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2023 Board of Directors and Nominees

Board Elections and Appointments, Chamber AGM November 24, 2022

As part of our proceedings at the Annual General Meeting on Thursday, November 24, our members elect candidates to join our Board of Directors.

Incorporated under Canada’s Boards of Trade Act, the Chamber could not exist without dedicated and passionate volunteers, giving their time and expertise to serve on our Board of Directors. For more than half a century, scores of local business leaders, non-profit executives, and community champions have skillfully guided our organization to grow and thrive. The board is responsible for strategic, governance, and fiduciary leadership, oversees the Chief Executive Officer, and is accountable to our members.

Past Chairs of our Board of Directors join our Board of Governors, who remain involved and connected with the Chamber in meaningful ways. This year, we welcome Ryan Whittle to this esteemed group. Our sincere thanks as well to Governor Mary Vellani, stepping down from the Board of Directors, having served as immediate Past Chair for 2021-22. We also thank outgoing board members Kelso Kennedy, Ryan Oake, and Belen Welch.

The Board consists of the Chair, Vice-Chair and 10 Directors. In addition, the immediate Past Chair, Chief Executive Officer and the Treasurer of the Chamber are ex-officio members of the Board.

2023 Table Officers (Executive): Motion to Appoint 

jenifer wright

Jenifer Wright
Chair
General Manager
Westwood Plateau Golf Club

Jenifer W Bio

Jenifer wright

Vice-Chair, 2022 Board of Directors
General Manager, Westwood Plateau Golf & Country Club
LinkedIn

Jenifer Wright is the General Manager of Westwood Plateau Golf, a company comprised of two golf course, two restaurants and a second to none banquet facility. Having been with Westwood for 7 years and with over 10+ years in the hospitality and golf industry Jenifer has extensive knowledge of food and beverage as well as golf operations, business development and human resources.

Prior to perusing a career in golf management, Jenifer studied at The Vancouver Art Institute. Earning a diploma of Interior Design Jenifer free-lanced in the industry for two years before returning to her passion for golf. With her love of golf in mind Jenifer started working at Westwood in a Guest Service Desk position and quickly climbed the ranks through roles such as Tournament Coordinator, Assistant Golf Operations Manager and finally General Manager. In her role Jenifer has accomplished such achievements as the creation and implementation of a unique membership program and the continued growth and success of Westwood’s banquet facility with over 110 weddings per year.

Having been an active member of the Tri-Cities Chamber of Commerce since 2014, Jenifer has made Chamber and Community involvement in the Tri-Cities one of her companies’ top goals since becoming General Manager of Westwood in 2015.

Daniel Richardson

Daniel Richardson
Vice-Chair
Managing Partner
BTM Lawyers

Daniel Bio

Daniel Richardson

Director, 2022 Board of Directors
Managing Partner, BTM Lawyers
LinkedIn

Daniel Richardson is a lawyer and managing partner at BTM Lawyers LLP. BTM Lawyers is a full-service law firm located in Port Moody. The firm has serviced Tri-Cities businesses and residents since 1979. BTM Lawyers is a longstanding member of the Chamber of Commerce and is very active in the Tri-Cities community. Since Daniel joined BTM Lawyers in 2010, the firm has nearly tripled in size and is continuing to grow.

Daniel’s practice focuses on personal injury, construction and civil litigation. He cares about his clients and is passionate about providing quality service and obtaining great results. Daniel is also a strong believer in supporting local business and ensuring that the Tri-Cities continues to be Metro Vancouver’s best place to live, work, and play.

In addition to being an owner of one of the Tri-Cities’ largest law firms, Daniel lives in Anmore with his wife, three young children, and dog.

Daniel currently sits on the Board of Directors of the Tri-Cities Chamber of Commerce and is a member of the Chamber’s Government Relations Committee. He is also a member of the B.C. Trial Lawyers Association, the New Westminster Bar Association, and the Business Networking International (BNI Dynamo, of which he is also past president). Daniel previously acted as the Chair of the Board of Directors of KidSport Canada and was a volunteer Big Brother with Big Brothers of Greater Vancouver.

ryan whittle

Ryan Whittle
Past Chair
Partner
Areti LLP

Ryan W Bio

Ryan Whittle, CPA, CA

Chair, 2022 Board of Directors
Partner, Areti LLP
LinkedIn

Ryan Whittle is a CPA, CA and is a partner at Areti LLP. He has a broad level of professional experience. He completed Part 1-3 of the CPA Canada in-Depth Tax Course and acted as a tax manager at Ernst & Young before shifting back to the audit and assurance practice, and is now working with entrepreneurs to define and achieve success.

