Our Board of Directors - Cameray Child & Family Services

Cameray Board of Directors

Cameray Child & Family Services is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors, made up of interested people from the community with various backgrounds and areas of expertise. The Board of Directors is responsible for managing the affairs of the Society, and is accountable for the agency’s governance, policy development, strategic planning, and financial management.

2023-2024 Board of Directors

Alexina Picard (President)

Alexina has been on the Board since 2019. She holds an Honours Bachelor of Science from the University of Ottawa with a Major in Biology and a Minor in Psychology. She served on the Board of Governors at CEGEP Heritage College in Gatineau, Quebec as the student representative (1 year) and the alumni representative (3 years). Currently, she is the Operations Manager of the BC Psychological Association.

She brings experience in event planning and fundraising to the Board. She was inspired to join the Cameray Board due to her enjoyment in planning events and her passion towards mental health services for children.

In her spare time, you can find her in the mountains with her dog, running on the sea wall, or watching reruns of Friends on Netflix.

Nancy Maloney (Vice President)

Nancy has been on the Board since 1982. She taught psychology at Douglas College until retiring in 2014. Previously, she worked as a clinical psychologist in a variety of settings, the last of which was Maple Ridge Mental Health Centre where she was the Child and Youth Coordinator and Acting Director. There Nancy worked with other community services providers to identify needs and create solutions.

Nancy became involved with Cameray in 1982, when her friend who was on the Board invited Nancy to attend an AGM. She was elected to the Board that evening. As a member of the personnel committee, Nancy participated in selection interviews for many years. She has also served as Vice-President for many terms.

Nancy notes that she is honoured to have been a small but supportive part of Cameray’s excellent work. She appreciates everyone’s commitment to our shared goals and mission.

Susan Montabello (Secretary)

Sue has been on the Board since 2017. She is a passionate educator whose work honours and nurtures the diversity of relationships and community, enabling others to come together to learn and thrive.

Sue Montabello worked in the Burnaby school district as a principal in both elementary and secondary schools for twenty-five years. She spent her career working as principal of community schools, leading and learning in communities embodying the belief that ‘there is no power equal to a community discovering what it cares about.’

Sue has worked at Simon Fraser University as a faculty associate and coordinator of the Professional Development Program and as an instructor of graduate diploma programs for practicing K to 12 teachers. She completed both her MA and PHD at Simon Fraser University. Sue continues her work as instructor in education and leadership at both the undergraduate and graduate level with Simon Fraser and Vancouver Island and City Universities.

Brian Shuster (Treasurer)

Brian has been on the Board since 1984. He recently retired from the Burnaby School District as the Principal of Cascade Heights Elementary School. When Brian was a Community School Coordinator in 1983, he was asked to sit on the Board of Cameray, and he happily agreed. Brian is a Burnaby resident who is married with two grown children, and is a proud grandparent of Delainey.

Don Macdonald (Past President)

Don has been on the Board since 2008. He is a Registered Clinical Counsellor and Parenting Coordinator who has been counselling professionally since 2004. Working with children, families and individuals on a wide variety of issues, he combines parenting support and education with his extensive experience to help his clients reach the balance in their lives they seek. His background as a social worker in Northern BC, as an elementary and secondary school teacher and Principal in Burnaby, as an instructor/ coordinator in the Native Indian Teacher Education program at U.B.C., as a sessional instructor at City University in the M.Ed. counselling program, provides Don with a comprehensive resource of experience from which to draw.

After retiring from the Burnaby School District, Don came to begin his counselling career at Cameray in 2005 and worked as a Child and Family Counsellor for 2.5 years. He has also facilitated Neufeld attachment training with the Cameray counselling staff since moving on to private practice.

Bruce Landon

Bruce has been on the Board since 1986. He is a retired psychology instructor. Prior to a serious stroke in 2007, Bruce taught at Douglas College for approximately 25 years. Bruce’s areas of specialization are social and cognitive psychology and educational technology. He served on the faculty association’s executive as an elected Vice President and was actively involved in contract negotiations.

Bruce was invited to become a Board member by his partner, Nancy Maloney. He served as President of the Board for many years, and he worked with the admin staff in building Cameray’s technology capacity.

Fidel Castillo

Fidel has been on the Board since 2022. He is a bank manager of a TD Bank branch in New Westminster. Fidel holds a Bachelor of Business Administration concentrating in Finance and Human Resources with a Minor in Psychology from Simon Fraser University. Fidel had been looking to be more involved in the community while leveraging his professional experience. He learned about Cameray through his connection with TD Bank, which has been a long-standing partner and sponsor of Cameray.

Fidel brings financial expertise to the Board along with management experience on operational matters. He is a champion of diversity and inclusion which is very important to him as this reflects the community that Cameray serves. In addition, Fidel is a fur-dad, basketball fanatic, and travels for food.

Joining Our Board

If you are interested in joining our Board please contact Tracey Rusnak, Executive Director, at tracey.rusnak@cameray.ca

Eligible candidates for a Board of Directors position should be a member of the community and/or have knowledge or experience in one or more of the following areas: