Our Board of Directors is comprised of our community’s leaders dedicated to making a difference in healthcare.
The Victoria Hospitals Foundation is grateful to have an inspired and engaged Board of Directors. Their dedication, expertise, and commitment to helping our organization are deeply inspiring. Every Board member has a unique reason why they are compelled to support and to serve with us. Browse their bios to learn more about this important group within the Victoria Hospitals Foundation team.
“Our Board of Directors contributes wisdom and experience to ensure we are accountable, transparent, and prudent financial stewards of the gifts we receive. We have deep appreciation for the thousands of people who pull together to transform healthcare on Vancouver Island.”
– Steve McKerrell, Board Chair, Victoria Hospitals Foundation
Officers
Steve McKerrell, Chair
Steve McKerrell
Chair
Steve McKerrell spent more than 20 years as Executive Chairman of one of Canada’s leading health supplement companies, following a career in the remote sensing industry, and is currently involved in the development of personal electronic healthcare devices.
Mr. McKerrell is a recipient of The Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteers, having served his community as a volunteer on numerous boards and committees over the past 3 decades. In 2014, Steve completed eight years with the Victoria Foundation including two years as Board Chair. He currently also serves on the boards of the United Way Greater Victoria, and as chair of the Foundation for the Victoria Symphony.
Mr. McKerrell has lived in Victoria since 1990 with his wife Barbara. He has two adult daughters, Tricia in Calgary and Dianne in Victoria.
He joined the Victoria Hospitals Foundation Board of Directors in 2015.
Tom Siemens, Vice Chair
Tom Siemens
Vice Chair
Mr. Siemens joined RBC Royal Bank in 1982 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. His career has encompassed roles across a broad range of disciplines and customer bases, in a wide variety of locales, including Winnipeg, Calgary, Toronto, Saskatoon and Victoria.
Mr. Siemens has served on the Campaign Cabinets of the Greater Victoria Hospitals Foundation and the Strategic Advisory Committee for Ballet Victoria. He has been involved with both the United Way and Junior Achievement throughout his career and was Chair of the United Way of Greater Victoria’s 2006 Campaign. He served as Past-Chair on the 2007 United Way Campaign, and as a Member-at-large for the 2008 and 2009 Campaigns. More recently, Mr. Siemens served as a member of the Camosun College Board of Governors, serving as Chair of the Finance & Audit Committees, and as a member of the Board of Advisors, Faculty of Business, University of Victoria. He is currently on the Board of Directors of Pacific Opera Victoria, serving as Treasurer, and is a member of the Greater Victoria Advisory Board of The Salvation Army, and the Catholic Foundation of Vancouver Island.
Mr. Siemens holds an MBA from the University of Manitoba, together with designations from the Institute of Canadian Bankers (ICB) and the Canadian Securities Institute (CSI). Mr. Siemens resides in Victoria with his wife and they have three adult children.
He joined the Victoria Hospitals Foundation Board of Directors in 2018.
Donnie Wing, Treasurer
Donnie Wing
Treasurer
Mr. Wing is a seasoned executive with extensive knowledge in insurance, investments, finance, strategy, policy, privacy and government relations. He was CEO of Healthcare Benefit Trust for five years and also served on their Board of Trustees. He also served as a member of the ICBC executive team for 12 years and as a Senior Policy Advisor and Acting Director for the Province of B.C.’s Crown Corporations Secretariat.
Donnie has given back to the community serving on the board for S.U.C.C.E.S.S., one of the largest social service agencies in B.C., for five years in various capacities, most recently in the role of Chair of the Board. Known for his collaborative working style Donnie is also very familiar with the Victoria community and pleased to join the board of the Victoria Hospitals Foundation.
He joined the Victoria Hospitals Foundation Board of Directors in 2018.
Marcia McNeil, Secretary
Marcia McNeil
Secretary
Marcia McNeil is a partner with boutique law firm Sheen Arnold McNeil and has practiced in the areas of labour, employment and human rights law for more than 25 years.
Representing clients in the private and public sectors, Ms. McNeil has appeared before British Columbia’s Supreme Court and Court of Appeal, as well as before administrative tribunals, including the provincial and federal Human Rights Tribunal, labour arbitrators and the BC Labour Relations Board.
Ms. McNeil has been recognized annually in Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory in employment law since 2012. She was the Chair of the BC Industry Training Appeal Board and the Vice-Chair of the Community Care and Assisted Living Appeal Board of British Columbia. She was also a sessional lecturer in Employment Law at the University of Victoria in 2013.
She joined the Victoria Hospitals Foundation Board of Directors in 2015.
Announcement
We are sad to share news of the passing of Bruce Dyck. He served on our board of directors from 2013 to 2019, including a term from 2017 to 2018 as Chair. He was also our current Board Chair for American Friends of the Victoria Hospitals Foundation. We are so deeply grateful for his leadership. Our Foundation and our community owe him so much. On behalf of the Victoria Hospitals Foundation team, our heartfelt condolences to his family and friends.
Members
Dr. Elin Bjarnason
Dr. Elin Bjarnason
In the role of Vice President – Clinical Service Delivery, Dr. Elin Bjarnason oversees all aspects of clinical operations and is responsible for establishing, developing and operationalizing an effective integrated care delivery model across Island Health. Working in partnership with the VP – Priority Populations & Priority Initiatives and the VP – Medicine, Quality and Academic Affairs, Elin provides leadership for the implementation of strategic initiatives and ensures operational plans are carried out to provide efficient and effective delivery of health care services across Island Health.