Ryan has been in public practice for 20 years, providing practical and timely business, tax, and accounting advice to private enterprises and not-for-profit organizations. Specifically, he has significant experience in providing both Review and Audit engagements, succession planning, Canadian tax compliance and facilitating correspondence with the Canada Revenue Agency. His clients cover a wide range of industries including professional services, real estate development and construction, and retail and service sectors with a variety of locally owned/managed businesses, as well as other inbound private companies.

Ryan is actively involved in the community through his directorship with the Tri-Cities Chamber of Commerce, serving on the executive of the board. Ryan previously served as Treasurer for the VRCA U40.

When he’s not working Ryan volunteers his time with the Coquitlam Metro Ford Soccer Club as a coach for two youth soccer teams.

Ryan Gorder

Ryan Gorder
Treasurer
Partner & Business Advisor
MNP

Ryan G Bio

Ryan Gorder, CPA, CA

Treasurer, 2022 Board of Directors
Partner & Business Advisor, MNP
LinkedIn

Ryan Gorder, CPA, CA, is a Partner and Business Advisor with MNP’s Port Moody office located in Newport Village. Ryan has over 13 years of experience providing tax planning, accounting and consulting services to owner managed businesses and non-profits across the lower mainland and British Columbia.

Ryan’s areas of expertise include corporate and individual tax planning, accounting services including reviews and compilations, and consulting with business owners on issues such as shareholder compensation strategies, estate and succession planning, sale of businesses and corporate reorganizations. As a Partner with MNP, Ryan has the resources to advise his clients in a timely manner on emerging issues in an ever changing and increasingly complex tax environment. Ryan takes pride in building strong long-term relationships with his clients to ensure they achieve their current and long-term goals.

Ryan completed a Bachelor of Accounting degree and a Financial Management diploma from BCIT and holds the Chartered Accountant (CA) and Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) designations. Ryan has been a member of the Chamber’s Education Committee and has served as Treasurer since 2021.

Outside of his professional career, Ryan spends lots of time enjoying the outdoors in Whistler and spending time with his wife and two young children.

2023 Board Director Nominees: Five to be Elected/Re-elected 

ChrisChong_200x200

Chris Chong
Owner
Butter Studios

Chris Bio

Chris Chong

Butter Studios


Owner of a successful photo/video studio for the past 15 years servicing local, national and international clients.

Previously, I was a director for a national telecommunications company leading up to 500 employees and gained extensive experience in project and people management and consistently exceeded targets in relation to revenue, productivity and quality.

ReihanehMirjani

Reihaneh Mirjani
Vice President
Immigrant Link Centre Society

Reihaneh Bio

Reihaneh Mirjani

Immigrant Link Centre Society


Reihaneh is a resourceful and reliable professional who has excellent interpersonal skills across all levels including stakeholders and government. She has received her Women Influencers Award from Women's Collaborative hub in 2019 and her society received a Business Excellence Award from the Tri-Cities Chamber of Commerce. She has a BS degree in English literature and working as Vice President in Immigrant link Centre Society and also as a president in Soul Bite Food Inc.

Reihaneh's successful working experience in non-profit organization and in social enterprise business would be a good match for this position.

Pulkit Sharma

Pulkit Sharma
Project Manager
Peter Kiewit Sons ULC

Pulkit Bio

Pulkit Sharma

Peter Kiewit Sons ULC


Pulkit is a Professional Engineer and currently working as a Project Manager with Kiewit, a local contractor with a history of building projects in the Tri-Cities area and an employer to residents of Tri-City region. Pulkit graduated with a master’s degree in Civil Engineering from the University of British Columbia and joined Kiewit soon-thereafter as a Field Engineer.

Pulkit and his family established roots in the Tri-Cities area of Coquitlam to enjoy the beautiful landscape and bountiful parks, Pulkit is an active member of this vibrant, multicultural community. He is also an angel investor and partner of multiple local businesses and encourages business owners to take root and grow within the community.

Pulkit and his wife are pro-actively involved within their community and promotes fellowship by connecting residents to community resources, mentorship and aids international students with career advice and assist assimilating into the community.

Mike Forrest

Mike Forrest
Vice President
Forrest Marine Ltd.

Mike Bio

Mike Forrest

Forrest Marine Ltd.


Mike Forrest is the co-owner (with his brother Ray) of Forrest Marine Ltd, a third generation river oriented family business in Port Coquitlam, with Tugboats, Fishboats, Log Salvage, Water Taxi, Rescue and more.

Forrest Marine has been a member of the Tri-Cities Chamber of Commerce since 1993.

Mike’s past experience includes serving as a member of the Fraser Panel of the Canada/US Pacific Salmon Commission for 19 yrs.

He also served on the Fraser River Port Authority from 1993-1999.

His community spirit and involvement is shown in having served 18 years on Port Coquitlam city council (2000-2018)

Mike and his wife Karen both have third generation POCO roots, and raised their family here.

