
ABOUT
Board of
Directors
On May 4, 1917, a year and a half after UBC opened its doors, a small group of students and graduates gathered at the shacks on Fairview Slopes to establish an alumni organization. By the second meeting, 71 graduates had joined and the Alumni Association of UBC had become a reality.
There are now more than 350,000 UBC alumni with membership growing by about 10,000 every year. As fellow alumni and board members, we are determined to honour the history and tradition of this organization by serving its members and the university to the best of our abilities.
Browsing through the pages of this website will give you an idea of the breadth and scope of our activities and the benefits that come with being a UBC alumnus.
CHAIR
Debra Doucette (Hewson), BA’81
Debra Doucette (Hewson) is President and CEO of Odlum Brown Limited, a full-service investment firm headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. Debra leads with objective and strategic insight developed from an accomplished career in the investment industry spanning over 35 years.
Debra has earned a reputation for her vision, passion and dedication as a leader in the business community. She is a board member of Providence Health Care, Drug Free Kids Canada, the UBC Sauder School of Business Faculty Advisory Board and the alumni UBC Board of Directors. Debra is also a former Industry Director and Chair of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund.
Debra is a strong supporter of Odlum Brown’s sponsorship and charitable giving programs. In 2021, she was honoured with the Order of British Columbia for her community leadership, and in 2016 received the Joseph and Rosalie Segal United Way Community Vision Award. Debra was also recognized as a 2017 Canada’s Most AdmiredTM CEO and received a 2016 BC CEO Award from Business in Vancouver. In 2015, she received an Influential Women in Business Award. In 2012, Debra was honoured with the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal and the BC Community Achievement Award, and was also inducted into the Women’s Executive Network’s Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Hall of Fame after being recognized as one of the Top 100 for three consecutive years.
PAST CHAIR
Ross Langford, BCom’89, LLB’89
Ross Langford graduated from UBC in 1989 with Law and Commerce Degrees. Ross is actively involved in the UBC universe. Besides being on the Board, Ross is a member of the UBC Okanagan Athletic Scholarship Breakfast Committee, and was the Chair of the “start an evolution” Capital Campaign for the Okanagan campus.
As a Partner at Farris LLP, Ross provides business and strategic legal advice to a diverse group of businesses, business people, and institutional clients. His legal training is complemented by a finance and business background; he holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree and has completed both the Tax Practice Course from the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants and the Canadian Securities Course. Since 2016, Ross has been peer-rated as a leading corporate lawyer in Canada by the Best Lawyers in Canada Directory™.
His other business and charitable activities include two terms as Chair of the Economic Development Commission of the Central Okanagan; multiple terms as a Director and Executive Committee member of the Central Okanagan Foundation; many years as a Director of Pacific Safety Products Inc.; was a founder, Director and Executive Committee member of the Okanagan Science & Technology Council; a member of the Investment Advisory Committee of the Altura Growth Fund (EVCC) Inc.; a member of the B.C. Business Advisory Council for the Western Diversification Secretariat of Industry Canada; a Director of the Axel Merckx Youth Development Foundation; a Director of the Apex Freestyle Ski Club; a Director of the Kelowna-Scottsdale Business Council; and, a Director of the United Way. He is also a former President of the Kelowna Bar Association and contributing writer to Okanagan Business Magazine.
VICE-CHAIR
Fred Withers, BCom’77, FCPA, FCA
Fred is a retired partner of Ernst & Young Canada, having retired in 2014 after 37 years with the Firm.
His various roles prior to retirement were as Chief Development Officer for Canada (2011 to 2014), Managing Partner Western Canada (2005 to 2011), Managing Partner British Columbia (2001 to 2005) and Program Director for the Ernst & Young Pacific Region Entrepreneur of the Year Program (2001 to 2010).
Fred has been active at the University as a member of the Sauder School of Business Faculty Advisory Board (2004 to 2014) and served as Vice Chair of the Board from 2007 to 2014. He chaired the Opening Worlds Campaign, a campaign for the major redevelopment of the business school facilities.
Fred is a member of the Thunderbird Big Block Club (rowing) and represented Canada at the 1977 Rowing World Championships and the 1979 Pan American Games (silver medal).
