Our Team

Nichola Manning, President

With 20 years’ experience in the BC provincial government, Nichola Manning has led large-scale organizations and associated programs. Prior to becoming a management consultant, she was the Assistant Deputy Minister (ADM) responsible for Employment at the BC Ministry of Social Development & Social Innovation, where she led the nationally recognized WorkBC employment program, assisting unemployed British Columbians return to the workforce. Before that, she spent 16 years with the Ministry of Health serving as the ADM of the Medical Services Health Human Resources Division. Nichola oversaw the Medical Services Plan, primary health care reform, physician negotiations, and strategic relationships among government, physicians, health authorities, and physician organizations.

Nichola has a solid background in change management, project and program management, strategic planning, stakeholder engagement, organizational development, policy development, and evaluation.  Her leadership philosophy is focused on empowerment, collaborative relationships, recognition and staff development. In her new capacity as a management consultant, she will be able to apply her experience and knowledge to advance the mission of FCBC.

Steve Chauvin, Director

Steve Chauvin is a licensed pharmacist in the province of BC. His expertise in the economics of medications—covering insurance plans, optimizing medication regimens, navigating Pharmacare, and special authority—is highly valuable for board service. Access to medications is an essential aspect of caregiving, and understanding the system can be overwhelming.

Steve excels in patient communication through active listening, asking pertinent questions, presenting information effectively, considering patients’ values, and treating them as equals. Steve’s involvement with FCBC provides valuable insights into the experiences of patients and their caregivers, thereby enhancing his ability to serve the community with greater efficacy.

Sandra Lee, Secretary

Sandra Lee is a health care professional with a high level of knowledge and skills in working with seniors in the long-term care sector. As a leader with a reputation of working collaboratively with team members and building partnerships with community, Sandra is a clear communicator, strong critical thinker, and a highly skilled practitioner in using a systems perspective for effective problem solving.

Sandra recognizes the toll and emotional weight placed on family and friend caregivers. In her experience in supporting adult children, spouses, and friend caregivers, she recognizes the importance of an organization that strives to improve services to, and for quality of life of caregivers, by connecting them to information, resources, education and hands-on assistance. Board member since February 2022

Kerry Busheikun, Treasurer

Kerry has spent 25+ years in leadership roles in food and beverage, retail, and early childhood education. Her areas of responsibility have included operations, human resources, finance, portfolio growth, corporate strategy, and implementation. In over 20 years at Starbucks Coffee Company, her General Manager and Executive roles included leading the business in Australia, operations for licensed stores for the Eastern U.S., strategy and implementation for Canada, and operations for company operated stores for Eastern Canada. Working with different cultures, functions, and through a variety of business situations has provided Kerry with a large tool kit and an appreciation for diverse leadership approaches. Kerry now specializes in transition and career coaching through Plum Coaching and Consulting, applying her experience both leading and experiencing transitions and her passion for talent development. Kerry has an interest in caregiving through her family experiences.

Kerry was born in Calgary, Alberta and has lived all over the world. She went to University in Vancouver, British Columbia and completed her Graduate Certificate of Coaching at Royal Roads University on Vancouver Island. She lives in Victoria, B.C. with her husband Rick and dog Sammie, and in addition to long dog walks along the ‘Galloping Goose Trail’ she enjoys cooking, watching football, and spending time with her extended family.

Anthony Kupferschmidt

Anthony is a Credentialed Professional Gerontologist who has been working in the field of aging since age 17. He completed the Master of Arts in Gerontology through Simon Fraser University, and his thesis focused on psychological resilience in spouse caregivers of persons with Alzheimer’s disease.

Anthony has previously worked with the Alzheimer Society of BC, the City of Richmond, and as Executive Director of two independent seniors’ centres in Metro Vancouver. He currently works for the City of Vancouver leading strategy, policy and planning for the aging population. In this capacity, he strives to ensure that the essential role of family and friend caregivers is integrated in this work. When not working or volunteering, Anthony enjoys spending time walking in the woods with his dog Ferguson.

Barbara MacLean, Executive Director

Barb has over 30 years’ experience in non-profit, government and private sectors. She spent many years in the developmental disabilities field, specializing in supporting some of the most complex and challenging individuals living at home, in residential care and in school settings. Barb holds a Bachelor of Arts from UBC and a Master of Arts in Leadership and Training from RRU.

Barb knows first-hand what it’s like to juggle work, a young family and caregiving—she supported her family during her own mother’s fight with cancer. Barb is committed to influencing change to achieve recognition and support for family caregivers.

