Mitchell Temkin

President

Mitchell Temkin is the principal of Associatus Consulting, providing strategy, business development, and board development services to purpose-driven organizations. He has more than 25 years experience as a consultant and as a senior manager in both business and the not-for-profit sector. He began his career as a strategist and program developer for Toronto social marketing agency, Manifest Communication. Subsequently, he was National Director of Advancement and Resource Development for the Canadian National Institute for the Blind. He then became a founding partner and VP Marketing, Sales, and Business Development for Bird On A Wire Networks, an Internet infrastructure firm.  More recently he worked with a large Canadian travel retailer to build and launch the first online booking engine for student airfares in Canada.

Mitchell has been a volunteer with the Victoria United Way’s Volunteer Leadership Development Program. He has served on the boards of the Ontario Field Ornithologists, and the Federation of Ontario Naturalists, as well as on the Communications Advisory Committee of the Canadian Centre for Philanthropy. He has an undergraduate degree in philosophy from the University of Toronto and an MBA from the University of Western Ontario. He is qualified as a Certified Management Consultant.

Kate Mansell

Past-President

Kate Mansell is a native British Columbian who has lived in Victoria since 1970.  Kate has worked in the non-profit sector since 1980.  She acquired a sound grounding in fund raising principles at Pearson College which she has subsequently used to great advantage in her current position as Director of Development for Boys & Girls Club Services of Greater Victoria, a position she has held since 1997.  While her work at Pearson was certainly interesting and rewarding, Kate thoroughly enjoys working for a community-based organization like Boys & Girls Clubs. 

Kate was a former Board member of the Victoria Roundtable of the Canadian Association of Gift Planners and was the founding Chair of the Public Relations Committee for Leadership Victoria.  She was elected President of the new Leadership Victoria Society in 2009 after serving as Vice-President (and formerly co-Vice Chair of the Advisory Board) for a number of years.  Kate also serves on the Steering Committee for the Victoria’s Leadership Awards which she has been involved with since its inception.

Kate has one son and enjoys reading, writing, and music.

Andy Woodsworth

Vice-President

Andy Woodsworth spent 30 years with the National Research Council of Canada.  His career with NRC included many years of research in optical and radio astronomy. Some of his earlier duties with NRC included acting as NRC’s project manager for the first Canadian national Internet and as Canadian project manager for the Gemini Observatory (two large telescopes located in Hawaii and Chile).  More recently, he spent five years as Director General of the Institute for Information Technology.  He retired from NRC as interim Vice-President, Life Sciences and Information Technology.  Subsequent to leaving NRC, he worked with the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council in a major study of their Discovery Grants Program selection committee structure and policies.

Currently he serves as Chairman of the Board of Compute Canada, as Vice President of Leadership Victoria, and as a National Science Foundation (US) representative on the Annual External Review committee of the ALMA international observatory project (a $1.3B project, located in Chile). He is also actively involved with Canadian programming for the International Year of Astronomy 2009.

Andy has taken short courses in leadership from the Canada Centre for Management Development (Gatineau), the Global Institute for Leadership Development (San Diego) and the Kennedy School of Government (Harvard University).

Through his company, Galaxy Consulting, Andy is engaged in research management studies.

Nancy Greer

Vice-President

Nancy Greer, a recently retired (in truth, semi-retired) professor and Program Head with the MA in Leadership and MBA in Leadership programs at Royal Roads University and President of Greer & Associates, Management Consultants Inc. is a dynamic leader who combines a strong academic background (BA (Hon. Psychology) from Carleton and MA Psychology, EdD Educational Psychology from UBC) with over 38 years of leadership experience within the education, government and high technology business sectors.  Throughout her work and volunteer endeavors Nancy has a proven track record of working effectively with Boards, organizational leaders and diverse cross-functional teams, unleashing their collaborative efforts to successfully implement transformational changes while retaining the commitment of those involved and impacted.