In the community, Fred serves as Vice-Chair of the Vancouver Symphony Foundation and is a board member of Junior Achievement of British Columbia and the Royal Columbian Hospital Foundation. He is a past chair of the Vancouver Symphony Society, the British Columbia Sports Hall of Fame & Museum, and Boys’ & Girls’ Clubs of Greater Vancouver, and a past vice chair of the Vancouver Board of Trade. Fred is married to Dr. Kathy Jones (BSc’80) and together they are the proud parents of 4 daughters.
TREASURER
Aleem Bandali, BA’99
Aleem Bandali, MBA, JD, is a partner with MNP Corporate Finance in Vancouver. He delivers a broad range of services including assisting clients with divestitures, mergers, acquisitions, raising equity and debt, and capital restructuring. Aleem has worked with clients on transactions ranging between $3 million and $30 billion in Canada, the United States and internationally.
Prior to joining MNP, Aleem was a vice president in Corporate Advisory with an international accounting firm. Actively working with companies in a diverse range of industries, Aleem has extensive experience working with clients in the manufacturing, retail, food processing, agriculture, construction, maintenance, transportation, entertainment, hospitality and real estate industries.
Aleem has a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from the University of Oregon College of Business, a Juris Doctor (JD) degree from the University of Oregon School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree (BA) from UBC. Involved in his community, Aleem volunteers his time to a number of organizations and is a board member of the BC Paraplegic Foundation, a member of the fundraising committee for KidSafe, and is also a Mentor in the Executive Mentorship Program at UBC.
In October 2015, Aleem was named to Business in Vancouver’s Top Forty Under 40, which highlights the achievements of BC’s young entrepreneurs, executives and professionals by finding
outstanding professionals worthy of the distinction. Winners have demonstrated excellence in business, judgment, leadership and community contribution.
Terms Ending 2022
Aleem Bandali, BA’99
Aleem Bandali, MBA, JD, is a partner with MNP Corporate Finance in Vancouver. He delivers a broad range of services including assisting clients with divestitures, mergers, acquisitions, raising equity and debt, and capital restructuring. Aleem has worked with clients on transactions ranging between $3 million and $30 billion in Canada, the United States and internationally.
Prior to joining MNP, Aleem was a vice president in Corporate Advisory with an international accounting firm. Actively working with companies in a diverse range of industries, Aleem has extensive experience working with clients in the manufacturing, retail, food processing, agriculture, construction, maintenance, transportation, entertainment, hospitality and real estate industries.
Aleem has a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from the University of Oregon College of Business, a Juris Doctor (JD) degree from the University of Oregon School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree (BA) from UBC. Involved in his community, Aleem volunteers his time to a number of organizations and is a board member of the BC Paraplegic Foundation, a member of the fundraising committee for KidSafe, and is also a Mentor in the Executive Mentorship Program at UBC.
In October 2015, Aleem was named to Business in Vancouver’s Top Forty Under 40, which highlights the achievements of BC’s young entrepreneurs, executives and professionals by finding
outstanding professionals worthy of the distinction. Winners have demonstrated excellence in business, judgment, leadership and community contribution.
Ian Banks, BA’92
Ian is Chief Information Officer at Metrie (formerly Moulding & Millwork / Sauder Industries Ltd.). Established in 1926 as a family owned and operated company, Metrie has helped transform spaces with exquisitely crafted architectural trim. Today, Metrie is North America’s leading manufacturer and distributor of solid wood and MDF interior finishing products, with 30 distribution centers and 8 manufacturing facilities in the US and Canada.
Ian has 20-years diverse business experience in Operations, Finance, Sales, Marketing and Information Technology. Prior to joining the Metrie Team in 2013, Ian worked with Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (RBA) to develop and launch new solutions that doubled RBA’s total addressable market. Ian was President of an Internet-based startup company based in Vancouver and, from 2006-2010, as Vice President of Global IT at PMC-Sierra (a leading provider of broadband communications and storage semiconductors), Ian led an IT Team responsible for global networks, infrastructure, applications and security in North America, Europe, Israel and Asia.
Ian also led the Western Canadian IT services and software solutions team at an $8B telecommunications company, the BC-based Management Consulting Practice at Fujitsu (formerly DMR) Consulting, and was CIO at a major transportation services Crown Corporation. He also served as Visiting Professor in Simon Fraser University’s Masters in Business Administration Program.
