Jim Chu is senior vice-president with the Aquilini Group. He joined Aquilini after he retired from the Vancouver Police Department in May 2015 where he served 36 years, including eight years as chief constable. 

He holds a bachelor of business administration from Simon Fraser University and a master of business administration from the University of British Columbia. He was elected president of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police and served from 2012 to 2014. He has received an honorary doctorate from the Justice Institute of BC, an Outstanding Alumni award from Simon Fraser University, a Queen’s Diamond Jubilee medal and was invested into the Order of Merit of Police Services by the Governor General. 

He has previously served on the boards of the Streetohome Foundation, the Justice Institute of BC, the Richmond Public Library, and TransLink.  

Colleen is the former president of the First Nations Schools Association of BC and has worked as a First Nations educator in Kitsumkalum, near Terrace BC, since 2005. She was the head teacher, principal and Sm’algyax language teacher at ‘Na Aksa Gyilak’yoo School, the community’s kindergarten to grade 12 school, Adult Dogwood and community language programs. 

As a member of the negotiating team for the BC Tripartite Education Agreement (BCTEA), she worked with Canada, B.C. and First Nations to successfully complete the milestone five-year First Nations education agreement for all First Nations learners in B.C. Colleen owns Gamaats Consulting, which provides Indigenous education and Indigenous language revitalization services to clients. She is contracted by the Coast Mountain School District 82 as their Indigenous languages coordinator for five regional languages.

 

Lauren is a sought-after Indigenous leader and executive coach. She currently sits on the Minister’s Advisory Council on Indigenous Women (MACIW) Members for British Columbia. She has worked and served on several boards: Home Care Nurse Advisor, First Nations Chiefs Health Committee; First Nations Patient Advocate, BC Women's Hospital & BC Children's Hospital; and the First Nations Health Directors Association Board. 

Lauren has developed her leadership and coaching skill set through 18 years of managing health care and fostering leadership in others. Lauren's Indigenous worldview and experience are fundamental in her consulting practice. She excels in building partnerships and believes in restoring balance in self, organizations and communities. 

She holds a bachelor of science in Nursing (BSN) from the University of British Columbia, a masters in leadership-health and a graduate certificate in executive coaching from Royal Roads University. Lauren has been involved with the Mentor Language Apprenticeship Program since 2018, increasing her fluency in Haida. 

 

Gary Caroline is a lawyer with over thirty years of expertise in labour, employment, pensions, administrative, human rights and international public law. For the past several years, he has had a deep interest in methods and processes for fighting corruption both here and abroad. 

Gary's innovative thinking and pragmatism are grounded in his many years of obtaining creative solutions in the labour relations context. He is often called upon to offer strategic advice and to lead negotiations for major collective agreements including in the health care sector. 

He has been successful in transferring that experience to cases where his clients have been wrongly detained by foreign governments. He is proud of the work he did around the release of Mohamed Fahmy from Egypt, Abderrahmane Ghanem from Algeria and many others. Gary is also the president of the international consultancy firm The Ofelas Group Inc.

Providing free legal advice and representation to community groups and individuals has been a hallmark of his dedication to the human and civil rights of others. Currently he represents several Iranian journalists and human rights defenders seeking asylum in Canada. Gary is also a board member of the Mayne Island Recycling Society.

Elizabeth was elected to the B.C. Legislature in December 1989 in the riding of Oak Bay-Gordon Head. Re-elected in 1991, she was appointed Minister of Health, and in 1993, Deputy Premier and Minister of Finance. She currently teaches public policy, advises organizations on how to work effectively with government, and is a regular media commentator on provincial politics.

 

Doug is the principal of Doug LePard Consulting, providing services in the criminal justice sector to police, government, the B.C. Legislative Assembly, law firms, and private businesses. He is also a member of the Mental Health Review Board. After 35 years of service, he retired as a deputy chief for the Vancouver Police Department, then served for several years as the chief of the Metro Vancouver Transit Police. 

He holds a bachelor of arts in criminology and a master of arts (with distinction) in criminal justice. He is a former member of the International Association of Police Planners. He was previously appointed by the director of police services to the Provincial Municipal Policing Transition Study Committee for the Surrey Police Department. His honours include the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, the Governor General’s Academic Medal, the Lieutenant Governor’s Merit Award, the Gold Medal of the International Society for the Reform of Criminal Law, and investiture by the Governor General as an Officer of the Order of Merit of the Police Forces.

 

Barry is the former president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) British Columbia. As president, he represented more than 70,000 workers, including those working in municipalities, school districts, universities, colleges, social services, ambulance paramedics and others. 

Previous to his position as president of CUPE BC, Mr. O'Neill was the full-time president of CUPE Local 606, representing 1,400 school support workers in School District #68 and School District #69, Nanaimo, Duncan and Lake Cowichan. Mr. O’Neill has held positions such as executive officer of the B.C. Federation of Labour, general vice-president for CUPE National, pension trustee for CUPE Employees’ Pension Plan and an alternate trustee for the Municipal Pension Board of Trustees. He also served as a director for Working Enterprises, Columbia Foundation and Camp Jubilee.