Okanagan College Foundation Board of Directors

Click on the Board Member's name to read their biography.

Board Biographies

Ms. Kathy Butler
Executive Director / Secretary

Kathy is responsible for Advancement & Alumni Relations at Okanagan College and is the Executive Director of the Okanagan College Foundation.  She provides professional leadership in fundraising and alumni relations, working extensively with internal and external constituencies to promote the mission, goals and priorities of Okanagan College and the Foundation.  Kathy is a member of the Okanagan College Leadership Team and has chaired the Long Range Planning Committee for Okanagan College.  She proudly serves as a liaison with the Okanagan College Alumni Association.  Prior to moving to higher education, Kathy was Executive Director of the Kelowna General Hospital Foundation, serving 17 years in healthcare philanthropy and community relations. 

Kathy has a Bachelor of Arts (English) from UBC and attained her Certified Fundraising Executive accreditation in 1993.  She currently serves as a Subject Matter Expert, formulating exam questions for the CFRE International Examination Board.  Kathy also is a Director for the CCAE National Board (Canadian Council for the Advancement of Education), CASE (Council for Advancement and Support of Education), CAGP (Canadian Association of Gift Planners), and APRA (Association of Professional Researchers for Advancement).  She is Past President of the Rotary Club of Kelowna, a member of the Chamber of Commerce, and a volunteer for the Sunshine Foundation Dreamlift.  She was a finalist in the 2002 Kelowna Women of Distinction Awards in the category of Community, Leadership & Enhancement.


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Commissioner Beverley Busson (Retired)
Director

Commissioner Busson was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia. After graduating from Nova ScotShe joined the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in 1974 with the first class of female members for the Force. After training at Depot Division, she was first stationed at Salmon Arm as well as a number of Detachments within British Columbia where she was employed in general duty and as a plainclothes investigator investigating frauds, drugs and serious crimes. During this time, she studied Criminology at Simon Fraser University.

After graduating from the Faculty of Law, University of British Columbia in 1990, she was transferred to RCMP Headquarters, Ottawa. She was promoted to Inspector in 1992 serving at North Battleford. She was later transferred back to Vancouver, British Columbia in 1995.

Commissioner Busson was promoted to Superintendent in 1996. In July 1997 she was transferred to Regina, Saskatchewan as the Chief Superintendent in Charge of Criminal Operations for the Province of Saskatchewan, the first female in that role. The following year, she became the Commanding Officer “F” Division, the Province of Saskatchewan, the first female commanding officer in the Force.

In May 1999, Busson headed British Columbia’s Organized Crime Agency until March 2000 when she became Assistant Commissioner, Commanding Officer “E” Division, the Province of British Columbia. On December 6^th, 2001, she was promoted to Deputy Commissioner for the Pacific Region while retaining her role as the Commanding Officer.

In May of 2004, Commissioner Busson was made an Officer of the Order of Police Merit and is one of 13 such recipients of this prestigious honour. In June of 2004, Commissioner Busson was awarded the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Law by the University College of the Fraser Valley for her longstanding partnership with the UCFV and its Criminology and Justice Department. Commissioner Busson was also instrumental in establishing UCFVs new Bachelor of General Studies Police Studies Program.

In June of 2006, Busson was awarded the Order of British Columbia. In December of 2006, she became the 21^st Commissioner of the RCMP, the first female in that position. She retired from the Force in November of 2007. She now served on the Reform Implementation Council for the RCMP, the Advisory Council for National Security, and the Okanagan College Foundation, while consulting in the are of public sector leadership and mentorship.

In 2010, Busson received an Honourary Doctor of Laws from SImon Fraser University, and was awarded the Cohen Award by the Justice Institite of British Columbia for leadership in policing issues in the province.

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Mr. Jim Cookson, MBA
Vice-President, Governance Committee

Mr. Robert Eby
Treasurer

Biography coming soon

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Mr. Jim Hamilton
Director

Mr. Denny Kaulback
Director

Biography coming soon!

