People
Graeme comes to the FFL Board with relevant experience with A Loving Spoonful, where he was a director for ten years and board president for eight of those. Graeme was appointed an honorary board member upon leaving the elected board.
His current community engagement is with Trinity United Church where he has served as a Trustee since 1997, providing stewardship and oversight of church property including investments and the St. James Community Hall. Past board membership has been with the Vancouver New Music Society and Pride Vancouver.
Graeme's most effective contribution to this non-profit is in the area of governance. He has been a lawyer for 18 years, and has worked with the Law Society of BC for the past 11. Since late 2006 Graeme has been Manager of the Special Compensation Fund and Custodianships department of the Law Society, with a full-time staff of 12. This experience has given him some deep and not always enjoyable, although always rewarding, experience in the human resources area that he draws from in assisting Friends For Life.
Friends For Life is a good way for Graeme to be involved in the larger community. The mission of Friends For Life is one with which he connects fully: He is a believer in the power of wellness and alternative therapies, has participated in yoga training and retreats, Zen meditation, and the benefits of regular massage therapy. Being part of an organization whose goal it is to make such therapies available to people facing significant health challenges is an honour.
Paula Parker is a management professional who specializes in operational efficiency and corporate governance. She has worked in the communications industry for over 15 years and is excited to bring her passion and enthusiasm to her role on the board. She volunteers weekly at the Diamond Centre for Living and is a well known face around the house. She is especially inspired by her interactions with the clients, volunteers and staff. Paula lives in Vancouver with her husband Jeff who also enjoys giving back to the community.
Peter completed his accounting degree at BCIT and completed the CGA program in 2009. Peter has been doing some volunteer work in preparing tax returns for seniors for the past 5 years and has perform some bookkeeping for a non-profit organization for 6 months. Always wanting to give more back to the community, he is excited in the opportunity to help
Friends for life achieve its missions and goals!
Katherine (Katie) Day is an international governance, political affairs, and small business consultant who has recently returned to Vancouver following a ten-year period of working in Ottawa and abroad. She has held a variety of positions in government and the NGO arena, including roles in the Office of the Prime Minister of Canada (PMO), serving as Executive Assistant to the Member of Parliament for Vancouver Centre, and as a volunteer for Right to Play in Ghana. Most recently, she was posted to Algeria with the National Democratic Institute, and was an election observer with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in Ukraine.
Katie completed a Bachelors of Arts at the University of Victoria, and a Masters in Comparative Ethnic Conflict at Queen’s University Belfast. She lives in Vancouver with her husband Tom, and works at a non-profit organization that advocates for small businesses in British Columbia. She is a past Board member at the Brain Injury Association of Canada, and is an avid CrossFit athlete.
I’ve long admired the work done by Friends for Life, and I’m excited at the prospect of serving as a Board Member. The holistic way you support individuals dealing with major illness is very much in alignment with my own views on wellness and health.
In terms of serving as a Board member, I believe I’ve got the right experience to be a real asset to your team. I own and run a small Public Relations and Communications firm, experience I think would be particularly useful in terms of fundraising, promotion and organizing events.
I also have a great deal of experience working with non-profit groups over the years. While living in Victoria, I served as a Board member for the Mary Manning Foundation, and volunteered with organizations like PEERS Victoria Resource Society and Habitat for Humanity. Since moving to Vancouver eight years ago, I’ve volunteered for groups including A Loving Spoonful, Dining Out for Life and the Planned Lifetime Advocacy Network. I’ve also been involved with local political parties, and I was recently hired to do Communications work for Vision Vancouver during the 2014 municipal election.
After earning a BFA in Art and Design in Edmonton, Michale happily landed in Vancouver which she has called home now for seventeen years. She has worked and volunteered in many capacities since to bring her art as well as that of others to the public in mainly non-profit situations. For the past two and a half years she has been fortunate to be involved here at Friends For Life in a variety of ways, and considers it not only an honour but a privilege to serve as a member of the board.
Cam Routledge is a Vancouver based marketing professional with both domestic and overseas experience. He manages multi-million dollar budgets and directs a worldwide team. He has extensive knowledge of the strategic development required for successful branding, media relations, public relations and consumer advertising. Cam resides in the False Creek area of Vancouver. He enjoys exploring diverse locations around BC in the summer and spending part of the winter in warmer climes.
Sharyle Lyndon is the co-founder of the Honolulu LGBT Pride Parade and Rally Council, the co-founder of Somewhere Over the Rainbow, and the former co-host of the Gang of Four or Five Radio Talk Show. After returning to Vancouver in 1993, Sharyle has volunteered with several organizations. She has sat on the board of directors of A Loving Spoonful. In addition, She has been a long time Art For Life and Bingo For Life volunteer.
I have a solid and lengthy history of giving back to the community. I have previously held Board positions with AIDS Calgary, Calgary First Night, Alberta College of Art, the Calgary Real Estate Board and PAMA (Professional Association of Managing Agents). Additionally, I have volunteered many hours with these organizations as well as Canadian Red Cross and Juvenile Diabetes.
Professionally, I am the General Manager of Real Estate Management Services. REMS provides a personal and professional property management service across Canada. Through our specialized platform, our property managers are able to find value for our clients. We have fostered a great sense of team work across disciplines that gets us there faster. Our goals are simple : high tenant satisfaction, collaborative leasing, appropriate capital improvements, site service enhancements, right costing the services for the site and risk management.
Kim Haakstad is a management professional with a variety of government, private sector and not for profit experience. She has over 15 years in government, politics and government relations including time as Deputy Chief of Staff to current British Columbia Premier, Christy Clark. With past experience as an Executive Director for two different not-for profit organizations and on time on numerous charity and industry boards, Kim brings an broad range of knowledge and applicable experience to the Board of Friends for Life.
Kim currently works as a Manager at a Fortune 500 company that has provided natural gas safely to B.C. residents for over 55 years. While Kim is based in Vancouver, these days you will often find her in communities throughout Northern British Columbia working with local and aboriginal businesses and individuals to try to maximize local jobs and economic benefits from a proposed expansion project.
Bio coming soon...
I am a registered clinical counsellor and currently work in that capacity providing counselling support to clients who access for a broad range of issues from personal, to relational, to work place concerns. I have a further certificate in conflict resolution with a focus on mediation and work in that capacity as a mediator and facilitator working with both familial and organizational matters. I am born and raised in BC and attended the University of British Columbia for both my undergraduate and masters degree. I graduated from The Justice Institute of British Columbia for my certificate in conflict resolution. I volunteer for a variety of non-profit organizations that support the local communities I belong to and am an avid sports player, particularly soccer and slo-pitch baseball. I have been with Friends for Life since 2005 and am thrilled to be serving on their Board of Directors.