Ian received a Bachelor in Economics degree from University of British Columbia in 1992, and a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Western Ontario in 1999. His Board experience includes for-profit and not-for-profit Boards including the BC Safety Authority, the CIO Association of Canada, and the Saint James Community Service Society – a large Vancouver-based charitable organization.
Miranda Huron, BA’02, MEd’16
For over 20 years, Miranda Huron, a member of the Mattawa North Bay Algonquins, has worked in Indigenous education with a specialization in language revitalization. Miranda is the Director of Indigenous Education and Affairs at Capilano University in North Vancouver. She came to this role fresh from her time as the Director of Indigenous Languages and Affairs at the Assembly of First Nations, where she led the team representing First Nations’ interests in the co-development and negotiation of the Indigenous Languages Act, which received Royal Assent under her tenure on June 21, 2019. Miranda received both her BA and her MEd at UBC, and is currently working on her UBC doctoral research exploring the concept of co-development and its relation to self-determination.
Miranda has sat on the Premier’s Advisory Committee on Aboriginal Training, the UBC Vice-President’s Strategic Implementation Committee for Equity and Diversity, the UBC Senate (past) and the Capilano University Senate (current).
In her spare time, she likes to cycle across continents and spend time in the ocean or in the mountains.
Ross Langford, BCom’89, LLB’89
Ross Langford graduated from UBC in 1989 with Law and Commerce Degrees. Ross is actively involved in the UBC universe. Besides being on the Board, Ross is a member of the UBC Okanagan Athletic Scholarship Breakfast Committee, and was the Chair of the “start an evolution” Capital Campaign for the Okanagan campus.
As a Partner at Farris LLP, Ross provides business and strategic legal advice to a diverse group of businesses, business people, and institutional clients. His legal training is complemented by a finance and business background; he holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree and has completed both the Tax Practice Course from the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants and the Canadian Securities Course. Since 2016, Ross has been peer-rated as a leading corporate lawyer in Canada by the Best Lawyers in Canada Directory™.
His other business and charitable activities include two terms as Chair of the Economic Development Commission of the Central Okanagan; multiple terms as a Director and Executive Committee member of the Central Okanagan Foundation; many years as a Director of Pacific Safety Products Inc.; was a founder, Director and Executive Committee member of the Okanagan Science & Technology Council; a member of the Investment Advisory Committee of the Altura Growth Fund (EVCC) Inc.; a member of the B.C. Business Advisory Council for the Western Diversification Secretariat of Industry Canada; a Director of the Axel Merckx Youth Development Foundation; a Director of the Apex Freestyle Ski Club; a Director of the Kelowna-Scottsdale Business Council; and, a Director of the United Way. He is also a former President of the Kelowna Bar Association and contributing writer to Okanagan Business Magazine.
Patricia Mohr, BA’68, MA’70
Patricia Mohr is a former Vice-President, Economics and Commodity Market Specialist at Scotiabank’s Executive Offices in Toronto (before retiring in April 2016). Pat worked closely with Corporate and Investment Banking – including the Mining, Oil & Gas, Forest Products and Agriculture teams – with Wealth Management and with Global Risk Management. Scotiabank is the top corporate mining bank across Canada and North & South America, with extensive offices throughout China, India and the Far East. Scotia Mocatta is the world’s No. 1 physical trader of gold, is a member of the LBMA gold price setting and the Shanghai Gold Exchange, while Scotia Waterous is a leading global player in energy M&A.
Ms. Mohr developed the ‘Scotiabank Commodity Price Index’ – the first Index designed to measure price trends for Canadian commodities in export markets. Pat is a frequent speaker at international conferences such as ‘China Mining 2015’ in Tianjin, the 11th International Gold & Silver Symposium’ in Lima, Peru, the PDAC in Toronto and the Platts’ Crude Oil Markets Conference in Houston.
In February 2013, Pat was honoured to receive the prestigious Metal Bulletin Apex Awards in London for the most accurate gold and precious metal price forecasts of 2012 (in a poll of 26 institutional analysts).
Ms. Mohr holds an Honours B.A. Degree and an M.A. Degree in Economics from the University of British Columbia and has been a member of the UBC Toronto Leadership Circle.
Pat has recently joined the Board of Directors of the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade on the Policy Council. Ms. Mohr is a member of the Board of Directors for Emissions Reduction Alberta (ERA) – channelling public funds into leading-edge R&D for GHG mitigation. Pat is also a Director of the ‘Centre for Research & Innovation in the Bio-Economy’, established by the Ontario Government to fund and commercialize forest-based biotechnology.
