The Greenwoods Eldercare Society is an independent not-for-profit organization affiliated with Island Health and BC Housing. The Society is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors with a diverse range of backgrounds including healthcare, education, business, government, and non-profits. The Board of Directors is a governance committee that meets once a month to review and oversee the operations of the Society. Annually, the Board of Directors host an Annual General Meeting (AGM) that is announced in the local newspaper (Driftwood) and serves as both a retrospective review of the year past and a prospective preview of the year ahead. Key roles and responsibilities of Board membership include:
- advocacy
- committee work
- resource development
- liaison with stakeholders and funding providers
This is an active Board, which has a direct and lasting influence on the health and well-being of the organization and the elder population the Greenwoods Society serves.
Members of the Board of Directors
Dorrie Ferster, Past Board Chair
Dorrie brings a wealth of experience to our Board. She is retired Registered Nurse, experienced Nursing Leader and educator with years of general nursing practice in acute care and mental health. Dorrie led the operationalization and care delivery design of a specialized Alzheimer’s and related dementia care site called Czorny Alzheimer’s Centre. She is passionate about residential care and the opportunities to enhance and foster person-directed care and the building of teams and environments which compliment the creation of “the best places to live, the best places to work and the best places to visit.”
Mark Cleveland, Board Chair
With a career focusing on organization development, strategic planning and organizational leadership, Mark spent over 40 years working in Canada’s north. Throughout his work career he focused his efforts on the development and expansion of sustainable communities-based services in the fields of education, training and health. Activities included supporting the organization and development of health and education authorities as well as refocusing existing services to better meet patient/client needs. Mark’s career postings included serving as the president of the Northwest Territories college system, Deputy Minister of Health, Deputy Minister of Education, Culture and Employment and serving as Secretary to the NWT Government’s Financial Management Board. Mark has been a resident of Salt Spring since 2016.
Pam Ramsay, Treasurer
Pam has spent over 35 years in health care. She started practicing as a speech-language pathologist but has been in senior leadership roles for the majority of her career. These leadership roles were both at the regional and provincial level and spanned across all parts of the health care continuum. Pam grounds her leadership in creating sustainability, embracing collaboration and harnessing potential within organizations, systems and communities.
Pam was the inaugural Provincial Director of Stroke Services B.C. at the Provincial Health Services Authority and lead numerous evidence-based clinical improvement initiatives in stroke care. Most recently, she was the Executive Director, Lower Mainland Pathology and Laboratory Medicine. This included leading the provincial testing strategy for COVID-19 and the pandemic response for labs.
Pam has always embraced the importance of volunteerism. She continues as an active board member of a national cardiac research organization, with past experience on the board of a community college and activities in support of other not-for-profit organizations.
In her retirement, she welcomes the opportunity to volunteer as part of the Greenwoods Eldercare board as it continues to evolve a much-needed resource serving our Salt Spring Island community.
Silk Questro, Director
A Salt Spring resident since 1980, Silk brings 40 years of communications experience to the Greenwoods Board. As the founder and president of Victoria-based Malahat Group Communications, she led the development of marketing strategies; public information, advertising and fundraising campaigns; branding and visual identities; and a wide range of award-winning projects for clients in the private, public and not-for profit sectors. As strategic communications planner and creative director, she gained particular insights advising clients in the fields of health care, education, environment, tourism, the arts and financial services. The Malahat Group was recognized with a community service award for its work as the pro-bono communication agency supporting United Way of Greater Victoria during several years of successful fundraising campaigns. Now retired, Silk lives on a small south-end farm raising sheep and apples, writing, singing in a band and sailing.
Eleanor Dawson, Board Vice Chair
After a career in law, Eleanor retired to Salt Spring Island. While a lawyer in private practice, she served as a director and officer of a number of animal welfare organizations, including the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies and the Canadian Council on Animal Care. Her concern for compassionate and ethical care led to Eleanor’s interest in residential care and the Board of the Greenwoods Society. She also currently serves as the chair of a charitable foundation that supports humane education programs that teach the values of compassion, empathy, generosity and responsibility.
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Claire Cupples, Secretary
Claire retired in 2020 after a 30-year career as a teacher, researcher and administrator in three Canadian universities. At that point she went from being a part-time resident of Salt Spring Island (since 2002) to being a full-timer. Her teaching and research were in the fields of molecular biology and microbiology.
Over a 20-year period, she led the Biology Department at Concordia University in Montréal, the Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology at the University of Victoria and the Faculty of Science at both UVic and Simon Fraser University. These positions gave her extensive experience in budget, personnel and infrastructure management in unionized, not-for-profit institutions, jointly financed by student fees and government grants. At all three institutions she had substantial involvement in planning the construction of new science buildings and the renovation and maintenance of older ones.
As Dean of the Faculty of Science at SFU, she led fundraising activities on behalf of the Faculty, working with external donors and internal stakeholders. She also sat on the Boards of various not-for-profit organizations, including Science World, TRIUMF, the Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre, the Science Fair Foundation of British Columbia, and the Canadian Council of Deans of Science.
Nigel Knight, Director
Prior to retiring to Salt Spring Island in 2022, Nigel owned a flooring and interior contracting business in Hinton, Alberta. He served two terms as an elected town councillor in Hinton and was a member and president of the Kinsmen Club of Hinton.
After moving to Salt Spring, Nigel was appointed a member of the BC Provincial Assessment Review Panel. He also serves as a volunteer at the Salt Spring Island Library.
Stanley Shapiro, Director
Prior to retiring to Salt Spring in 1999, Stanley served as the Dean of Business Administration at Simon Fraser University.
Since then, Stanley has been involved in a number of public service activities on Salt Spring, including: board member Salt Spring Island Public Library; member, Salt Spring Island Parks and Recreation Committee, member of Salt Spring Island Local Trust Committee’s Advisory Planning Commission; and board member, Guld Island Seniors’ Residents Association (Meadowbrook) and its planning committee for the new Meadowlane residence.
