Board of Directors

VISOA Board of Directors 2024

Helping strata owners for over 50 years!

 

Wendy Wall, President

Wendy has served on VISOA’s board of directors since 2013, and as president since 2020 furthering VISOA’s mandate of advocacy by meeting with government, industry, and community associations. She also presents webinars and workshops to assist strata owners with the management of their strata corporations. As a graphic designer and communications specialist, she enjoys working on VISOA’s Bulletin magazine, communications strategy, and digital media marketing. She often refers to herself as a strata geek, and enjoys her free moments reading CRT decisions.

 

 

John Grubb, Vice President

John joined VISOA as a business member in 2004, and as a corporate member in 2009 when he became a strata owner. He served as vice president on his strata council from 2009 to 2022, and as VISOA’s vice president for the past four years. As a Strata Maintenance Consultant, his knowledge of strata operations and depreciation reports provides a depth of knowledge and experience that benefits VISOA’s board and members.

 

 

André de Leebeeck, Treasurer

André has been a strata owner since 2001 and serves as president of his strata council. He has also served on VISOA’s board of directors for four years, two as treasurer. André and his wife enjoy hiking, dancing and travelling. They are active with the Saanich Pulling Together programs. André is an engineer and holds an ICD.D designation, from the Institute of Corporate Directors.

 

 

Lesley Brown, Member at Large

Lesley has held senior executive positions in financial services, fintech, and technology industries over the last 23+ years. She has been involved with UVIC as a Gustavson School of Business mentor and case competition judge. She has also served on the boards of three non-profit organizations. Lesley moved to Victoria from Toronto in 2006 and, after being a long-time homeowner, moved into a small strata in 2015. In 2019, Lesley purchased a unit in a 36-member strata where she has been a council member for the last four years.

 

 

Susan Ferster, Member at Large

Susan has lived in Victoria for a little over 10 years and has been an owner in 15-unit strata on Bear Mountain since 2014 where she is currently serving on the council. She is originally from Ontario where she was an owner in a 247-unit low-rise condominium for 20 years. Susan was on the condominium association’s board for 12 years – 10 of those as president. She is a retired civil servant – working for CRA as a plain language editor for 20 years. With all the recent legislative changes to the Strata Property Act, she is hoping to use her experience to help herself and other strata owners understand and navigate these changes.

 

 

George Fisk, Member at Large

George is a retired lawyer and a former adjunct professor in the Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa. He has been a Lecturer in Law for several other universities and for the World Intellectual Property Organization. George has been a strata owner for 39 years in three provinces and has served on council numerous times. He has also served on many boards over the years. He is a former president of the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada, and is Past President of the Probus Club of Oak Bay. George was elected to VISOA’s board of directors in 2022.

 

 

Calvin Gray, Member at Large

Calvin has lived in a condo for the past seven years. While apprehensive at first, it has been a good lifestyle choice. He has been on the strata council for the past four years and believes that a strata councillor should be diplomatic, fair-minded, open, and consistent. Calvin has been a professional engineer for 30 years and is presently employed as the Chief Building and Plumbing Inspector for the City of Victoria. He has extensive technical knowledge with regard to a wide range of building construction. Where his employment might have a real, or even a perceived conflict of interest, he will step away from those matters.

 

 

Jim Griffith, Member at Large

James (Jim) Griffith, B.A, M.Ed.) spent 35 years working in post secondary education and retired from the University of Victoria as Vice President External Relations. Jim was the Director of Operations for UVIC for the 1994 Commonwealth Games. Jim has served on local, national and international professional organizations and has taught at both the undergraduate and graduate levels and worked in the area of Faculty and Staff Development. An active community member, Jim has served on the Boards of numerous cultural, non-profit, and educational associations.  His lifetime work has been with people, enhancing their experiences and enabling them to be the best they can be. Jim has lived in a strata for the past 12 years and has held several positions on council.

 

 

Jamie Stevens, Member at Large

Born and raised in Nova Scotia, Jamie was a real estate agent for most of his early career. As a volunteer at his children’s school, he became interested in the school board and served as a trustee for 10 years. During the latter part of that time, he served as president of the Nova Scotia School Boards Association. A move to Toronto in 2014 brought him back to real estate and then retirement in 2022 saw him move to Victoria. Jamie lives in a strata, serves on council, and is chair the building committee. He and his wife Cindy have two grown children.

 

 

David Stinson, Member at Large

David has been a member of VISOA since 2010 and a regular attendee at seminars and workshops ever since. For nearly a decade, he served as a strata council member in positions including secretary and president. David joined VISOA’s board of directors in 2020 to give back to VISOA members from his council experience. David is a member of VISOA’s Strata Support Team.

 

 

Office Staff:

Our Office Administrator processes memberships, manages the database, and answers members’ queries regarding membership benefits, renewals and payments. She also coordinates our quarterly bulletin and advertising, email newsletter, website updates, publications sales, and preparations for workshops and seminars.

 

Cindy Young, Office Administrator

Cindy (she/her) joined VISOA as Office Administrator in November of 2018. She has over 30 years of professional customer service experience and is dedicated to client satisfaction. She has resided in Victoria with a series of delightful & interesting cats for over 20 years and respectfully acknowledges she is an uninvited guest in the territory of the Songhees, Esquimalt, and W̱sáneć Nations. She has a somewhat jackdaw curiosity about human behaviour and the world around her and is always interested in what is going to happen next.

 

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