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Here’s who’s running for school board in Vancouver this election

Voters will elect nine school board trustees in the 2018 civic election
school board
Voters will elect nine trustees to school board. Photo Dan Toulgoet

Alm, Kelly – Independent

The Eric Hamber secondary graduate is the self-described “study method” or “career preparation” candidate. Alm ran for council in 2002, 2011 and 2014 but this is his first run for school board. The retired realtor who now works as a small business and real estate consultant’s platform includes solid leadership for problem solving, a Grade 8 to 12 study method program, a daycare solution on VSB land, new technology career preparation programs, new revenue sources on VSB land, new teaching techniques, and a new employee services and recruiting program. Alm is also running for council.

Alm, Kelly
Kelly Alm.

Anderson, BK Barbara – IDEA Vancouver

B.K. (Barbara) Anderson worked for the Vancouver School District 39 for more than 17 years as an education coordinator and parent-district liaison helping parents resolve concerns about their schools.  She was also a documentary filmmaker, writer and educator. She has lived in Vancouver for 16 years and taught in Vancouver and Nairobi before joining the school district. Anderson is passionate about safe and healthy learning environments, classroom space for students at their closest schools and restoring fine arts and music programs.

Anderson, BK
BK (Barbara) Anderson.

Arnold, Erin – Vision Vancouver

Arnold is a parent and a professional with experience in counselling, victim services and facilitation. Since 1998 she has worked for various government ministries and has managed multi-year government contracts and assisted in drafting public policy on various progressive issues. She holds a certificate in complex trauma and child sexual abuse intervention, and an under graduate degree in child and youth care counselling. Arnold’s priorities, if elected, include seismically safe schools, investing in ESL, special needs students and other diverse learning needs and making childcare, early learning and adequate provincial funding.

Arnold, Erin
Erin Arnold. Photo Joshua Berson

Ballantyne, Fraser – Non-Partisan Association

An incumbent trustee, Ballantyne was first elected in 2011, and then re-elected in 2014 and 2017. He has 40 years of experience working in education as a trustee, teacher/counsellor, school administrator and as part of the district management team working in ESL, inner city and Aboriginal students in five secondary schools. Ballantyne stands for high-quality educational delivery, strong fiscal responsibility and equal opportunities for all students, and is interested in bringing an increase of community use of school board facilities to meet the demand for youth activities, senior and child care programs, and community learning. Ballantyne was part of the board that was fired en masse in 2016 for not passing a balanced budget.

Ballantyne, Fraser
Fraser Ballantyne.

Baronet, Bruno – Vancouver 1st

Baronet is a small business owner and has lived in Vancouver since 1999. He pulls from a wide range of experience and expertise as a manager, webmaster and technology innovator, as well as from his years working in the film industry. He volunteers helping members of the Lions Club to distribute food bank donations, he is a Block Watch captain and vice-president of his strata. Bilingual in French, Baronet supports expanding the French immersion program. He will look to increase funding by seeking partners to expand after-school programs such as financial literacy, entrepreneurship, technology/coding, French, Mandarin and other languages.

Baronet, Bruno
Bruno Baronet.

Bercic, Carrie – One City

Bercic was OneCity’s first elected trustee in the 2017 byelection. Before being elected, she spent 20 years advocating for public education, volunteering at local schools and fighting on behalf of all students. As a parent and advocate, she saw first-hand how classroom resources were reduced and clawed back. Frustrated, she decided to take action and has attended every board, committee and special school board meeting since 2014, and has been actively involved in the Parent Advocacy Network for Public Education, Families Against Cuts to Education and Friends of the School Library. She is running for re-election to continue the work she started in 2017.

Bercic, Carrie
Carrie Bercic.

Chan-Pedley, Lois – Green Party

As a parent on the city’s East Side, Chan-Pedley sees gaps in the system where vulnerable children and youth could be better supported. She has served as the fundraiser and board chair for the Happy Corner Preschool Society and volunteers for the Eastside Family Place, and has served as treasurer for the Britannia Parent Advisory Committee. When she’s not busy raising her two young children, aged four and six, Chan-Pedley runs a web agency and works with many non-profits and social enterprises in the city. She would push the district to improve on music and arts, food security, outdoor access and a commitment to reconciliation.

Chan-Pedley, Lois
Lois Chan-Pedley.

