Project Director:
Project Core Team:
Project Assistants
Project Steering Committee:
Mary Sjostrom, North Central Municipal Association.
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Councillor Mary Sjostrom and her husband Butch have lived in Quesnel for 27 years and have 3 grown children and one grandson. Mary was a former Licensed Practical Nurse at GR Baker Hospital and a former retail business owner for 18 years. Mary gives many hours as a volunteer back to the community. She is:
Founding member of Sun Rise Rotary
Steering Committee Member of Quesnel Community Foundation
Former Director and Executive Member, Chamber of Commerce
Past President, Shiraoi Twining Society
Former Director of Palliative Care Association
Host Chair, BC 2000 Winter Games
Accomplishments include:
Chair, Communities in Bloom / Civic Pride
Chair, Quesnel Spirit of BC 2010 Committee
City Liaison to Quesnel & District Museum & Heritage Commission
Member of the Communications & Accessibility Committee
Past President, North Central Municipal Association
Executive Member, UBCM
Former Chair, Justice Committee
Former Chair, Advisory Design Panel
Former Co-Chair Arena Task Force
Former City Liaison to DTASSOS / Chamber / Hospice Advisory
Melanie Crombie, BC Paraplegic Association.
Melanie Crombie has been the Executive Director of the BC Paraplegic Association since 2004. With a background encompassing over 20 years in the not-for-profit sector, Ms. Crombie’s previous leadership experience with various health organizations includes significant accomplishments in the areas of advocacy, program development, strategic planning, fund development, and marketing and communications.
An effective communicator and consensus builder, Ms. Crombie has successfully brought together communities, special interest organizations and levels of government in support of social program development.
Jodi Mucha, BC Healthy Communities.
Jodi holds a Masters in Environment and Management as well as years of community and sustainable development experience working in New Zealand, Ghana, Egypt and Canada. Her Masters thesis focused on the connections between spirituality and sustainable development and ways to mobilize them. She has a strong background in public policy research and spent 3 years developing the e-Dialogues for Sustainable Development with Dr. Ann Dale of Royal Roads University. Jodi is working with the BCHC team using an integral approach to building capacity for healthy municipal governance. Jodi is also passionate about active, healthy lifestyles and in her spare time competes in Ironman Triathlons.
Maxine Koppe, North Central Municipal Association.
Maxine has served as Executive Director for the North Central Municipal Association for more than 4 years. During her tenure she has provided the strong management base necessary for the organization to expand it’s role as a voice for local government in the North Central region of the Province. She is a member of the Core Working Group and the Steering Committee for the Measuring Up The North project, and sits on the Advisory Committee for the Communities in Transition Initiative, a partnership initiative planning for community transition in non-metropolitan regions.
Maxine has a varied background in business administration having been a Business Owner, Human Resource Manager and Operations Manager prior to joining NCMA. She & her husband Peter own and operate a cattle ranch along the banks of the Nechako River near Prince George. They have 3 adult daughters, three grandchildren, and a wild assortment of animals.
Mike Prescott, 2010 Legacies Now.
Mike is the Manager, Accessible Tourism at 2010 Legacies Now and is responsible for working with a diverse set of stakeholders from the tourism industry, disability organizations, communities and government to ensure the accessible tourism strategy is a provincial success. He has 20 years of experience with disability issues and has been actively involved in all levels of wheelchair sports including several years at the University of Illinois where he received his BSc. Mike also has an MBA from SFU where he focused on strategy and tourism. As a strategy/knowledge management consultant for the past 10 years, Mike has helped organizations and communities collaborate more effectively by engaging all stakeholders.
Theresa Healy, Northern Health.
My name is Theresa Healy. I was just recently hired (April 2008) as the Regional Manager Healthy Community Development with Northern Health. I also hold an Adjunct Professor appointment at UNBC in the School of Environmental Planning with a cross appointment in Gender Studies and I have a Ph.D. from Simon Fraser University. I have lived, worked and played in Prince George since 1994 and would not live anywhere else in the world. Because of my grounding in community based and participatory action research I have been so fortunate to be involved in a range of research and communities across Northern BC from telehealth to lesbian health, from HIV to sexual exploitation of youth, from traditional foods and environmental contamination to community food security, in the not for profit and governmental sectors, from the marginalized to the professional. . I believe in the power of individuals and communities to be able to describe and provide the solutions for the issues facing them, given the right supports. I think the Measuring up the North project is one of those supports communities can rely on to help them make the changes they see as necessary.
