Our People

Owner/Founder

David Porter is the founder of Living Assistance Services and has been Director of the Toronto office for the past 12 years. David has thirty years business and service background and was the Vice President of a number of development and/or property management firms prior to founding Living Assistance Services.

Mr. Porter has served either on, or on behalf of numerous corporate and non-profit boards including The York School, The Greater Toronto Apartment Association and The Rose Town Non-Profit Housing Corporation and The Richmond Hill Ecumenical Non Profit Homes Corporation.

David's philosophy of service, service, service is well known in the community and the primary reason the company has flourished.

Director of Care

Sharon has accrued experience in general medicine, gerontology and other specialties during her 19 years at Women's College Hospital. She has held leadership roles in acute care medicine, patient safety and advocacy.  Sharon led an internal medicine inpatient unit for several years.  Her insightful nature and thorough approach to patient care enabled families and patients to transition smoothly from hospital to home through the identification of home care needs and organization of multidisciplinary services. Patient relations, risk management, quality care and patient safety has been her focus during recent years.\

Sharon is a committed, skillful and intelligent professional who is highly motivated and always has the patient's interest at the forefront.  Her hands on Nursing experience, managerial skills, focus on safety and personal attributes empower her role as Director of Care.

Director of Client Services and Employee Development

Dr. Paula Price has held various positions in the health care and education fields including Director of Nursing Specialist Services at the Hospital for Sick Children and teaching in the Faculty of Nursing at the University of Toronto. From 1990 to 2000, she held a variety of positions at George Brown College including Chair of Nursing, and Chair of Community Health Programs. Following this, Dr. Price completed her Ph.D. at the University of Toronto.

Dr. Price’s responsibilities with Living Assistance Services Toronto office include client consultations and working with our Director of Care with individual care recipients, providing ongoing advice on health and home care issues including navigating the health care system.

Corporately, Dr. Price plays a key role in our ongoing efforts to recruit and retain the highest caliber of caregivers and provides continuing education, career development and coaching to our staff and nurses.

Director - Board of Advisors

Tim Powell is the Director/Owner of Living Assistance Services Western GTA office which services Mississauga, Burlington and surrounding area.

Moving to the arena of in-home support was a significant, but not unanticipated choice for Tim. From beginnings as a Sales and Marketing Manager, through successively more senior roles in the aircraft industry culminating as a Transport Canada Minister's Delegate, Tim has always steered his technical and regulatory know how towards supporting the needs of those dependant upon his skills.

As an outcome of the 20 plus years of industry knowledge and experience of in-home care support deficiencies, Tim has developed a steadfast and passionate belief in the mission and vision of Living Assistance Services to provide the affordable and respectful assistance he would have wanted for his own mother to have enjoyed. Tim is uniquely positioned to create the customized care and attention to detail critical to his clients.

Having obtained a Certified Professional Consultant on Aging designation in 2009, Tim and Living Assistance Services are now poised to focus on providing unrivaled homecare and superior customer service. The goal of enabling families to stay together and to enable seniors to maintain an independant lifestyle has never been more real.

Director - Board of Advisors

Opal Rowe is the Director/Owner of the Living Assistance Services Metro-North office which services Willowdale, Thornhill, Richmond Hill, Vaughan and Markham.

Ms. Rowe has a stellar volunteer and business background. She is a founding member and Secretary/Treasurer of CARP (Canadian Association of Retired Persons), Leaside Chapter and on the Board of Directors for West Toronto Senior Support Services. She is an active Rotarian as well as a member of the Canadian Federation of University Women and also regularly volunteers with Meals on Wheels and the Canadian Cancer Society.

Ms. Rowe has owned and succesfully operated her own home care agency for a number of years and has a wealth of educational and business experience. She formerly held senior positions with Bank of Montreal, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and Ernst & Young.

Ms. Rowe's hands-on experience and education complements our renowned ability to provide exceptional care and service to our clients.

Associate and Member - Board of Advisors

Mary Ellen Tomlinson is the founder and director of Senior Care Options Inc., an organization that specializes in advising families, trust officers, lawyers and accountants on care for seniors. As a public speaker, she offers pragmatic advice to the business sector and communities on personalized care planning, long distance family caregiving, retirement residences and long-term care facilities.

Mary Ellen is a member of the Ontario Palliative Care Association, the Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association, the National Case Managers Network of Canada, the Canadian Association of Women Executives and Entrepreneurs and the Women’s Executive Network. She is the volunteer past chair of the St. Georges Church Pastoral Care Team, and a volunteer palliative care visitor at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre.

With a Diploma in Gerontology/Activation from George Brown College and a Certificate in Gerontology from Ryerson University, she is currently completing a degree at York University that focuses on “aging in modern times.” She is also a qualified re-motivation therapist.

For additional information on the range of services offered by Mary Ellen, call her directly at 416.932.9941.

Associate and Member - Board of Advisors

Heather obtained her Ph.D. in Neuropsychology from the University of New South Wales, Australia. She returned to Toronto to complete a three-year postdoctoral position in neurocognitive rehabilitation at the Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care. Heather subsequently became the research director at the Alzheimer Society of Canada where she discovered an increasing need for cognitive enhancement services to help support our aging population.

Currently, Heather is the founder and director of Cognitive Rehabilitation at Maximum Capacity Inc., a company that provides cognitive enhancement. With more than 15 years of clinical experience in the area of brain/behaviour relationships, Heather is a firm believer that the brain has the capacity to develop new connections between its various regions and that through proper training individuals can regain cognitive skills believed to be lost.

Cognitive enhancement group seminars and one-on-one sessions are offered at the Living Assistance Services’ office. For additional information on these programs, call Heather at 416.219.1586.

Director Family Support, Palliative Care And Bereavement Services

Mr. Greg O'Neill holds, among others, a master’s degree in Social Work and has enjoyed a 27 year long career in various professional positions. He has also volunteered with diverse organizations such as Canadian Cancer Society, Central Toronto Youth Services, The Canadian Mental Health Association, Ontario Probation Services, Habitat for Humanity, Kindness in Action and Sleeping Children Around the World.

For the past four years Greg has been providing support and counseling for individuals approaching end of life, assisting caregivers and family members through the transition and providing bereavement assistance for those suffering from loss of a loved one.

It is this substantial experience which Greg brings to Living Assistance Services as well as his gentle ability to listen, respond and advise care recipients and their families with respect to their fears and anxieties associated with end of life care. We are fortunate to have Greg’s wealth of expertise on our Board of Advisors and for the benefit of our clients.

Marketing Director

Nicky Zeinis is an active community volunteer having volunteered with Save the Children Canada and several other community charities and organizations. She is a Certified Professional Consultant on Aging (CPCA).

In a corporate capacity at Living Assistance Services, Nicky advises community groups and provides information on the full range of services offered by Living Assistance Services. Nicky is responsible for the ongoing promotion of our services and philosophy across Canada. She also provides support to the Directors of our local offices. Nicky's duties include assisting with various promotional and marketing initiatives as well as on additional duties in our Toronto office.

She is currently Vice President of the Hoggs Hollow Toronto Toastmasters chapter and is available to speak with groups and organizations about caregiving and options for seniors with respect to homecare.