Cho, Carmen – Non-Partisan Association

Born and raised in Vancouver, Cho began her career in financial services in 1996. She and her husband relocated to Toronto in 2000 where she continued her work in the financial industry training financial advisors before returning to Vancouver in 2013 with their three children. Cho has been a stay-at-home-mom, and has been active on the school PAC at Queen Elizabeth elementary as volunteer co-ordinator and co-chair. Having three children with very different needs, Cho has experienced both challenges and successes in the public school system. She is a strong supporter of public schools and believes that they are the foundation of our communities.

Cho, Carmen
Carmen Cho.

Day, Diana – COPE

Day is an Indigenous woman and Lead Matriarch for the Pacific Association of First Nations Women, and was an executive member of the District Parent Advisory Council for three years. She has an honours degree in psychology and has worked in program development and management at local, regional, provincial and national levels. She has two young adult children, who are both pursuing post-secondary studies. She would lobby ensure all students are provided with a free, nutritious breakfast and lunch, and for the creation of an Indigenous secondary school, as well as develop an action plan to eliminate the achievement gap for vulnerable students.

Day, Diana
Diana Day.

Denike, Ken – Coalition Vancouver

First elected to the school board in 1984 as an NPA trustee, Denike was re-elected in successive elections from 1986 to 2002 and 2005 to 2014, and chaired the board for five terms. He was elected to serve as a director and then chair of the B.C. Public School Employers Association, and represented the K-12 education sector on the government’s Public Sector Employers Council under both the NDP and Liberal governments. Denike successfully lobbied the federal government to have settlement workers for immigrant families in schools in the province. He is a retired member of the Planning Institute of B.C. and the Canadian Institute of Planning.

Denike, Ken
Ken Denike.

Descôteaux, Stéphanie – Vancouver 1st

Descoteaux moved to Vancouver from Quebec in 1998 and fell in love with the West Coast and the city. As a small business owner with a background in accounting, she knows first-hand the value of financial literacy. Descoteaux is a strong advocate for entrepreneurial, anti-bullying and wellness/mental health programs for youth. She believes in the right to quality education and that building better partnerships between the school board, parents and teachers is key to forming trust within the education system. She would also like to see a careful review of the board’s budget and finances, and addressing mental well-being and financial literacy.

Descôteaux, Stéphanie
Stéphanie Descôteaux.

Dong, Tony – Vancouver 1st

Dong is a certified security supervision and management professional and a certified six sigma yellow belt currently working as a manager in the security department at Parq Vancouver where he leads a daily team of 30-plus in-house security officers and supervisors. He has worked as a NCCP certified figure skating coach and a legal assistant. He is currently pursuing a bachelor of arts in criminology at SFU with a police studies certificate. As a security professional, Dong has deep concerns for the safety and security of school children and it is for this reason, and in light of all the recent events in the U.S., he is seeking a seat on school board.

Dong, Tony
Tony Dong.

Farrokhi, Fairnia – Independent

Fairnia Farrokhi is a web developer running for school board as an advocate of technology. She says B.C.’s new curriculum has done an excellent job of recognizing that technology has had a great impact on an incredibly wide range of industries. According to Farrokhi, the number of careers that now require some technological knowledge is astronomical — it is our responsibility to ensure Vancouver’s students are prepared for this. Teachers could use support in finding fun, interactive ways to introduce programming foundations into their classrooms. What better place to push for technology than Vancouver, Canada’s emerging tech-hub? If elected, she would ensure that teachers are provided with the proper resources needed in order to prepare their students for the required technological skills the future demands.

Farrokhi, Fairnia
Fairnia Farrokhi.

Fraser, Janet – Green Party

First elected in 2014 and again in the 2017 byelection, Fraser is the current school board chair. Born and educated in the UK, she has bachelor of science and PhD degrees in chemistry from the University of Bristol. Since moving to Vancouver, she has worked as a scientist, project manager, at-home parent and program administrator. She lives in Marpole and served on PAC executives for 10 years. She has three teenaged children, two are in public school and one attends UNBC. Fraser was part of the board that was fired en masse in 2016 for not passing a balanced budget.

Fraser, Janet
Janet Fraser.

Gill, Pratpal Kaur – Vancouver 1st

Gill is an advocate for the empowerment of children and has a passion for new ideas which led her to organize the first-ever Kids Camp Expo in Vancouver in 2012 where parents could learn about local summer camps. She also designed and piloted an after-school leadership program, The Empowerment Playground, for high school girls. Gill has bachelor and master’s degrees in business commerce and health administration from UBC as well as a leadership certificate from Royal Roads University. She has worked for the federal government as a benefits administrator for Service Canada and in a similar role with working with at-risk and homeless populations for the provincial Ministry of Social Development and Social Innovation.

