Russell B. Mirasty, Assistant Commissioner RCMP (Retired), will share a story that describes a personal and professional journey that begins on a First Nation in northern Saskatchewan and eventually leads to the Senior Management Team of the RCMP. 

He was the elected Chief of the Snuneymuxw First Nation from December 2009 to February 2014 where a major focus of his work was in relation to the implementation of the Snuneymuxw Treaty of 1854.

Laraine Ashpole has a diverse background that includes 25 years working in public service and non-profit organizations on Vancouver Island.

Marie-Claude Asselin is the Chief Executive Officer of the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada since April 2007.

Trish Balcaen is the Assistant Deputy Minister responsible for negotiations and regional operations with the Ministry of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation.

An ADRIO/ADRBC member since 2015, Sheriden is the Founder and Principal of The Boreal Centre for Dispute Resolution.

Kat has been working with people in conflict for 18 years and has been providing services by distance for over 10 years. 

She is a lawyer who works as a Staff Representative in Advocacy at the British Columbia Government and Service Employees’ Union (BCGEU), a union with 77,000 members in 550 bargaining units.

Colleen was called to the Bar in 1986 and practised in Vancouver with a focus on commercial and construction litigation and professional negligence claims, including three years as in house Claims Counsel with the Lawyers Insurance Fund.

Lori Charvat is an experienced organizational consultant, with a focus on the people side of organizations. Her expertise lies in conflict resolution, employee engagement, leadership development, and change management.

Corrina Chase is Metis from the Algonquin Territory. She has been employed in the public sector for the past two decades.

Renee is a mediator, lawyer, coach and facilitator who brings a broad range of legal and managerial experience to her […]

Joan Cotie has worked with families, youth and children in many capacities since 1976.

Laura is an experienced advocate, appearing as lead counsel at all levels of court in British Columbia and the federal courts, as well as before administrative tribunals.

With a professional background in legal services and human resources and a management certificate from SFU, Karen excels at coordinating and continuously improving office administration and project management.

Robert Deane is National Leader of the Firm’s International Trade and Arbitration Group, and a member of the Partnership Board, the Firm’s governing body

Isabelle Deguise has nearly 10 years of experience in BC’s renewable energy sector and has been a key player in the development, construction and operation of over 20 renewable energy projects.

Raj Dhasi, M.A., B.A., is the Owner and Lead Consultant at Turning Point Resolutions Inc., a full service conflict management firm in Vancouver, BC. Raj is a skilled practitioner who encompasses a blend of empathy, spirit and strategic thinking.

Brenda Gaertner advises first nation governments on aboriginal title and rights, modern (self) government, natural resource management and economic development.

Gerry Ghikas is an independent commercial arbitrator who conducts his international and domestic practice from Vancouver Arbitration Chambers.

Jessica Gregory is a Vancouver Arbitrator, Mediator and Investigator specializing in the workplace sector. She has extensive experience in labour dispute resolution.

Angus M. Gunn QC is a seasoned appellate advocate who provides procedural and substantive expertise in civil appeals for clients seeking strategic counsel and highly experienced representation.

Brin Hamilton is a conflict consultant, mediator, arbitrator, facilitator, human resources professional, and a Partner at ADR Education, a pan-Canadian dispute resolution firm.

Heather is a lawyer practicing exclusively in the area of labour and employment law. She has a unique combination of legal expertise and extensive hands-on human resources management and labour relations experience.

Having been an ADRBC member ingood standing since 2018, Yeda has also been a very strong and generous volunteer contributor to  our annual Symposium over several years, and also serves on our Regulated Civil Mediation Roster.

Dillon Johnson has been providing community, economic and financial planning advice and services to First Nations governments and organizations for a decade as a consultant with Temixw Planning Ltd. in North Vancouver.

Roy is co-author of the top-selling “Turning Conflict into Profit” and a founder and Principal of The Neutral Zone Coaching and Consulting Services Inc. Having appeared on television and radio, Roy is a mediator, trainer and psychotherapist who works with communities, families and public and private-sector organizations.

An ADRBC member in good standing since 2018, Fisnik brings a combined body of experience and education in multiple ADR Disciplines, alongside over five years’ direct experience as ADRBC’s Manager of Stakeholder Relations. 

Mr. Lalji is the Chairman of the Ismaili Conciliation & Arbitration for for B.C. The primary objective of CAB is to provide dispute resolution services to the Ismaili community in the areas of commercial, matrimonial and family maters, including those relating to matrimony, children of marriage, matrimonial property, and testate and intestate succession.

I restrict my practice to ADR. I have more than twenty years’ experience in applying and teaching alternate dispute resolution including mediation in many fields including family business, partnership break-ups, aboriginal issues, tax policy, construction, pensions, shareholder disputes, estates, sexual orientation, and many others.

Jon is a Partner, and head of the Family Law Group, at Watson Goepel LLP. He assists clients in all areas of family law, from issues arising from divorce or separation, to specific areas related to property division, children (guardianship, parenting time, residency and child protection), and pre or post-marriage style agreements.

Working in the areas of conflict management and restorative justice since 2004, Gillian Lindquist holds certificates in Conflict Management and Restorative Justice and a BA in Justice Studies.

Michael is a lawyer by profession and a highly experienced mediator/conflict resolution trainer who has assists many individuals, corporations and government agencies in understanding how to manage high conflict personalities.

