Our Board and Committees

By leveraging her experience as a board member, entrepreneur, Chartered Accountant, CEO, and her passion for leadership and governance, Jane brings a breadth of experience to individuals and teams. Through her business, Halford Consulting, Jane advises organizations in leadership and governance transition through in-person and virtual training, advisory services, and professional speaking. Her past board roles include organizations in the non-profit, public, private, and stock exchange listed entity sectors.

Prior to her retirement, Annette Aquin was Executive Vice-President of Finance and Operations of Hamilton Community Foundation (HCF) where she oversaw the organization's finance, investment, and administrative activities, and was responsible for all regulatory compliance. She was instrumental in HCF’s role as a social finance market builder, aligning more of its assets with its mission and multiplying its impact locally, nationally, and internationally. 

Annette holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from McMaster University. Throughout her 35-year career as a chartered professional accountant, she has worked in public accounting, the private sector, and has led her own consulting practice.  In addition to the Rick Hansen Foundation, she has served as a director of the Shareholder Association for Research and Education (SHARE), Vancity Community Investment Bank, and Atkinson Foundation. 

George Casey is Chair and CEO of Vantage Group, a global leader in airport and transportation investment, development, management, and advisory services.

Over 40 years in the airport and aviation sector, George has been involved in capital planning and airport development, finance, operations, commercial management, mergers and acquisitions, and structuring and negotiating partnerships in almost every region of the world. He has participated in the analysis, assessment, and review of more than 170 airports worldwide and overseen nearly $10 billion in airport financing.

George has led more than 20 successful airport transactions and chaired or served on 16 airport boards of directors worldwide. He is the former Chair of LaGuardia Gateway Partners, which redeveloped and manages LaGuardia Terminal B, and current Chair of JFK Millennium Partners, the Vantage-led company managing Terminal 7 and building the new $4.2 billion Terminal 6 at JFK International Airport.

Before joining Vantage, George held executive positions with KPMG, PwC, and Airport Group International, where he collaborated with stakeholders to solve complex airport and transportation infrastructure challenges in jurisdictions from North America to Australia. 

Lisa is a multiple sclerosis warrior who is passionate about finding opportunities and breaking down barriers to ensure everyone can participate in work and play. She was formerly the SVP of Enterprise Services at Vancity. Prior to that, she was the Executive Director of Powersmart and Customer Care for BC Hydro. Lisa has also served as the Chair of the Board of the YWCA-Metro Vancouver and Chair of the Finance Committees of the Canadian Sport Institute-Pacific and the Vancouver Community College Boards. In addition to the RHF, she is currently on the Boards of the SPCA and the GVFB, for which she Chairs the Finance Committee.

Mihai Covaser is a fourth-year student at the University of British Columbia Okanagan completing his Bachelor's degree with a double major in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics (PPE) and French. He is a long-time advocate for young people with disabilities in Canada, with a focus on the Canadian public education system. His first experiences in advocacy came from his involvement with Variety the Children’s Charity, for which he was an ambassador and fundraiser for many years. He was first connected with the Rick Hansen Foundation in 2017, as one of 50 young advocates invited to attend the RHF Youth Leadership Summit.

In 2021, he started an educational podcast called “Help Teach” that brings together community guests to discuss topics in accessibility and offer advice to teachers in primary and secondary schools to promote more inclusive classrooms. He is the creator and leader of several accessibility initiatives, including the RHF Youth Leadership Committee, and a first-time board director. He aspires to a career in law and, eventually, as a judge on the Supreme Court of Canada, with other interests in politics, history, and education.

Rich Donovan is CEO of The Return on Disability Group and is a globally recognized subject matter expert on the convergence of disability and corporate profitability. He has spent more than 17 years focused on defining and unlocking the economic value of the disability market. He guides global brands and public sector clients to gather user insights directly from people with disabilities to design products, services, and careers that delight everyone. Rich shares his vision for people with disabilities as a powerful force in the global economy in his book, Unleash Different.

Rich has been named one of the Top 50 Most Influential People with Disabilities in the world by UK-based Powerful Media and Shaw Trust in October 2016. He founded Lime (2006), the leading third-party recruiter in the disability space, where he worked with Google, PepsiCo, Merrill Lynch, IBM, TD Bank and others to help them attract top talent from within the disability market. Mr. Donovan was appointed the fourth reviewer of The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act by Order in Council in February 2022. Rich holds an MBA from Columbia Business School and a BBA from Schulich School of Business at York University. Rich is a person with a disability.

Rod Graham is the Past President of Velocity Truck Centres in Canada and has extensive experience as a senior corporate executive in various sectors including financial/investment, transportation, alternative energy, construction, manufacturing, and resource services. Based in Calgary, he has served on more than two dozen public, private, and not-for-profit boards in western Canada, including the Board of Governors of the Business Council of British Columbia and Alberta Indigenous Opportunities Corporation. Mr. Graham is a Chartered Financial Analyst with an MBA from the Ivey School of Business at Western University and a graduate of the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD) program.

Amanda Hansen shares Rick’s determination to turn dreams into reality. With a passion for children’s issues, she served as director of the Rick Hansen Foundation’s School Program from 2002-06; was honorary spokesperson and board member for Kids Help Phone (BC); and co-host of the Children's Miracle Network Telethon. Amanda is currently semi-retired from her position as sole charge physiotherapist at Richmond Lions Manor (Vancouver Coastal Health), a residential care facility where she works with an aging population, in a specialized Alzheimers unit. Amanda is currently Rector’s Warden at St. Anne’s Steveston Anglican Church and is happily spending her time with family, especially her precious grandsons.

