Change in Terms of Offices – Important Notice

A motion to revised our Society’s board structure so that each year we will have an election for a portion of the board, passed at the March3rd, 2016 Annual General Meeting.

To facilitate this, some positions we extended to a 3 year term , bringing them up for election in March 2017.  Those positions are, President, Education Coordinator, Catholic Women’s League Liaison, Knights of Columbus Liaison, and Volunteer Coordinator.

Other positions such as Vice-President, Treasurer, Recording Secretary, and the followng chairs: Communications, Fundraising, Eva’s House Liaison, and Thrfit Store Liaison were elected for a two year term, bring them up for election in March 2018.

Robert Tanaka

President 2017-present; Treasurer 2016-2018

Bob is a Chartered Professional Accountant – CA, who has been in public practice since 1981.  Originally from Kamloops, he has lived in the Lower Mainland since graduating from UBC.  Bob is a  charter member of the Knights of Columbus, St. Clare of Assisi Council and has been its Financial Secretary since the inception of the Council in 2007.

Bob has volunteered in various capacities for charitable organizations including the Coquitlam Foundation, the Coquitlam Public Library, the Coquitlam Festival Society and Crossroads Hospice Society and Foundation.  He also served as a Parish representative on the Board of Archbishop Carney Regional Secondary School in Coquitlam and was its chair for three years.

As an accountant Bob gets involved initially in the financial aspects of the organization, but he enjoys getting involved in the strategic planning and in helping organizations move forward and expanding their services.

Maureen Fadum

President 2014-2017; Past President 2017-Present; Education Chairperson 2017-Present

A member of DAS since the 1990s Maureen has been an active member of the board since 2010 when she took on the fundraising special events portfolio. She came to BC from Ontario in 1966 as a Frontier Lay Apostle with Bishop O’Grady and has a history of social responsibility and working to enrich the lives of others. Maureen’s background in education and educational administration has given her the skills to manage large projects and work with a variety of people. In her early years of teaching she worked with low income families and has a passion for helping children and families. With a Masters Degree in Administration Maureen is happy to share her skills, passion and experience with the DAS Board. Maureen is excited about taking the leadership role on the Board and working with such a dedicated and talented group of people. She is confident that together they will move the Society forward in the spirit of the many wonderful people who have served on the board over the last 20 years.

Susan Schembri

Volunteer Coordinator 2014-2017, Treasurer 2018-Present

Susan has been a member of the Catholic Women’s League since 1991 and DAS-OLGCS for a number of years. She and her husband have 2 adopted children.  During her banking career of over 40 years her life was centred on her family. Now that she has retired, she wishes to give back to her community and Parish. She is a Past President with the CWL Parish Council at All Saints Parish in Coquitlam and has been on the Vancouver CWL Diocesan Council for 6 years. Her last position was Spiritual Convener. Her strong interpersonal skills and organizational skills helped her decide to accept the position of Volunteer Coordinator on DAS-OLGCS. Helping people is her passion and working with people is her strength. She looks forward to being on the Board and working with other passionate volunteers.

Leslie Mitchell

Recording Secretary 2016-Present

After 42 years serving parishes in Edmonton, Leslie and her husband, Dennis moved to Surrey in 2012.  They joined St. Matthew’s parish and Leslie served on the CWL Executive; first as recording secretary and is currently president of the Council.  Leslie teaches in the Parish Religious Education Program and volunteers in the community.  A retired federal public servant, Leslie is happy to bring her skills to the Domestic Abuse Services – Our Lady of Good Counsel Society’s Board.

Maureen Carter

Thrift Store Liaison, 2016-2018

Originally from Vancouver, Maureen lived and worked for 25 years in the US and England before retiring from Huntington Beach, California to North Vancouver in 2006. She and her husband have four children and five grandchildren. She has volunteered in many organizations over the years;  working with children with disabilities, Susan G. Komen Cancer Foundation, Covenant House, Ten Thousand Villages, CWL, Agape, and the DAS-OLGCS Helpline.  Her work background in retail management, interior design, and fashion presentation has made for an easy transition as a volunteer at Thrifters’ Paradise.  Maureen’s motto in life as always been “do as much good as you can for as long as you can”.

Ian McDonald

Knights of Columbus Liaison 2014-Present; Eva's House Chair 2016-Present

A charter member of the Knights of Columbus Council at St. Clare of Assisi parish in Coquitlam, serving in numerous capacities including Grand Knight, Ian is enthusiastic about acting as Knights of Columbus Liaison in his new role as a Director with DAS.  Ian, his wife Roxanne and their two children moved from the Calgary to the West Coast in 2001 where he continued a successful career in information technology, leading an Internet application service provider and most recently training sales representatives and sales leaders for a major Canadian telecommunications firm.  Ian recognizes the Knights of Columbus are a powerful voice for families and looks forward to cultivating their strong tradition of Charity to the benefit of DAS and the women and children we serve.