From 1977 to 1983 Nancy was Director and Executive Director within the BC Ministry of Education and from 1984 to 1995 was Vice President of BC Systems Corporation.   In 1996 she was a founding member of the Program Advisory Board for the Master of Arts in Leadership and Training program at Royal Roads University and subsequently served as associate faculty in a variety of program leadership, design and delivery roles.  She joined RRU as Professor of Leadership in 2003 and served as Program Head and as Director (A) of the School of Leadership Studies, recently retiring from that role. Nancy’s roots with Leadership Victoria are deep and she was delighted in 2000 to have the opportunity, as then Chair of the Board for the United Way of Greater Victoria, to be able to present the first $10,000 cheque on behalf of the community to Leadership Victoria to assist in translating that dream into reality. She was also a member of the original Curriculum Committee and since those early days has served as a Mentor for 5 years and as a Team Coach for 4 years.  She has been a Director since September, 2008.

Nancy also has a 30-year passion for community development and has served in a variety of volunteer leadership roles, including as Director and Chair of the United Way of Greater Victoria’s Board of Directors and as a member of the National Board of the United Way of Canada.  Her service to the community was recognized in 2003 with the awarding of the Queen’s Jubilee Medal. Nancy’s abiding interest is in creating workplaces and communities where people can do their best work and live their best lives, while respecting the value of the diversities each individual brings to create that future.  Her affiliation with Leadership Victoria is an ideal fit with those interests and Nancy feels herself fortunate indeed to have the opportunity to combine her efforts with other like-minded individuals through this affiliation. 

Nancy has been married to Galen for 43 years, has one son Chris and, in her semi-retired lifestyle, enjoys working hard at maintaining her 12-13 golf handicap.

Al Kemp

Secretary

Al's lifelong volunteer leadership commitments began as a Boy Scout Troop Leader and high school class president.  As an adult he has been a Scout Leader in Ontario, BC and Saskatchewan, District Scout Commissioner in Saskatchewan, President of a service club in Alberta and twice elected Chair of the United Way of Greater Victoria.  He currently serves on both the Board of Directors and the Program Committee of Leadership Victoria and is a Community Action Projects Coach.  He is the author of the Leadership Victoria Work Book and past Chair of the Victoria Leadership Awards. 

Al’s latest career is CEO of the Rental Owners and Managers Society of BC and he has served as national Chair of the Canadian Federation of Apartment Associations.  His previous careers include Vice President of BC Buildings Corporation, Human Resources Manager for Suncor, Fort McMurray and Personnel Supervisor for Dominion Bridge in Regina.  He began his working life as an RCMP Constable in Ontario and BC.  When not serving Leadership Victoria, he does some leadership training and writing, is on the Board of Directors of Crimestoppers and is an avid Canadian philatelist.

Al and Lorraine live in Saanich with their greatest enjoyments being their six grand children and cruising – in that order! His favourite movie is Bridge on the River Kwai because it is a powerful story of the successes and failures of two very different leaders.

Shawn Steele

Shawn was born and raised in Victoria, and is passionate about contributing towards positive
community development. Shawn is the General Manager at Prospect Lake Golf Course. In 2006,
Shawn founded and chaired the Prodigy Group, an emerging professionals networking group
affiliated with the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce. In 2008, Shawn helped form and chair
of the Prospect Lake Preservation Society, a local area community group dedicated to improving the
health of Prospect Lake and educating the community about environmental issues. Shawn has
served terms as a Director on the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce Board and on a number
of other Community Organization Boards.

The Leadership Victoria learning experience provided Shawn with new skills that have already been
used in facilitating planning retreats and in community meetings. In early 2010, Shawn initiated a
Community Action Project with Rotary Members and, as a result, won a Rotary District Governors
Award. Shawn now serves on the Leadership Victoria Board and Alumni Committee, and hopes to
engage Leadership Victoria Alumni to network and continue to participate in positive community
development.

Kane Kilbey

Kane has recently been appointed as the Associate Vice President, Human Resources at the
University of Victoria. In this capacity, Kane is responsible for all facets of administration and
development of the Human Resources functions on campus including Organizational Development,
Occupational Health Safety and Environment, Labour Relations, Return to Work, and Total
Compensation and Recruitment.

In the 19 years prior to his appointment at the University, Kane held a number of positions with the
People and Organizational Development department of the Vancouver Island Health Authority, most
recently in the capacity of Corporate Director, Human Resources Consulting Services. During this
time, he also served on the Board of Directors for the Occupational Health and Safety Agency for
Healthcare in BC – a bipartite organization committed to advancing best practices in occupational
safety for health care workers, unions and leaders.

