Our Board and Committees

Tamara is President & CEO of Vancouver Airport Authority (YVR). Previously she was President & CEO of Vancity and was BC’s Deputy Minister of Finance from 2004 to mid-2007. In addition, she was Secretary to the Treasury Board, as well as Deputy Minister and Executive Financial Officer for the Ministry of Health. Tamara lends her voice and leadership experience to issues related to women, families and children with a particular focus on issues related to equality, inclusion and empowerment. Tamara was awarded the Order of British Columbia in 2019. In 2020, she was appointed Chancellor, Simon Fraser University.

As Executive Vice-President of Finance and Operations of Hamilton Community Foundation (HCF), Annette oversees the organization's finance, investment and administrative activities, and is responsible for all regulatory compliance. She has been instrumental in HCF’s role as a social finance market builder, aligning more of its assets with its mission and multiplying its impact locally, nationally and internationally.

Annette holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from McMaster University. Over the course of her 35-year career as a chartered professional accountant, she has worked in public accounting and in the private sector, and has led her own consulting practice. She has served as a director of the Shareholder Association for Research and Education (SHARE) and the Vancity Community Investment Bank, She is a director of the Atkinson Foundation Board and a member of the National Impact Investment Practitioners Table.

Lisa is a multiple sclerosis warrior who is passionate about finding opportunities and breaking down barriers to ensure everyone can participate in work and play. She was formerly the SVP of Enterprise Services at Vancity. Prior to that, she was the Executive Director of Powersmart and Customer Care for BC Hydro. Lisa has also served as the Chair of the Board of the YWCA-Metro Vancouver and Chair of the Finance Committees of the Canadian Sport Institute -Pacific and the Vancouver Community College Boards. Lisa is a CPA.

Rich Donovan is CEO of The Return on Disability Group and is a globally recognized subject matter expert on the convergence of disability and corporate profitability. He has spent more than 17 years focused on defining and unlocking the economic value of the disability market. He guides global brands and public sector clients to gather user insights directly from people with disabilities to design products, services, and careers that delight everyone. Rich shares his vision for people with disabilities as a powerful force in the global economy in his book, Unleash Different. 

Rich has been named one of the Top 50 Most Influential People with Disabilities in the world by UK-based Powerful Media and Shaw Trust in October 2016. He founded Lime (2006), the leading third-party recruiter in the disability space, where he worked with Google, PepsiCo, Merrill Lynch, IBM, TD Bank and others to help them attract top talent from within the disability market. Mr. Donovan was appointed the fourth reviewer of The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act by Order in Council in February 2022. Rich holds an MBA from Columbia Business School and a BBA from Schulich School of Business at York University. Rich is a person with a disability.

Rod Graham is a Senior Corporate Executive with extensive experience in sectors including financial/investment, modular construction, manufacturing, automotive and resource services.  As Chief Executive Officer and President of First Industries Corporation and First Truck Centre, Rod has full responsibility for executing the strategic direction and ongoing operations of both companies. 

As the former CEO of Horizon North, Rod is proud that the company became part of the solution to improve the level of accessibility and inclusiveness in the construction sector.
As a committed community member, Rod has been on a number of public, private and not-for-profit boards, including the Business Council of Canada, the Dean’s Advisory Council at Thompson Rivers University, the Young Presidents Organization and the Calgary Municipal Land Corporation. Rod was also previously on the Board of Directors for First Industries Corporation.  

Rod holds an MBA from the University of Western Ontario, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation from the CFA Institute and an Honors Bachelor of Business Administration from Wilfred Laurier University. He is also a graduate of the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD) program. 

By leveraging her experience as a board member, entrepreneur, Chartered Accountant, CEO, and her passion for leadership and governance development, Jane brings a breadth of experience to individuals and teams. Through her business, Halford Consulting, Jane serves organizations through a range of services focused on leadership and governance transition through in-person and virtual training, advisory services, and professional speaking. Her governance-focused projects include supporting the transformation of organizations’ governance frameworks, instructing for the Institute of Corporate Directors, and developing virtual training material for boards in remote communities. Her past board roles include organizations in the non-profit, public, and stock exchange listed entity sectors.

Amanda Hansen shares Rick’s determination to turn dreams into reality. With a passion for children’s issues, she served as director of the Rick Hansen School Program from 2002-06; was honorary spokesperson and board member for Kids Help Phone (BC); and co-host of the Children's Miracle Network Telethon. Amanda is currently semi-retired from her position as sole charge physiotherapist at Richmond Lions Manor (Vancouver Coastal Health), a residential care facility where she worked with an aging population and on a specialized Alzheimers unit. She is also happily spending her time with family, especially their precious grandsons.