Mike believes that Chambers of Commerce are not only an integral part of a vibrant community, but also the best venue for business to share their collective voice with Governments in respect of fair regulation and minimizing bureaucracy!

Melda

Melda Okucu
Director of Finance
Community Ventures Society

Melda Bio

Melda Okucu

Community Ventures Society


Melda is the Director of Finance at Community Ventures Society, where she prepares and presents Financials to the Board reporting under Executive Director. She has extensive international experience in Finance, Accounting and Audit, Tax Consulting & Compliance including experience in International Taxes, and Bi-lateral Tax Agreements in large Public Accounting and Consulting Firms. She worked in Canada, Switzerland, Romania and Turkey as “Global Lead” at the Senior Management level, managing major global accounts’ programs.

In the last several years, she took volunteer positions as Treasurer and Chair (Co-chair, Vice-Chair) in the School PACs. Her Bachelor’s is in “Finance and Accounting”; she had higher studies in “Finance and Law”. She holds the “Certified Public Accountant” title in Europe since 2000. She completed “The executive Leadership Program” at University of Oxford, Said Business School in November 2020. She obtained “Human Resources Management Certificate” in July 2022 from SFU. Melda enjoys skiing with her family, travelling, reading and all outdoor activities.

vivien symington

Vivien Symington
Board Chair
Club Aviva

Vivien Bio

Vivien Symington

Director, 2022 Board of Directors
Owner, Club Aviva
LinkedIn

Vivien Symington has 50 years of gymnastics experience and earned BA/BPHE degrees from Queen’s University.

Established in 1986, Club Aviva is a large family-owned and operated gymnastics facility, offering a wide variety of unique programs to promote healthy physical and emotional lifestyles.

In 2002, Vivien invited the Empowering Steps Movement Therapy Program (ESMT), a unique child centre intervention for children and youth with neurodevelopmental disabilities such as autism, cerebral palsy and Down syndrome.

Vivien is an active volunteer with Coquitlam Festival Society (since 1992), Kids Brain Health Network, Gymnastics BC, and Simon Fraser Society. In 2017, she was inducted into the Coquitlam Sports Hall of Fame as a Community Builder and Club Aviva won the best BC Gymnastics Club of the Year.

She believes that society is vital to building a strong sense of community and shared goals. She strives to provide an inclusive centre in Coquitlam offering a safe and nurturing environment to promote the empowerment and health of all participants no matter what their abilities.

MadisonHackman

Madison Hackman
Sales Manager
Sandpiper Signs & Decals

Madison Bio

Madison Hackman

Sandpiper Signs & Decals


Madison Hackman is an experienced leader and mentor, having recruited and trained dozens of employees during his time in retail as a store manager over multiple locations. During this time, he maintained excellent relations with customers all over the Tri-Cities, constantly refining his salesmanship and loyalty to his clients and employees alike.

After shifting his career focus to print and sign-making at Sandpiper Signs & Decals, Madison has excelled at strategizing his team’s short and long-term goals - all while fulfilling his company values of Trust, Quality and Respect.

Madison has dedicated these past few years to supporting local, sponsoring charitable causes and ensuring that the Tri-Cities continues to thrive and grow.

BARRIE

Barrie Seaton
Realtor
Evergreen West Realty

Barrie Bio

Barrie Seaton

Evergreen West Realty


I entered the real estate industry in 1995 after 25 years in the automobile industry at various levels, from dealership business partner to representing the manufactures at BMW and Nissan Canada.

I joined the Tri-Cities Chamber in 1997 and have held various positions including Chair in 2009-2010 and have been a member of many committees during my time as an active Chamber member.

Since establishing my real estate practice, I am consistently one of the top producers at my brokerage, and currently am achieving a 72% repeat client and referral business. I was recently awarded the Master Diamond Award of Achievement from Evergreen West Realty for 2021. I am a member of the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver's Medallion Club, that recognizes the top 10% of Realtors(R) and was awarded the Realtor Community Award in 2005.

I have been a member of various planning committees with the City of Coquitlam over the last number of years and was the Charter President of the Rotary Club of Port Coquitlam.

2023 Continuing Board Directors: 2nd Year of Term

adel gamar

Adel Gamar
Director
CEO & Co-Founder
GLG Ltd.

K Millar

Kathryn Millar
Director
Partner
Indigenous Worx

ryan jamieson

Ryan Jamieson
Director
Director, Services & Facilities
Coquitlam Public Library

vineet verghese

Vineet Verghese
Director
Vice President
Commercial Financial Services, RBC

jennifer mckinnon

Jennifer McKinnon
Director
Employment Engagement
& Culture Specialist
Creating Culture & Downtown Port Coquitlam BIA

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