Kate Landreth, Education and Learning Lead (on leave)

Kate is an educator, facilitator, and coach specializing in learning design, training, and curriculum development. She is enthusiastic and passionate about education, creating learning content and experiences that make it easy and accessible for learners to build new skills and absorb new information. Kate applies her training in mindfulness and yoga, alongside her deep experience in curriculum and learning design, collaborating with subject experts to build meaningful learning opportunities, content, and activities. Kate completed her Bachelor of Arts from Wilfrid Laurier University, Bachelor of Education from Nipissing University, and Master of Education from Murdoch University.

Kate has witnessed firsthand the immense but often under-appreciated role that members of her family have undertaken in caring for loved ones through health-related and other challenges. She recognizes that those giving care need meaningful support and systems to maintain their own physical and mental well-being in challenging circumstances. Kate is committed to providing that support through her work at Family Caregivers of BC.

Marjan Beikzadeh, Education and Learning Lead (interim)

Marjan is a passionate educator with over eight years of experience in the non-profit sector, dedicated to providing training and support to diverse communities, including students, immigrants and refugees, Indigenous populations, seniors, and at-risk youth. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a double minor in Education, along with certifications in Leadership Coaching and Gender-Based Analysis Plus (GBA+). 

Marjan’s expertise in curriculum development and facilitation is complemented by her strengths-based and trauma-informed approach, which creates a safe space for individuals to share their stories and engage in meaningful learning. By employing various teaching methods tailored to accommodate different learning styles, she empowers individuals to gain the knowledge, skills, and tools necessary for their personal and professional growth.

Stacey Dawes, Caregiver Engagement Lead

Stacey grew up in a family of dedicated caregivers, who all contributed to the health and well being a family member who suffered neurological damage. It is through this exposure that she chose a career in social work. Early in her career, she worked with children, parents and foster parents through child protective services. This provided a deeper understanding of the complexities of the family dynamic and the importance of support programs and resources. It was when she moved to Vancouver from Newfoundland that she found her passion working within the nonprofit sector.

Stacey has spent majority of her career working with a community that was navigating a chronic disease. She is passionate about connecting with the community, identifying gaps in service and developing programs to address the need. It is through her interactions in nonprofit, as well as working in collaborative relationships, that provides her with a strategic and compassionate vision on how to best serve the community. She has a deep seated desire to support caregivers, and she strongly supports the selfless care they provide.

Fiona MacLeod, Administrator

Fiona brings over 30 years of nonprofit experience to her role as Administrator at Family Caregivers of BC (FCBC), where she has served for more than nine years. In this position, she oversees the organization’s daily financial operations, supporting its mission to provide information, education, and advocacy for family caregivers across the province. Fiona’s career has spanned both nonprofit and arts management sectors in Toronto, Vancouver and Victoria.

Her personal caregiving journey began when she relocated to Vancouver Island following the Vancouver Olympics to care for her mother as her primary family caregiver. For 13 years, she was a partner in care supporting and facilitating her mother’s independence.

Fiona holds a B.A. in Art History from Queen’s University, a Textile Arts diploma from Capilano University, and a Horticulture Technician Certification from the Pacific Horticulture Centre. She first connected with FCBC through volunteer work and now channels her skills in finance, systems thinking, and problem-solving into meaningful support for family caregivers across the province.

Wendy Johnstone, Director of Programs and Innovation

Wendy understands the importance of supporting and educating caregivers and seniors in making informed decisions about their future care. When she was seven months pregnant, her father had a massive stroke. Through her own personal experience, it became clear that when faced with acute or chronic and complex illness, care transitions, or extreme emotional pressure, family caregivers don’t always know where to turn, what to ask, or how to navigate the system.

Wendy helps in many areas, including coaching caregivers one-on-one, delivering presentations, contributing to caregiving resources, and promoting our Caregiver Rx project. You can find her on FCBC’s Facebook Live and follow her family caregiving articles with Inspired Senior Living, a provincial magazine for seniors and caregivers.

Wendy has a Master’s degree in Gerontology and 20 years of experience working with family caregivers and seniors. She loves being outdoors on her growing collection of bikes with her husband and daughter. In the winter, she enjoys cross-country skiing and sits on the local Board of Directors for the Strathcona Nordics. She is also currently working with other health care advocates to form a national association of health care advocates. Originally from Toronto, Wendy traded her urban lifestyle (but hasn’t quite adopted Island time yet!) and moved to the Comox Valley on Vancouver Island.

Semone Trautman, Caregiver Coach

Semone is a Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC) and Registered Social Worker (RSW) with the British Columbia College of Social Workers. 

She has over 20 years of experience working with families, plus facilitating therapy and educational groups.  During the last 4 years, she has been focusing her attention on supporting caregivers who are in turn supporting their loved ones through their mental health and/or substance use difficulties.

