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Board
Dr. Kevin Berman - Director
Peter Everett - Treasurer
Paul Flesher - Director
Dr. Grace Iarocci - Past President
Anne Millerd - Director
Alison Narod - Director
Michael Price - President
Dr. Mary Ellen Ross – Director
John Tsang - Secretary
Staff
Judy Agnew - Accountant
Hugo Chan - Information Officer
Simon Ladell - Website/Marketing Officer
Bruce Liu - Technology Support Officer
Sheree Loft - Information Officer
Lianne Naguiat - Information Officer/Administrative Support
Deborah Pugh - Director of Research and Training
Helen Rutzen - Receptionist and Administrative Support
Clair Schuman - Executive Director
Ria Zapf - Event Planner
Board
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 daughters, a five year old with Autism Spectrum Disorder and a three year old who has just started pre-school.
Peter Everett - Treasurer is a Chartered Accountant and Information Systems professional. He is the President of PDE Holdings Ltd and lives in West Vancouver with his family.
Paul Flesher - Director is a Certified General Accountant who lives in Richmond. He is the parent of a young son with autism. He is a dedicated volunteer and serves as Treasurer on the Board of the Richmond Association for Community Living.
Dr. Grace Iarocci - Past President is an Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology at Simon Fraser University and is interested in the study of cognitive and social development among children with autism and other developmental disabilities. Her research on persons with autism is generally focused on the development of aspects of cognition, attention, and perception and funded the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). In addition to her research activities, she also collaborates with community agencies to provide training opportunities for professionals and parents and improve overall service delivery to families coping with autism and other developmental disabilities Dr. Iarocci is a faculty member of the Canadian Institutes for Health Research Autism Research Training Program designed to train outstanding researchers in autism.
Anne Millerd - Director 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 non-profit sector developing and implementing educational programs for children. In addition, she worked in public relations which involved event planning. Anne is a recent member of the ACT Board of Directors where she looks forward to learning more about autism and helping those who advocate for children with ASD.
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 - President lives in Port Moody. He and his wife have three children, including a three year old son with ASD. As the managing director of a cosmetic company for the past 14 years and owner of a real estate company for 12 years, Michael has developed interpersonal, entrepreneurial and business skills that will assist in his role as a director. One of Michael's highest principles is the principle of giving. He is excited with the prospect of helping further advance the mandate of ACT.
Dr. Mary Ellen Ross – Director 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.
John Tsang - Secretary is the parent of a ten-year-old boy with autism. John and his wife immigrated to Canada from Hong Kong and have lived in Vancouver for 34 years. John speaks Cantonese fluently and is competent in Mandarin & Taisanese if required. John participates in various mainstream and Chinese parent groups in Vancouver, Richmond and Burnaby. He has worked for Telus for over 31 years. John enjoys spending time with son and works to help him as much as possible by educating himself about autism.
Staff
Judy Agnew - Accountant - is a Certified General Accountant with training and progressive experience in accounting, systems development, process analysis and project management. She balances her career with raising 4 daughters and volunteering in the community.
Hugo Chan - Information Officer - has a strong background in parent support. A parent of a 12 year old with Asperger's Syndrome, Hugo has worked with and supported other families that have children with an ASD for the past five years as a volunteer. Hugo is also a co-founder of the Canadian-Chinese Autism Association of BC and a former Board Member of the Autism Society of British Columbia. Hugo has a Masters in Business Administration and a degree in computer science. He has also worked as an IT consultant prior to joining act. Hugo continues to volunteer in the community providing advice and support to community members in challenging situations. Hugo speaks Cantonese and Mandarin.
Simon Ladell - Website/Information Officer spent a number of years in marketing and communications in the software industry before moving to the not-for-profit sector as Manager of Information Services at a Information & Referral agency in Ontario. Simon has most recently worked as the Community Education Manager with a not-for-profit agency in Vancouver, and has also worked as a technology consultant specializing in helping BC not-for-profits to take advantage of developments in communications technology. He maintains a secret career writing science fiction.
Bruce Liu - Technology Support Officer– has 8 years experience in the IT sector. He has a degree in Computer Science and rich expertise in network maintainaince, hardware troubleshooting, and software development. He worked as a network administrator for a tourism company prior to joining ACT.
Sheree Loft - Information Officer brings a wealth of experience with students with autism and in family support to her position as an ACT Information Officer. Beginning as a volunteer with Gateway’s Residential Program over a decade ago, Sheree has worked as a special education assistant and has provided behaviour support to students for the Provincial Outreach Program for Autism and Related Disorders as a behaviour technician. Prior to joining ACT, Sheree provided positive behaviour support to clients under the Delta Association for Child Development.
Lianne Naguiat - Information Officer/Administrative Support shares with ACT her experience working with young children with autism and her 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 over 5 years experience working as a behavior interventionist and providing support to children with autism. She has returned to work at ACT, after moving to California and gaining valuable work experience providing behaviour consultation to children with ASD. Lianne is also fluent in Tagalog.
Deborah Pugh - Director of Research and Training spent 14 years working in Europe and the Middle East as a journalist for the BBC and the Guardian before returning to Vancouver in 1994. For the past 10 years Deborah has been active in the autism community in British Columbia, first as a board member of the Autism Society of British Columbia, then as its Program Director and finally as its Executive Director. Deborah has a teenage son with autism. During her time at ASBC, Deborah represented the society on the Autism Council of British Columbia and was the principal writer on the "Crisis in Services for People with Autism in British Columbia", a brief issued by the Council in 1998. In addition, she authored a number of reports published by ASBC highlighting the systemic failures leading to poor outcomes for children and adults with ASD in BC. Following her resignation from the Autism Society in January 2001, Deborah completed a certificate in fundraising management at BCIT. In May 2003, with the support of parents and professionals from around BC, Deborah founded ACT-Autism Community Training. Deborah has a BA from McGill University and M.A. in Political Economy from the School of Oriental and African Studies, London University, UK.
Helen Rutzen - Receptionist and Administrative Support 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.
Clair Schuman - Executive Director has worked for over 20 years in the area of special needs for both government and not-for-profit agencies and is a professional social worker in the field of developmental disabilities. She has been a volunteer advocate for families with children with disabilities for the past nine years. Clair has extensive experience as a workshop presenter on education issues and is recognized for her commitment to training families in the advocacy skills they require to ensure that their children are receiving the supports they need. Prior to her recent appointment as Executive Director of ACT - Autism Community Training Society, Clair was the Provincial Coordinator for Education and Family Support for the British Columbia Association for Community Living. She is the former Director of Programs and Services for the Autism Society of British Columbia. Clair is the parent of a teenage son with an Autism Spectrum Disorder. She has been the volunteer facilitator for the Tri-Cities Autism Community Group since 1999 and has served on SD 43 Superintendent’s Student Services Advisory Committee for 7 years. Clair has degrees in Social Work and Psychology.
Ria Zapf - Event Planner has worked with a variety of educational groups and community organizations as a Project Manager and Community TV Producer. She has coordinated workshops, information meetings and special events for corporate and volunteer organizations. Prior to joining ACT, Ria worked at Simon Fraser University in the Faculty of Education where she was involved in early and adolescent literacy networks, facilitated year-long study programs for Greenland teachers, and organized First Nations cultural sharing opportunities with inner city schools. As Program Director of West Coast Cablevision, Ria produced programs of a topical nature such as right to life, legalization of prostitution, recycling and transportation. Ria enjoys bringing people together, sharing ideas and involving others whenever possible. She has a BA in Communications &Sociology from SFU and considers herself a life-long learner. Ria has two children, both of whom are studying at university.
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