Elin came to Island Health in 1986 from Winnipeg, Manitoba, and has over 30 years of health-care clinical and leadership experience. Prior to this position, Elin’s previous roles included Interim VP – People & Experience, Interim Executive VP – Quality, Safety and Experience, Executive Director for Integrated Health Services (Geography 4), as well as a number of executive director and director roles of operational and quality programs and site administration roles at Island Health. Throughout her leadership career she has been a keen advocate for improvement at the local and system-wide levels.
A continual learner, Elin has a degree in physiotherapy, is a licensed Doctor of Chinese Medicine, and in 2014 obtained her Executive Masters in Business Administration specializing in Healthcare. Her strengths are her passion for patients as partners in care, her extensive cross-continuum experience, well-honed systems thinking perspective, and a solid track record of bringing diverse shareholders together to effectively deliver on strategic priorities.
She joined the Victoria Hospitals Foundation Board of Directors in 2018.
Wendy Everson
Prior to entering law school, Wendy worked with Transport Canada and Winnipeg International Airport as a commercial development project manager. Wendy was responsible for development and management of groundside commercial projects and a participant in, and with, the development of an overall marketing plan for the Airport.
Today, Wendy maintains a private legal practice, Everson Law, and provides legal services and advice to clients in the areas of real estate, development, business law, general corporate and commercial law and wills and estate planning. Wendy has a long history of community involvement and has volunteered with a number of organizations and foundations throughout her career, both at the executive level and with general membership. Her past participation includes being an elected member of the Provincial Council of the Canadian Bar Association, Chair of various committees and educational sections of the Canadian Bar Association, President & Director of the Saanich Peninsula Chamber of Commerce, and a past member of the granting committee for the Victoria Foundation. Wendy is currently in her second term as a director of the Victoria Airport Authority.
Wendy obtained her Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Commerce Honours (Finance) degrees from the University of Manitoba, and her Juris Doctor of Laws (J.D.) from the University of Victoria. While attending the University of Victoria, she was awarded the National Trust – Donovan and Maryla Waters Award in Trusts and Estate Planning.
She joined the Victoria Hospitals Foundation Board of Directors in 2019. Wendy is very proud to continue her community engagement with the Victoria Hospitals Foundation.
Ruth Mogensen
Ruth Mogensen
Ruth Mogensen is a retired Human Resources executive with over 20 years’ experience as a leader in human resource management. She has held senior roles with IBM Business Consulting and Price Waterhouse Coopers and has also held human resource positions in the oil and gas industry, post-secondary education and legal sector. Ms. Mogensen is a Master Coach and facilitator and is skilled in succession planning, recruitment and retention strategies, compensation and performance management. She brings a wealth of experience in all aspects of employee relations and holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of British Columbia. She holds a CHRP designation.
She joined the Victoria Hospitals Foundation Board of Directors in 2017.
Brenda Nunns Shoemaker
Brenda Nunns Shoemaker
Brenda Nunns Shoemaker is a retired healthcare executive. She was the Vice President of two teaching hospitals in Ontario, the founding President of the Canadian Association of Pediatric Health Centres and President of the Ottawa General Hospital Foundation. She served for nine years on the Island Health Board of Directors, including several years as Chair of the health quality committee. She was the recipient of the Queens Golden Jubilee medal for voluntary service.
Ms. Nunns Shoemaker has been on several boards at the local and national level, in the fields of education, athletics and health. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Victoria Airport Authority. She was also a consultant and faculty member of the Canadian Patient Safety Institute and the Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement.
She joined the Victoria Hospitals Foundation Board of Directors in 2015.
Alan Winter
Alan Winter
Alan Winter was the President and CEO of Genome British Columbia, the founding President and CEO of the New Media Innovation Centre in Vancouver, the President of the ComDev Space Group in Ontario, and the President and CEO of MPR Teltech Ltd. in Vancouver. Alan has wide experience at senior levels in the technology sector and in government.
Alan is currently a director of Ontario Genomics, Geoscience BC, Oceans Network Canada and a member of UBC’s Research and Innovation Council. In 2007, he received a Leadership Award from Life Sciences BC (LSBC). In 2017, he received the Don Rix Award for Lifetime Achievement from LSBC and the Bill Thompson Lifetime Achievement Award from the BC Technologies Industries Association (BC TIA).
He joined the Victoria Hospitals Foundation Board of Directors in 2017.
Ian Wong
Ian Wong
Ian has worked most of his professional career with the Government of BC focusing on Venture Capital. His most recent position was COO for the BC Tech Fund. He is a Chartered Professional Accountant, Certified Management Accountant and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce (Accounting) and a diploma in Business Administration (Finance).
His volunteer roles have included Board Member and Treasurer of the Victoria Chinatown Care Centre and Co-Chair of the Victoria Chinatown Care Society’s annual fundraising event. At the Victoria Foundation Ian serves on the Board of Directors; was Chair of the Vital Loans Committee; Member of the Finance and Audit Committee; and Member of the Governance and Nominating Committee. Most recently, Ian added Member of the Victoria Hospitals Foundation Finance and Investment Committee to his volunteer commitments.
Ian is a fourth generation Victorian with a great sense of belonging. He and his family enjoy all that Victoria has to offer, and he is committed to giving back to the community.
He joined the Victoria Hospitals Foundation Board of Directors in 2019.
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