Board & Staff
Board
Mike Craig - President
Anne Millerd - Past President
Dr. Mary Ellen Ross - Vice President
Anne McCaw - Secretary
Chris Duff - Treasurer
Peter Everett - Director
Dr. Kevin Berman - Director
Joy Bischoff - Director
Helga Marshall - Director
Alison Narod - Director
Michael Price - Director
Staff
Louise Broadley - Manager of Autism Information Services
Stephanie Frey - Information Officer/ Administrative Support
Anjela Godber - Information Officer
Jan Gronlund - Accountant
Christine Hung - Information Officer
Dominic Linder - Website / Marketing Officer
Lianne Naguiat - Information Officer / Administrative Support
Deborah Pugh - Executive Director
Helen Rutzen - Receptionist and Administrative Support
Amy Severson - Manager of Training
Vivian Walker - Information Assistant / Event Planner
Board
Mike Craig - President lives in Vancouver and is Director of Underwriting – West for Export Development Canada, a federal crown corporation. He has previously served on a number of not-for-profit boards in Ontario. Michael has an adult brother with an Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Anne Millerd - Past President is the mother of four children; one of her sons has ASD. She has several years experience teaching elementary school on the North Shore. Anne has also worked in the not-for-profit sector developing and implementing educational programs for children. In addition, she worked in public relations which involved event planning.
Dr. Mary Ellen Ross - Vice President lives in Victoria and is the mother of two sons, both of whom have ASD. After obtaining graduate degrees in Paris and Toronto, she worked from 1989 to 2007 teaching French language and literature at the University of Victoria, but is now enjoying a very early retirement. Her time these days is divided between working with her sons, and autism-related advocacy and volunteerism. She is the founder of Autism Saanich, a parent support group for families of children with ASD in School District 63.
Anne McCaw - Secretary is the former Director of Simon Fraser University's Meeting, Event and Conference Services. Previously she was with the Vancouver Board of Trade. One of her children has Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Chris Duff - Treasurer is a Professor Emeritus with Royal Roads University. He had a teaching career spanning more than twenty years and has been a chartered accountant for more than 35 years. In recent years he has been an active health care researcher in Metro Vancouver. He has published in several professional journals in Canada including CMA Management and has contributed to two text books. Now semi retired, Chris continues to pursue his research into the Canadian health care system. Chris lives with his wife in Port Moody.
Peter Everett - Director is a Chartered Accountant and Information Systems professional with over 25 years of management consulting and financial audit experience. Peter has lived and worked in New York and Vancouver providing a wide range of consulting services to industry leading organizations throughout North America and Europe. He is now Director, APT International Business Sciences Inc. and lives in West Vancouver with his family.
Dr. Kevin Berman - Director graduated from Queen's University in medicine in 1988 and trained at St. Paul's Hospital, VGH and UBC. He has worked in geriatric mental health for 12 years at Riverview Hospital as well as in Vancouver and Maple Ridge where he does home and nursing home assessments, concentrating on patients with dementia, schizophrenia and depression. He was a staff physician at the Maples Adolescent Treatment Centre for 10 years and is on the teaching faculty in the Department of Psychiatry at UBC. Dr. Berman has two young daughters, one of whom has ASD.
Joy Bischoff - Director is an arbitrator/mediator/investigator and lives in Coquitlam. Joy has extensive background and experience in Human Resources, Labour Relations, Employment Standards, Human Rights and Conflict Resolution. Ms. Bischoff is a current member and past executive member of the British Columbia Industrial Relations Association and is a member of numerous professional organizations including Family Mediation Canada.
Helga Marshall MSN, RN - Director is a nursing educator in the undergraduate program at the UBC School of Nursing, with a focus on care of the adult/older adult in a variety of settings. She has been teaching nursing for 35 years with much of the last 23 years being at UBC. She contributes her nursing experience in the health care system to ACT. She currently lives in Vancouver with her family.
Alison Narod - Director is a lawyer and lives in Vancouver. She is a partner in the Vancouver law firm, FARRIS, VAUGHAN, WILLS & MURPHY. Alison practices in the areas of labour, employment, human rights, workers compensation and administrative law. She is a former member of the Board of Directors of the Autism Society of British Columbia.
