logo

Board of Governors

Vancouver Community College is a public post-secondary education institution. The Board of Governors administers the college, on behalf of the government of British Columbia and the Ministry of Advanced Education, Skills and Training (AEST) and determines policy and reviews the college's performance as detailed in the College and Institute Act, Part 4, Section 19.

Members of the Board

Updated September 3, 2019

Joey Hartman ‌ Joey Hartman, Chair

Appointed Member Term: July 31, 2018 to July 31, 2020

Joey Hartman retired as President of the Vancouver & District Labour Council in February 2018.  She is recognized as a community and social justice activist and serves on a number of boards including the Council of Canadians, BC Labour Heritage Centre, Pacific Northwest Labour History Association and is a member of the Metro Vancouver Alliance. She holds a Certificate in Early Childhood Education from Capilano College.

 

Ajay Patel, Interim President & CEO     Ex-Officio

Mr. Patel was appointed Interim President, Vancouver Community College on September 3, 2019.  He has held position of VP, Enterprise and International Development since May 2019. He came to VCC with 15 years’ of nonprofit experience in amateur sport and recreation sector.  Additionally, he has 17 years of post-secondary experience, where he rose through the ranks in several positions, from an instructor to the VP, External Development. In the VP role, Ajay provided strategic leadership, and contributed to the development of community relations and partnerships that supported the college's vision and priorities. Raised in Vancouver, he is a longtime eastside resident, and the product of the college system. Ajay holds a Master of Human Kinetics, Coaching Sciences, from the University of British Columbia.

 

Libby Davies, Vice Chair    Appointed Member    Term:  July 31, 2018 to July 31, 2021

Libby Davies was a Member of Parliament for Vancouver East from 1997 – 2015. During that time she served as House Leader, Deputy Leader (2007-2015), and Official Opposition Spokesperson for Health. Ms. Davies is invited as a guest lecturer on a variety of topics related to government, situation related to drugs and HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis.

 

Elle Ting, Education Council Chair    Ex Officio Member   Term:  December 31, 2018 to December 31, 2019

Elle Ting joined the Board of Governors on January 1, 2019 as the elected Chair of the Education Council.  Elle joined VCC as an English instructor in 2004 and was department head of Humanities for four years before becoming an Instructional Associate with the Centre of Teaching, Learning, and Research in 2015.  An erstwhile career student, she completed a B.A. and an M.A. in English (UBC), a B.Ed. in Secondary English Instruction (UBC), and a Ph.D. in Media Studies (UWO). She has chaired VCC's Research Ethics Board (REB) since 2015.

 

Chloe Lau    Appointed Member  Term:  October 31, 2014 to July 31, 2020

Chloe Lau was appointed to the Board in October 2014.  Ms. Lau is currently the Controller for Article, a digitally native furniture company which focuses on making the customer experience simple and easy.  She is a Chartered Accountant, and earned her Bachelor of Commerce degree at the University of British Columbia. Chloe articled with KPMG LLP where she led audit engagements for public corporations in the industrial and technology sectors. She brings to the VCC Board significant experience in financial reporting and internal controls.

 

‌Mahin Rashid   Appointed Member   Term:  July 31, 2018 to July 31, 2021

Mahin Rashid is an Accessibility and Inclusion consultant for the President’s Group, a network for business leaders working to improve employment outcomes for people with disabilities in BC. She was previously a Director with the United Way. Ms. Rashid is an active community volunteer working with Big Sisters of Canada (Big Sister), Friends of the Vancouver Public Library (Board member) and the Vancouver Foundation (Grants Committee member). She holds a Bachelor of Arts from Simon Fraser University.

 

Mike Tourigny    Appointed Member  Term:  September 21, 2015 to July 31, 2020

Mike Tourigny practiced law in Vancouver as a corporate commercial litigator for over 30 years.  He holds a Bachelor of Law and Bachelor of Commerce from the University of BC and was an active member of the BC Law Society Pro Bono legal advice program.