Semone is passionate about helping others and works from a place of heart.  She holds onto the belief that people are doing their best in the moment and with guidance toward self-compassion and making small shifts in how we understand and think about our situations, we can open up a big space for change.  Change that creates an openness in our hearts, that brings us closer to the ones we love, allowing us to move forward in our lives with a renewed sense of hope. 

Aaron Yukich, Caregiver Rx Social Prescribing Project Lead

Aaron is passionate about empowering family and friend caregivers and their loved ones to create care plans and support systems that uphold their dignity and sense of autonomy while honouring their unique cultural traditions, belief systems, and lived experiences. He believes it takes a village not only to raise a child but also to provide support and a sense of belonging to everyone who requires care.

Drawing on his training as an end-of-life doula, mindfulness practitioner, and time spent working in hospice care, Aaron encourages caregivers to invite presence, self-reflection, and meaning-making into their caregiving relationships.

In his free time, Aaron is an avid nature and landscape photographer and can be found scrambling along rocky shorelines or peering curiously at tiny insects. He is also a self-professed cat dad to Maya and Raul.

Julie Cameron, Caregiver Support Specialist

Julie brings over 20 years of experience in the non-profit sector, where she has made a significant impact through her work supporting caregivers. Her background includes nearly eight years with a dementia helpline, volunteer coordination in a long-term care setting, and a role as an intake specialist on a seniors’ abuse and information line. In these roles, Julie has consistently delivered compassionate, one-on-one support, reflecting her commitment to caregivers’ well-being.  

Julie’s passion for caregiver support was further strengthened by her experience as a long-distance caregiver for her mother. She is grateful to continue this meaningful work at FCBC, offering essential resources and support to caregivers across British Columbia.

Outside of work, Julie enjoys expressing her creativity through painting and cooking, as well as tending to her neighbourhood community garden. 

Gemma Torres, Caregiver Support Specialist

Gemma Torres brings a rich blend of experience and empathy to her role. Her career began with a decade in a Singaporean nursing home, where she cared for individuals with dementia and cognitive disabilities while supporting their caregivers. Gemma has also gained experience in mental health care, providing goal coaching and support, and now serves as a Life Enrichment Assistant, focusing on meaningful interactions with care recipients and their families. Gemma’s path became even more personal when she cared for her grandmother during a cancer diagnosis, gaining firsthand insight into the emotional and practical challenges that caregivers experience. 

With a bachelor’s degree in physical therapy from the Philippines and training in Coach Approach and Trauma Informed Practice, Gemma is working towards becoming a certified Physiotherapist in Canada. Her commitment to advancing caregiver support systems, combined with her dedication to supporting caregivers through active listening and empathy, underscores her belief in the vital role of caregivers.

In her spare time, Gemma enjoys walking, beach outings with her dog, Gilly, and exploring new heights through indoor wall climbing. 

Pam Torres, Administrative Coordinator

Pam is a dynamic and results-oriented business professional with extensive experience in administration, project management, and operations across diverse industries, including hospitality, accounting, and telecommunications. Known for her strategic leadership and operational expertise, Pam excels at driving process optimization, managing high-stakes projects, and empowering teams to exceed organizational goals. Her skill set spans budget management, system optimization, and fostering cross-functional collaboration to maximize efficiency and performance.

Pam holds a Bachelor of Science in International Business Administration from the University of the Valley of Mexico and is pursuing certifications in Data Analytics and Project Management. With a passion for community service, Pam is committed to making a positive impact, particularly through her work at Family Caregivers of BC, where she supports initiatives to enhance the lives of family caregivers, ensuring operational efficiency and effective program delivery.

Tara Hamzeh, Caregiver Support Specialist – Community Navigator

Tara is driven by a profound passion for mental health, holding a BSc in Psychology and post-graduate diploma in Mental Health and Addictions. She brings a unique blend of empathy, professional knowledge, and personal experience with mental health and family trauma to her work, helping others recognize their inherent wisdom and right to well-being and dignity. Her commitment to cultural competency and safety in healthcare systems aims to create more inclusive environments for both providers and patients. 

As a dedicated advocate for caregivers, Tara believes in the transformative power of caregiving and the irreplaceable role these individuals play. She works to ensure caregivers receive the recognition, resources, and support they deserve, understanding their vital role in fostering resilience and well-being in others’ lives. 

Beyond her professional life, Tara is a freelance photographer, a vinyl record collector, and someone who finds joy in cooking delicious meals for friends and family. Road trips to California are one of her favourite ways to recharge and find inspiration.