Board Members

Board Members

Karen Clark, Secretary

 

 

Karen is a biologist who worked for First Nations in BC and has lived on Salt Spring for almost 30 years. She is an active member of the Lady Minto Hospital Auxiliary, Salt Spring Weavers and Spinners Guild, Salt Spring Conservancy, and the Sneakers running club. She, along with her partner and three daughters who grew up on Salt Spring, are avid readers and literacy advocates.

Karen Clark, Secretary

Karen is a biologist who worked for First Nations in BC and has lived on Salt Spring for almost 30 years. She is an active member of the Lady Minto Hospital Auxiliary, Salt Spring Weavers and Spinners Guild, Salt Spring Conservancy, and the Sneakers running club. She, along with her partner and three daughters who grew up on Salt Spring, are avid readers and literacy advocates.

Julie van Soeren, Board Member

Originally from the U.K., Julie moved to Canada in 1985 following a few years of travelling interspersed with working. She moved from the Lower Mainland to Salt Spring with her husband in 2008, later retiring from a career in Community Nursing and case management for Island Health. A long time distance runner, most of her volunteer activities have centred around sports organizations, including a term as President of the Connaught Skating Club in Richmond. She is an active member of the Salt Spring Sneakers running club, and can often be found swimming in St. Mary’s Lake or at the Rainbow Road pool. On our island Julie volunteers for ArtSpring and has enjoyed assisting with the Books & Bling sale for several years. Now that she has more time to relax she continues to make an impact on her reading list.

Nancy Gerrish, Chairperson

 

Since moving to Salt Spring Island from Toronto in 2020, Nancy has been renewing her longstanding interest in natural history through volunteering with her community Land Stewardship Committee, Salt Spring Island Conservancy, and SSI’s annual Christmas Bird count.  She is also enjoying using her sales and marketing experience in educational publishing to assist with Salt Spring Literacy’s annual Books and Bling fundraiser. During her career, she was fortunate to enjoy leadership positions in sales, marketing and product development, culminating in overall business unit leadership. She and her Golden Retriever, Willow, are avid walkers and Nancy has been able to realize a long-held dream of learning to kayak and ride horses.

Nancy Gerrish, Chairperson

Since moving to Salt Spring Island from Toronto in 2020, Nancy has been renewing her longstanding interest in natural history through volunteering with her community Land Stewardship Committee, Salt Spring Island Conservancy, and SSI’s annual Christmas Bird count.  She is also enjoying using her sales and marketing experience in educational publishing to assist with Salt Spring Literacy’s annual Books and Bling fundraiser. During her career, she was fortunate to enjoy leadership positions in sales, marketing and product development, culminating in overall business unit leadership. She and her Golden Retriever, Willow, are avid walkers and Nancy has been able to realize a long-held dream of learning to kayak and ride horses.

Julie van Soeren, Board Member

Originally from the U.K., Julie moved to Canada in 1985 following a few years of travelling interspersed with working. She moved from the Lower Mainland to Salt Spring with her husband in 2008, later retiring from a career in Community Nursing and case management for Island Health. A long time distance runner, most of her volunteer activities have centred around sports organizations, including a term as President of the Connaught Skating Club in Richmond. She is an active member of the Salt Spring Sneakers running club, and can often be found swimming in St. Mary’s Lake or at the Rainbow Road pool. On our island Julie volunteers for ArtSpring and has enjoyed assisting with the Books & Bling sale for several years. Now that she has more time to relax she continues to make an impact on her reading list.

Roger Mah Poy, Board Member

Roger was born and raised in Ponoka, Alberta. He has two university degrees from the University of Alberta and worked in management at The Bay and The Gap. He taught in Botswana and at First Nations communities and private schools in Alberta. Roger has been involved in various social justice issues involving sexuality, climate change, and cultural understanding towards being better human beings. His passions are design, art, drama, music, food, history, sports, gardening, media, God, and travel. Roger has worked with the Salt Spring United Church, Rainbow Road Allotment Garden, Garden Club, the Xwaaqw’um, Eggheads, the Forum, and is a supporter of Scottish Country Dance and the Women’s Institute.