Mike worked with a major Canadian law firm, which through mergers became Lang Michener LLP in 1989 and latterly McMillan LLP in 2011.  Over the years Mike acted as counsel in numerous complex commercial disputes involving corporate governance matters.  During his tenure as a partner Mike spent over 10 years on the management committee of the Vancouver office of the partnership,  including 6 years as managing partner of the western division of Lang Michener LLP. 


Nadia Belokopitov   Appointed Member  Term: July 31, 2018 to July 31, 2020 

Nadia Belokopitov is a status member of the Haida Nation, House of Yuuglaanas, Raven Clan. She is the owner of the Cedar Root Gallery, the only 100% owned and operated Indigenous retail store in Vancouver. Ms. Belokopitov was previously a Federal negotiator with Indian and Northern Affairs Canada and is an activist with the Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women’s Inquiry. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Toronto and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of British Columbia. Nadia was the proud recipient of the 2019 Arbor Award from University of Toronto recognizing her dedication to enhancing the experience of its students.

 

Rene-John Nicolas    Appointed Member  Term: December 31, 2017 to July 31, 2021

Rene-John is currently an advocacy staff representative for the BC Government & Service Employees' Union. In the past, he was a labour relations staff representative for the Federation of Post-Secondary Educators, an articled student, and an associate lawyer for Victory Square Law Office LLP. Prior to those ventures, Mr. Nicolas worked as a research assistant for the University of British Columbia.  Active in his community, he served as a past director for Tulayan, the BC Employment Standards Coalition, the Kaya Community Society, and the West Coast Domestic Workers' Association.  Mr. Nicolas is involved with a number of organizations focused on migrant workers and youth in the Filipino-Canadian community.  He holds his Bachelor of Arts and Juris Doctor from the University of British Columbia.

 

‌Seung Oh    Appointed Member  Term: February 25, 2019 to July 31, 2020

Ms. Oh is an experienced advisor for local business owners and managers and is currently the sole proprietor of Seung Oh Ltd. chartered accounting firm in Burnaby. She is an experienced director and CFO for Canadian public companies and a seminar speaker for the Korean Canadian Business Community on business and tax related matters.

 

‌Shobha Rajagopalan    Appointed Member   Term:  July 31, 2018 to July 31, 2021

Shobha Rajagopalan is a Director with the Society for Women Empowerment and was the Chair of the Joint Family Court & Youth Justice Committee. She holds a Masters in Science (Biochemistry) from the Kasturba Medical College (India) and a Bachelor of Science (Biology) from the Kerala University (India). Ms. Rajagopalan was a Program Manager with the Native Education College and an Anatomy & Physiology Instructor with the Canadian health Care Academy and Langara College before that.

 

Sue Hammell     Appointed Member   Term:  July 31, 2019 to July 31, 2020

Sue Hammell recently retired as a Member of the BC Legislature. She was re-elected as the MLA for Surrey-Green Timbers in May 2013. She was first elected in 1991, and then re-elected multiple times. She serves as Opposition Spokesperson for Mental Health and Addictions. Ms. Hammell served in a number of cabinet positions as MLA, including Minister of Housing, Recreation and Consumer Services, Minister Responsible for Co-operatives, and Minister for Women’s Equality. In addition, she was government caucus chair and was active on several legislative committees. Ms. Hammell also worked with the Surrey Aboriginal Society as their Executive Director, where she developed the society into a modern urban centre for aboriginal people with an annual budget of over $2 million. She has been working with the Washington, D.C.-based National Democratic Institute (NDI) for many years. With NDI she travelled to the Middle East five times to work with emerging political parties and female candidates. She is also a founding member of the Minerva Foundation for B.C. Women, initiated in 1999 to provide funds for projects that will assist women to realize their potential and to create a safe place for them to live and work in British Columbia. After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Education from the University of British Columbia, she taught in Verdun, Quebec, Courtenay and Surrey.

 

Erin Klis, Support Staff Representative     Elected Member   Term: November 1, 2014 to October 31, 2020

Erin Klis began her career in the Library at Vancouver Community College in 2010, where she is currently working in the Public Services Department. Erin has a Diploma in Library Information and Technology from Saskatchewan Polytechnic. 