Professor Nelson is the founding Executive Director of the Australian Prostate Cancer Research Centre, Queensland, and Chair of Prostate Cancer Research at Queensland University of Technology. She was also a founding scientist of the Vancouver Prostate Centre, and chair of the Canadian Prostate Cancer Research Initiative. Colleen serves on the Scientific and Medical Advisory of the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Canada and as International Strategic Adviser for Prostate Cancer Canada. In 2009 she was awarded the prestigious Smart Futures Premier’s Fellowship.

Hugh O’Reilly is the President and CEO of Acuity Global, a boutique consulting firm that provides advice on strategy to insurance companies, investment managers, real estate developers, scale-ups and start-ups.  

Hugh is the Executive Director of Innovate Cities, an Executive-in-Residence at the Global Risk Institute, and a Senior Fellow at the C.D. Howe Institute.  Hugh serves on the Board of a number of organizations including Aboriginal Legal Services, Namerind (a not-for-profit indigenous housing corporation) and Orbis Canada (a registered charity).  Hugh is the Vice-Chair of the Board of Orbis.

Hugh is the former President and CEO of OPTrust where he led an organizational transformation.  Key achievements at OPTrust during his tenure included the implementation of a new investment strategy and the launch of a new defined benefit pension plan for not-for-profit organizations.

Hugh practiced law for over three decades and was a partner at both Torys LLP and Cavalluzzo LLP.  Hugh is recognized for his risk, innovation, pension and governance expertise.

Hugh has spoken at numerous conferences and has published many articles.

Ryan Peterson is VP, Accelerate Solutions at Unity Technologies Inc.. In this role he leads Unity’s professional services practice in games and verticals, helping transform industry through the adoption of real time 3D (RT3D) in their digital transformation.

Ryan was formerly CEO and Co-Founder of Finger Food Advanced Technology Group™, prior to its acquisition by Unity in May of 2020. Under Ryan’s leadership as CEO, Finger Food saw tremendous growth, transforming from a small basement start-up to a multi-million-dollar company with 200+ employees that focused on AI, AR/VR, Blockchain, Robotics, games and IoT. The company created impactful and elegant cloud, web, mobile, machine and advanced-interface solutions built on top of emerging technologies.

John is the Founder and Managing Partner of Maverix Private Equity, a private equity firm focused on technology-enabled growth and disruption investment strategies. As a firm run by entrepreneurs, funded by entrepreneurs, and for entrepreneurs, Maverix is investing out of its inaugural fund in the areas of health and wellness, financial services, transportation and logistics, live, work, play and learn, and retail. John chairs the Investment Committee, guides the strategy of the firm, is deeply involved with fundraising and sourcing and leading investment opportunities, particularly within the technology industry. He led Maverix’s first investment in Viral Nation and sits on their board.

John is also the Founder of OMERS Ventures and Co-Founder and Vice Chair of the Council of Canadian Innovators. Over the course of his leadership as the CEO of OMERS Ventures, they invested over USD$500 million in over 40 disruptive technology companies across North America. John co-founded the Council of Canadian Innovators, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping high-growth Canadian technology firms scale globally.

As an active board member in the profit and not-for-profit sectors, John works with many leading innovative organizations including AI Partnerships Corp., engineering.com, OneEleven, the David Suzuki Foundation, the CIBC Foundation, the Royal Ontario Museum, Caldwell’s Top 40 Under 40, the Investigative Journalism Foundation, the SSB Dean’s Global Council (DGC) for the Schulich School of Business, and the Federal Government Global Hypergrowth Project.

Suki Sekhon is the President & CEO of CRS Group of Companies, which has a diverse portfolio of real estate holdings in Western Canada. Suki attended the University of British Columbia before obtaining a Marketing Real Estate Diploma from BCIT. He is currently a member of the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver, NAIOP Commercial Real Estate Development Association, Board member of the Rick Hansen Foundation and Surrey City Development Corporation (SCDC).

Over the years, the Sekhon family has been supporting several community organizations, including BC Children’s Hospital, Ronald McDonald House BC, Coast Mental Health, Special Olympics, Athletics for Kids and many other BC charities.

Stanis Smith is a well-known thought leader on issues relating to building design, the built environment, and corporate governance. He has lent his vision and expertise to building projects around the world in the educational, entertainment and transportation sectors, and as an architect is committed to designing accessible spaces that can be enjoyed, appreciated, and utilized by everyone. He is a passionate advocate for sustainability and accessibility, and has spoken on those and other topics at many international conferences.

Stanis’s career highlights include being the CEO of Architectura, one of Canada’s leading architectural firms, and being an Executive Vice President at Stantec, a 22,000-person global architectural and engineering design firm.

Stanis is past chair of the Rick Hansen Foundation Accessibility Committee (RHFAC) that is tasked with advising Foundation staff on the design, scope, development and distribution of the RHFAC program. In addition, Mr. Smith is a current Board Director of the Vancouver Opera and a former Board Director of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.