Pacific Blue Cross Board of Directors
Brendan Dick is the former Director of Pensions and Benefits for the Hospital Employees' Union as well as the Coordinator of the Enhanced Disability Management Program for the Facilities Bargaining Association. He is co-chair of the Canadian Blood Services (CBS) defined benefit pension plan and has been a CBS trustee since 2005. He has been a member of the Canadian Board of the International Foundation of Employee Benefits Plans. He is a past Chair/Vice Chair of the Municipal Pension Board of Trustees and served on the board from 2003 to 2014. He is on the Board of Blue Cross Life and is the Chair of the Investment & Loan Committee. Brendan has completed the Advanced Trustee Management Standards Program and the Responsible Trustee Program through the Sauder School of Business. He sat on the lnterplan Audit Committee (Municipal, Public Service, College and Teachers Pension Plans) for more than 15 years, and as a board member on the B.C. Pension Corporation in 2013/14. Brendan has his Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD.D) designation from the Rotman Directors Education Program, has been a Pacific Blue Cross plan member for close to 30 years and currently resides in Coquitlam, B.C.
Marty Gibbons has spent close to two decades working in the field of employee group benefits, where he has completed multiple designations including Certified Employee Benefit Specialist, Group Benefits Associate, and Retirement Plans Associate. His passion for risk management and workplace health and safety inspired him to complete the Canadian Risk Manager and Canadian Registered Safety Professional designations. In addition, he has received significant education regarding fiduciary / governance duties and responsibilities, such as certification in Fundamentals of Trust Management Systems and Advanced Trust Management Systems, as well as attended many educational conferences through the IFEBP, a leader in trustee/fiduciary education. Marty applies his governance training and experience serving his community as an elected Director of Columbia Shuswap Regional District, Area C. He started his career in the forest industry as a production worker, advancing to become a certified trades person, and was elected president of USW Local 1-417 in 2005. Marty is of Métis and Cree ancestry and is in the process of receiving his Métis Citizenship.
He holds an Environmental and Occupational Health certificate from the University of Victoria, a certification of Foundation and Advanced Trust Management Systems from the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans, and has attended the Wharton Business School for Investment Portfolio Concepts and Management and is an Alumni of the Canadian Governor General Leadership Conference.
Joe Elworthy is the former president of UNIFOR Local 2200, which represents more than 1,000 Skilled Trades and Support Workers employed by Coast Mountain Bus Company (Translink) in Metro Vancouver. He has worked for Coast Mountain Bus company for more than 40 years (since 1976) and served as president of his union local for 18 years, for five terms of office.
Since 1993, he served as Trust Chair for the Transit Employees' Health Benefit Trust. Other roles have included serving as Financial Secretary for the UNIFOR National Skilled Trades Council, the Sector Advisory Group for the BC Industry Training Authority, National President of the Confederation of Canadian Union and the Independent Canadian Transit Union, and Trustee for the BC Public Service Pension Plan.
Joe Elworthy has also led educational seminars for the International Foundation and its benefits-related conferences and has presented to both the Conference Board of Canada and PBLI Conferences. He was recently elected as a Municipal Councillor for the Village of Belcarra.
Dr. Patricia Gerber obtained her Pharmacy degree from the University of British Columbia (UBC) in 1993. She completed a Pharmacy Practice Residency Program at the Children’s & Women’s Health Centre of BC in 1994, and obtained her Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) degree from UBC in 1997.
Between 1994 and 2008 Dr. Gerber served in various roles at the Children’s & Women’s Health Centre of BC: as Clinical Pharmacist, Education Coordinator, and Residency Coordinator. As Clinical Pharmacist, Patricia provided care for pediatric patients presenting to the hospital with a range of medical conditions, cared for hospitalized patients with chronic neurological and psychiatric conditions, and educated families and caregivers of children from across the province.
Since joining the UBC Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences in 1994 on a part-time basis and in 2008 full-time, she has been teaching and providing educational leadership in entry-to-practice and graduate programs. Her main areas of teaching have been pediatrics, professionalism, ethics, and leadership. While teaching, she served in several leadership and scholarly roles, including as Clinical Coordinator and Director of the Graduate Doctor of Pharmacy Program. Dr. Gerber is currently the Director of Degree Programs for Pharmacists (which includes the Flexible Doctor of Pharmacy Program for working pharmacists), and is leading the development of the new Professional Master’s degree program for pharmacists. Dr. Gerber has published in several clinical and academic journals, has been an invited speaker in national and international conferences, and continues to serve in several national and international scholarly roles.
Since 1981 Ms. Hartman has served on a variety of boards including the United Way and other charities, union and labour federations, advocacy organizations and labour history associations. Her background includes local, national and international work in both waged and volunteer positions.
