Hospice Society Board of Directors 2007 - 2008

Dr. D.B. Rix, Hospice Chair, MDS Metro Laboratory Services / Cantest Ltd.

Mark Bacon, Family Representative, PMC Sierra Inc.

Paul Challinor, Pricewaterhouse Coopers LLP

Neil Cusati, TELUS

Judge Harbans Dhillon, Provincial Court of British Columbia

Dr. Keith Donaldson, Royal Inland Hospital Cancer Clinic (Retired)

Patricia Evans, Consultant

Barb Fitzsimmons, BC Children's & Women's Hospital

Greg Halsey-Brandt, Province of BC; City of Richmond (Retired)

Brent Johnston, Hunter Litigation Chambers

Nancy McHarg, James Hoggan and Associates

John Rose, Nuheat Industries Limited

John Sandor, Sutton Place Hotel

Ann Sturrock, Westcoast Facilitation

David Yan, Financial Executive

Dr. Donald B. Rix, BA, MD, FRCP (Can), FACP, DSc.(Hon), Hon Dipl.(BCIT), O.B.C., has been a strong supporter and innovator in the BC medical services field. He is one of the owners and founders and is the chairman of the board of directors of MDS Metro Laboratory Services, the first and now largest independent community laboratory in BC. He is also one of the owners and founders and is chairman of Cantest Ltd. based in Vancouver.

He currently serves on the BC Medical Services Foundation, the BC Cancer Foundation, the BC Children’s Hospital Foundation and the Justice Institute of BC and is Chairman of Canuck’s Place and Chairman and Director of SunnyHill Foundation and Hospital. He is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Emeritus for UBC. Knowing the importance of research, he is Past Chair of Genome BC and is on the boards of Sirius Genomics, PrioNet Canada and Protox Therapeutics Inc.
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Mark Bacon is a Design Engineer with expertise is Mixed-Signal design with PMC-Sierra Inc. Mark obtained his B.Eng from the Université de Sherbrooke. Outside work, Mark enjoys playing squash, running and hiking. He organizes the PMC corporate teams for the H2H relay run and is currently manager of his son’s soccer team.

Mark resides in Vancouver with his wife and two sons. His youngest son passed away at Canuck Place in 2002. Mark and his family have benefited from many of the services offered by Canuck Place Children's Hospice, including palliative care, end of life care and family grief support.
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Paul Challinor was raised in the U.K. and obtained his bachelors degree in Industrial Economics from Nottingham University in 1983. He qualified as a Chartered Accountant with PricewaterhouseCoopers in 1985. He spent two years with PwC Sydney from 1989 to 1991, transferred to PwC’s Vancouver office in 1994 and was admitted to partnership in 1997. Paul provides audit and advisory services to many of BC’s financial services companies and leads PwC's financial services practice in BC.

Paul is married to Ellen and is a proud father of two daughters, Jennifer and Kelly. He enjoys boating around the Gulf Islands and San Juan Islands, competitive badminton and skiing.
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Neil is the Vice President, Strategic Solutions for TELUS Business Solutions in B.C. In his role, Neil is responsible for leading the development and implementation of various strategic sales and marketing initiatives within British Columbia.

Since joining TELUS in 1981, Neil has held several senior leadership roles within the company in sales, distribution, business development and general management. Prior to assuming his current responsibilities, Neil was Vice President, Western Region with TELUS Mobility.

Neil is a graduate of the University of British Columbia with a Bachelor of Commerce Degree, and of the Leadership Vancouver program. He currently sits on the Board of Directors of the TELUS Vancouver Community Board, and the BC 2009 World Police & Fire Games. He has also served on the Board of Directors of Leadership Vancouver and Creation Technologies, and has worked as a committee member with the Mel Jr. and Marty Zajac Foundation.

Neil is married with one son and lives in Burnaby.
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Judge Dhillon was appointed to the Provincial Court of British Columbia in May 1999. She presides over adult and youth criminal cases, family law and child protection matters and civil claims.

Prior to her appointment, she practiced with the Vancouver law firm Bill, Housser and Tupper. During her years of practice, she volunteered with various community groups and sat on the executive of the Vancouver Bar Association and the BC Civil Liberties Association.

In 1999 she was an adjunct professor in civil litigation at UBC Faculty of Law. Judge Dhillon earned her law degree in 1987 from UBC.
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Dr. Keith Donaldson comes to us via Edinburgh, Vancouver and Kamloops, with a brief stop in Uganda, where he studied an unusual type of blood disease. A specialist in internal medicine and oncology with over 30 years of experience in blood and malignant diseases, his research is known throughout the world.

Tireless in his research and practice, Dr. Donaldson continued to practice internal medicine and medical oncology in Kamloops even when semi-retired. He now does locum work in cancer medicine throughout Greater Vancouver and Kamloops.

His passion for medicine is equalled only by his passion for golf and skiing, where he is often joined by his family. He is married, and has three daughters and four grandchildren.
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In May, 2005, Patricia Evans joined the Board of Directors of Canuck Place Children’s Hospice. She is a past director and former executive of many boards and volunteer organizations ranging from SPARC (the Social Planning and Research Council of British Columbia), Information Services Vancouver, the West Coast Women's Network, to the Health Care Public Relations Association (Canada).

Patricia is the former Vice President & Senior Advisor to the President of the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research where she worked with senior executives to design and implement new programs and initiatives to further the non-profit agency’s leadership in building BC’s capacity for health research.

