Trent Derrick is a small business owner from Prince George, BC. With over 25 years of leadership in the private, public, and non-profit sectors, Trent believes in the importance of community building to create a better future. Trent was elected as a school trustee in School District #57, where he focused on food security, truth and reconciliation, addressing racism, homophobia, and discrimination, and supporting vulnerable students. As a Gitxsan First Nations leader, from Gitanyow, Trent’s work in the community focusses on capacity building, conscious leadership, and equity, diversity, and inclusion.
Mayor Michelle Staples served seven years on Duncan City Council before being elected to her first term as Mayor in 2018, becoming the first woman to serve in that position. She is a mother in transition of adapting to being an empty nester, a lover of hockey and lacrosse, who is engaged deeply in her community, and has spent a large portion of her career as an independent contractor, facilitator who has volunteered with a long list of local organizations and groups. She works as the Executive Director of Social Planning Cowichan and has been involved in community development in the Cowichan Valley for well over 20 years with a significant amount of work dedicated to Reconciliation, Climate Change, Equity and Justice issues. She holds a BA in Applied Communications, Diplomas in Business Administration and Computer Technology, and certifications in Facilitation, Counselling Inclusive Leadership, Mediation, and Diversity Training. She is working on her level 3 Local Government Certification and has plans to resume her studies to complete her Master’s Degree in Integrated Studies. She sits on several boards and committees some as a voting member, others as a non-voting liaison, all diverse, each filled with people working together committed to doing what they can to apply solutions to some of the most unprecedented challenges faced in our lifetime. She truly believes that the only way forward is working together where we can achieve anything if we have the openness to listen, the willingness to try and the courage to lead.
Cheryl moved to Vancouver Island in 2020 and joined the leadership team of Our Place Society, as the Director of the New Roads Therapeutic Recovery Community. Over the past four years the New Roads Program has become a leader in Mental Health and Addictions Treatment, as a long-term recovery centre for men. New Roads will be opening a long-term treatment program for women at the end of 2024. Prior to moving to the Island Cheryl committed over 30 years of her career supporting children, youth and families with Child and Family Services in Alberta, with many of those years as an Executive Manager. Cheryl is passionate about working from a strength-based and collaborative lens and has spent her career leading staff, initiatives, and strategies from an evidence-based perspective.
Melanie Kebler was elected as the City of Bend’s Mayor in 2022, after first being elected to the City Council in 2020. Kebler grew up in Bend, graduating from Bend High, and returned to her home town in 2018.. As Mayor, Kebler has focused on creating a safe and equitable community, fighting climate change, tackling housing affordability and houselessness, improving transportation for all, and promoting economic development. During her time so far on Council, Bend has approved almost 1000 new affordable homes, created its first ever traffic roundabout with physical protection for people who bike, invested millions of one-time state and federal funds into solving homelessness, and won significant federal grants for transportation infrastructure that will reconnect the community in climate-friendly ways.
Kebler has spent her career working for the public, serving for years as a state prosecutor and a crime victims’ rights attorney before being elected to the Council. Kebler attended the University of Michigan, where she received a BA in English and Classic Civilizations, then earned a law degree at Portland’s Lewis and Clark Law School. Kebler lives in Bend with her husband and young daughter and enjoys crafting, hiking, cycling and exploring nature with her family.
Brianna is a local artist and traditional knowledge keeper from the Songhees Nation. With 15 plus years of learning from Elders and teachers in her local territory she has had the honour of creating art to tell stories and sharing local teachings with the wider community of Victoria. Being second generation in her family to not have gone to residential school Brianna brings a transformative lens to learning about local teachings, protocols and history.
Whether by collaborating with other members of Council, with various community groups, and with regional and city committees, Nathan has worked hard to bring forward awareness around intersecting components of affordable, sustainable, healthy, happy, and accessible community design. He has appeared in print, radio, and television, talking about affordable housing and
transportation in our region. He has helped bring world-renowned urban design speakers to the community. As a strong supporter of agricultural and green spaces, he authored a report on the Agricultural Land Reserve entitled “Decade of Exclusions? A Snapshot of the Agricultural Land Reserve from 2000-2009 in the South of Fraser.” He believes we need a diverse transportation system that allows people to take transit, cycle, walk, or drive throughout the entire region. He co-authored a report “Leap Ahead: A transit plan
for Metro Vancouver” to bring awareness to the importance of accessible transit networks. He worked with other members of Council to put forward policies to ensure we protect and renew our seniors' affordable housing. He will continue working to ensure Langley City is a place that working folks can call home. In 2010, he completed the SFU & City of Surrey Transportation Lecture Program and presented on “Complete Streets.” Nathan was first elected to Council in a 2016 by-election and elected Mayor in 2022.
Michelle brings over 25 years of expertise in strategic communications and public engagement to her role as the Strategic Planning and Communications Advisor for the City of Victoria. Over the past 17 years, she has collaborated extensively across all departments to support City programs, services and initiatives. Michelle is passionate about ensuring that all community voices are heard and believes inclusive engagement is essential for informed Council decisions. Some notable achievements include engaging with local equity-seeking groups to help inform the City’s annual budget, spearheading the international award-winning Prepare Victoria recipe for disaster public awareness campaign and providing communications support to the Victoria Reconciliation Dialogues series and the OUR DWTN revitalization program. Additionally, she has played a key role in engaging the community and stakeholder groups for the Government Street Refresh project. Michelle holds the APR Accreditation in Public Relations from the Canadian Public Relations Society and serves as the Board Secretary for the local chapter. She also has a Certificate in Public Participation from the International Association for Public Participation.
Mayor Sean Krausert (he/him) was elected as Mayor of Canmore, Alberta in the beautiful Canadian Rockies in October 2021. Prior to that he was twice elected to Town Council. Sean has a breadth and depth of professional experience that he brings to the mayor’s office, including having previously been a lawyer, a director of overseas relief and development, COO of a resort development, and many adventures as a social justice advocate. His formal education is in the realm of political science, law, and conflict resolution. Canmore has a permanent population approaching 20,000 people and hosts millions of visitors every year from all over the world. Further, according to the Statistics Canada’s use of the gini index, Canmore has the greatest disparity in income in Canada. It is in this context of multi-cultural, diverse identification, and varied socio-economic demographics that Canmore aims to create a safe, inclusive place for all.
Kate Dexter has been a resident of Port Angeles for 12 years. Kate moved to Port Angeles from 2001 to 2003 and moved back again with her family in 2012. Kate grew up in Seattle and has always loved the Northwest. She earned a BA in history and public service at Albion College, Albion, MI, and moved back for graduate school at University of Washington where she earned her Master of Public Administration. When she is not doing council work, Kate is a Program Specialist in the nursing department at Peninsula College. Kate enjoys spending time outside, treasure hunting at Estate Sales and thrift shops, and is always up for a game of pickleball with friends.
Janine Theobald is an experienced facilitator who joined the Mental Health Recovery Partners South Island team as Executive Director in January of 2023.
Since 2011, she has worked in progressive leadership positions in the homelessness and mental health sectors. As Director of Collaborative engagement at the Greater Victoria Coalition to End Homelessness she championed peer-led and delivered programming, and creation of pathways to peer leadership.
She served on the Board of Directors of the Victoria Multifaith Society for 6 years. She currently sits on the Boards of the Restorative Justice Victoria Society and Peers Victoria Resources Society. Her lived experience, and background in Mental Health and Addictions, and Acute and Community Care during her 7 years with Island Health crystallized her belief that a person-centered approach is foundational to healing and enduring change.