Board of Directors and Their Work
Corrine Flaws
2025 Board of Directors
Jeff Malmgren
President
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- Jeff Malmgren is a consultant who focuses on collaborative process, engagement strategy and health-system transformation. His greatest interest is the integration of services and supports for health and wellbeing at a local level.
- His background includes journalism, communications and sports administration. He has worked extensively with for-profit and not-for-profit boards, elected councils and collaborative tables. On Gabriola, he currently chairs the Islands Trust Advisory Planning Commission. He is a past-president of the Gabriola Arts Council and has provided strategic support to several other organizations on the island.
- Jeff comes to your Health Care Foundation with an understanding of the current intersection of need and opportunity. He sees that, on Gabriola as in most B.C. communities, significant risk currently surrounds our health system, in terms of both the provision of adequate services and the increase in health and wellbeing issues. He also understands that Gabriola has huge assets that can be mobilized to address these risks. He views our social agencies as strong and resilient.
- He considers the Health Centre that the community built, and the Foundation stewards, to be an incredible cornerstone providing great care. He believes that, perhaps most valuable of all, as a community we have not just a willingness but a desire to work together, to take collective responsibility, and continue to build a resilient, well community.
Dyan Dunsmoor-Farley
Vice-President
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- Dyan is past-president of GHCF, and chair of the Board Development Committee. A member of the Foundation Board since 2021, Dyan is also actively involved in the Gabriola Health and Wellness Collaborative, Sustainable Gabriola, and sits on two working committees of the Rural and Remote Division of Family Practice.
- A 25-year career in the BC Public Service culminated with senior management positions in the Ministries of Health, Child and Family Development, and Women’s Equality. Dyan’s PhD research (political science, human geography, and sociology) examines how citizens are activated to find solutions to critical issues in their communities. She focuses her volunteer work on harnessing the potential of community to build capacity and resilience to improve health outcomes for all and sees the Foundation as a critical partner in that work.
- Dyan is an avid gardener, reasonably good singer, mediocre golfer, and proud grandmother of six.
Harvey Graham
Treasurer
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- Harvey is a founding Director and Treasurer of the Gabriola Health Care Foundation. He retired to Gabriola after a long accounting career with a major accounting firm in Toronto in 2002 and has been volunteering here ever since.
Don Elkington
Director
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Don is retired CEO and founder of manufacturing and global distribution companies, which have been recognized as among Canada’s 50 best managed companies. He has also been as active and successful in his work with charities, particularly with Arthritis Research Canada (ARC). His leadership, commitment and philanthropic support have been integral to ARC’s growth and evolution, and he is currently Past Chair of its Board of Directors.
And now Don is bringing his extensive experience and resources to our Foundation. He has volunteered to help our fundraising initiatives as a member of the Communications, Community Relations, and Fund-raising Committee.
Jennifer Hewson
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Jennifer is chair of the GHCF’s Governance Committee. She is a macro-level, systems thinker with an interest in collaborative initiatives in health and social service delivery. She has a PhD in Educational Studies (Adult, Continuing and Community Education) from UBC. For or the past 20 years, she has been a faculty member with the Faculty of Social Work at the University of Calgary where she continues to work remotely as an Associate Professor.
Jennifer is a social gerontologist whose research and teaching focuses on age-friendly communities, aging in place, social participation, and social inclusion. Jennifer has extensive experience in academic leadership roles and working with interdisciplinary teams. She is actively involved in community service and since 2006 has been a member of various committees and boards related to aging, social well-being, and community development.
She is a member of the Gabriola Health and Wellbeing Collaborative. Jennifer is committed to practicing from an equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility lens and looks forward to sharing her leadership, teaching, and research skills with the Foundation.
Marc Herrmann
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Marc’s career in engineering, project and construction management spanned 35 years. The first 18 years were in design and construction of mine plant site power systems. The final 17 years were in Project Services and Project Management in the context of designing and building new and retrofit mining projects, Hydro substations, and transmission line projects. During his 7 years as Project Services manager, Marc hired and provided project staff in planning/scheduling, cost control, procurement, construction contracts, administration, and document management. He increased the staff from 32 to over 100 at its peak.
Marc retired in 2014 and along with his wife moved to Gabriola full time in 2016. Volunteering in an official capacity is new to Marc and like many he feels the Gabriola Health Care Centre is a vital aspect of maintaining a healthy community lifestyle on the Island. He believes that looking after the GHCF’s facility is not a duty but an honour and privilege. He welcomes the challenge and writes that he will “do his utmost to fill the big shoes left by his predecessor”. He adds: “Given my background I feel I can contribute in many ways: from hands-on to team approach, ensuring that the facility is maintained to the highest standard and working collaboratively with the GHCF board to achieve its initiatives and objectives.”
Kevin Crowley
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Kevin Crowley is chair of the GHCF’s Communications and Membership Committee. He is a writer, editor and author with a background in journalism and university communications. Kevin and his wife, Catherine Thompson, moved to Gabriola in 2024 after regularly visiting relatives on the island for more than thirty years.
Christina RajsicÂ
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Christina Rajsic has more than two decades of experience in health care and health promotion, including leadership roles in public-health organizations in B.C. and Ontario. Outside of the Foundation, Christina is the executive director of People for a Healthy Community (PHC).
Julie Stewart
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Julie Stewart serves as the Foundation’s treasurer. She is an accounting professional and a long-time resident of Gabriola who has been involved in many volunteer activities on the island, including the annual Gabriola Community Hall Salmon Barbecue.Â
