Dunbar Residents Association News and Events

2011-2012 Board of Directors Biographies

Jonathan Baker is a specialist in Municipal Law with the firm of Baker & Baker. In the early sixties he was a journalist with the Vancouver Province. From 1969 to 1975 he was a social planner with Vancouver’s Social Planning Department. He was a founding trustee and first program Director of the Vancouver Academy of Music. In 1976 he was appointed to the Granville Island Trust and was one of five Trustees who oversaw the development of Granville Island. Between 1978 and 1985 he was a Trustee of the Vancouver School Board and in 1986 he was elected to Vancouver City Council where he served for two terms. He was also a Trustee of the Library Board and the Pacific National Exhibition and a founding director of the Vancouver Contemporary Art Gallery. When not practicing law he spends his time babysitting an ever increasing number of grandchildren.

SUSAN CHAPMAN

Susan Chapman has lived with her family in Dunbar for 25 years, except for a  few intermittent time periods lived in Hong Kong, rural Nova Scotia, England, Ottawa and Denman Island. She is a former lawyer, whose community activities have included involvement in various youth sports organizations and four years as a director of the Learning Disabilities Association of Vancouver. She and her husband, Robin Elliot, have four children, Kirsten, Michael, Sophie and Victoria. She has served on the DRA board for six years and has a particular interest in preserving the community’s green space.

NICOLE GUBBAY

Nicole Gubbay and her husband, Nick, chose to move to the friendly, community-oriented area of Dunbar to raise their young son and it was not long after that she became involved in discussions with a few Board members regarding issues related to development in Dunbar and the impact on the community. A graduate from UBC (International Relations) and BCIT (Marketing Communications), Nicole’s career background is in Marketing and Human Resources and she has worked in various industry sectors such as property management, recruitment, high-tech and education. She is currently busy at home with her two year old son Alexander and is a Board member with the Vancouver Child Study Centre.

JANE INGMAN-BAKER

Jane is a lawyer, with a doctorate in Biochemistry, who presently works as Tutor with the UBC Faculty of Medicine.  She and her husband, Paul Hildebrand, have three children.  Jane has been involved in many community activities and is presently serving on the Children’s and Family Research Institute Board and as the Chair of the Dunbar Vision Implementation Committee.

LINDA MACADAM

Linda is passionate about Dunbar, so has just returned for a sixth (?) year as a board member. She is the chairperson and founding member of the Dunbar Community Patrol, a member of the Dunbar Vision Implementation Committee, a past member of the Salmonberry Days Committee and past president of the Dunbar Residents’ Association. Linda has lived in the same house in Dunbar for the first 25 years and the last 16 years of her life, which gives her a perspective of our neighbourhood over several decades. She remembers when doors were left unlocked during the day, when mothers had coffee together at one another’s houses, and the children all played outside in yards and in the park without supervision. Childhood in Dunbar in the 1950s was wonderful! Linda graduated from UBC majoring in mathematics and she works in Information Technology on a contract basis. Her interests include city politics, her dog MacKenzie, contra dancing, sailing and reading.

COLLEEN MCGUINNESS

Colleen has been a resident of the neighbourhood since the early 1980s. She is self-employed and works with a variety of clients involved with international relations and small business. Colleen believes that it is important for Dunbar to provide the intimate community connection that residents need in a large impersonal city. Her special interests include seniors’ housing, accessibility and universal design and aging in place. Colleen is a keen gardener and reader and a big fan of the Dunbar Library and shopping locally.

GEORGE PINCH

George has been a Dunbar resident for over 40 years, having had the good sense to come here in 1966. He is a retired Professional Engineer (U of Sask. ’57), his last employment being with BC Hydro in their Power Smart program. George and his wife, Lorna, have 5 children, all of whom attended Queen Elizabeth School and Lord Byng High School, and 11 grandchildren. George is interested in preserving the quiet, law-abiding character of Dunbar, while seeing that population density is added in a reasonable manner compatible with the existing character of the neighbourhood while not excluding different housing styles. He is also interested in seeing that Dunbar acquires some suitable seniors housing, inasmuch, as he says, he himself may need it within the next 15 years. George is also a keen gardener.