Prior to joining Scotiabank, Ms. Mohr spent a number of years with Alberta Energy Co. Ltd. (now EnCana Corp.) in Calgary and with CP Ships and Canadian Pacific Bermuda in London England as Corporate Economist. Pat enjoyed working with senior management on ship charter and investment strategy for the company’s international tanker & bulk carrier fleet. Ms. Mohr began her career with Natural Resources Canada in Ottawa.
Fred Withers, BCom’77, FCPA, FCA
Fred is a retired partner of Ernst & Young Canada, having retired in 2014 after 37 years with the Firm.
His various roles prior to retirement were as Chief Development Officer for Canada (2011 to 2014), Managing Partner Western Canada (2005 to 2011), Managing Partner British Columbia (2001 to 2005) and Program Director for the Ernst & Young Pacific Region Entrepreneur of the Year Program (2001 to 2010).
Fred has been active at the University as a member of the Sauder School of Business Faculty Advisory Board (2004 to 2014) and served as Vice Chair of the Board from 2007 to 2014. He chaired the Opening Worlds Campaign, a campaign for the major redevelopment of the business school facilities.
Fred is a member of the Thunderbird Big Block Club (rowing) and represented Canada at the 1977 Rowing World Championships and the 1979 Pan American Games (silver medal).
In the community, Fred serves as Vice-Chair of the Vancouver Symphony Foundation and is a board member of Junior Achievement of British Columbia and the Royal Columbian Hospital Foundation. He is a past chair of the Vancouver Symphony Society, the British Columbia Sports Hall of Fame & Museum, and Boys’ & Girls’ Clubs of Greater Vancouver, and a past vice chair of the Vancouver Board of Trade. Fred is married to Dr. Kathy Jones (BSc’80) and together they are the proud parents of 4 daughters.
Terms Ending 2023
Anna Fung, BA’81, LLB’84
Anna Fung has practiced law in British Columbia for more than 34 years, 21 of which she served as corporate counsel at three large Canadian corporations.
Anna was appointed as a British Columbia Utilities Commissioner in 2018 and as Deputy Chair in 2019, after serving as Vice President, Legal & General Counsel for TimberWest Forest Corp., where she also served as its inaugural Chief Ethics Officer. From 2009-2011, Anna was Counsel and Chief Privacy Officer at Intrawest ULC and, prior to Intrawest, served as Senior Counsel and Chief Privacy Officer at Terasen Inc., for 15 years.
She is the Chair of the BC Unclaimed Property Society and has served as President of the British Columbia Law Society, Canadian Corporate Counsel Association, People’s Law School, Association of Chinese Canadian Professionals and BC Autism Association. She is a past a director for Vancouver Airport Authority, the Vancouver Foundation, the BC Law Foundation, the Continuing Legal Education Society, Westcoast LEAF, the Canadian Bar Association and Arts Club Theatre Society.
In 2012, she received the UBC Allard School of Law Alumni Association Award of Distinction. She has been a member of the Dean’s Advisory Committee for the Centre for Business Law at the Allard School of Law since its inception and served on the alumni UBC Advisory Council from 2013-2018.
Grant Munro, BSc’01
Grant Munro is a Toronto-based entrepreneur who recently founded a B2B venture studio aimed at launching 3-4 new SW businesses a year. Previously, he was founder and CEO of Flashstock Technology Inc., a leading provider of on-demand visual content for the world’s leading brands. In 2017, Flashstock was acquired by Shutterstock for $75 million Canadian. To date, Grant has helped more than 250 enterprise marketing teams, including AB InBev, L’Oréal, Nestlé, and McDonald’s, amongst many others, change the way they think, develop, and source creative content at scale.
Grant holds an MBA from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto and a BSc in Computer Science from the University of British Columbia. He has served as an Associate at the Creative Destruction Lab at the University of British Columbia since 2017.
Laura Silvester, BCom’11
Laura Silvester is currently the Director, Product Strategy & Ecosystem at Hootsuite where she is responsible for building a thriving ecosystem of developers and enterprise apps and for overall product strategy.
Previously, Laura led eCommerce for ivivva, lululemon athletica’s internal start-up and brand for girls aged 6-14. She also worked as a management consultant at McKinsey & Company and served as a Board Director for the non-profit organization, JDC West.