Jody Garneau

Communications 2018-Present

Jody Garneau is currently the Adult Faith Formation and RCIA coordinator at St. Ann’s Parish, Abbotsford and a member of the CWL. She is also a single mother of four daughters, all of whom she homeschooled using a classical curriculum. Jody teaches science and Catholic Doctrine for their online homeschool, Mother of Divine Grace. Jody’s youngest daughter is finishing grade 11. The three older girls have gone on to Thomas Aquinas College in California, Jody’s alma mater.

Jody holds a BA in liberal arts and she is currently enrolled in the Masters in Clinical Counseling online program with Divine Mercy University, Arlington, VA. She has interest in mental health and trauma treatment.

Jody has held various volunteer roles in the community and her parish. In her leisure time, she enjoys creating, reading, and spending time with her friends and family.

Elaine Moonen

Co-Founder 1995; Member-at-Large 2010-2018; Volunteer Coordinator 2019

With a Degree in Social Work from UBC followed by working with children and single mothers at Vancouver Children’s Aid Society, Elaine became a founding member of the RCAV Catholic Family Services. Her experience in family and marriage counseling and passion to help others lead Elaine to become a founding member of Domestic Abuse Services – Our Lady of Good Counsel Society in 1995. She is active in her parish liturgies and with the Catholic Women’s League, and has been a member of Providence Health Care Society since 2001 and is currently the Past Chair of that society’s Board of Directors.

Suzanne Latta

Volunteer Coordinator 2019; Education Chair 1999-2007

Suzanne is returning to the Society Board of Directors after many years; however, she has been a long-standing force on our Education committee working tirelessly with our Helpline Training team. In the past, she was also instrumental in creating the very first poster for the Society, alongside Claudie Desmarais and Roger Kibble of Creative Solutions Inc., designing the house logo for Our Lady of Good Counsel. For 10 years, Suzanne and her husband, Roger, partnered together to form a team of educators; preparing and presenting a variety of topics within the RCAV’s Marriage Preparation program including the cycle of abuse, accountability of our behaviour, covenant with God, and sharing their humorous anecdotes on raising four children – all in good effort to prepare couples for their adventures in marriage. Suzanne has recently partnered with Elaine Moonen to co-chair the Volunteer Coordination committee to revitalize the Society’s volunteer programs.

Kathy Van Dokkumburg

CWL Liaison 2019

Originally from Victoria BC, Kathy is always looking for new opportunities to serve her community. Before moving to Abbotsford, she and her family were very involved within their church and served at the Parish office as well. With her family as her primary passion, she raised her two sons within the Catholic community and to become the wonderful, gentlemen they are today.

At present, Kathy is a member of the CWL, holding the Executive position of Legislation and runs a Women’s Bible Study group through the Walking with Purpose series. Recently, she facilitated the Spring Fair at Saint Ann’s Parish in Abbotsford. She also works in Property Management and does the bookkeeping.

Kathy holds an open-heart to vulnerable people, welcoming them into her home and offering them whatever she can that they may need. She is regularly involved in networking business events and volunteers for Saint Ann’s parish as well as other community organizations. Now on the Board of Directors with DAS, Kathy will serve as our CWL liaison to promote awareness of the prevalence of domestic abuse within our local communities and through the voice of the CWL councils.

Debra Padron

Member-at-Large 2019

Debra and her husband Pedro live in New Westminster where they raised their two children. She is a parishioner at St. Michael’s in Burnaby where she participates as a lector, Parish Religious Education Program instructor, and Project Advance chair. Previously she chaired the Education Committee and was on the Board of Directors at St. Thomas More Collegiate. Though retired from the practice of law, she was a member of the Catholic Lawyers Guild, and after graduating from UVic, began her career representing injured workers with compensation claims; the last 23 years were spent helping women and families enforce court-ordered support payments. She worked with multicultural support agencies assisting immigrant women with integration through education and access to services, and continues to mentor female law graduates. Other community involvement includes Canadian Blood Services Partners for Life, the Plant-a-Row Food Bank initiative, and New Westminster Hyack Association’s Ambassador Program. Not completely ready to face retirement, she currently works part-time as a Provincial Court Judicial Justice. She is looking forward to seeing where her skills and interests can be put to use at DAS.