HAREESH SARA

Hareesh was born and raised in Dunbar. His parents had settled in Dunbar in 1955. He attended Southlands Primary and Elementary Schools and Point Grey Secondary School. He completed an undergraduate degree in Business and Commerce and a Master’s Business Degree, both at UBC. By profession, Hareesh is a Chartered Accountant, having completed his articles with PriceWaterhouseCoopers (formerly Coopers & Lybrand). Since 1992 Hareesh has worked for the Intergulf Development Group. At present he is the company’s CFO and a director. Intergulf is active in real estate development in British Columbia, Alberta and California, and has completed numerous projects on Vancouver’s west side. Hareesh and his wife Andrea (who is a member of the Dunbar Seniors Committee) have two young children. Hareesh’s primary reason for joining the DRA board is to give back to a wonderful community and to help ensure that Dunbar’s charm and character is retained.

AKUA SCHATZ

Akua has recently completed a LWH in Dunbar, on the grounds of the home of her spouse’s parents. She has a long history of community involvement in other areas and is a Director of the David Suzuki Foundation. Her spouse is a photographer who also has long- established roots in this community. She is working on her Masters degree at SFU and one of her areas of interest is in how established communities respond to the need for densification. She is interested both professionally and personally in innovative developments that allow communities to continue to have depth, breadth and diversity. She is an avid cyclist and an advocate for new forms of affordable housing.

PETER SELNAR

After fleeing communist Hungary in the 1950’s with his parents, Peter grew up in Montreal. He obtained his Bachelor of Architecture from McGill University in 1971 and subsequently moved to the west coast where he practiced Architecture and Interior Design. He was a principal with a number of firms and in 1993 founded OfficeWorks, a company specializing in the planning, design and construction of corporate office interiors. After selling the company in 2005, Peter has been semi-retired and is pursuing his passion of playing in a Blues band as well as other interests including golf, hiking, skiing and reading.

JONATHAN WEISMAN

Jonathan and his wife moved to Vancouver from Ottawa a few years ago. He is a lawyer and his wife is a specialist at Children’s. They sought out a home in Dunbar as they were attracted to the residential quality of it and the unique opportunity it presented to live in a green urban environment. They have a home near Pacific Spirit Park which they recognize as a unique and very special place. Jonathan has been a member of DVIC for over a year and has taken a particular interest in the developments at UBC and the impact that they will have on Dunbar. He has a graduate degree in political science which he taught before entering the legal profession. He has proudly worked on many campaigns for politicians of different political bents and has an ongoing interest in all aspects of the democratic process.

WALTER WELLS

Walter is a long time Dunbar realtor. He lives just around the corner from Chaldecott Park with his wife Beryl and his two young children Colin and Caitie. Walter comes to the DRA with 15 years’ board experience. Most notably he is past president (and still board member) of the Three Links Society which operates a 90 bed seniors’ care facility, a 42 unit low rental housing facility, and 2 houses for sick children – all located in the Renfrew neighbourhood of East Vancouver. He is the Board liaison with the Dunbar Village Business Association.

ROBERT WESTENDORP

Robert immediately fell in love with this welcoming City when he came here from Germany with his family 10 years ago. Moving to Dunbar marked his decision to stay here. Over the years Robert has become interested in local political issues and neighborhood activities. Now he would like the chance to give back to the community. He feels that a young and evolving city like Vancouver needs strong community input. Robert has a PhD in electrical engineering and enjoys running, skiing, mountaineering, woodworking and most of all being with the family.

SONIA WICKEN

My husband Ken and I have lived in Dunbar for over 40 years and I have always enjoyed volunteering in the neighbourhood whether at school, baseball or soccer while our son and daughter were involved. The last 20 years I’ve been involved with the Residents Association. My interest is in building liaisons with other neighbourhood organizations so Dunbar will continue to be such a livable neighbourhood.