Board Members
Gyda Chud, Member at Large
Gyda is a long-time feminist, activist, early childhood and adult educator as well as a child care and diversity advocate. Gyda is the founding Chairperson of Westcoast and has held several other key positions on the Board. Over the years, her expertise has established the foundation for Westcoast’s vision, guiding principles, and practice. She is the recipient of numerous community awards and the accomplished author of several cutting-edge child care publications. A leader in many fledging organizations including the Child Care Sector Council, Gyda continues to offer perspective, expertise and heart to Westcoast.
Michelle de Salaberry, Board & Governance Chair
Michelle is a semi-retired Early Childhood Educator with over 40 years experience in the field. She continues to care for her two granddaughters, helping out when asked at their schools. She is currently Chair of the Vancouver Reggio Association; a group that hosts Reggio Inspired workshops, institutes, and conferences. Michelle also is a Girl Guide leader with a group of Sparks. She is happily married and enjoys traveling and photography.
Christine Hibbert, Treasurer
Christine was the Executive Director of Jericho Kids Club in Vancouver, now retired. She holds an ECE certificate and for most of her career has worked in the school-age child care sector. She provides learning opportunities for the child care sector on a variety of practice-related and administrative/management issues. She contributes expertise to the Board in human resources management and organizational planning as well as child care. She is passionate about promoting child care as an integral and vital part of the full spectrum of essential child and family services.
Sharon Lau, Member at Large
Sharon is a mentorship helping teacher in the Surrey School District. She is passionate about enabling personal strengths and building organizational capacities. She has co-chaired various school committees and initiatives that focus on enhancing teaching quality and the learning environment of our schools. Sharon is deeply engaged in learning about systems thinking and leadership and brings her skill sets and passion to the WCCRC Board.
Karen Norman, External Relations Chair
Karen has served on the Westcoast Board since 1994 and is a past chairperson. She brings experience in project management, event planning, and organizational planning as well as child care and adult education to the Board. Karen has worked in a wide variety of child care sector roles. She is the founding president of the BC Family Child Care Association and a co-developer of their GOOD BEGINNINGS course. In 1999, Karen was the recipient of the Canadian Child Care Federation Award of Excellence and Volunteer Vancouver’s Community Service Award. From 2000 to 2014, Karen was the Deputy Director of Options Community Services. She retired from that position in 2014 and now devotes her time to her family, travel, and a number of volunteer activities.
Karen Kristjanson,
Member at Large
Karen is a semi-retired life coach committed to learning and supporting effective change. She taught communication and leadership skills to managers before doing organizational development work in not-for-profit settings. Mid-career Karen launched a consulting and training service for the Manitoba Child Care Association. Twelve years ago she became a certified Integral Coach. She is passionate about the importance of quality child care because it supports the whole family. Karen’s interest in families led her to research and write Co-Parenting from the Inside Out: Voices of Moms and Dads, published in 2017. Karen joined the WCCRC Board in Fall 2021.
Stephanie Sagmoen Siqueira, Member at Large
Stephanie is the current Westcoast Board Chairperson and has been a part of the WCCRC board since June 2017. She is a kindergarten teacher in the Surrey school district and teaches in the ECCE department at VCC. She enjoys supporting teachers and educators through professional learning opportunities focusing on social emotional and play-based learning. She began her career as an ECE in the lower mainland and has since developed a love for global education working in classrooms across Canada, Europe and Brazil. Stephanie is passionate about bridging the gap between ECE and early primary and holds a BA ECE, BED, and M.ECEC.
Lilly Simon, Member at Large
Lilly has been a director with the WCCRC Board since 2018. She is a Procurement Manager at Vancouver Coastal Health, with a focus on community health services. Lilly obtained her BCom in Finance from the University of British Columbia and her Master of Public Health from King’s College London. She is particularly interested in the relationship between education, health promotion, and public health, and is passionate about increasing access to quality early childhood education as an essential component of the social determinants of health. In her spare time, Lilly enjoys yoga, spending time with family and friends, hiking, exploring new countries, and paddleboarding.
Karl Urban,
Member at Large
Karl Urban joined the WCCRC board in 2021. Originally from Portland, Oregon, USA, he completed degrees in social work and human service management in Germany, before moving to Vancouver to commence his doctoral studies at UBC. He is a social worker, nonprofit manager, and educator with several years experience in youth career counseling and after school programming. Karl brings a particular interest in the unique challenges faced by nonprofit educational and care organizations to the board, along with his passion for (early) education as a space for opportunity emancipatory practice.