Advisory Board

Mary Ellen DeGrace

Mary Ellen has a Batchelor of Social Work from UBC. Her work included: Medical Social Worker at Lion’s Gate Hospital; Founding Coordinator of the Burnaby Hospice Program; Coordinator of the Lion’s Gate Palliative Care Volunteers and Social Worker, St Paul’s Hospital Palliative Care Program. Her experience also included being on the founding executive of the BC Hospice/Palliative Care Association and latterly serving as Vice President. From 1982 – 84 Mary Ellen was Hospice/Palliative Consultant to the Anglican Diocese of New Westminster developing educational information and at that time produced 2 Knowledge Network Series on Hospice/ Palliative Care and Bereavement Support. She founded the Lower Mainland Grief Recovery Program and continues to facilitate the North Shore Program.

Mary Ellen has lived on Bowen for 23 years. She is a founding member of Knick Knack Nook Re-Use-It Store Society where she works in the store and coordinates the volunteers.

Joyce Ganong

B.H.Ec., M.Sc. (Human Nutrition)
As a professional nutritionist, Joyce designed nutrition education programs for school teachers in B.C., then became the head of the BC Ministry of Health Nutrition Department.
Later, she became the Executive Director of Continuing Care in the Ministry of Health, responsible for long term care facilities, adult daycare, home nursing care, homemaker services and community physiotherapy. She then moved to the Ministry of Advanced Education, responsible for apprenticeship, job training, labour market policy and vocational rehabilitation. For the past 15+ years, she has been involved in the community foundations in Red Deer and on Bowen Island.

Jane Henley

Jane’s education includes a BSN from UBC, where she worked in Pediatrics Oncology, Medical Surgery and Obstetrics for approximately 4 years. Jane moved to Hawaii and worked Obstetrics and Post Operative care recovery for 6 years. Returning to B.C. she worked as a prevention nurse on a reserve in Bella Bella for 1.5 years where she ran the health unit which included immunization, healthy baby, school program, healthy adult program and dealt with a TB outbreak in the community. Upon moving back to Bowen Island in 1997, Jane became a prevention nurse for VCH. In 2003 she became the homecare nurse for Bowen Island and West Vancouver.

Sandy Logan

Sandy has a Kinesiology degree from Dalhousie University and Physiotherapy degree from Queen’s University. She is an active member of the Wellness Centre on Bowen Island with Mary McDonagh and Catherine Shaw for the past 9 years. Her long time wish is to be part of a community-wide health and wellness initiative, giving back to a community that has provided her with so much. Sandy has been a Bowen Island resident for 42 years.

Mary McDonagh-Hoppenrath

Shahzad Mirsaeidi

Shelagh MacKinnon

Sally Molina

A Certified Family Care Aide, BC, Sally is continuing to do on-going upgrades with Vancouver Coastal Health. She has worked for two years with Fraser Cheam Home Support, as a Home Support Caregiver in Hope. She’s worked for 15 years with North Shore Home Support/Vancouver Coastal Health as a Home Support Caregiver in West Vancouver and Bowen Island. (Classification: CHW2).

Amanda Ockeloen

Amanda trained as a paramedic at the Justice Institute and worked for BC Ambulance for almost eight years. This career then segued into becoming a Training Partner with the Red Cross, teaching many levels of first aid, from the babysitters program to first responders. Recent endeavours include Emergency Planning, and promoting more access to automated external defibrillators. She has volunteered on many boards such as the Children’s Centre, Bowen Island Community School, Caring Circle, the Community Chest Foundation and is one of the leaders for the Sun Run training.