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Mr. Lance Kayfish
Director /
Chair, Okanagan College Board of Governors

Lance Kayfish is a risk management expert employed by the City of Kelowna, with a background in post-secondary education management. He's worked with the City since 2003 as Risk Manager and before that worked with the University of Calgary as Manager of Safety Services.  Previous board experience includes a three-year term on the Alberta Student Finance Board (responsible for oversight of Alberta's student loan system, provincial scholarships and bursaries).  He has also served on the University of Calgary's Senate and General Faculties Council.

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Mr. Alf Kempf
Director

Alf was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1956. He attended secondary school in Kelowna, British Columbia. After a year at the Kelowna Campus of Okanagan College he headed off to UBC. He received a Bachelor of Commerce degree in 1980 and a Bachelor of Laws in 1981, both from UBC.

Alf has practiced in Kelowna with Pushor Mitchell since his call in of July 1982. He has broad experience in all areas of law having started with a general practice, mixing corporate-commercial, real estate, wills and estates and litigation matters. In the last 15 years, he has restricted his practice primarily to general litigation and labour, employment and workers' compensation issues. He has appeared frequently at the Labour Relations Board, Worker’s Compensation Appeal Tribunals, and labour arbitrations. He has regularly conducted litigation cases in the Supreme Court of British Columbia and British Columbia Court of Appeal. He was one of the first adjudicators appointed to the Employment Standards Tribunal where he served for two years hearing numerous appeals of decisions of the Employment Standards Branch.

Alf currently heads up Pushor Mitchell's Labour and Employment Law Group. Alf speaks regularly at seminars regarding labour and employment law matters.

He is a former Rotarian and president of the Kelowna Community Resources Society. He has served in several capacities for the former federal Progressive Conservative Party, the Liberal Party of BC and the Liberal Party of Canada.

Alf is active in soccer having coached and managed juvenile teams and also playing. He has been active with his children in 4-H and High School Rodeo.

His hobbies include skiing, golf and farming.

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Ms. Lorraine McGrath
Vice-President, Advancement Committee

Lorraine McGrath, MBA, ICD.D is a certifiec corporate director and business advisor with an extensive career in financial services and healthcare.  Lorraine specializes in succession planning and corporate finance.

Highlights from Lorraine's accomplished career include positions with the Bank of Montreal where she specialized in commercial, wealth and retail banking; executive positions with Prospera Credit Union where she lead a launch into the BC Interior; and President of Paragon Pharmacies Ltd., where she successfully lead a major merger and operational turnaround.

Lorraine is also passionate about giving back to her community.  She has an exemplary record record of community involvement which includes Board of Directors - Interior Health Authority, Past President - Kelowna Chamber of Commerce, Director -  BC Chamber of Commerce, Economic Development Committion, Okanagan Partnership, Okanagan College Foundation, UBC Okanagan Advisory Board, and Wear-Air Oxygen.  She also co-founded and is currently the Director of the Okanagan Innovation Fund.

Many prominent awards speak to Lorraine's accomplishments:

• Athabasca University Distinguished Alumni Award, 2008
• Okanagan College Honourary Fellowship, 2007
• City of Kelowna Woman of the Year, 2006
• Woman of Distinction Lifetime Achievement Award, 2001

Lorraine can always be counted on to bring passion, drive and commitment to her work in both business and community sectors.

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Mr. Vern Nielsen
Director

Mr. Nielsen has been a senior executive and entrepreneur in packaged goods, real estate, high tech and numerous other industries.  His experience spans roles at General Foods to being CEO of multiple successful ventures.  He has done business in Canada, USA, Europe and Asia.  Moving to Kelowna from New York where he was Executive Vice President of a segment leading packaged goods firm he became very involved in the Okanagan technology community.  His two most recent positions were as business coach and mentor to several Okanagan technology companies and as cofounder of a high tech software company in Kelowna.  He holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Calgary and did Graduate Studies in Marketing at University of British Columbia.