 

Garth Manning, Faculty Representative     Elected Member   Term: April 30, 2015 to October 31, 2020

Garth Manning began his career at Vancouver Community College in 1998 as an instructor with the ABE Youth Program. Garth spent the next 13 years working in this program with at-risk youth where he served as Department Leader for 6 years. In 2011, Garth became an Instructional Associate with the Centre for Instructional Development. Garth is currently the CID representative on Curriculum Committee. Garth has a Bachelor of Arts and a Masters of Arts in Criminology from Simon Fraser University, as well as a Provincial Instructors Diploma and a Online Teaching Certificate from Vancouver Community College.

 

‌Jennifer Chen, Student Representative (Broadway & Annacis Island Campuses)    Elected Member  Term: March 7, 2019 to October 31, 2019

Ms. Chen was elected by her student peers on March 7, 2019.  She is currently a VCC student in the ESL Pathways program.

 

Sukhmanjot Singh, Student Representative (Downtown Campus)    Elected Member   Term: March 7, 2019 to October 31, 2019

Mr. Singh was elected by his peers on March 7, 2019.  He is currently a VCC student in the Canadian Business Management program.

Contact us

For questions relating to Board Governance at VCC, please contact Executive Assistant, Deborah Lucas at dlucas@vcc.ca or 604.871.7000 Ext. 8313

Appointments

Government-appointed board members are appointed by the Province of British Columbia. For information on appointment processes and guidelines, please visit the Crown Agencies and Board Resourcing Office.

Board Committees

The Board of Governors has three standing committees:

  • Governance Committee
    • Chair, Garth Manning, Mahin Rashid, Nadia Belokopitov, Rene-John Nicolas 
  • Finance and Audit Committee
  • Human Resources Committee

Board Governance Bylaws

The following bylaws were approved by the Board of Governors on February 7, 2018 and replace the Board Governance Manual:

‌‌‌G.1.0 Board Conduct‌
G.2.0 Board Governance‌
G.3.0 Board Honoraria & Expenses‌

Election Rules

‌‌Election Rules (Version September 2019)

Mandate Letter

AEST 2019/20 Mandate Letter for Public Post-Secondary Institutions

AEST 2018/19 Mandate Letter for Public Post-Secondary Institutions

‌AEST 2017/18 Mandate Letter for Public Post-Secondary Institutions

AVED 2016/17 Mandate Letter for Public Post-Secondary Institutions

AVED 2015/16 Mandate Letter for Public Post-Secondary Institutions

 

Remuneration

 2018-19 Appointed Board Member Remuneration Disclosure Statement

‌

Agendas and meeting minutes

Public Board meetings are held on the dates listed below. Unless noted otherwise, Board meetings commence at 5:30pm in Room 420, VCC Downtown Campus, 250 West Pender Street.

Please note: all persons or groups wishing to make a presentation must submit their request in writing at least 14 days in advance of the meeting date to Deborah Lucas, Executive Assistant to the Board of Governors at dlucas@vcc.ca.

 

Date Agenda Minutes Certified Resolutions
Jun. 24, 2020      
May. 27, 2020      
Mar. 25, 2020      
Feb. 19, 2020      
Nov. 27, 2019      
Sep. 25, 2019 PDF 15 MB   PDF 397 KB
Jun. 26, 2019 PDF 5.2 MB ‌PDF 1.1 MB PDF 311 KB
May. 29, 2019 PDF 7.2 MB  PDF 631 MB PDF 301 KB
Apr. 10, 2019 PDF 4.5 MB PDF 1 MB PDF 251 KB
Feb. 13, 2019 PDF 1.3 MB PDF 948 KB PDF 250 KB

 

The Board breaks during the summer and meetings resume in September.  The Board will approve the September 2020 - June 2021 meeting schedule in June 2020.