Kane is an alumnus of the University of Victoria, graduating with a BA in Economics and Political
Science in 1988 before adding an MBA from the University of British Columbia in 1990. Kane
currently resides on the Saanich Peninsula and can generally be spotted during evenings and
weekends at a local soccer field as a youth coach or with his family at any number of nearby parks
or beaches walking their golden retriever.

Fiona Hyslop

Fiona is a descendant of two pioneer Victoria families.   She received her schooling in Hong Kong and Victoria and subsequently studied at the University of Hong Kong and the University of Geneva in Switzerland.

Her working life was divided between Canada and England and included several years helping represent the Italian film industry, and developing a talent for project management.   During the 22 years she and her family spent in Ottawa she served on the Boards of the National Gallery Association and the Friends of the National Arts Centre, as well as the United Way of Hull, Quebec.   For fourteen years of that time she worked for the Federal Government in various management positions.

Since her return to Victoria she has been Chair of the Board of the NEED Crisis and Information line and a Board Member of Pacific Opera Victoria,  the Victoria Business and Professional Women's Club and earlier this year stepped down after six years on the Board of the Victoria Foundation.

Fiona has strong feelings about how each of us can, and must, give back to the wider community in which we live. She also has a weakness for chocolate and black cocker spaniels.

Oliver Sommer

The Sales Director for Greater Victorias Black Press newspapers, Oliver Sommer came to Victoria by way of the Lethbridge Herald and the Globe & Mail, where as Director of Advertising and Sales respectively, his divisions experienced significant success during his tenure.

Offering more than 22 years of advertising and marketing experience, for Black Press Oliver is responsible for sales and support operations at both head office and branch locations for multiple print and online media properties. As part of the senior management team, Oliver is instrumental to strategic planning, operational structure and overall execution of the company's business plan.

Oliver earned a Diploma in Business Advertising from Windsor, Ontarios St. Claire College and since then has complemented his education with a variety of professional development courses, ranging from Building Strategic Partnerships to Value Based Selling. Prior to his work with Leadership Victoria, Oliver also served on the board of directors for the Lethbridge Business Revitalization Zone, the Sidney Business Association and the Saanich Peninsula Chamber of Commerce.

Outside of business, Oliver and his wife Leslie are busy parenting four young children

Kathy Stinson

Kathy Stinson has been providing leadership in the not-for-profit and public sectors since 1989. Kathy is well respected in the community through her work with Boys and Girls Club Services of Greater Victoria, where she was Finance and Operations Leader until 2003. She gained an understanding of the non-profit housing sector while leading a financial consultancy project for the Aboriginal Housing Management Association of British Columbia (AHMA) in 2002 and 2003.

Kathy also worked in Iqaluit, with the Government of Nunavut from 2003 to 2005. She left her position as Director of Strategic and Corporate Services for the Department of Economic Development to return to Victoria as Cool Aid’s Director of Operations. She was appointed Executive Director of the Victoria Cool Aid Society in November 2005. Cool Aid strives to end homelessness by working in partnership with others to develop community-based solutions. Kathy is dedicated to balancing that strategic vision with prudent, day-to-day management of the society.

A lifelong learner, Ms. Stinson earned her Certified Management Accountant (CMA) designation in 2000 and a graduate certificate in project management the following year.

Ivan Watson

Ivan Watson is a public relations and communications professional, currently coordinating communications for the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions at the University of Victoria. He has provided strategic advice and analysis to municipal, provincial and federal governments, the European Union and various businesses and non-profit organizations. He grew up in Victoria, but  has also lived and worked in Vancouver, Ottawa and Brussels. Ivan is an active community leader and serves on the Campaign Cabinet of the United Way of Greater Victoria, the Board of Directors of the United Way of Canada and the UVic Alumni Board. He is an alumnus of Leadership Victoria and passionate about promoting the programme. He served previously on the Recruitment committee, and gave many presentations throughout the community. He is often called upon as a consultant, keynote speaker or workshop presenter and has helped to organize several local, regional and national conferences.

Ivan has a B.A. in Political Science and History from UVic and a M.A. in Leadership from Royal Roads University, where he was elected to represent learners on the Board of Governors. His interests include reading, writing, music, running, photography and travel.