Adam has been a criminal prosecutor for approximately 17 years and is the President of the British Columbia Crown Counsel Association (BCCCA) as well as the Vice-President of the Canadian Association of Crown Counsel (CACC). As a director and member of the executive of these Associations he has focused on maintaining prosecution strength communities, mental health and wellness for prosecutors, responsible governance, access to justice, and prosecutorial independence. He is a strong proponent of prosecution exchange programs. In 2017, he spearheaded the first mental health survey of prosecutors in British Columbia and Canada. His prosecution practice is varied. He is currently assigned to Vancouver Youth Court and a largely Indigenous circuit court on British Columbia’s Central Coast. When he’s not working, he enjoys spending time with his twin sons, partner, and their 5 year old Chocolate Lab, Bourbon.
Dr. Shelley Cook is the Executive Director of Community Social Planning Council of Greater Victoria, a long-standing nonprofit/charitable organization serving Greater Victoria for 90 years. Dr. Cook has extensive experience as a senior administrator in the nonprofit sector in BC and a community-based health and social science researcher working to understand and address the social determinants of health for marginalized populations. She has a keen interest in working at the intersection of government, academia, and the community to promote system change, build capacity in the nonprofit sector, and create a safer and healthier community for all.
Julie-Ann Hunter is the Executive Director of the Victoria Youth Empowerment Society (YES), where she leads programs and partnerships that support vulnerable youth on their path to stability, wellness, and independence. A registered social worker with over 15 years’ experience in youth services, Julie-Ann combines frontline expertise with an MBA specializing in social enterprise to develop sustainable, community-driven solutions that allow youth to thrive. With a deep commitment to equity and collaboration, she works to strengthen services addressing housing, mental health, and safe third places for youth. Julie-Ann is passionate about creating opportunities for young people to be heard, valued, and empowered to build brighter futures.
Award-winning author and journalist, Grant McKenzie has been leading communications at Our Place Society for the last 12 years. A storyteller at heart, Grant brings compassion and empathy to everything he does, whether that’s writing, graphic design, photography, video creation, or leadership. During his tenure, Grant has communicated Our Place's growth to serving over 500,000 meals per year, housing over 500 individuals, and opening the first-of-its-kind long-term therapeutic recovery communities on Vancouver Island.
Dr. Ryan Herriot is a family physician and addiction medicine specialist based in Victoria, with additional training in the care of people living with HIV. He practices family medicine at Cool Aid Community Health Centre, is the medical director of AVI’s Victoria SAFER program, and sits on the board of the BC College of Family Physicians. In 2024 he co-founded the advocacy organization Doctors for Safer Drug Policy. He formerly worked as a prison physician at Vancouver Island Regional Correctional Facility.
He lives with his spouse and three kids, and he likes to cycle and to run a rousing game of Dungeons and Dragons in his “spare time.”
Mark van Bakel is the Information Management Manager at the City of Victoria, bringing over two decades of experience to his role. Having successfully transitioned from a spatial data background (Geographic Information Systems) into IT management, Mark now focuses on key areas of information management within municipal government. His current responsibilities encompass Enterprise Content Management, Records and Archives Management, and Website Governance. Additionally, Mark is actively engaged in optimizing data-driven processes and supporting evidence-based decision-making, while exploring ways to leverage emerging AI capabilities.
Joaquin is the Senior Urban Designer within the City of Victoria’s Planning and Development Department. Joaquin’s role is multi- disciplinary, working across City Departments on a range of urban design initiatives, including integrated neighbourhood and site scale master planning and design, integrated land use and transportation planning, housing policy and design, public realm and streetscape design, and place making. Before joining the City of Victoria in 2016, Joaquin was a Principal and co-founder at Modus Planning, Design and Engagement.
Lisa Lapointe is recently retired after a 30 year career with the BC Public Service, where she served most recently as BC's chief coroner from 2011 to early 2024. She is a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Award for her dedication and expertise to public service, and led the Coroners Service to receive the inaugural Premier's Award for Evidence-Based Design in 2018 for its analysis and timely reporting of data on the province's illicit drug overdose deaths. Under her leadership, the Coroners Service was the first provincial agency to sign a Declaration of Commitment to Cultural Safety and Humility with the province's First Nations Health Authority. She has served as chair of the Forum of Chief Coroners and Chief Medical Examiners of Canada, and the BCIT Forensic Sciences Program Advisory Committee. She is passionate about the importance of evidence and evaluation in the development of public policy and legislation, and particularly in the province's response to the Drug Toxicity Public Health Emergency. She is a spouse, mother, and grandmother, an avid reader, and loves cycling, walking and hiking on the rural paths near her home in Central Saanich.
Tricia brings over 20 years of Executive and senior-leadership experience in community, employment, and vocational rehabilitation services across Canada. She is driven by a passion to build strong inclusive communities, and her experience includes developing collaborative and strategic partnerships, capacity development, and achievement in delivering innovation and results. She was drawn to Beacon Community Services because of the organization’s far reaching, positive reputation and vast scope of services, and instantly connected with its mission, vision, and values.
Prior to coming to Beacon in 2021 she led the Canadian Veterans Vocational Rehabilitation Services program on behalf of March of Dimes Canada and WCG Services. She has appeared as an expert witness before the Canadian Parliamentary Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs on the delivery of front-line health and well-being services for Canadian Veterans and her recommendations were included in their report "Improving Services to Improve Quality of Life for Veterans and Their Families". She is the Past President of the Vocational Rehabilitation Association of Canada which is the Centre of Excellence providing education and research to this field across the country.
Tricia has an MBA in Executive Management from Royal Roads University and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with a minor in Economics from the University of Victoria. She is a Certified Vocational Rehabilitation Professional (CVRP), a Registered Rehabilitation Professional (RRP) and is a member of the Vocational Rehabilitation Association of Canada and the College of Vocational Professionals.
Kim Pate was appointed to the Senate of Canada on November 10, 2016. First and foremost, the mother of Michael and Madison, she is also a nationally renowned advocate who has spent the last 45+ years working in and around the legal and penal systems of Canada, with and on behalf of some of the most marginalized, victimized, criminalized and institutionalized — particularly imprisoned youth, men and women.
Senator Pate graduated from Dalhousie Law School in 1984 with honours in the Clinical Law Programme. She was the Executive Director of the Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies (CAEFS) from January 1992 until her appointment to the Senate in November 2016. She has developed and taught Prison Law, Human Rights and Social Justice and Defending Battered Women on Trial courses at the Faculties of Law at the University of Ottawa, Dalhousie University and the University of Saskatchewan. She also occupied the Sallows Chair in Human Rights at the University of Saskatchewan College of Law in 2014 and 2015.
Kim Pate is widely credited as the driving force behind the Inquiry into Certain Events at the Prison for Women in Kingston, headed by Justice Louise Arbour. During the Inquiry, she supported women as they aired their experiences and was a critical resource and witness in the Inquiry itself.
Senator Pate is a member of the Order of Canada, a recipient of the Governor General’s Award in Commemoration of the Persons Case, the Canadian Bar Association’s Bertha Wilson Touchstone Award, and six honourary doctorates (Law Society of Upper Canada, University of Ottawa, Carleton University, St. Thomas University, Wilfred Laurier University, and Nipissing University).