Jim lker is a teacher and the past president of the BC Teachers' Federation (BCTF) .He has an honours degree in Political Science and Sociology at McMaster University, and Bachelor of Education at Dalhousie University. Since 1977, Jim has worked as a teacher in nearly every elementary grade- including Kindergarten. He also was a teacher counsellor, learning assistance, and special education teacher. He got involved in the Burns Lake District Teachers' Union, the first year of teaching. His local bargaining team negotiated the first three contracts between 1988 and 1994. He was also a member of the first provincial bargaining committee in 1995 and subsequent teams in 1998, 2006, 2011 and 2013. He was chief negotiator for the 2011 and 2013 teams. First elected to the BCTF Executive in 2002 as a member-at-large and served for five years before becoming BCTF Vice President and then President. He continues his teaching career that spans 40 years working for School District #91 (Nechako Lakes).
Mary has been a Director of Community Savings Credit Union since 2006, where she is Chair of the Investment and Lending Committee and a member of the Audit, Enterprise Risk Management and Community Involvement Committees. Serving as a Director on the Pacific Blue Cross Board of Directors since 1997, Mary provides valuable audit experience, short and long-term strategic planning, and financial knowledge.
Lee has an extensive background as a director on multiple boards and as a fiduciary. Lee has also served on the Board of Concert Properties and Concert Infrastructure Ltd. as a Director. Lee was also a founding director at Castle 1 Investments and served on the Investment Committee at ACM Advisors.
Lee brings pension, benefit, investment, and labour union experience to Pacific Blue Cross. He has a completed his Master of Trust Management from the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans as well as the University of British Columbia, Sauder School of Business, Responsible Trustee Program.
Dr. Schonfeld is the former Chair of the Vancouver Board of Trade Health Care Policy Committee and member of its Board of Governors. His previous Board experience includes: the Physicians Services Committee; the Justice Institute of BC; the Hamber Foundation; and the Medical Services Commission, among others. He also served as Vice-Chair of the PBC Health Benefits Society Board of Directors, most recently from 2017 to 2022.
During his tenure with Pacific Blue Cross (PBC) Richard has served as Chair for three terms, on all PBC committees, as well as served on the BC Life Board. He was the founding Chair of Pacific Blue Cross Health Foundation, serving for eight years in that position.
Richard was the Executive Director of the Union of BC Municipalities for 22 years, as part of his 40 years of public service in BC. Today, Richard is the former Vice-Chair of BC Assessment and was a Trustee on the Municipal Pension Board of Trustees for 18 years, including six as Chair/Vice Chair. He is past Chair of BC Pension Corporation where he was a founding director and served 14 years.
Richard Taylor holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Victoria and a Master of Science in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Toronto, is a graduate of the ICD-Rotman Directors Education Program and holds the ICD.D designation.
Dr. Cornelia (Nel) Wieman works for the First Nations Health Authority (FNHA) in Vancouver, BC in the Office of the Chief Medical Officer as the Deputy Chief Medical Officer. She is an Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences at Simon Fraser University.
Nel is Canada’s first female Indigenous psychiatrist (Anishinaabe Nation – Little Grand Rapids First Nation, Manitoba). She completed her medical degree and psychiatry specialty training at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario.
She provided psychiatric services at a community mental health clinic based on the Six Nations of the Grand River Territory for eight years. She was a member of the Advisory Group on Suicide Prevention that developed a national framework document for the Assembly of First Nations and First Nations and Inuit Health Branch addressing the issue of First Nations youth suicide. She was the Co-Director of the Indigenous Health Research Development Program and an Assistant Professor in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto. She has been a co-investigator on several initiatives funded through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Institute of Aboriginal Peoples Health including the National Network of Aboriginal Mental Health Research. She has also served on the CIHR Governing Council and the Indspire Foundation’s Board of Directors.
Nel previously worked as a staff psychiatrist at the Centre for Addictions and Mental Health. She was the Faculty Advisor to the Indigenous Students Health Sciences Office at McMaster University. She served as President of the Indigenous Physicians Association in Canada for two three-year terms (2016-22).
She is an Indspire Achievement Award Laureate (1998), recognized for career achievement in the category of medicine. She was the inaugural recipient of the University of Waterloo’s Faculty of Applied Health Sciences Alumni Achievement Award. In 2013, she received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal.
Nel’s clinical, academic, and advocacy work has always been focused on improving the health and mental health status of Indigenous peoples, especially Indigenous youth, across Canada.
His professional career has focused on improving access to dental care for children, low-income adults, persons with disabilities and seniors. He is a member of many community health committees and has consulted on dental public health issues to universities and governments around the world.