Pat Harris, BC Paraplegic Association (Prince George).
Pat Harris has been employed by the BC Paraplegic Association since 1982. Pat has worked in the capacity of Rehabilitation Consultant assisting newly injured people with spinal cord injury and more recently works as the Regional Rehab Manager coordinating the services of 5 BCPA regional offices. Pat was a founding member and former chair of the City of Prince George Accessibility Advisory Committee whose mandate is to remove physical and social barriers which impede the full participation of persons with disabilities in all aspects of community life. Pat was also a founding member and Event Leader for the Rick Hansen Wheels In Motion event in Prince George.
A proponent of recreation and physical activity for people with disabilities, Pat competed as an athlete with a disability in the areas of athletics and basketball. He was a founding member of Prince George Titans Wheelchair Basketball Club and currently holds the position of Regional Coach for BC Wheelchair Basketball Society. Pat is also the current chair of the BC Wheelchair Sports Association.
Murry Krause, North Central Municipal Association.
Councillor Murry Krause is in his third term as a Councilor for the City of Prince George and in his first term as a Director for the Regional District. As a Councillor he serves on the Finance and Audit Committee and represents Council in a social development capacity on several committees. He has held the position of Executive Director of the Central Interior Native Health Society for the past 11 years and prior to that was the Executive Director of the Prince George United Way for 13 years. He has served as the Community Co-Chair for the annual UNBC Fundraising Campaign for the past two years. He currently serves and has served on numerous local, regional and national committees and Boards of Directors.
President of the North Central Municipal Association
Vice-Chair of the Barkerville Heritage Trust
Central Interior Native Health Society, Executive Director
Communities Against the Sexual Exploitation of Youth, Chairperson
Grief and Loss Support Centre - Advisory Committee
Councillor, City of Prince George
Laurie Ringaert: She is the Project Director of Measuring of the North in Prince George, BC, working for the North Central Municipal Association and the BC Paraplegic Association.
Laurie Ringaert is a researcher, educator, consultant and occupational therapist who has been involved in universal design/access issues for over 30 years. She is the Project Director of Measuring of the North in Prince George, BC, working for the North Central Municipal Association and the BC Paraplegic Association. She is a Senior Researcher for the Canadian Center on Disability Studies and recently completed the first study on Visitable Housing in Canada and is a project lead on projects on Aging and Disability and Farmers with Disabilities. She has also been involved in international projects with the Centre in Russia and the Ukraine. She previously worked as the Director of the Center for Universal Design at NC State University and the Director of the Universal Design Institute in Canada as well as her own consulting business: Universal Design International Consulting. She has been involved on many codes/standards and policy committees nationally and internationally. Laurie has worked with architects, developers and the disability community on built environment issues through her training events and her research. She has been involved in several universal design projects and authored several articles and book chapters.
Kory Heyland,
Hello Everyone, My name is Kory Heyland. I love to sing, read, play poker, and volunteer within my community. My background consists of website design, event planning and public speaking. I am the event leader for Rick Hansen Wheels In Motion in Prince George. Our event raised over $12,000 this year. Half of this money will stay within the community of PG and the rest will go towards spinal cord research. I am the owner of a website design business in which I create and update websites for businesses and organizations. I am a Competent Leader within the Toastmasters organization and I am continually working on improving my communication and leadership skills. I am presently working as an administrative assistant for Carol's Window Fashions, which creates custom window coverings for residence in PG. I have recently been hired on as a MUTN project assistant and look forward to working with you on the MUTN project because I truly want to help make Prince George and other communities accessible for everyone. I am a person with a disability and have first hand knowledge of what its like not to be able to access buildings, sidewalks or transportation. I feel the only way I am going to change my environment is being involved in projects such as MUTN.
Kamrul Hasan
Hi! I am a Graduate Student (major in Computer Science) at University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, BC. Accessible Human Computer Interaction, especially, Accessible web interface design is a big and challenging research issue which I want to pursue as my research area. Working as a Project Assistant for the Measuring Up The North project not only added practical experiences; but it also opened a new window in my life. Being far away from my family, I have discovered a family here in Prince George, BC , where I enjoy all my work.