Leadership

Team

Cindy Oliver has dedicated her life’s work to adult education and the labour movement.    

Her background includes 13 years as the President of the Federation of Post-Secondary Educators of BC, as well as 20 years as an instructor of Adult Basic Education and English at College of the Rockies, where she worked closely with trades and apprenticeship students and counsellors. She sat as a Director of the Canadian Apprenticeship Forum Board for ten years and is currently Chair of the Interprovincial Alliance of Board Chairs of Canada (IPA). In addition, she is an experienced public speaker, having spoken at numerous conferences worldwide on issues such as women’s rights in the workplace and bargaining in the public sector. She has an Honours Bachelor of Arts from Lakehead University and a Master of Education from the University of Lethbridge.

Laird Cronk has significant experience in both labour and business endeavours. A Red Seal Electrician by trade, he spent over two decades working in the marine, communication, commercial, industrial, and residential sectors in B.C. He was the Vancouver Island representative for the BC Building Trades Council and also worked as an Employment Standards Officer for the BC Ministry of Labour.  

From 2001 to 2018, he was the International Representative with the 1st District Office of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, servicing IBEW Local Unions throughout B.C., Yukon Territory and Alberta. From 2018 to 2022, Laird was elected twice as President of the BC Federation of Labour, representing the views of more than 500,000 affiliated members from across the province. 

Mary-Anne Bowcott has been an integral part of raising awareness of the benefits of diversifying the trades workforce. She is a Red Seal Plumber, Class B Gas Fitter and Steep Slope Roofer. As the owner of Westcom Plumbing and Gas Ltd. and Westcom Roofing and Sheetmetal, she has received several industry awards for her leadership: the Sooke Chamber of Commerce’s Trade & Skilled Labour Excellence Award, the B.C. Construction Association’s Provincial Construction Leadership Award, the Canadian Construction Association’s Person of the Year Award, the Business Examiner Trade Business of the Year Award, and Camosun College’s Promising Alumni Award as well as Distinguished Alumni Award. She has participated in many forums and conferences to share insights on being a woman in trades, she is a co-founder and former Vice President of the BC Tradeswomen Society, and she also sat on the Governance Committee for the Construction Workforce Equity Committee, during which time she contributed to the creation of the Builders Code. 

Michelle Bryant is an experienced leadership coach, educator and corporate manager who has spent more than two decades in diverse roles—as a teacher, Vice Principal, and currently the Senior Director, Indigenous Relations for the City of Vancouver. A member of the Tsimshian Nation from the community of Lax Kw’alaams, Michelle served as the first Indigenous woman President of the Prince Rupert and District Chamber of Commerce and is currently the Vice President of the Women’s Leadership Network and an elected Trustee for the Lax Kw’alaams Settlement Trust. She held Provincial Board positions with the Indigenous Business and Investment Council and the Medal of Good Citizenship. She has a Bachelor of Education from Vancouver Island University, a Master of Education in Multidisciplinary Leadership from the University of Northern British Columbia, a Diploma in Solution Focused Coaching, and a Certificate in Advanced Management.   

Carly Church is a mechanical engineer with over a decade of experience overseeing the development and expansion of mines throughout Canada and globally. She is currently a project manager with JDS Energy & Mining, a B.C.-based company that takes mining projects from conceptual visions to successful operations. She has a passion for promoting women’s career opportunities in mining, through speaking and mentoring opportunities, as well as participating in industry groups including the Association of Mineral Exploration BC and the Centre for Training Excellence in Mining. Carly has a Bachelors of Applied Science in Mechanical Engineering and Information Technology from the University of British Columbia, a Masters of Technology Management from the University of New South Wales, and Certificates in Risk Management and Business Analysis. 

Rick Kasper is a retired bricklayer and stonemason who operated a small business and worked for his communities for many years. Rick was involved with the Glen Lake Ratepayers Association in the 1970s and served as the CRD director for Langford from 1981 to 1990, where he helped create the Galloping Goose Regional Trail, region-wide blue box recycling, low-income housing, and local beautification projects. He served as District of Sooke Councillor from 2005 to 2008 and was re-elected from 2011 to 2014 and 2014 to 2018. In addition, he served as MLA for Malahat-Juan de Fuca for 10 years. During this time, he headed a review of legislation governing manufactured homes, worked to get three new schools built, helped get funding for the SEAPARC Leisure Complex and Juan de Fuca Marine Trail, and fought to protect funding for the Sooke Women’s Transition House. Rick completed his trade qualifications at the British Columbia Institute of Technology.  

Lana Love is a journey-level millwright working on achieving her Fourth-Class Power Engineering Certification. She was the first woman to complete a millwright apprenticeship and work as a Maintenance Supervisor with the Solid Wood Division of Canfor. 

Lana was a member of Canfor’s Inclusion and Diversity Council, Women’s Engagement Group, and Indigenous Engagement Group. She was elected as Director at Large for the BC Trade Equity Society in 2021. Lana is driven to help change the culture of industrial and trades workplaces to be more inclusive to women and other underrepresented groups so that anyone who wants to can enjoy the many advantages of a career in the trades. 

Wally Penner built a career around his passion for working with the trades, Indigenous peoples, and local communities on construction projects. His experience began working on the Hugh Keenleyside Dam and road construction for the Ministry of Highways and Forests. Afterwards, he worked as the Regional Development Liaison Officer for the Kootenay Region for 10 years, during which time he was one of the founding members of the Columbia Basin Trust. He then worked for Columbia Power Corporation in the permitting and construction of the Arrow Lakes Generating Station and the Brilliant Expansion Generating Station, and he retired as the Regional Project Manager for the Waneta Expansion Project. Wally has been involved in his community as Chair of the Kootenay Lake District Hospital, the Regional Economic Advisory Committee, the Nelson Rod, Gun and Conservation Society and as a Director for the Regional District of Central Kootenay. He is also currently on the Board of Directors for the Ktunaxa Enterprises Ltd. 

Dr. Jane Jae-Kyung Shin is Vice President of Students and Community Development at Vancouver Community College (VCC). In 2013, Jane became the first Canadian of Korean descent to be elected as an MLA in Canada, representing Burnaby-Lougheed. She currently serves on the board of DIVERSEcity Community Resources Society, on the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Committee for the Colleges & Institutes of Canada, as a representative of the western provinces on Senior Women Academic Administrators of Canada, and supports BC Children’s Hospital as the ambassador of its Legacy Program. Jane earned her medical doctorate at Spartan Health Sciences University in St. Lucia. She also has an Executive Certificate in Women in Leadership from Cornell University, a Provincial Instructor's Diploma from VCC, and a Master of Education in Educational Technology and Learning Design from Simon Fraser University.  

Corrine Storey has 20 years of experience as an executive, including being the first woman Chief Operating Officer with BC Ferries, responsible for the training and safety of over 4000 employees. She held this position for 6 years and navigated safely through the COVID-19 pandemic and recovery. She previously held leadership roles with West Coast Energy’s natural gas and propane operations in British Columbia. Corrine has experience in regulatory training and certification, strategic planning, inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility, stakeholder relations, financial management, labour relations, project management, and governance and risk management.

She currently serves on the Board of the Greater Victoria Housing Foundation, a non-profit organization that supports affordable housing. Corrine is a graduate of the Institute of Corporate Directors Education Program, holds a Master of Business Administration, and holds an Industrial Relations Certification.