Aaron Lyons is an internationally experienced restorative justice specialist with 15 years’ service in case facilitation, training, implementation, research, consulting and coalition-building.

Leslie E. Maerov was admitted as a barrister and solicitor in British Columbia in 1975, and as a solicitor of England & Wales in 1991.

Dr. Eva Malisius is a conflict engagement specialist with a wide range of international experience. Over the last 15 years she has worked with stakeholders at all levels of decision-making, always advocating constructive conflict engagement approaches.

Michelle Maniago is a partner in our Corporate Commercial Litigation Department in our Vancouver office. She is currently a regional lead of BLG’s Appellate Advocacy Group and is also a member of our Class Action and International Trade and Arbitration Groups.

Stephen McPhee. Q.C is a LSBC accredited Family Mediator and Arbitrator and senior family law and civil litigation counsel with Ramsay Lampman Rhodes in Nanaimo, BC.

For me, advocacy is bred in the bone.  My ancestors experienced the disloyalty of the French and British, the Acadian Explusion, the conquest of New France, the dispossession at Red River and government’s refusal to honour the numbered Treaties.

As a coach, educator, therapist and facilitator, Vi champions the use of conflict for personal change, fulfilled relationships and dynamic organization. With thirty years of experience in conflict, Vi is known for turning fractured relationships and broken trust into restored hope with new beginnings.

“As a mediator, collaborative professional, arbitrator, and parenting coordinator, my passion is to help families find tailor made solutions to their unique challenges.”

Alex Ning is an experienced Notary Public and mediator. He has mediated since 1999, holds his C.Med through ADRBC and has served for many years as a small claims mediator and mentor in the Court Mediation Program administered by Mediate BC.

Wally is an experienced counsel and strategic advisor. His practice focuses on alternative and traditional dispute resolution as well as Aboriginal law.

Senior Counsel & Strategic Advisor, Penner Pacific Advisory Services.* A legal and public affairs advisory practice, Penner Pacific assists with regulatory, environmental and First Nations requirements, as well as providing governmental and media relations advice.

The Honourable Steven L. Point (Xwĕ lī qwĕl tĕl) is one of Canada’s few First Nations judges and was appointed British Columbia’s lieutenant-governor in September 2007.

John Radford is a conflict consultant, a conflict coach and co-owner of Vancouver-based Transpectives Consulting. He has been an associate faculty member in Royal Roads’ Conflict Analysis and Management program since 1998.

Nora Sahatciu is the former UN Coordination Specialist, a development practitioner who has worked for more than fifteen years in Western Balkans in post-conflict, peacebuilding and transitions to developmental contexts.

Called to the Bar of British Columbia in 1986 Kathryn practised with a variety of firms in the Vancouver area. In 1997 she become Legal Counsel to the Chief Justice and Associate Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of British Columbia.

Shannon Salter is the Civil Resolution Tribunal’s Chair, and an adjunct professor at the UBC Allard School of Law, teaching administrative law and legal ethics.

Kekinusuqs, Dr. Judith Sayers, is the President of the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council and an adjunct professor with both the School of Business and Environmental Studies at the University of Victoria.

Andrew Scott has served two years as Vice Chair, and several years as a Board Director, as Chair of the BBOT’s Government Relations Committee, and as a member of the BBOT’s Women’s Business Success Network.

Elton Simoes is an accomplished, Arbitrator, Mediator, Negotiator, Consultant, Non-executive Director, and Business Executive. He practices arbitration, mediation and Med-Arb in complex, confidential, time sensitive, commercial disputes involving shareholders, consumers, intellectual property, technology, media, entertainment and sports.

Murray Smith is a barrister practising out of arbitration chambers in Vancouver, British Columbia. His practice is confined to commercial arbitration cases.

A listed arbitrator for both the Collective Agreement Arbitration Bureau for British Columbia and The British Columbia International Commercial Arbitration Centre, as well as a mediator with Mediate BC, Gabriel often presides as chair in labour arbitrations and mediations.

Tarel Swansky has lived in the Lower Mainland her entire life. Completing her Bachelor of Laws in 2006, she articled for a small law firm on the Langley/Surrey border.

Melissa practices in all areas of labour, employment, human rights, and administrative law. Melissa provides strategic advice and advocacy to unions regarding a wide variety of labour matters including discipline and discharge, collective agreement interpretation, policy grievances, organizing efforts, and unfair labour practice disputes.

Bill Veenstra practices in the areas of commercial, construction and real estate litigation with the firm of Jenkins Marzban Logan LLP, where he has been associate counsel for the past eleven years.

Dr. Patricia Vickers, Director of Mental Wellness of FNHA, has experience as a trainer, consultant, instructor, facilitator, program developer, director and clinical counsellor for Indigenous communities along the coast of British Columbia.

Michael Welsh was called to the British Columbia bar in 1981 and practises as a mediator and arbitrator in family, estate, employment and workplace, commercial and civil law matters, as well as community-based mediation.

Gordon White has maintained a general mediation practice for 20 years that encompasses court files, harassment and bullying, divorce, restorative justice, multigenerational family dynamics, and natural resource utilization issues in relation to indigenous communities.

Kent Woodruff, C.Arb., C.Med. practises out of Kamloops. For the last 29 years he has restricted his law practice to ADR – commercial arbitration and mediation.

Dr. Evelyn Zellerer is the Founder/Director, Peace of the Circle – an organization working internationally with justice agencies, government, businesses, non-profits, schools and communities (www.peaceofthecircle.com).