CMHA NORTH AND WEST VANCOUVER BRANCH - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Peer Support Program Manager
Job Titles:
- Senior Executive
- Vice - Chair
Anne is a seasoned senior executive with 30 years of leadership experience, most recently in the position of Chief Operating Officer with Pacific Blue Cross. Prior to assuming this role Anne has held leadership positions in the area of Human Resources and Labour Relations, both at Pacific Blue Cross and Canadian Airlines. In addition to her strong leadership and management skills, Anne possesses a strong understanding of Board Governance and Oversight. In addition to serving on the Board of CMHA NWV, Anne also serves on Coast Mountain Bus Company, Pacific Salmon Endowment Fund Society, and Vancouver Native Health Society and also has her ICD.D certification (Institute of Corporate Directors). Anne was drawn to join the CMHA NWV Board of Directors by a desire to volunteer with an organization in her community that advocates for improved mental health services as it touches so many lives. Anne has deep ties to her community, especially through her hidden painted rocks project on community hiking trails which are a real hit with the area children!
Job Titles:
- Communications Coordinator
Jas brings an integral combination of experience and heart to her role on the Board of Directors. Through her role as Branch Manager at Vancity, Jas has gained valuable experience in a people centric approach to program and service delivery. Personally, Jas, like so many in our community, has lived experience with Mental Health and is passionate about ensuring that everyone can access the supports they need and to break the stigma surrounding Mental Health. Jas hopes to support CMHA NWV to become the ‘Go To' resource for mental health awareness and services on the North Shore. When she isn't busy advocating for Mental Health awareness in the community, Jas can be found diving into a good book or walking her adorable Husky named Xena!
Josh lives on the North Shore with his young family and is proud to have the opportunity to service as Chair of the Board of Directors of CMHA NWV. Josh has volunteered with the St. Paul's Inner City Youth Program as well as the Breakfast Club of Canada in the Downtown East Side of Vancouver. It was through this volunteer work that Josh recognized the need for mental health services in his own community and sought to join CMHA NWV. Currently, Josh is the Head of Business Management, Western Region, for HSBC Bank. Throughout his career, Josh has gained valuable leadership and project management skills that he believes will lead to the future success of CMHA NWV, a strong and resilient Board of Directors & a North Shore community that continues to grow together.
Julia Kaisla (she/her/hers) has led CMHA North & West Vancouver in the role of Executive Director since 2017. Under her leadership, the branch has integrated its services to provide comprehensive case management and support. These services include free or low-cost counselling, peer support and navigation, mental health housing, homeless outreach services, employment support and training. Julia has helped develop a new Indigenous peer support program to serve First Nations communities and has worked with community partners to launch an innovative housing partnership called Circle of Care.
As a person of mixed heritage and a first generation Canadian born to a parent who thrived with mental illness, Julia has used her own experiences to create new conversations within CMHA and in the community. She believes strongly in the opportunity of diversity and is committed to creating a more just and equitable society.
Julia has worked with her branch's leadership team and Board of Directors to expand the branch's reach beyond the North Shore community including the Sea to Sky corridor, the Sunshine Coast, and the Central Coast.
Before her work at a branch level, Julia worked at the BC Division office of CMHA, and prior to that, she honed her skills in communications and community relations working for Pacific Blue Cross. Julia has an MA in Conflict Analysis and a BA in Political Science.
Job Titles:
- Director
- Partner at a Workplace Law Firm, Roper Greyell LLP
Julie Menten is a partner at a workplace law firm, Roper Greyell LLP, in British Columbia, where she practices in employment, labour, human rights and privacy law. A large part of her practice involves helping employers manage mental health and substance use issues in the workplace, as well as conducting investigations into workplace misconduct, bullying, harassment and sexual harassment. Prior to joining Roper Greyell, she clerked at the British Columbia Court of Appeal.
