BC Family Hearing Resource Society is governed by a Board of Directors. The Board’s task is to provide overall direction and have ultimate responsibility for all aspects of the activities of the organization. For more information please review our Board Policies.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Dr. Paola Colozzo is a bilingual French and English Speech Language Pathologist and Associate Professor in the School of Audiology and Speech Sciences, University of British Columbia. Her research explores cognitive processing, cognitive strategies, and supporting language and communication in children. She is also the Director of the Child Language and Cognition Lab (CLCL). In the CLCL, Dr. Colozzo studies how children learn and use language and explore how children’s language and thinking skills develop together, with the main goal being to understand how to help children use language. She is keen to be a part of an organization where the community practice is related to her research on language learning in young children.
Ruzzelle Gasmen is a Speech Language Pathologist with hearing loss. She received her Masters degree in Audiology & Speech Sciences from the University of British Columbia and currently works at the Delta School District supporting children with communication challenges. Ruzzelle is a proud advocate for the hard of hearing community and hopes to make our world a more accessible place for all individuals.
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.
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.
Dr. Anton Miller is a Developmental Pediatrician at Sunny Hill Health Centre, part of BC Children’s Hospital. The major part of his career has been working with families and partners to understand the developmental differences and needs among children and young people who live with hearing loss. Dr. Miller is also Clinical Faculty of the UBC Department of Pediatrics, involved with teaching and research. His research over the years has aimed at understanding and improving health and well-being of children and young people and their families, and the services and supports they need and use.
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.
BREE DALL grew up on a farm in a small town called Oyama, outside Kelowna. Her whole family is hearing, while she has been Deaf since birth. American Sign Language (ASL) is her primary language; English is her secondary language. She received both Bachelor’s and Masters degrees in Social Work, from Gallaudet University, specializing in the Deaf and Hard of Hearing population. She was also an Olympian and played for the Canada Women Volleyball team at the Deaf Olympics in Bulgaria in 2013. Bree has worked as a preschool teacher for Deaf and Hard of Hearing children in Saskatchewan, started the pilot program for Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and Children of Deaf Adults, worked for Canada Video Relay Service as a Community Outreach Specialist and is currently at the University of British Columbia Okanagan as an Accessibility Advisor at the Disability Resource Center. She is excited to be a part of the BCFHRS Board of Directors and give back to the community with her experience and knowledge.
Confidential Board website for current board members found HERE.