Laura graduated from the Sauder School of Business in 2011 and received the Dorothy Anne Dilworth Memorial Shield for the most outstanding female graduate in the B.Comm program based on academics and volunteer contributions. As President of the Sauder Commerce Undergraduate Society (CUS), she introduced major constitutional reform including the establishment of the CUS Board of Directors.
She is a co-founder and Alumni Leader of Sauder: In Real Life, a life strategy program for students at the Sauder School of Business. As a strategic thinker, operational problem-solver, and purpose-driven leader, Laura’s purpose is to elevate the world by solving big problems together with other lifelong learners.
Terms Ending 2024
Connie Fair, BCom’84, MBA’88
Connie Fair has a BCom and MBA from UBC. She also obtained the designation of CPA, CMA and was named a Fellow of the BC CPA. Connie is a member of the Real Estate Institute of British Columbia and was awarded an honorary designation with the Appraisal Institute of Canada to recognize her work within the professional appraisal community. In 2012, she earned her designation as an Institute-Certified Director through the Institute of Corporate Directors. Connie was named one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women by the WXN, awarded Top CEO in the Public Services category by Business in Vancouver and a Woman of Distinction in Business and Professions by the YWCA.
At the end of 2020, Connie Fair retired after working almost 40 years in various executive roles in real estate and the public sector. Her most recent position was five years as the President and CEO of the Land Title and Survey Authority of BC (LTSA), a world leader in land-related registries offering online services. Prior to the LTSA, Connie spent eight years as the President and CEO of BC Assessment, where she helped that organization earn a reputation as one of the world’s leaders in property assessment. Earlier in her career, Connie worked as a real estate consultant, and was the Associate Director of the Real Estate Division within the UBC’s Sauder School of Business Administration.
An accomplished author and speaker, Connie is recognized internationally as an expert in leadership and the innovative application of technology in property valuation, registries and customer service.
Mauro Manzi, BCom’95
Mauro Manzi is Chief Commercial, Retail and Wealth Officer at Coast Capital Savings. He has over 25 years of experience in financial services with a background combining Executive Leadership roles in Commercial, Business and Retail Banking.
Prior to his role at Coast Capital, Mauro held a number of instrumental positions with TD Bank most recently as Senior Vice-President, Pacific Region where he was accountable for developing and mobilizing 3000+ employees across BC and Yukon. Previous roles at TD Bank include Vice President, Greater Toronto Area Region; District Vice President, Commercial Banking, Pacific Region; AVP Business Banking Sales and Service, and District Vice President, TD Canada Trust.
Mauro actively contributes to a number of charity and non-profit organizations through community board positions. He recently served as Secretary and Treasurer for the United Way of the Lower Mainland having also led the Campaign Cabinet prior to joining the Board. He is currently President of the Famiglia Bagnolese Society where he works to promote education, social activity, youth engagement, sports, and fine arts within the Bagnolese community, and has served as a board member for the Merrymount Children’s Centre, The Surrey Board of Trade, and the Vancouver Society of Children’s Centres.
Mauro also puts his Provincial Soccer Referee License to good use as referee for the Fraser Valley Men’s Soccer league. He resides in Surrey, BC, with his wife Luisa, and their two children aged 17 and 15 years.
Rahim Moloo, LLB’05
Rahim Moloo is a partner in the New York office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP where he assists his clients to resolve their international disputes.
Concurrently, Rahim is an Adjunct Professor at Columbia Law School in New York, where he teaches an advanced course on international arbitration. Rahim has also published extensively on matters of international law and international disputes. His latest book on international arbitration was published by Oxford University Press in 2018.
Mr. Moloo was named by Law360 as one of five “MVPs” for international arbitration globally for 2020, one of the top international arbitration lawyers globally by Chambers and Partners, and among the top 500 global litigation lawyers in 2021 by Lawdragon. He has also been General Counsel for an international organization, a Visiting Fellow at the Lauterpacht Center for International Law at the University of Cambridge, a Senior Fellow at Columbia Law School, and a member of the Executive Council of the American Society of International Law.
Rahim is a former recipient of alumni UBC’s Outstanding Young Alumnus award. While at UBC, Rahim won the World Public Speaking Championships and the Canadian National Debating Championships. After UBC, he obtained a graduate degree in law at NYU School of Law, where he graduated as the All-University Commencement Speaker.