Michael Price - Past President lives in Port Moody. He and his wife have three children, including a young son with ASD. He has been the managing director of a cosmetic company for the past 14 years and owner of a real estate company for over a decade. One of Michael's highest principles is the principle of giving. He is committed to helping further advance the mandate of ACT.
Staff
Louise Broadley - Manager of Autism Information Services - has over 13 years experience in libraries and information settings and brings a wide range of knowledge to the development and management of information programs and services. Louise also has first hand experience with a number of issues related to children with special needs, particularly school-aged children. Louise has a Bachelor of Fine Arts and Master of Library and Information Studies from the University of British Columbia and recently completed a Diploma in Applied Project Management (Simon Fraser University). She is the proud mother of an energetic and athletic teenager.
Stephanie Frey – Information Officer/ Administrative Support - (on leave) - has two children on the Autism Spectrum and has worked as a behavior interventionist for many years, as well as home schooling her own children. Stephanie has a special interest in mental health issues and the process of transitioning to adulthood.
Anjela Godber - Information & Community Outreach Officer - has a BA with a focus in Developmental and Educational Psychology. She has previously worked as a Behavioural Interventionist for over 8 years, managed Kindercare and Out of School Care programs, and was the Administrative Coordinator for Family Centred Practices Group. Anjela has recently completed a diploma in Urban/Rural Community Planning with a focus on Social Planning issues. This diploma has given her the opportunity to work in a variety of Community Outreach areas such as the provision of daycare services, community programs for people with special needs, affordable housing and sustainable transportation.
Jan Gronlund - Accountant - is a Certified General Accountant with over 10 years of experience and training in the not for profit sector. Originally from Norway, Jan has lived most of his life in the Lower Mainland. He has a B.A. in Mathematics from UBC and a Business Diploma from BCIT. Jan is married and has a nineteen year old son. In his spare time, you may find him blazing down the runs at Whistler, cycling out to Horseshoe Bay, trying to avoid defeat at the Kerrisdale Chess Club or watching anime at home. Also, he regularly/ dutifully updates his wife's quilting and baking blog.
Christine Hung - Information Officer - has a bachelor's degree in Finance and Real Estate from the University of Missouri. Christine entered the autism world in 2005 when her daughter was diagnosed at the age of 2 1/2. Since then, she has completed the Behavioral Interventionist fundamental course at Douglas College, and has joined ACT as an Information Officer. Christine is fluent in Mandarin and understands Cantonese.
Dominic Linder - Website / Marketing Officer - graduated from Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, BC with a diploma in Digital Art & Design and an Associate of Arts degree. He has experience in web design, marketing and technical support and is enthusiastic about sharing his skills and knowledge with ACT. Fun fact: Dominic was the first to marry and have a child while employed at ACT.
Lianne Naguiat - Information Officer / Administrative Support - (on leave) - has experience working with young children with autism and a passion for helping these children and their families. Lianne completed her undergraduate degree at Simon Fraser University, with a joint major in Psychology and Business Administration. She has experience working as a behavior interventionist and as a behaviour consultant. Lianne is fluent in Tagalog.
Deborah Pugh - Executive Director - worked as a radio producer and a journalist in Europe and the Middle East for the BBC and The Guardian before returning to Vancouver in 1994. Since then, Deborah has been active in the autism community, serving as a board member, Program Director and Executive Director of the Autism Society of British Columbia. In 2003, with the support of parents and professionals from around BC, Deborah founded ACT. Deborah has a BA from McGill University, a M.A. in Political Economy from SOAS, London University, UK, and a certificate in fundraising management from BCIT. Deborah has a teenage son with autism.
Helen Rutzen - Receptionist and Administrative Support - (on leave) - has over 14 years of office experience. She is a parent in a blended family with 4 children. Helen lives in the Tri-City area and has a family member diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Amy Severson - Manager of Training - has an MA in Distributed Learning (adult online education) and a BA in Communications. She has experience in managing educational technology training and implementation, teaching online facilitation and implementation for user experience. Previously, she worked at SFU as an Instructional Designer.
Vivian Walker - Information Assistant / Event Planner - Vivian has almost 20 years of library experience in academic, medical, public and school libraries. She holds a diploma in Library Techniques from Seneca College in Toronto and a BA in English from UBC. Her passion is information literacy and she is currently completing a library technician post diploma certificate from UFV. Vivian has two adult sons, and after having lived all over North America, is happy to be "home" again, living in Vancouver.