Gill, Pratpal Kaur
Pratpal Kaur Gill.

Gonzalez, Estrellita – Green Party

A small business owner, author and wellness educator, Gonzalez was first elected in the 2017 byelection. She has a bachelor of business administration and 20 years of senior management and corporate experience. She currently works as a wellness, HR and marketing consultant and in 2012 launched Derma Bright Clinic, later Holistica Wellness, a Vancouver-based wellness centre. She is also a parent to a Grade 10 student at Eric Hamber secondary.

Gonzalez, Estrellita
Estrellita Gonzalez.

Goodine, Nadine C – Coalition Vancouver

Goodine and her husband moved back to Vancouver eight years ago after living in Asia and Australia for seven years. They have three children, two in elementary school and one who just started high school at Lord Byng secondary. Goodine made the decision to run for school board after serving as chair of the PAC at her sons’ school and realizing she wanted to be more involved in decisions and developments within the school system. She has 20 years of experience in marketing and relationship management working with small and medium businesses both locally and internationally, and has experience in business development, program management, event management, and planning and sales.

Goodine, Nadine C
Nadine C Goodine.

Hanson, Oliver – Non-Partisan Association

Born and raised on the North Shore, Hanson obtained a bachelor of arts degree in criminology from SFU and a bachelor of law from the University of Alberta before returning to Vancouver in 2010 to raise his young family. Since then he worked for one of B.C.’s largest regional law firms before co-founding his own firm in 2014. His platform includes expediting capital construction and seismic upgrades of school facilities and expanding Reading Recovery and literacy programs. Hanson currently lives in the Fraserhood area where he spends his free time volunteering with the South Vancouver Little League as an assistant coach and chasing after his three energetic children.

Hanson, Oliver
Oliver Hanson.

Jaaf, Erica – OneCity

Jaaf has lived in Vancouver for the past 21 years and now calls Champlain Heights home. She has two elementary school-aged children with her husband. She has a political science degree from the University of Guelph and has been politically active her whole life — in the environmental movement, the anti-war movement and solidarity work with Palestine. She is an active member of her housing co-operative and has been a member of her local Parent Advisory Council, the District PAC and was a member of the Parent Advocacy Network for Public Education.

Jaaf, Erica
Erica Jaaf.

Kennedy, Gordon T – Independent

Kennedy has lived in Vancouver’s West End since 1989 and has 23 years of experience as a federal government officer and 10 years-experience in management in the hospitality industry. Since 2003 he has taught at BCIT and more recently Langara College. His priorities, if elected, include an effective use of assets, prudent expenditures and an efficient use of revenue. Kennedy is also running for council.

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Kindrid, Tiffiny – ProVancouver

Kindrid is a third generation Vancouverite, now raising the fourth generation of her family in the city. She balances a family of two children, one in elementary school and one who recently graduated from high school, with her role as income equality and treasurer for her child’s school PAC and volunteering for school activities. She is advocating for efficient catchment areas to allow students to attend the most accessible school and ensuring clean, updating the curriculum to prepare children for 21st century technology and lead-free drinking water.

Kindrid, Tiffiny
Tiffiny Kindrid.

Lee, Marco – Vancouver 1st

Born and raised in South Vancouver, Lee has been involved in the development of local youths for the past seven years. He is a firm believer in the empowerment of youths. Lee’s priorities include safe schools, more funding and a financial skills program.

Lee, Marco
Marco Lee.

Leung, Aaron – Vision Vancouver

For the past three years, Leung has served as a member of the City of Vancouver’s Children, Youth and Families advisory committee — the 21-person committee has members ranging in age from seven to 75 and advises city council on matters related to children, youth and families. Leung is currently the committee’s chair. In 2014, he received the city’s Greenest City Leadership Award for his work supporting students on sustainability-related issues at Vancouver School Board and co-founded the VSB Sustainability Conference.

Leung, Aaron
Aaron Leung. Photo Joshua Berson

 

Mrs Doubtfire – Independent

No information provided.

Photo not provided.
Photo not provided.

Oger, Morgane – Independent

Raised in France, the U.S. and Vancouver, Oger has served as chair of the Vancouver District PAC, on the City of Vancouver’s LGBTQ2+ Advisory Committees and on a number of other not-for-profit boards. She runs an IT consulting company focused on app security and performance and founded the Morgane Oger Foundation to improve Canadian human rights laws. Oger co-parents her two children, who attend Vancouver public schools. In 2017 she ran as the B.C. NDP candidate in Vancouver-False Creek narrowly losing to the Liberal’s Sam Sullivan. Oger is also vice-president of the party but is on leave during the election campaign. She was awarded the Shakti Trailblazer award in 2018 and the Kimberly Nixon Pride Legacy Award for Transgender Activism in 2016.