Roger Mah Poy, Board Member

Roger was born and raised in Ponoka, Alberta. He has two university degrees from the University of Alberta and worked in management at The Bay and The Gap. He taught in Botswana and at First Nations communities and private schools in Alberta. Roger has been involved in various social justice issues involving sexuality, climate change, and cultural understanding towards being better human beings. His passions are design, art, drama, music, food, history, sports, gardening, media, God, and travel. Roger has worked with the Salt Spring United Church, Rainbow Road Allotment Garden, Garden Club, the Xwaaqw’um, Eggheads, the Forum, and is a supporter of Scottish Country Dance and the Women’s Institute.

Karen Dakin, Treasurer

 

A long-time resident of Salt Spring, Karen with her husband and young family chose the island as home after a travel adventure through BC, leaving the northern climes for warmer ground in 1988. Outside a busy professional career, she enjoys cooking, ceramic arts, sewing, gardening, reading, and daily walks with her canine companions. As a child, a parent and now a grandparent, the pleasure of a good book remains a constant in her life, and revisiting Dr. Seuss highly recommended.

Karen Dakin, Treasurer

 

A long-time resident of Salt Spring, Karen with her husband and young family chose the island as home after a travel adventure through BC, leaving the northern climes for warmer ground in 1988. Outside a busy professional career, she enjoys cooking, ceramic arts, sewing, gardening, reading, and daily walks with her canine companions. As a child, a parent and now a grandparent, the pleasure of a good book remains a constant in her life, and revisiting Dr. Seuss highly recommended.

Ian Brunskill, Board Member

 

A relatively recent arrival to Salt Spring, Ian and his partner moved here part-time in 2020 and full-time in 2022.  Semi-retired, he enjoys taking full advantage of the hiking, kayaking, and biking opportunities the island presents.  He has over thirty years of consulting and leadership experience working with health and social service organizations, their associations and regulators in Canada, the Caribbean, South and Central America and Africa.  The move to SSI has also given him the opportunity to spend more time reading for pleasure and exploring new ideas and skills.

Ian Brunskill, Board Member

 

A relatively recent arrival to Salt Spring, Ian and his partner moved here part-time in 2020 and full-time in 2022.  Semi-retired, he enjoys taking full advantage of the hiking, kayaking, and biking opportunities the island presents.  He has over thirty years of consulting and leadership experience working with health and social service organizations, their associations and regulators in Canada, the Caribbean, South and Central America and Africa.  The move to SSI has also given him the opportunity to spend more time reading for pleasure and exploring new ideas and skills.

Igor Dormokhid, Board Member

 

 

Igor is a recent resident of Salt Spring Island. He moved with his family to Canada from Ukraine in 2018 to start a new life and give his daughter a better future. Working as a sales manager, in Ukraine he enjoyed learning new things and teaching the team to set goals and achieve them. Now he works at Thrifty Foods as Grocery Supervisor. Due to the desire to learn something new, he started working at Lady Minto Hospital, on the service support team. In 2020 he started painting for the first time and thinks he will for the rest of his life! He has a small studio where he works. He uses all the proceeds from  his work for social projects to aid, mainly to children, in Ukraine. Back in Ukraine, his hobby was cooking and he enjoyed  working with meat cooked over fire,  for which he received a certificate. He is also interested in the psychology of human behavior.

Igor Dormokhid, Board Member

 

 

Igor is a recent resident of Salt Spring Island. He moved with his family to Canada from Ukraine in 2018 to start a new life and give his daughter a better future. Working as a sales manager, in Ukraine he enjoyed learning new things and teaching the team to set goals and achieve them. Now he works at Thrifty Foods as Grocery Supervisor. Due to the desire to learn something new, he started working at Lady Minto Hospital, on the service support team. In 2020 he started painting for the first time and thinks he will for the rest of his life! He has a small studio where he works. He uses all the proceeds from  his work for social projects to aid, mainly to children, in Ukraine. Back in Ukraine, his hobby was cooking and he enjoyed  working with meat cooked over fire,  for which he received a certificate. He is also interested in the psychology of human behavior.