Professor Nelson is the founding Executive Director of the Australian Prostate Cancer Research Centre, Queensland, and Chair of Prostate Cancer Research at Queensland University of Technology. She was also a founding scientist of the Vancouver Prostate Centre, and founded and led the Australian Canadian Prostate Cancer Research Alliance 2008-2018. Colleen worked closely with Movember Foundation, which since 2003 has funded more than 1,250 men's health projects around the world with the goal of transforming the way health services reach and support men. Colleen worked closely with the Foundation to establish Movember’s Global Action Plan and served on the Movember Foundation Board 2010-2020. In 2021 she was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for her service to medical research and health organizations.

Hugh O’Reilly is the President and CEO of Acuity Global, a boutique consulting firm that provides advice on strategy to insurance companies, banks,  investment managers, real estate developers, scale-ups and start-ups. 

Hugh is an Executive-in-Residence at the Global Risk Institute.  Hugh serves on the Board of a number of organizations including the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation Pension and Benefits Plan, Aboriginal Legal Services, Namerind (a not-for-profit indigenous housing corporation), the Rick Hanson Foundation and Orbis Canada (a registered charity).  Hugh is the Vice-Chair of the Board of Orbis and Chair of the Governance and HR Committee of the Rick Hansen Foundation.

Hugh is the former President and CEO of OPTrust where he led an organizational transformation.  Key achievements at OPTrust during his tenure included the implementation of a new investment strategy and the launch of a new defined benefit pension plan for not-for-profit organizations.

Hugh practiced law for over three decades and was a partner at both Torys LLP and Cavalluzzo LLP.  Hugh is recognized for his risk, innovation, pension and governance expertise.

Hugh has spoken at numerous conferences and has published many articles.

Ryan Peterson is an entrepreneur and technology executive known for founding Finger Food Advanced Technology GroupTM , a Vancouver-based technology company that specialized in developing custom augmented reality, virtual reality, and mixed reality solutions for enterprise clients across all industries. Under Ryan’s leadership, Finger Food Advanced Technology Group grew exponentially and became known world-wide for its expertise in creating custom solutions that help businesses operate more efficiently, hence driving the adoption of immersive technologies as part of their digital-transformation journey.

In 2020, Finger Food Technology was acquired by Unity, and became Unity’s Global professional services practice also known as Accelerate Solutions. Ryan scaled Accelerate Solutions to a global team of more than 800 highly-skilled real-time 3D (“RT3D”) experts, serving both Games and Industry clients, and is the driving force behind the adoption of RT3D technologies by hundreds of the most forward-thinking companies in the world. Accelerate Solutions helps these companies solve difficult challenges and create enterprise value, including the creation of operational Digital Twins of their facilities.   

Ryan Peterson has received numerous awards and accolades. He is actively involved in his community, supporting several charitable organizations and serving as a mentor and advisor to young entrepreneurs. He is also an active investor to several technology startups and serves as a Board and Executive Committee Member of the Business Council of British Columbia.  He hosts regular thought-leadership public events, including the “Road To Metaverse Executive Series” at Unity. 

John is the Founder and Managing Partner of Maverix Private Equity, a private equity firm focused on technology-enabled growth and disruption investment strategies. As a firm run by entrepreneurs, funded by entrepreneurs, and for entrepreneurs, Maverix is investing out of its inaugural fund in the areas of health and wellness, financial services, transportation, and logistics, live, work, play and learn, and retail. John chairs the Investment Committee, guides the strategy of the firm, is deeply involved with fundraising and sourcing and leading investment opportunities, particularly within the technology industry. 

John is also the Founder of OMERS Ventures and Co-Founder and Vice Chair of the Council of Canadian Innovators. Over the course of his leadership as the CEO of OMERS Ventures, they invested over USD$500 million in over 40 disruptive technology companies across North America. John co-founded the Council of Canadian Innovators, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping high-growth Canadian technology firms scale globally.

As an active board member in the profit and not-for-profit sectors, John works with many leading innovative organizations including KODE Labs, NervGen Pharm,  Viral Nation, OneEleven, the David Suzuki Foundation, the CIBC Foundation, the Royal Ontario Museum, Caldwell’s Top 40 Under 40, the Investigative Journalism Foundation, the SSB Dean’s Global Council (DGC) for the Schulich School of Business, and the Federal Government Global Hypergrowth Project.

Stanis Smith’s career has focused on the quality and design of the built environment. He has brought his leadership, vision and expertise to major projects around the world in the educational, entertainment and transportation sectors, and as an architect is committed to designing accessible spaces that can be enjoyed, appreciated, and utilized by everyone.  He is a passionate advocate for accessibility and sustainability and has spoken on those and other topics at international conferences.

Stanis’s career highlights include being the CEO of Architectura, one of Canada’s leading architectural firms, and being an Executive Vice President at Stantec, a 31,000-person global architectural and engineering design firm. In that capacity he led Stantec’s Buildings Group, Airport Group and Innovation Group for many years.

Stanis also lends his expertise as a member of the Rick Hansen Foundation Accessibility Certification (RHFAC) Advisory Committee, which is tasked with advising Foundation staff on the design, scope, development and marketing of the Foundation’s Accessibility Certification program. In addition, Mr. Smith is a Board Director of the Vancouver Opera and is a member of its Executive Committee.