The Dan’s Legacy Annual General Meeting was held electronically on June 15, 2022, and we were thrilled to welcome four new Directors who have a keen interest in youth mental health. Our full complement of 10 Directors include: Peter Buxon, Q.C. (Chair), Baltej Singh Dhillon (Vice-Chair), Roberta McArthur (Treasurer), Darin Froese (Secretary), Wayne Cousins, Kelso Kennedy, Rebecca Bollwitt, Kristy Hayter, Stephanie Smith and Tara Sudbury.
About Our Four New Directors
Rebecca Bollwitt has been named one of BC’s Top 100 Women of Influence by the Vancouver Sun and in 2014 Notable named Miss604 the Best Blog in Western Canada. Between 2008-2022 Rebecca won 30 local blog awards in Vancouver and in 2016, she won Variety International’s media award for her work with Variety – the Children’s Charity. Rebecca remains committed to supporting her community and continues to sponsor over 25 events each year. Rebecca is the proud blog sponsor of Big Sisters BC Lower Mainland, Covenant House BC and volunteers as a Vice President of Marketing at BC Entertainment Hall of Fame (2020-present), Secretary for Stanley Park Ecology Society (2020-present), and Secretary for Variety – the Children’s Charity of BC (2016-2020).
Kristy Hayter is a 20-plus year non-profit worker and the Director of Communications and Marketing at Covenant House Vancouver. Kristy’s purpose is to serve all youth with absolute respect and unconditional love, to help youth experiencing homelessness, and to protect and safeguard all youth in need. The Covenant House provides services to address various issues relating to youth homelessness in Vancouver, youth mental health, human trafficking, addictions and transitional living/affordable housing.
Stephanie Smith became the first woman elected president of the BC General Employees’ Union—as well as the union’s first president from a sector outside of direct government—in 2014. A passionately committed early childhood educator by profession and fierce social justice advocate by nature, Stephanie Smith’s election, and re-election, as president, is the culmination of her decades of frontline activism in the childcare and community social services sector. She is also recognized for her visionary leadership in the labour and social justice movements on issues such as expanding workers’ rights and promoting unionization, equity, and inclusion in all worksites and all communities. Before being elected president, Stephanie spent more than a decade serving in other elected positions in the BCGEU from steward to bargaining committee chair, to local and component executive, to two terms on provincial executive—the union’s governing body between conventions—and one term as Treasurer.
Tara Sudbury joined the Canadian Mental Health Association in 2013 facilitating Mental Health Education to hundreds of employees in different industries. Her passion to give people the tools and knowledge to thrive melds perfectly with her role as Manager of Community and Workplace Education. Tara has completed the VCC Provincial Instructor Diploma, and is a certified Living Life to the Full and Responding with Respect facilitator. Her goal is to help corporations feel as comfortable talking about and managing mental health issues is as it is for physical health.
Dan’s Legacy thanks all of its volunteers for the generous donation of their valuable time.
Working together we can ensure we meet our Mission which is “To provide youth who have experienced trauma, with effective counselling, education, vocational and other support programming.”
There are many ways to support Dan’s Legacy – please see Ways To Help on our website for more information on volunteering opportunities, fundraising, and contacts.
Board of Directors for 2022-2023:
Peter Buxton Q.C. (President), Baltej Singh Dhillon (Vice President), Roberta McArthur (Treasurer), Darin Froese (Secretary), Wayne Cousins, Kelso Kennedy, Kristy Hayter, Rebecca Bollwitt, Tara Sudbury, Stephanie Smith (missing in photo) and Shannon Elliott (Retiring Director).