Shom Sen, BCom’84
Shom Sen is a corporate director and a company advisor. He has served in senior strategy, marketing and business development roles in the United States and Asia in leading Fortune 500 companies such as Kraft Foods, H. J. Heinz, Sara Lee, Mondelez and Royal Dutch Shell. He has led both organic growth initiatives as well as successful joint ventures, strategic alliances and M&A deals including being a core team member on a global multi-billion dollar acquisition.
After returning to Canada, Shom served as the Assistant Deputy Minister of International Trade in British Columbia before being selected as the first recipient of the Jack Wadsworth Fellowship by Asia Society (New York). Most recently, he was the President and CEO of BCAA, a large non-profit organization with insurance, car share and road assist services. Shom was recognized as a Glassdoor Top CEO in Canada in 2018.
In terms of board experience, Shom has served on the boards of BCAA, Preventable, the Campaign Cabinet of the United Way (Lower Mainland) and the Presidents Group, which aims to increase employment opportunities for people with disabilities.
Shom is a graduate of the University of British Columbia and Harvard Business School. He received his ICD.D. designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors.
Dr. Amin Shivji, BSc’88, DMD’93
Dr. Amin Shivji graduated from UBC in 1988 with a BSc in Biology and entered the Faculty of Dentistry at UBC, graduating in 1993. Upon graduation, he opened his first dental clinic with two partners in Vancouver, BC. In July 2017, Dr. Shivji co-founded the 123Dentist national platform, creating Canada’s oldest and largest majority-dentist owned network of over 225 dental practices and 3,000 team members. As the CEO of 123Dentist, he believes putting patients above all else is the most essential component to any successful dental practice.
Dr. Shivji is an advocate for the industry and generously contributes his time and resources to dental institutions and other worthy causes. He’s an experienced operator, an active mentor, respected clinician and still enjoys practicing dentistry today.
Debra Doucette (Hewson), BA’81
Debra Doucette (Hewson) is President and CEO of Odlum Brown Limited, a full-service investment firm headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. Debra leads with objective and strategic insight developed from an accomplished career in the investment industry spanning over 35 years.
Debra has earned a reputation for her vision, passion and dedication as a leader in the business community. She is a board member of Providence Health Care, Drug Free Kids Canada, the UBC Sauder School of Business Faculty Advisory Board and the alumni UBC Board of Directors. Debra is also a former Industry Director and Chair of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund.
Debra is a strong supporter of Odlum Brown’s sponsorship and charitable giving programs. In 2021, she was honoured with the Order of British Columbia for her community leadership, and in 2016 received the Joseph and Rosalie Segal United Way Community Vision Award. Debra was also recognized as a 2017 Canada’s Most AdmiredTM CEO and received a 2016 BC CEO Award from Business in Vancouver. In 2015, she received an Influential Women in Business Award. In 2012, Debra was honoured with the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal and the BC Community Achievement Award, and was also inducted into the Women’s Executive Network’s Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Hall of Fame after being recognized as one of the Top 100 for three consecutive years.
Howard Soon, BSc’74, DSc’20
Howard Soon is Master Winemaker at Vanessa Vineyard Estate Winery Inc., who has spent most of his career as winemaker and is well known for sharing his expertise as a collaborator, mentor, and wine educator.
A graduate of the Faculty of Science in biochemistry, Howard spent five years in the brewing industry before steering his creativity in a new direction. For the next 37 years – from 1980 to 2017 – he was involved in winemaking at Calona Vineyards of Kelowna, including as the founding winemaker of the award-winning Sandhill Wines.
His commitment to the industry is highlighted by his volunteer work on various industry and government boards including the Scientific Advisory Board for Grape and Wine Genomics, a research project involving Genome BC and Genome Canada. He is recipient of numerous wine industry awards and was honoured as a Member of the Order of Canada in 2019.
He is an industry advisor at the UBC Wine Research Centre and is a former Faculty of Land & Food Systems Advisory Board member. Howard is a regular speaker and a panelist at UBC events on both UBC campuses and also leads local and international wine tours through the alumni UBCTravel Club program.
In 2020, UBC awarded Howard with an honorary Doctor of Science degree.
