Chair
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Andrew Davenport is Director of Corporate Development at TELUS and previously worked in the United Kingdom as a Principal with IBM Consulting in addition to working in executive roles at Bell Canada International and its subsidiaries. He obtained a Bachelor of Science in Engineering (Physics) from Queens University as well as an MBA from INSEAD in France. Andrew became involved with PSBC as his father, Dr. Alan Davenport, has Parkinson’s disease.
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Vice Chair
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Dave Rickards, CPA, CA is a retired Partner from Grant Thornton LLP in Vancouver. Dave is a graduate from UBC faculty of Commerce and obtained his Chartered Accountant designation in 1979. He is a past Governor of the Canadian Tax Foundation and has held various positions with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of British Columbia. Dave is actively involved with various community volunteer activities. He joined the Board of Directors as a tribute to his brother who passed away from complications related to Parkinson's disease, and Dave also serves on the Board Finance Committee.
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Secretary
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Sherri Zelazny is a clinical speech pathologist with more than 30 years of experience and clinical expertise in voice evaluation and treatment. She has a long history of involvement with the Parkinson’s community as a clinician providing Lee Silverman Voice Treatment® for Parkinson’s for more than 20 years. She was the Vice President (now Honourary Member) of the Wisconsin Chapter of the American Parkinson Disease Association. She joined the Board of Directors in November 2012. Sherri also contributed significant time and energy to piloting the Society's Communication and Swallow program in 2014 and continues to present this program. She is Past-President of Speech and Hearing BC (2017-2019).
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Treasurer
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Martie Rose Mendoza, CPA, CA has 20 years of progressive and extensive experience in Accounting, Finance, Audit and Advisory. She obtained her Chartered Accountant designation in 2010 and is currently an experienced Manager at Deloitte with a focus on modernizing the Finance function (Accounting Operations Advisory). She previously served in the capacity of Director of Finance at Seymour Health Centre and Controller at Stork Craft Manufacturing Inc, and also previously worked at Ernst ! Young and Mondolez International (formerly Kraft Foods International). As a world traveler, she has explored over 33 countries across America, Asia, Africa, Europe, and Oceania. Previously, she has been involved in serving as volunteer in various communities by helping the community library, transition home, soup kitchen, mentoring young adults, and raising awareness on financial literacy. Martie joined the PSBC Board of Directors because of her passion for giving back to the community.
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Directors
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Mark Hutchinson has 33 years of business leadership. He served as CEO of a multinational franchise company, growing the company from his dining room table to a company with 650 franchises and annual sales revenue of $90M. His main skills are in sales, marketing, and people/team development. Since semi-retiring, he has served a number of companies on a part-time basis as a business leadership coach. From a Parkinson’s perspective, he has a personal interest in PSBC as a caregiver to his wife Angela, who has lived with PD since 2008. He is an advocate for her and for PSBC -- keen and willing to serve in any way he can to help the 14,500 people in BC who live with PD. Through these advocacy efforts, he hopes that people with PD are granted the best quality of life possible, and to raise awareness of PD in general.
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Arne Johansen was formally diagnosed with PD in March 2013, although with the recognition of many non-motor symptoms manifesting well before motor symptoms become apparent. After diagnosis, he began an extensive online search on PD and potential methods to slow the onslaught of the disease. Using the PSBC website as a starting point, he discovered many useful websites such as, but not limited to, Davis Phinney, Michael J. Fox, Rock Steady Boxing, UBC Parkinson’s Research Centre, and McGill University. He began volunteering with many in-person studies through UBC, as well as online studies including the Michael J. Fox Insight program. A few of the UBC studies he participated in over the past decade have focused on balance, eye movement, response time, stomach biometrics, and the development of cameras to aid in PD detection methods. He is also the current facilitator for the North Shore Parkies Support Group. During the past few years, he has participated in the first (known of) Improv Troupe for people with Parkinson’s. He has had extensive and varied experience dealing with multiple levels of authority and responsibility throughout his work exposure.
