John Treleaven, Chairperson – John spent 32 years in the Canadian Foreign Service working abroad as a trade commissioner and in Ottawa in a variety of positions with a trade and economic focus. In 1997 he was appointed as Canada’s Ambassador to the Philippines. In Ottawa he served in a variety of senior positions with a focus on Asia, the policy direction of the Trade Commission Service and on assignment to the Privy Council Office. In 2000 he joined the Saskatchewan Trade and Export Partnership (“STEP”) as President and CEO. He has been a member of advisory board at Rare Earth Metals Inc. since 2012. He’s a director of a number of internationally focused Canadian organizations including the Forum for International Trade Training, Canadian Council for Africa, The Hong Kong – Canada Business Association, the Saanich Peninsula Chamber of Commerce, and serves in an advisory capacity to a number of organizations including Global Vision/Junior Team Canada. He’s president of the Sidney-based Treleaven Consulting Group and a keen golfer.
Stan Bartlett, Vice Chair – A bedraggled taxpayer of 50 years, Stan worked in criminology, journalism and small business. He laboured in youth and adult community and institutional corrections for a decade. Then he worked as a reporter-photographer for two rural weeklies and a bi-weekly urban newspaper. His volunteer non-profit board management experience of 20 years or so includes local, provincial, regional and national boards in the areas of justice, arts and the environment. Before moving to Victoria full-time 12 years ago, Stan lived in Regina for 30 years where he operated a provincial golf portal (which didn’t improve his game a bit).
Whitey Mitchell, Treasurer – A Senior Accountant, Chartered Professional Accountant and Enrolled Agent at Hutcheson & Co., Whitey focuses tax planning and preparation advice to individuals and businesses particularly with a cross-border focus, as well as having significant experience in Canadian trusts and estates and non-resident filings. He received his BA (Political Science) at West Virginia Wesleyan College, and has studied extensively in theatre arts. His passion for numbers drove him to pursue a CPA designation and he continues to seek higher education on an on-going basis. His background includes banking and financial services management, property management, political campaigning, and research. Born and raised in New Hampshire, he has also lived and worked in West Virginia, New Brunswick, and British Columbia. Whitey has served as treasurer of the artsREACH Society and is involved with local community theatre groups near and far. He enjoys spending time with his wife and two young children, participating in outdoor activities, and travel
Colin Nielsen – Colin is a retired RCMP member who served as its representative on the CRD Enhanced 9-1-1 project. The unnecessary complexity originally built into the region’s 9-1-1 system to accommodate multiple emergency response agencies convinced him that a regional emergency centre would provide more effective and efficient service. Colin has lived in Greater Victoria since 1967 and is a motorcycling enthusiast.
Bev Highton – Bev has lived in Victoria since 1952, initially working as a journeyman welder as well as starting Windship Cruises Ltd. He’s been extensively involved in the real estate industry in Greater Victoria for almost 50 years serving as the president of the Victoria Real Estate Board, vice-chair of the BC Real Estate Assoc., chair of the Real Estate Errors and Omissions Corp. Insurance, chair of the Real Estate Council of BC, and finally, chair of the Real Estate Compensation Corp. He’s currently an owner-broker of NAI Commercial (Victoria) Inc. and vice-chair of Cooper Pacific Mortgage & Investment Corp. Hobbies include sailing, horseback riding, reading, travel and a 1960 MGA.
George Barnhart – George is a retired executive with extensive utility operations, information technology, and strategic development leadership experience. He once led the Canadian natural gas industry in collaborative risk mitigation and was recognized by the federal government, U.S. Senate and industry for his achievements. More recently, George has been utilizing his experience to provide executive advisory management consulting services across Western Canada. He has had success helping public, private and not-for-profit sector organizations increase business value and achieve better outcomes. George is a volunteer with the Victoria Mens and Newcomers Club, and a Gustavson School of Business, UVic volunteer mentor. He loves to spend time with his family and the grandchildren, and can whack a golf ball a country kilometre.
Brian Losie – Born in Edmonton and moved to BC in 1970 with a subsidiary of BC TEL. Served an electrical apprenticeship, transferred into engineering in Victoria and was promoted to manage a business unit in Vancouver in 1990. Managed a cross-functional team of data specialists and then appointed to manage a new business unit in BC TEL Advanced Communications. In 1998, he was appointed to specialty sales looking after the Provincial Health authority’s accounts. In 2000 he transferred back to Victoria to the government account until his retirement in 2004. He served and chaired various non-profit boards and served on a number of municipal committees on behalf of Sidney. He’s married to Peggy, his wife of 48 years, and has two married daughters and four grandchildren.
Kenneth Waldie – An economist with more than 40 years of experience in the research, analysis and communication of business and economic trends. He was a partner in the Toronto-based consulting firm of Waldie, Brennan and Associates for 25 years. Since 2005 he has specialized in creating data-driven thought leadership stories for major business periodicals, including the Economist Intelligence Unit, Fortune Knowledge Group, Forbes Insights and the Wall Street Journal. He re-located to Victoria in 2012, where he is a partner in Media Analytics Group. Ken holds a Master’s Degree in Economics from York University and a Diploma in Marketing from Ryerson Polytechnical Institute (now Toronto Metropolitan University).
Plus, several advisory board members.