As a graduate of Simon Fraser University (BA, Communications, Certificate in Liberal Arts), Patricia has worked in various media positions from newspaper reporter to television researcher/writer and production manager. She has also held various roles at the Children’s & Women’s Health Centre of British Columbia (C&W), including Communications Coordinator, Manager Staff Communications and Director of Public Affairs & Communications.

Patricia has won several local and regional awards for excellence in communication and writing and is a published author. She is currently enrolled in the University of Calgary’s Master in Continuing Education program, specializing in Workplace Learning.
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Barb Fitzsimmons
BC Children's & Women's Hospital

Barb is the Vice President, Medicine / Emergency / Staffing Office / Safe Start and Special Projects at BC Children’s Hospital.

In addition to her board appointment with Canuck Place, Barb was recently a director with the BC Hospice & Palliative Care Association and is a chapter member of the Sigma Theta Tau Nursing Honour Society - Xi Eta. She is part of the adjunct faculty at the University of British Columbia in School of Nursing, a UBC Alumni Society Member and the Vice Chair for the Canadian Association of Pediatric Haematology/Oncology Program Leaders. Previously, she was a director and co-chair for the Vancouver Metropolitan Chapter of the Registered Nurses Association of BC.

Barb is Registered Nurse and holds a Masters of Science degree in Nursing from the University of British Columbia.
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Greg Halsey-Brandt was elected in the general provincial election in 2001 in the riding of Richmond Centre. He served as Minister of State for Intergovernmental Relations from June 2001 until January 2004. He currently sits on the Government Caucus Committee on Cross Government Initiatives, the Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services, the Public Accounts Committee and the Asian Economic Development Committee.

Before his election to the Legislative Assembly, Greg was mayor of the City of Richmond for 11 years and sat on Richmond City Council for a total of 20 years. He also chaired the Greater Vancouver Regional District and was a director of the Union of B.C. Municipalities. Greg has worked as a planning consultant for municipal and private clients, as well as a planner for the City of Surrey and the Corporation of Delta. He received his Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts degree from the University of B.C.

Greg is a member of the Richmond Chamber of Commerce, the Richmond Asia Pacific Business Association, and the Planning Institute of British Columbia. He and his wife live in Richmond and have a blended family of six children and one granddaughter.
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Brent practices civil litigation law at the law firm Hunter Litigation Chambers. He obtained an undergraduate degree in Political Science from the University of Victoria, and a Bachelor of Laws from Dalhousie University in Halifax. Brent enjoys snowboarding and, when he has the opportunity, sailing.

In addition to his involvement with Canuck Place Children’s Hospice, Brent is a volunteer member of the B.C. Children’s Hospital/HSBC ChildRun Steering Committee, and helps organize the annual HSBC ChildRun. Brent & Gina live in Vancouver with their son.
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Nancy McHarg is a bilingual communications professional with 18 years of experience in media, public relations, investor communications, event planning, publications and web site development.

Nancy has a BA in Journalism from Concordia University in Montreal. She currently resides in Vancouver and is Vice President, Strategic Counsel at James Hoggan and Associates.
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John joined Nuheat management in 1997, and the Board in 1991. Prior to joining Nuheat, he served as Vice President of Kirkland & Rose, a BC based importer and distributor of food products.

John also sits on the Board of Nahanni Manufacturers Ltd.  His past experience includes having served as Director of the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters Association, Director and President of the BC Food Brokers Association and as a member of the Board of St. Christopher Church.

John holds a Bachelor of Economics from the University of Denver.
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Born, raised and educated in Prague, Czech Republic; John Sandor received his five-year apprenticeship at Hotel School. Arriving in Canada in 1979, he joined the Four Seasons Hotel in Vancouver and went on to be part of the Pan Pacific Hotel Food & Beverage Division Canada, Asia and Hawaii.

In 1994, John joined The Sutton Place Hotel (formerly Le Meridien) as Director of Food & Beverage, he was promoted to Executive Assistant Manager in 1996 and, ultimately, in May 2000 was selected as General Manager overseeing the entire hotel operation. Throughout his career, his wide international exposure has contributed to his knowledge and ongoing passion for education within the hospitality industry and the development of all human resources.
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Ann Sturrock has spent over twenty years consulting with non profit Boards of Directors in the areas of Board governance, managing change, policy development and designing an infrastructure around a vision. She is the principal of Westcoast Facilitation.

Ann has been involved in child health for many years. She is a founding member of Camp Goodtimes for children with cancer, a founder of Leadership Vancouver, Founding Director of Children and Women's Health Centre where she chaired the Ethics Committee of the Board. Ann is also the Founding Chair of the Children and Family Research Institute.

Ann is a Vancouver native and has two grown children. She is a passionate international traveller and belongs to two book clubs. She is also a huge hockey fan.
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David Yan
Financial Services Executive

As the former Regional Vice-President and Market Leader for TD Waterhouse Private Client Services, David managed a team of Wealth professionals with specialized expertise in the areas of Private Banking, investment management, insurance and estate planning.

David was born and raised in Vancouver and is a graduate of UBC with a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) degree. He has worked in the financial industry for the past 20 years, including eight years as a Branch Manager with TD Canada Trust. In his role as Chair of the TD Bank Dunk Tank Event, for the past three years, has raised close to $280,000 for Canuck Place Children’s Hospice. David resides in Vancouver with his wife Clara and their two children, Jacqueline and Tyler.
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