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Sean Lee is a professional problem solver and Chief of Staff at TRIUMF, Canada's particle accelerator centre. With over a decade of experience in international research, government relations, and corporate communications, Sean is responsible for managing TRIUMF's complex network of partners and stakeholders. Prior to his current role, Sean served in various positions in Washington, DC and Ottawa, including time with Global Affairs Canada; his academic credentials include a Master's degree from the London School of Economics and a Bachelors degree from the University of British Columbia. Sean joined the Board of Directors in honour of his grandfather who battled Parkinson's disease in the 1990s.
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Bill Mathieson, MBA, MSc. is a mostly retired senior human resource executive who has worked as a management consultant on many labour relations negotiations and human resource projects on behalf of employers. He operated his own HR consulting business after working as the senior HR executive in an international corporation. He was Vice-President Human Resources of the Business Council of BC, representing employers to unions, provincial, and federal governments. He served as an HR Advisory Committee member and continues as a part-time instructor at BCIT. His Board experience has included: Governor, Canadian Center of Occupational Health and Safety; member, Employment Insurance Review Board; member and chair HR committee, Critical Thinking Consortium; membership chair, John Braithwaite Community Garden; multiple positions, North Vancouver Host Lions Club; multiple positions, Mount Seymour United Church. Bill was diagnosed with PD in May 2013.
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Richard Mayede is a creative consultant who works with companies that need help with social media, marketing, web design, video, and photography. He was diagnosed with Young Onset Parkinson’s Disease in 2005, and from that point forward he was determined to be a source of positivity and encouragement. He first became involved with PSBC through fundraising for Parkinson SuperWalk in 2005. After over 10 years of fundraising for the event, he wanted to do more for people with Parkinson’s. In 2016, he asked, and was accepted, to join PSBC’s Board of Directors. In 2017 & 2018, Richard acted as one of the faces of the Society’s awareness campaign, drawing attention to the many ways that the disease affects patients. His involvement in advocacy efforts in 2020, helped secure more operating room time for DBS surgeries in BC. On the “Inspirational Stories” section of PSBC’s website, you can see Richard’s personal story about his challenges living with Parkinson’s.
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James Patterson is a Crown prosecutor with the Public Prosecution Service of Canada in the Vancouver Regional Office. In the past, James has volunteered with a Melbourne-based non-profit organization that provides basketball programs for disadvantaged children and a non-profit organization that represents inmates on Death Row in Louisiana. His interest in Parkinson’s disease and the Society spans many years and he supports family members who live with the diagnosis.
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Dr. David Reich, MD, FRCPC is retired after a 30 year medical career. He was a small town GP in Prince Rupert before taking more training to become a medical specialist in Pathology. He practiced his specialty in New Westminster for 26 years. He also made numerous medical mission trips to Africa and initiated an educational program to train African Pathologists. Dave was a former collegiate basketball player and became an accredited coach. He coached junior girls and boys for many years in the Fraser Valley. He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2007 and retired due to the illness 2014. He had DBS in 2017.
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Elisabeth Sadowski is an associate lawyer at Collette Parsons Corrin LLP in downtown Vancouver. Her main areas of practice are personal injury and medical negligence law. Liz is very active in the legal community including serving as first vice president of the Trial Lawyers Association of BC. She joined the board of PSBC because her father, a neurologist for over 40 years, had the disease.
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Jim Wu has been developing symptoms of Parkinsonism since he was 22 years old, and in 2016, at the age of 30, was diagnosed with Young Onset Parkinson’s. Since then, Jim has been called to the British Columbia Law Society where he subsequently ran his law practice before joining his current firm at Forte Law, where he exclusively practices employment law. In the span of just one year, Jim made several appearances before the Supreme Court of British Columbia and the Federal Court of Canada -- his most recent being a two-week-long trial in Northern British Columbia that he ran as lead counsel. Outside of work, Jim holds a blue belt in Brazilian jiujitsu and he trains his long-haired German Shepherd, “Hachiko,” in the sport of herding. He is also a mentor for the Big Brothers of Greater Vancouver and an active member and mentor for the Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers of British Columbia.
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Medical Advisor
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Dr. Martin McKeown is the Medical Advisor to the Board of Directors. He is the Division Head of Neurology, UBC and previously was the Director of the Pacific Parkinson’s Research Centre at UBC. He is a clinical neurologist with an interest in movement disorders, particularly Parkinson’s. The unique combination of his medical training and engineering background is reflected in his research where engineering principles are applied in investigating disease mechanisms and potential treatments.
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