Board of Directors

Dr. Charles Laszlo joined the Board of BCFHRS in 2001 and led the acoustic design and engineering of our current centre, as a member of the Building Committee.  From 2004-2007, he served as President of the Society and, in later years, as Vice-President and Advisor to the Board Executive.  As of 2016, he is once again in the role of President. Dr. Laszlo enjoyed a very successful career as a widely respected biomedical engineer, specializing in the field of hearing loss.  He was the founding president of the Canadian Hard of Hearing Association (CHHA). Dr. Laszlo is also hard-of-hearing and a Cochlear Implant recipient.

Dr. Graham Bryce is our longest serving Board member.  He joined the Steering Committee when BCFHRS was still the Elks Family Hearing Resource centre in 1991.  He served as the Chair of the capital campaign for the current building and worked tirelessly to ensure funds were in place to build a world-class facility. Dr. Bryce has served as President, Past-President and is Vice-President as of 2016.  He is a passionate advocate for the deaf and hard-of-hearing community, and brings professional expertise from his career as an ENT surgeon.

Rick Moore joined the Board of BCFHRS in 2007 after his family received services from the centre with his daughter, who is hard-of-hearing.  Serving in a variety of roles on the Board, he is the Past-President, as of 2016.  Rick’s passion for the centre comes through every time he speaks about our program.  Through connections in the community, he is a strong ambassador for BCFHRS.

Agatha Cluff joined the Board of BCFHRS in 2012 when the need for a new Treasurer presented itself.  As a Chartered Professional Accountant, her guidance and advice to the Board is invaluable.  Through her time with BCFHRS, Agatha has learned about the deaf and hard-of-hearing communities and how our organization supports the youngest members of those groups.  She enjoys being a part of the Board and meeting families and staff at the various centre events.

Barbara Gee joined the Board of BCFHRS in 2012.  However her involvement goes back many years before that.  Barb and her late husband, Garry, came to the centre as members of the Elks of Canada.  Garry, along with Dr. Graham Bryce, was instrumental in moving ahead the construction of our current centre. For her part, Barb has been instrumental in many events that happen at the centre, especially with our annual Walkathon.  She has been a tireless ambassador for our programs over the years as well as a dedicated Board member.

Rosalind Ho joined the Board in 2011 and her association with the centre goes back to her earliest years.  As a young child Rosalind lost her hearing.  She was an early cochlear implant user, receiving hers at age 3. She is now a university graduate and enjoying a career as administrative Manager at Techtel.  Rosalind is able to give back to the centre and our families through her work as a Board member.  She is also actively involved with the CHHA – Young Adults Network.

Ray Hunt joined the Board in 2015.  He comes as a long-time member of the Elks of Canada, who were the service organization that founded the original BCFHRS program.  His grandson received services from our centre and in turn Ray shows his appreciation by his contribution on the Board.

Alia Kallo joined the Board of BCFHRS in 2016.  She is a school based speech-language pathologist, currently based in the Delta school district. Over the years, a number of Alia’s students have been graduates of our program.  So when an alumni family encouraged her to join the Board she was eager to do so.

Doug Klassen joined the Board of BCFHRS in 2015 after a “little pressure from my family.”  Doug’s wife, Cecelia, is the founder and Executive Director of the Family Network for Deaf Children (FNDC).  He has two daughters and a son; one of his daughter’s is Deaf and holds a Master’s degree from Gallaudet University. The other is a Teacher of the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing. Doug works at Surrey Memorial Hospital and is Manager for many departments including Audiology and Speech Language Pathology. His many years of experience raising a Deaf child and being an active part of the Deaf community bring valuable insight to the Board.

Ken Mulligan joined the Board in 2007.   His daughter graduated from the centre in 2004 after receiving services for a number of years.  Ken himself is also hard-of-hearing and so brings a unique perspective to the table as a parent and individual.  He chose to be a Board member to “be able to give back to an organization that did so much for my daughter and helped her to become what she is today.”  Along with his time on the Board, Ken has been an active member of the Audit Committee.

Joan Popovich joined the BCFHRS Board in 2016.  She is an active member of the Canadian Royal Purple, a service organization that has had a long association with the centre.  For four years, Joan served as the Royal Purple representative and co-chair on the Elks and Royal Purple Fund for Children, the National Charity that has supported the centre for many years in a significant way.  She is our most geographically removed Board member, and travels all the way from the Interior for our meetings and events.

Dr. Susan Small joined the Board in 2014.  Her connection to the centre began as a new professor at UBC when she was developing coursework for her audiology students.  She connected with the past Executive Director, Susan Lane, and thus began a relationship that has continued through the years.  Dr. Small’s students visit BCFHRC every year, and she hosts an annual parent panel visit at UBC which is the highlight of pediatric audiology training.  She is currently serving on the Research committee alongside being a Board Member.