Oger, Morgane
Morgane Oger.

Parrott, Barb – COPE

Parrott is past president, and honorary life member, of the Vancouver Elementary School Teachers’ Association and the B.C. Teachers’ Federation. She has bachelor and master’s degrees in education from UBC and worked as a Reading Recovery teacher, resource teacher and classroom teacher (retired). She is a recipient of the GA Fergusson Memorial Award, which is handed out by the BCTF for outstanding contributions to public education, and was a member of the living wage committee.

Parrott, Barb
Barb Parrott.

Prieto, Julian – YES Vancouver

Prieto was born in Colombia and grew up in Vancouver. He holds a master’s of science in mathematics from Oxford University and pursued education policy as a member of the governing council at the University of Toronto. He has served as an adviser to former mayor Sam Sullivan and at Citizenship and Immigration Canada. He is fluent in English, Mandarin, French and Spanish. Prieto ran for school board with the NPA in the 2017 byelection.

Prieto, Julian
Julian Prieto.

Qiu, Chris – Non-Partisan Association

Qiu has more than 15 years of professional experience working as a legal analyst, accountant and commercial insurance claims assistant in one of the world’s largest commercial insurance brokerage firms. She is vice-chair of the Sir Winston Churchill parent advisory council and a mother of three with one child in high school and two in elementary school. On top of working and raising a family, Qiu volunteers as a scout leader at Scouts Canada. She has volunteered with the Canadian Cancer Society since 2011 and was an area captain for the society’s 2018 door-to-door fundraising campaign.

Qui, Chris
Chris Qui.

Reddy, Jennifer – OneCity

A child of immigrants who moved to Canada from Fiji, Reddy grew up in the East Kootenays and developed an interest in politics and policy from a young age. She holds a master’s degree in social policy and development from the London School of Economics, a bachelors in development studies from the University of Calgary and a certificate in curriculum development and instructional design from Mount Royal University. Reddy has worked at schools throughout the city with students facing a variety of challenges. She is one of the founders of EdMeCo, an organization that uses mentorship programs to help student reach their educational goals.

Reddy, Jennifer
Jennifer Reddy.

Richardson, Christopher JK – Non-Partisan Association

Richardson was first elected to school board in 2014 and served until 2016 when the board was fired en masse for not passing a balanced budget. Before that, he served three terms on park board. He is a chartered professional accountant and specializes in providing charitable gift planning services to donors and their advisors. Richardson has served as a special municipal constable with the Vancouver Police Department since 1973, volunteering as a reserve constable until 1999 when the program transitioned to the traffic authority.  He was awarded a Queen’s Diamond Jubilee medal in 2012.

Richardson, Christopher
Christopher JK Richardson.

Wong, Allan – Vision Vancouver

Wong was first elected to the board in 1999 and has been re-elected in each subsequent election since. He was on the board in 2016 when the trustees were fired en masse for not passing a balanced budget. A graduate of UBC’s multicultural teacher education program, Wong taught in Vancouver-area public schools for five years before beginning a career with Telus, where he was worked for more than 25 years. During his time on school board he served as chair of the planning and facilities committee that initiated seismic upgrades to the city’s schools.

Wong, Allan
Allan Wong. Photo Joshua Berson

Woo, Sophia – Coalition Vancouver

Woo moved to Vancouver from Hong Kong to 1978 to attend secondary school. She graduated from Simon Fraser University and went on to get a master’s degree in social work from Hong Kong University and is a mental health clinician with Vancouver Coastal Health. She was first elected to the board as an NPA trustee in 2011 and served one term.

Woo, Sophia
Sophia Woo.

Zhou, Ying – Coalition Vancouver

Zhou was born in China and moved to Vancouver in 2009. Her work experience includes more than a decade in major financial institutions in China and with RBC Wealth Management in Vancouver. She was elected to the University Neighbourhoods Association five years ago and currently serving as board chair. Zhou has two daughters, one attending UBC and one in elementary school and was co-chair of the parent advisory council of the university transition program from 2013 until 2015. In addition to speaking English and Mandarin, she speaks some Cantonese and French.

Zhou, Ying
Ying Zhou.