Cari Chan
Cari was the ESL Coordinator for Inland from 2007-2010 and joined the Board shortly thereafter. She works as an ELSA Program Assistant and Instructor at Collingwood Neighbourhood House and has been working in the ESL field for 10 years.
Virginie Francoeur – Secretary
Virginie is a lawyer and practices immigration law in Vancouver. She has been on the BOD of IRS since 2007. Virginie’s passion for helping immigrants and refugees to find a new home in Canada stems from her extensive travel, her volunteer experience with underprivileged women and children of Mayan descent in Guatemala, and her work and volunteer experience with immigrants and refugees in Vancouver.
Augusta Lokhorst – Vice-President
Augusta joined the Board of Directors of IRS in 2004, after volunteering for six months as the first psychosocial worker with the refugee legal aid organization, AMERA Egypt, in Cairo. A hospital social worker in Intensive Care, she has background training and experience in trauma intervention. Her MSW thesis looked at the Canadian Refugee Determination System from the point of view of refugees.
Brendan O’Leary – Treasurer
Brendan joined the Inland Board as Treasurer in September 2011. He is a professional accountant with a diverse business background in cooperative development in Canada, Ireland and Mongolia. Brendan believes that the IRS provides an important service to refugees to integrate quickly into Canadian society by providing them with immediate support, assistance and life skills when they arrive here.
Heberto Reyes
Heberto came to Canada as a refugee 4 years ago and joined Inland’s Board in 2009. Heberto is interested in pursuing a career as a refugee lawyer and is currently taking courses to assist him
getting into law school.
Sandra Rose – President
Sandra joined the Board of Directors of IRS about 10 years ago. Sandra has volunteered as a therapist at VAST and in varied Boards. She works as a Social Worker and Addictions Counselor.
Anne Stevenson
Anne joined Inland in September 2011. She volunteered for three years with the British Red Cross Refugee Unit in London, England, working with a range of vulnerable asylum seekers. Anne has a background in international development and works as an urban planner. She is currently conducting research on the design and management of refugee camps.
Michael Wan
Michael is dedicated to helping people seek refugee protection in Canada. His father moved to Hong Kong in the 1950’s to receive refugee protection. Michael immigrated to Canada in the 1990’s and is familiar with the difficulties and challenges of beginning a new life in Canada. Michael wishes to help those in need and inspire hope for refugees to rebuild their lives.