Date Agenda Minutes Certified Resolutions
Nov 28, 2018 PDF v.2 3 MB PDF 170 KB PDF 279 KB
Sept. 26, 2018 PDF 3.4MB PDF 1.1 MB PDF 335 KB
Jun. 27, 2018 PDF 5.9MB PDF 187 KB PDF 266 KB
May. 30, 2018 PDF 6.5MB PDF 980 KB

PDF 293 KB
Apr. 4, 2018

PDF 3.13 MB‌

PDF  919 KB

 PDF 199 KB 
Feb. 7, 2018 PDF 1.92 MB PDF 263 KB PDF 199 KB 

Date Agenda Minutes Certified Resolutions
Nov. 15, 2017 PDF 3,000 KB  PDF 216 KB 

PDF 167 KB 

Dec 18-17 Consent Resolution - Revised A.3.2 335 KB
Se‌pt. 27, 2017 PDF 4,000 KB PDF 234 KB PDF 193 KB 
Jun. 28, 2017 PDF 3,466 KB PDF 251 KB  PDF  244 KB 
May. 31, 2017 PDF‌  6,293 KB PDF 259 KB PDF ‌‌ 203 KB
May. 11, 2017

PDF‌‌  2,000 KB

 PDF‌ 163 KB PDF‌ 144 KB
Apr. 5, 2017 PDF V.2‌  2,767 KB PDF‌ 147 KB PDF‌ 213 KB
Feb. 15, 2017 PDF‌ 5,487 KB PDF‌ 155 KB PDF‌ 211 KB

 

Date Agenda Minutes Certified Resolutions
 Nov. 16, 2016  PDF‌ 3,471 KB  PDF‌ 181 KB   PDF‌ 174 KB
 Sept. 28, 2016  PDF V.2‌ 7,360 KB  PDF‌ 258 KB  PDF‌ 310 KB
 Jun. 29, 2016  PDF‌ 3,156 KB  PDF‌ 174 KB  PDF‌ 216 KB‌
 Jun. 8, 2016  PDF V.2‌ 8,000 KB‌  PDF‌ 344 KB‌  PDF‌ 189 KB‌
 May. 11, 2016  PDF‌  568 KB‌  PDF‌ 196 KB‌  PDF‌ 173 KB
Apr. 6, 2016 PDF‌ 7,008 KB‌  PDF‌ 135 KB‌ PDF‌ 622 KB‌
Feb. 24, 2016 PDF‌ 4,815 KB‌  PDF‌ 189 KB‌ PDF 159 KB‌‌
Jan. 27, 2016 PDF‌ 3,753 KB‌ PDF‌ 251 KB‌‌ PDF‌ 141 KB‌

 

Date Agenda Minutes Certified Resolutions
Dec. 16, 2015 PDF v.2‌ 13,073 KB PDF‌ 600 KB‌ PDF‌ 52 KB‌
Oct. 28, 2015 PDF 2,235 KB‌ PDF‌ 399 KB‌ PDF‌ 126 KB‌
Jun. 29, 2015 PDF 7,200 KB‌ PDF 161 KB‌ PDF‌ 1,403 KB‌‌
May 27, 2015 PDF‌‌‌‌‌‌‌ 1,667 KB‌ PDF‌‌‌‌‌‌‌ 246 KB‌ PDF 685 KB‌
Apr. 29, 2015 PDF 2,866 KB‌ PDF‌‌‌‌‌‌‌ 243 KB‌ PDF‌ 356 KB‌
Feb. 25, 2015 PDF 2,919 KB‌ PDF 365 KB‌ PDF 745 KB‌

 

Date Agenda Minutes Certified Resolutions
Dec. 3, 2014 PDF 955 KB‌   PDF‌‌‌‌‌‌‌ 208 KB‌ PDF ‌349 KB‌
Nov. 6, 2014 PDF‌ 5,159 KB PDF‌ 700 KB‌ PDF 174 KB‌
May 28, 2014 PDF 3,014 KB‌ PDF 171 KB PDF 87 KB‌
Apr. 30, 2014 PDF‌ 2,551 KB   PDF 294 KB ‌ PDF 1,640 KB‌
Feb. 26, 2014 PDF‌ 1,427 KB -- PDF‌ 1,016 KB‌