Quest Art School + Gallery

A lover of all things to do with creativity, nature and new experiences, Amanda is a treasure trove of adventures, hobbies, and interests!
Growing up in the Greater Toronto Area provided a great opportunity to have a deep understanding of multiculturalism, travelling the world, and meeting so many different personalities. Amanda completed her grade 11 year of high school in Asuncion, Paraguay, with an International Co-op program while also learning Spanish and Guarani. In University, Amanda obtained her BA in Creative Advertising with a focus on Copywriting. Throughout her 10-year career she was able to learn all facets of Marketing from Graphic Design, Print Production, Event Planning, Social Media and Web Design.
She looks forward to being part of the Quest Art community and seeing what we can all create together!

Alanna Brousseau

Communications Assistant, Quest Art School + Gallery

Alanna received her BA in English Literature from the University of Toronto. Determined to build a career around her love of books, she went on to complete the Publishing Program at Ryerson University. Since graduating, Alanna has been proofreading regularly for HarperCollins, as well as writing and editing for various brands around Simcoe County.

When she’s not poring over a manuscript or assembling the weekly Quest Art newsletter, you can find her adventuring with her son, Huck, foraging for mushrooms, or curled up with a big book and an even bigger cup of chamomile tea!

Our Board Members

Peggy Breckenridge

Chair

Peggy Breckenridge was one of the founding members of the Board of Directors and Chair of the Operations Committee for the Midland Cultural Centre. She served as Secretary and an Officer of the Board until her resignation in June 2015. Peggy formerly served as Mayor of Tiny Township and sat as a Councillor on the Simcoe County Council. She also sat on the Performance Management Committee at County, the Simcoe County Museum Board, the Georgian Bay Chamber of Commerce Board, the Physician Recruitment Steering Committee, the Severn Sound Environmental Association and the Severn Sound Sustainability Committee. Peggy taught at the secondary school level for ten years before launching her business career, which has included senior sales and marketing positions in several major consumer products companies. While President/General Manager of Sunbeam Canada, she was instrumental in a major operational turn-around of the Canadian division of this multi-national appliance manufacturer. As an entrepreneur, Peggy has been instrumental in the successful start-up of three new ventures, ranging from a food consulting and marketing business, to a manufacturing enterprise serving the automotive industry.

Cathy Tait

Vice Chair

Cathy Tait is a Certified Management Consultant (CMC) who works as a senior advisor and facilitator working with leaders and teams in the public, not for profit and private sectors. I help identify and implement leadership and organizational change, as well as helping clients achieve optimal results in their service, marketing, and sales organizations. Building on over 35 years of business experience, I have worked across Canadian, American, British, and Australian markets as an executive with Xerox Canada and principal with Western Management Consultants. Our family has enjoyed life in Tiny Township, for two decades with a recent 5 year stint in Sydney, Australia. Having worked with the Aboriginal/Indigenous community in NSW Australia, has provided me with a unique perspective into their culture, art and values. I have been an active volunteer with Rotary in Australia and now with Midland Rotary, Ontario. My passion has always been collecting and studying the arts, across several cultures. With this experience I am excited to make a meaningful contribution to Quest Art Gallery and School.

Cristine Huma

Treasurer

Irene Wilson

Secretary

As an active realtor in the Georgian Bay area since 2007, Irene has kept in touch with her local community through her love of local arts and crafts. As a current Services Committee Member of the Southern Georgian Bay Association of Realtors, she has sat on the board as a director for approximately 7 years and was also on the task force which amalgamated our Midland area board with the Collingwood board. She has also chaired the Education & Member Services Committees, and sat on The Discipline Committee and Finance Committee.

Leigh Stevenson

Leigh Stevenson is a museum and cultural enterprise specialist, with a background in Art, Art History as well as business. As a Canadian with over 20 years working in North America and Europe, Leigh has worked for or been a consultant to institutions such as: The National Galleries of Scotland The Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam The Royal Ontario Museum Parliament of Canada Parc zoologic de Paris The Courtauld, London Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Smithsonian, National Portrait Gallery Currently Leigh is the Director, Business Operations for Ingenium Canada – Canada’s National Science and Innovations Museums, Ottawa

Adam Garry Podolski

Adam Garry Podolski is a teacher-artist-author-poet and pet lover. His doctoral dissertation Towards a personal philosophy of curriculum: Approaching currere and narrative inquiry within an Aokian paradigm of reciprocity was recognized as an original and unique contribution to the field of values and leadership in education, receiving runner-up for the Paul T. Begley Award. Adam has presented his poetry, art, and curriculum theory at The Art Gallery of Nova Scotia and McGill University. His research is beginning to garner interest in America, the UK, and Australia. At Quest, Adam is involved with educational initiatives and in audience engagement.

Rodrigo Moreno

Rodrigo Moreno was born in Santiago, Chile and has been a professional corporate and documentary photographer in Toronto since 1992. While servicing a multitude of clients that include Ontario Tourism, Glucksteinhome, City of Toronto and Scholastic Canada his work has carried him to various parts of the globe. Moreno has received National recognition for his travel work in Cuba from the Canadian Association of Photographers and Illustrators and is the main subject in an award winning documentary called “Shift Focus,” which features his inner city community where he grew up and the collaboration with youth in the Amazon in Peru. He has been awarded countless grants for his work and has peaked the interest of major newspapers in Toronto, while appearing on City TV, Sun Television, CTV and CBC radio on numerous occasions. He has also received an Honourable Mention, from Canadian Living Magazine, in the “Me to We” awards, for creating a photography club that empowers youth in the Lawrence Heights community. He has exhibited work in various galleries across Toronto and one of his collections of work was selected as one of the must see exhibits, among the Contact Photography Festival, while receiving a four star (NNNN) rating from Now Magazine. Moreno’s imagery, of the Lawrence Heights community has now become a part of a permanent collection at the City of Toronto archives and has been featured in the editorial piece titled “The Picture Man,” which earned him a nomination for a National Magazine Award in Portrait Photography in 2021. Moreno continues to document his old community for over thirty years.

Stephen Sagar

My name is Stephen Sagar Executive Chef and Food and Beverage Manager at Midland Golf & Country Club. I first moved to the Georgian Bay area in 2008 and have worked at the golf course for 13 years with two separate hiatuses during that time, My first education was in Integrated Media and Fine Art while attending the Ontario College of Art and Design from 1994 until 1998 and graduated with honours. My interest in art and design date back to my earlier teens stemming from a very creative family with several artists, both novice and professional. My education took a turn after OCAD and I decided to study the culinary arts and graduated from George Brown in 2003 in Culinary Management. My cooking career took me all over the GTA from the CN Tower to the National Ballet School of Canada. I have volunteered previously with the Toronto Consort located at St. Paul’s United Church. My duties were rudimentary but I was committed to helping the ancient music orchestra in any way I can. I currently work and live in Midland and I look forward to working with the Quest Gallery in any capacity that will utilize my expertise and talents.