Mr. Nielsen is a Director for several private companies including four local businesses and several not for profit organizations including Rotary Club of Kelowna, Okanagan Capital Fund, East Meets West Orphanage Foundation and the Okanagan College Foundation.

He has won numerous awards for his involvement in both business and not for profit organizations including "Okanagan Science and Technology Community Leadership Award", and the Fred Macklin Memorial Award "Kelowna's Man of the Year".

Mr. Nielsen has three adult children; Rowan is a TV Director, Greg is a Portfolio Manager with Ontario Teachers Pension Fund, and Jennifer is Director of Sales at Intercontinental Hotels.

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Mr. Frank A. Richter, CGA
Vice-President, Finance Committee

Frank is a former Chief Financial Officer and Director, Corporate Management with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Assistant Commissioner Richter was responsible for the administration of the RCMP's national budget, a member of the RCMP Senior Executive Committee and provided corporate leadership in the areas of finance, procurement, contracting, real property, strategic planning, internal audit and financial information systems.

Frank is associated with RFP Solutions, an Ottawa company that provides public procurement services to federal government departments and agencies. Frank is RFP Solutions' Senior Advisor on Fairness Issues. He acts as an independent fairness monitor overseeing the bid evaluation process on complex and/or high dollar value procurements to ensure that all bids are evaluated in a consistent, equitable and compliant manner.

Frank lives in Kelowna, British Columbia where he is actively involved in a number of community volunteer activities. Frank is a Governor and Vice-Chair, BC Corps of Commissionaires and is a member of the Audit Committee.  He is a Director and Chair of the Audit/Risk Committee of the RCMP Heritage Centre, Regina, Sask.  Frank is a member of the St. Charles Garnier Parish Pastoral Council. He is the Auditor for the Okanagan Division – RCMP Veterans’ Association and participates in Canada Revenue Agency’s Community Volunteer Income Tax Program that completes tax returns at no cost for low income taxpayers. Frank was a Director, Treasurer and Secretary of the Central Okanagan Crime Stoppers Society and a Director and Treasurer of the BC Crime Stoppers Advisory Board Society. He received the BC Crime Stoppers Civilian of the Year Award in 2003.

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Dr. Peter Schultz
Director

Biography coming soon

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Ms. Sigrid-Ann Thors
Director

Ms. Thors holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of British Columbia and a certificate in Arts Administration from the Banff School of Management. She has worked as a music/ band/ choir teacher in the school system from kindergarten to college, been a senior industrial consultant (culture) for Employment and Immigration Canada in Ottawa, and managed the Thirteen Strings (Ottawa), the Saskatoon Symphony and the Prince George Symphony. She has sat as an elected, appointed, or volunteer member of local, provincial and national boards, generally on the executive. She was a member of the last Board of Governors for Okanagan University College. Currently, she is President of the Vernon and District Performing Arts Centre Society and co-chair of the Sustainable Environment Network in Vernon. She also sits on the Board of Directors of the Vernon Public Art Gallery and is a trustee for Trinity United Church.

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Ms. Dawn Douglas
Board Secretary

Dawn is the Executive Secretary for the Director, Advancement & Alumni as well as Board Secretary for the Okanagan College Foundation.  She coordinates the day-to-day operations of the Advancement office as well as the Director's daily schedule.  She looks after planning Okanagan College Foundation Board meetings and sub-committee meetings and attends/participates in all of these meetings.

Dawn coordinates the Annual Charity Golf Tournament in Kelowna as well as the 50/50 Staff Lottery program.  She plans other special events throughout the year, such as special donor recognition events and workshops.  She also assists with other special events such as the annual awards ceremonies and convocation.  Dawn acts as webmaster for the Foundation's websites, helps maintain our database of alumni and donors, and participates in various committees in the institution including OCAD (Okanagan College Assistant's Development) and the Support Staff Job Evaluation Committee.

Dawn has worked with Okanagan College since June 1996.  After several years in HR, Dawn joined the Advancement & Alumni team in January 2004.  She is a 2005 graduate of Okanagan University College.

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