Directors & Staff

Our Board of Directors is responsible for overall policies and practices of the Foundation. We govern grant making, learning awards and community outreach.

Kate Daniels - Chair (pictured) Kate has lived in the Valley since 2011 and is convinced it’s the best place to be, bar none! She recognizes the beauty of the unceded territory of the Wets’uwet’in and feels very fortunate to have found such a welcoming community.

After retiring from a 30 year career, which included senior management roles in both Federal and Provincial government and private sector roles in forestry and mining, Kate is finding joy volunteering and grand parenting. She finds the breadth and depth of volunteerism in the Bulkley Valley truly astonishing and is committed to helping the many grassroots organizations achieve their goals in order to make our communities even better.

Kate enjoys golfing, gardening and galavanting about with her husband, John, and dog Luna.

Jill Dunbar - Director Jill Dunbar moved to the Bulkley Valley for work as a professional forester in the early 1980’s. She enjoys the great outdoor recreation opportunities, the local cultural scene and the sense of community here. Volunteering with the Bulkley Valley Community Foundation provides her with the chance to help build those important values.

Colleen Burns - Secretary Colleen and her family have lived in New Hazelton for 30 years. Currently, her time is spent providing clinic training and coordination for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Diagnostic Clinics and attempts at keeping the weeds from taking over her vegetable garden.

Jacqueline Wheatley - Director Jacqueline grew up in the Bulkley Valley from 1992-2004 and then left to see the bigger, brighter world picture - starting with her biology degree in Victoria and then travelling to various places around the world. After realizing that she was done with seasonal work and wanting to start a career, she is back in Smithers in the natural resource sector with a strong appreciation for this area and the incredible value it contains.

Dee McRae - Director Dee came to the Bulkley Valley for love, over 30 years ago and stayed to raise a family, work and play in the outdoors. All of this was enriched by the many clubs and organizations in the valley. Dee saw first hand that the opportunity to apply to a local foundation for funding can make a real difference to what the small local organizations can offer.

John Howard - Director John is a long time resident of the Bulkley Valley. He retired from a 29-year career with the BC Public Service. In his last position, he was the Skeena Region Babine Parks Area Supervisor, a role he held for almost 18 years. John is active in the community and also serves on the Board of Directors for the Smithers Golf and Country Club. He enjoys golfing, fishing, bike riding and camping when not chasing the grandkids around the yard at Tyhee Lake.

Tony Pesklevits - Vice Chair Tony is Anneke’s dad and Lisa’s partner, and has had the privilege of living on the Wet’suwet’en yintah in Smithers since 2008. Over his public service career, he’s been responsible for transforming conflict and finding innovative ways to tackle wicked problems at the intersection of reconciliation, climate change, land use and emergency management. In his free time, you’ll find Tony knee-deep in sawdust, snow or the river.

Mike Doogan-Smith - Treasurer Mike has been on the board since 2018 and assumes the role of Treasurer/Director. As a long time resident of the Bulkley Valley since 1986, Mike was a public school Music Educator for 32 years and taught at both the Elementary and Secondary Levels. During his tenure at Smithers Secondary the music program grew exponentially and his bands and choirs received local, provincial, national and international acclaim. In 2013 Mike received the Professional Music Educator Award for Secondary Schools in the province of BC.

STAFF

Deb Camenzind - Office Administrator. As our Office Administrator, Deb provides valued services and a front-line connection with our communities. Contact Deb at any time about BVCF programs.

PAST DIRECTORS

Ryan Hill - Smithers

Charlie o’Malley - Smithers

Kate Daniels - Telkwa

Sean Mitchell - Smithers

Loren Kelly - Smithers

Bonnie McCreary - Smithers

Sandra Lavallie - Houston

Regina Saimoto - Smithers

Rod Holland - Telkwa

Juanita Hagman - Smithers

Karen Rabiossi - Smithers

Pauline Gomez - Hazelton

Don Chinnick - Smithers

Colin Bruintjes - Smithers

Tanya Amonson - Houston

William David Stene - Smithers

Betty Anne Walker - Smithers

Grant Harris - Smithers

Dale Perry - Smithers

Cathryn Bucher - Smithers

Don Edgecumbe - Smithers

Kelly Mattson - Hazelton

Laura Stanton - Smithers

Shirley Higgins - Houston

Dick Bandstra - Smithers

Peter Weeber - Smithers

Dan Young - Smithers

Lorna Motz - Smithers

Charles Wilson - New Hazelton

John Perry - Smithers

Linda Mangnall - Smithers

Hank Van Der Meulen - Smithers

Staffie Brine - Smithers

Jim Goodacre - Smithers

Arnold Amonson - Houston

Susan Leuenberger - Houston

Katharine Davidson - Smithers

Harry Norman Isaac - Smithers

Jytte Oulton - Smithers

Alan Cooper - Smithers

Carol Morganthaler - Smithers

Patricia McCammon - Smithers

Edward James Whalley - Smithers

Carole Young - Smithers

Margaret Davies - Smithers

Frederick Shortreid - Smithers

Gordon Williams, Sr. - Smithers

Charles Northrup - Smithers

John R. Milne - Smithers

Edward Donaldson Bobb - Smithers