Board of Directors
Robert is a strong supporter of the work of Habitat for Humanity, and he believes in the cause of providing affordable housing for as many people as possible. Born in St. John’s, Newfoundland, he began his professional career working with Boy Scouts of Canada. After that, he moved gradually westward, working with the Nova Scotia Red Cross, the Ontario Hemophilia Society, the Canadian HIV Trials Network, and the Canadian Association for HIV Research.
Robert and his wife, Corinna moved to the Coast full-time in 2012. Before that, they had been coming to the Coast with their three children for many years. In 1999, they purchased a piece of land in Roberts Creek, on which they spent several years designing and building their dream home. Robert retired in 2015. Currently, he divides his time between woodworking, outdoor recreation, environmental advocacy, and creative writing. He also runs the Elphinstone Hiking Group.
Janai is honored to join the Board of Directors for Habitat for Humanity Sunshine Coast, an organization dedicated to building strength, stability, and self-reliance through affordable housing. With over 15 years of experience in real estate sales and marketing—spanning homes and new developments—and over 20 years in media as a publisher of leading real estate publications such as REW.ca, Condo Guide, Western Investor, and West Coast Condo, Janai brings a unique perspective to this mission.
Janai’s career has been built on relationships, integrity, and a commitment to exceeding expectations. By combining her extensive knowledge of the real estate market with strategic marketing expertise, she looks forward to contributing to Habitat’s vision of ensuring everyone has a safe and decent place to call home.
“Together, we can create positive change and build stronger communities,” says Janai.
Catherine has been working as an accountant for the last 30 years, primarily in the areas of small business and taxation. More recently, she obtained a designation as a Certified Executor Advisor (“CEA”) and is now specializing in Trusts and Estates, including Estate Planning with regards to taxation and preserving wealth. Catherine and her daughter moved to Gibsons from Vancouver in 2014, and she says moving here was the best decision she ever made, next to becoming a Mom. Catherine volunteers with her daughter’s day care, assisting with monthly government filings and related communications. Since 2019 she has served as the Treasurer of the Gibsons and District Library Foundation Society. Catherine was invited to join Habitat for Humanity Sunshine Coast’s Family Services Committee in March 2022, and then joined the Board as Treasurer in September 2022.
Sarah was a registered nurse and a midwife. She worked with pregnant, substance-using women for 15 years, initially at Sheway, a pregnancy outreach program on the Downtown Eastside. Sarah was instrumental in the opening of Fir Square, a dedicated 12-bed unit at BC Women’s Hospital for pregnant, substance-using women to detox and to room in with their infants. For the work done at Fir Square and Sheway, as well as teaching health workers around the province, Sarah and her colleague were awarded the Meritorious Service Cross in 2018. She has taught extensively provincially, nationally, and internationally.
Since retirement, Sarah moved to the Sechelt home she had bought years before. She is so happy to call the Sunshine Coast home where she hikes, bikes, and kayaks regularly with a group of friends.
Chris has had over 50 years in the field of interior design, both with major retailers and as the head of his own design firm, chrisp interior design. New home planning as well as renovations, retail showrooms, hair salons, and a wide variety of other work. He is a continuing member of the Interior Designers of Canada, and also of the Association of Registered Interior Designers of Ontario. His design work has been published in both domestic and foreign media.
Giving back to the community: 3 prior years on the board of HFHSC, chairing fundraisers, donation of time to benefit various non-profits, and donating and buying from ReStores over the years. He has also secured large ongoing donations of household goods from major home furnishing showrooms.
Originally hailing from Ottawa, and the last 24 years in Vancouver and the Sunshine Coast, and has served as both president, vice president, and member of a number strata councils.
Bruce was born in New Westminster and grew up on a farm in Ladner. After graduating from high school, he attended UBC, graduating with a Bachelor of Commerce degree.
Upon graduation, Bruce worked first for the Ministry of Transportation for a few years.
Following this, he worked for a couple of different lumber companies before starting his own firm, West Bay Forest Products in 1988.
West Bay Forest Products specialized in the making of western red cedar decking, fencing, sidings, and trim boards. In 1992, with the purchase of Cedarshed Industries, the firm expanded their product line to include prefabricated sheds and gazebo packages.
For five years during Bruce’s tenure in the western red cedar business, he served on the Board of Directors of the Western Red Cedar Export Association, working to expand cedar sales worldwide.
In 2013, Bruce began his transition into retirement. He was appointed by the New Westminster City Council to serve on a citizen forum to designate Queen’s Park, a heritage conservation area. This resulted in City Council declaring the conservation area in 2017. The group was awarded the “Heritage Planning and Management” by Heritage BC in 2018 for the work they did.
Bruce is presently actively involved in the advisory group directing the Vancouver Chinatown Foundation, managing the 110-year-old, 120 single room occupancy (SRO) May Wah hotel on Pender Street.
He has participated in two Habitat for Humanity Global Village trips; Guatemala (2016) and Dominican Republic (2018).
In 2020, Bruce and his wife Sandra made the move to Gibsons on a full-time basis.
They have two daughters; their oldest daughter, Miranda, is a lawyer while their youngest, Genevieve, is working on her master’s at SFU.
This could be you!
We are looking to add new members to our Board of Directors! If you are passionate about our mission with prior board experience in the charitable sector, we would love to hear from you. While all accomplished career individuals will be considered, of particular interest will be those whose resumes include finance, banking, retail, construction, real estate development, human resources and those with a law degree or CPA designation.
Interested in applying?
To apply, send a copy of your resume to ceo@habitatsc.ca or drop by the ReStore and Affiliate Office located at 5605 Sunshine Coast Highway to deliver your resume in person.
Need to know more?
Habitat for Humanity Sunshine Coast board members hold oversight accountability for the organization’s mandate, brand strength, fundraising, health and safety and more. The Board guides the strategic direction; hires and evaluates the CEO and provides governance oversight to operations. This includes monitoring the organization’s effectiveness and service outcomes through a range of performance indicators.
The board monitors the use of resources and evaluates and improves its own governance effectiveness. In addition, Board members may act in an advocacy capacity and also subject matter experts in various operating areas.