Ex-Officio
UBC CHANCELLOR
Steven Lewis Point, LLB’85, LLD’13
The Honourable Steven Lewis Point is a double alumnus of UBC and retained close ties with the University after receiving his Bachelor of Laws in 1985. Mr. Point served as director of the First Nations Legal Studies program at the Peter A. Allard School of Law from 1991 to 1994. He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree in 2013 for his exceptional commitment in the field of law, legal and Aboriginal education, and his leadership in the Indigenous community.
In addition to his role as the 28th Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia, Point’s career included practicing as a lawyer, working at the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs and in the Department of Employment & Immigration, serving as a provincial court judge and the Chief Commissioner of the British Columbia Treaty Commission, and chairing the advisory committee that worked to implement the recommendations from the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry.
Mr. Point is a member of the Skowkale First Nation and has advocated for Indigenous people throughout his career, pressing for greater recognition of their contributions and their fuller involvement in all aspects of life in British Columbia.
Mr. Point is a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Golden and Diamond Jubilee Medals, the Order of B.C, the Joseph H. Cohen Award from the Justice Institute of British Columbia Foundation, a National Aboriginal Achievement Award, the Order of Chilliwack, and honourary Doctorate of Laws degrees from the University of the Fraser Valley and Capilano University.
VICE-PRESIDENT, DEVELOPMENT AND ALUMNI ENGAGEMENT
UBC PRESIDENT OR DESIGNATE
Heather McCaw, BCom’86
Heather McCaw rejoined her alma mater in 2018 to lead its Development and Alumni Relations (DAE) portfolio, having served previously as the Vice-President of Advancement at the University of Alberta. As UBC’s Vice-President, DAE, Heather leads the development and alumni engagement activities across the university’s two campuses. Over the course of her career, she has been involved in several major campaigns and co-directed UBC’s historic “start an evolution” fundraising and alumni engagement campaign which raised over $1.6 billion from 2008 through 2015 and actively engaged more than 130,000 alumni in the life of the university.
In addition to 25 years of experience in the post-secondary sector, Heather was vice-president of two associated consulting companies, Give Canada Fundraising Corporation and Spectrum Marketing Corporation. These organizations specialize in securing strategic business partnerships and multimillion- dollar donations on behalf of non-profit clients that have included the United Way of the Lower Mainland, the Rick Hansen Foundation, the universities of Calgary and Victoria, and the Toronto Rehab Foundation. Heather’s volunteer activities have focused on social services, education, and disability resources.
Heather has a BCom from UBC and has worked at UBC for more than 20 years in total throughout her career.
ASSOCIATE VICE-PRESIDENT / EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ALUMNI UBC
Natalie Cook Zywicki
Natalie Cook Zywicki is a member of the University of British Columbia’s development and alumni engagement leadership team. As the Executive Director/AVP for alumni UBC, Natalie plays a key role in leading efforts towards establishing a strong, sustainable and growing culture of alumni engagement at UBC and building a robust, strategic partnership between the alumni association and the university.
Natalie served as the Associate Executive Director at alumni UBC during UBC’s highly successful start an evolution alumni engagement and fundraising campaign, which concluded in September 2015. This dual-goal campaign was unique in Canada and exceeded expectations by raising $1.624 billion and engaging 130,005 alumni (more than doubling the annual rate of engagement since its launch).
In 2009, Natalie was appointed the Director of University Partnerships at alumni UBC and was tasked with the unique challenge of establishing a cohesive campus-wide alumni engagement program. Today, as the result of Natalie’s leadership, UBC has a highly effective cross-campus alumni engagement program that works collaboratively.
Over the past 30 years, Natalie has enjoyed successful careers in student recruitment, alumni engagement and fundraising in the post-secondary sector. Prior to joining UBC, Natalie launched her career in student recruitment at Brock University and then served six years at McMaster University successfully leading the DeGroote School of Business alumni and development program. In 2004, Natalie joined UBC as the Manager of Development and went on to lead the Faculty of Medicine’s alumni and development program, as well as the annual giving program.
Natalie, holds a BA and an MBA and has presented at several Canadian Council for the Advancement of Education (CCAE) national conferences and is currently serving on the CCAE National Board.
UBC ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
Alumni Association Constitution
Alumni Association By-Laws
CONTACT
Please contact us at alumni.board@ubc.ca or 604.822.8923 if you have any questions related to alumni UBC‘s Board of Directors.