Before joining the legal profession, Ms. Menten spent most of her career working with children, youth and families as a psychotherapist and clinician. She began in the helping professions as a child protection social worker on an Aboriginal family services team for the B.C. Ministry of Children and Family Development. After completing her graduate degree in couple and family therapy, she started a private practice; worked as a therapist for the Associated Youth Services of the Regional Municipality of Peel in Ontario; worked as a counsellor for deaf, deafened and hard of hearing people in London, Ontario; and as a clinician with the Centre for Children and Families in the Justice System in London, Ontario, providing intensive mental health services to young people in custody settings and government care. Her goal is to leverage a decade of experience in the helping professions in her career in law, and she specializes in mental health and substance use in the workplace.
Ms. Menten believes in giving back to her community and has served on a variety of boards and advisory committees. She was past Chair of the Advisory Committee for the Bottom Line Conference on workplace mental health with the Canadian Mental Health Association, B.C. Division,a past member of the board for the Crisis Centre in Vancouver, and is a current member of the board of the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction.
She holds a BA in child and youth care with distinction from the University of Victoria, an MSc in couple and family therapy from the University of Guelph, and a juris doctor degree with distinction from Western University. Julie was called to the Bar of British Columbia in 2013 and the Alberta Bar in 2019.
Job Titles:
- Peer Navigator Coordinator
Maureen has a longstanding commitment to the field of mental health. A West Vancouver District Principal, Maureen is also pursuing her PhD in Educational Psychology at SFU while serving her community as a counsellor in private practice. Maureen's clinical skills and combined knowledge of child and youth development have made her a powerful advocate for social justice. Maureen accepted her position on the CMHA NWV Board of Directors enthusiastically and is very proud of the organization's commitment to improving the area of Youth Mental Health. Over her term with the CMHA NWV Board of Directors, Maureen hopes to reduce the stigma around mental health. When she isn't championing the cause of improved mental health, you can find her out for a run or hitting the North Shore slopes!
Job Titles:
- Chief Financial Officer for the Strongman Group
- Treasurer, and Finance, Audit & Risk Committee Chair
Nick Argue is Chief Financial Officer for the Strongman Group, a North Vancouver based commercial real estate and investment company. Nick provides strategic financial leadership and asset management for the Strongman Group and its various real estate investment companies under management. Prior to joining the Strongman Group, Nick was Senior Manager with Ernst & Young LLP in Vancouver and spent 14 years as a business advisor to clients and their Board of Directors, primarily in the real estate industry. Nick has a wide breadth of financial and governance skills developed over many years of advising global organizations. Nick has international experience from working for two years each in London, UK, and Auckland, New Zealand. Nick is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CA) and earned his B.Comm. from Queen's University. Nick is a North Vancouver resident and is passionate about improving mental health in the community. Nick is personally connected to the CMHA vision of Mentally Healthy People in a Healthy Society in remembrance of several friends who had their lives end prematurely due to mental illness. In his spare time, Nick plays hockey, golf and is a volunteer coach with North Shore Girls Soccer Club.
Job Titles:
- Team Manager & Circle of Care Housing Manager Tejal Barde
Job Titles:
- Peer Navigator Coordinator
Sam has worked as a licensed mortgage broker for 12 years with a specialization in commercial mortgages. He also lends out his family funds as private mortgages to clients that need short term assistance. Sam is currently a board member for a Mortgage Investment Company (MIC) and previously was a designated individual for another MIC.
Prior to becoming a mortgage broker, he worked as an accountant in industry (private and publicly traded companies) for 10 years and has held his CPA designation since 2004. Sam was a part-time instructor for the CMA program during his transition from accounting to brokering. He completed his education at Simon Fraser University and Capilano University where he obtained a BA in Economics and a finance diploma, respectively.
Sam currently volunteers as treasurer for the North West Vancouver Ringette Association as his daughter plays on the team. His other volunteer work includes the CPA association as a mentor for two years, treasurer of the Mortgage Investments Association of BC for five years, treasurer of a community organization for four years and a board member for an MLA for nine years.
Job Titles:
- Office Coordinator
- Counsellor