Our Team

Pink Shirt Day events, fundraising and grant distribution are managed by the team at CKNW Kids' Fund:

 
 
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Sara Dubois-Phillips

Executive Director

A senior communications and fundraising specialist with over 25 years’ experience in the non-profit, corporate and media sectors, Sara has worked in New York, Washington, D.C. and Vancouver. She has a proven track record in event creation and production in the non-profit sector, and as Director of Marketing and Communications for Canuck Place she established The Canuck Place Adventure Challenge and the Gift of Time. Sara has a background in Broadcast Journalism and began her career in radio as a newscaster for BVLD in Smithers. She is passionate about children’s causes and has worked tirelessly both personally and professionally to improve and enhance the lives of children in need with organizations such as BC Children’s Hospital, Lift the Children, BC Kidney Foundation, The Looking Glass Foundation for Eating Disorders, Pacific Autism Family Centre, the Vancouver Aquarium and Arts Umbrella.

 

 
 
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Cathy Hunt

Director of Grants & Special Events

Cathy first became involved with the CKNW Kids’ Fund as a reporter with the radio station, following her graduation from BCIT. She left the radio business to become a music teacher and raise her family, but continued to volunteer and fundraise every year for the charity. In 2006, Cathy returned to CKNW full-time to join the Kids’ Fund team and is currently Director of Grants and Special Events. She oversees the allocation of our funding to special needs families and organizations, and coordinates the annual Kids’ Fund Picnic at Playland for 3,000 special needs children.

 

 
 
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Michelle McLean

Donor Relations & Legacy Giving Manager

Michelle joined the CKNW Kids’ Fund team in October 2014. Previously, she was the Marketing & Business Development Coordinator for Paul Mercs Concerts, implementing marketing and promotional plans for music tours across Canada. Michelle is an accomplished vocalist. Always one to volunteer, she most recently lent her voice to the Music Seeds International children’s project “Favourite Things.” In her spare time, Michelle performs regularly in the Lower Mainland with her band O’Hara Lane. She also does commercial voiceover work.


 

Sharon Haslam

Director of Finance & Administration

After volunteering for the Kids’ Fund for many years, Sharon enthusiastically joined the team full-time in February 2023. In addition to her experience in finance, she is also trained as an Education Assistant and has her certificate in Medical Transcription. Since moving to Canada from England when she was 16, she has had the opportunity to work in a variety of industries including engineering, forestry, radio, and the arts. Outside of work, Sharon enjoys attending concerts and sporting events, riding roller coasters, being an advocate for animals, and travelling to explore different cultures. A bonus fun fact about Sharon – she plays the flute and was once a member of the British Columbia Beefeaters Band!


 

Katelynn Potter

Fund Development Manager

Katelynn joined the CKNW Kids’ Fund team in February 2023. Having previously worked for both for-profit and non-profit organizations, Katelynn comes to the Kids’ Fund with over ten years of experience in events, experiential marketing, and fundraising. She proudly works to brighten the lives of children and to share their stories, inspiring others to do their part as well. Katelynn was born and raised in the Lower Mainland, giving her the opportunity to work for and volunteer with organizations such as Family Services of Greater Vancouver, Variety – the Children’s Charity, North Shore Rescue, BC Cancer Foundation, and the BC American Marketing Association. In her spare time, she can be found enjoying all that Vancouver has to offer by walking the trails with her dog, cheering on the local sports teams, and riding her bike throughout her neighbourhood.


 

Board of Directors

 
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Lara Dauphinee

Chair
Managing Director - Fiore Group

Ms. Dauphinee is managing director of the Fiore Group, a private firm managing a broad portfolio of private equity investments and companies, focusing on food and lifestyle, art and entertainment, real estate, and natural resources. She serves as a board director of the Young Presidents’ Organization, YYOGA, The Giustra Foundation, VGH + UBC Hospital Foundation, StreetoHome Foundation, The Great Ontario Food Company, and CKNW Kids’ Fund. She is also actively involved in the Forum for Women Entrepreneurs, and the International Crisis Group. From 2001 to 2011 she served as Deputy Chief of Staff to the Premier of the Province of British Columbia.


Chris Gailus

Vice Chair
Anchor - Global BC

Chris Gailus is a Canadian television news anchor and is currently the host of Global BC’s News Hour. With more than 25 years of experience in broadcast journalism, Chris is the recipient of many prestigious awards, such as the Emmy Award for Best Single Morning News Program, multiple Canadian Screen Awards for Best Newscast Large, and his most recent Canadian Screen Award for Best Local News Anchor in 2015. Outside the newsroom, Chris supports many non-profit organizations like BC Children’s Hospital, Canuck Place Children’s Hospice, Room to Read, and organizations that support research and treatment for Diabetes and Arthritis.


Wally Oppal
Honorary Chair
Senior Counsel – Boughton Law

Wally is an experienced counsel and strategic advisor. His practice focuses on alternative and traditional dispute resolution as well as Aboriginal law. After graduation from the University of British Columbia Law School, Wally went into private practice for a number of years. During this time, he was appointed as a Special Prosecutor on many high-profile criminal and commercial cases. In 2005, he was appointed as Attorney General of British Columbia and served as Minister Responsible for Multiculturalism until 2009. Wally was involved in many significant reforms of the justice system, including the establishment of Canada’s first community court to deal with chronic offenders, developing new Rules of Court in order to promote quicker resolution of disputes and developing new initiatives in dealing with violence against women. A lifetime resident of British Columbia, Wally has dedicated his entire working life to the pursuit of social justice and community safety. His landmark report on policing in British Columbia led to many policing reforms after its publication in 1994. Wally’s service to the public of this province, most recently as Commissioner of the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry, is of special significance.


Chris Tsoromocos
Treasurer
Senior Vice President - Onni Group

Chris has an extensive 20-year background in real estate, private equity, and public markets investing. Prior to joining the senior leadership at the Onni Group, Chris held senior executive position in private equity including Kingswood Capital, Stern Partners and Maxam Capital as well as investment banking including CIBC World Markets and Citigroup Global Markets (M&A) in London. Chris serves on numerous boards and is an active supporter of not-for-profit and community initiatives.


Chris Philips

President – Fairborne Homes

As the President of Fairborne Homes, Christopher Philips is extremely knowledgeable about the Vancouver residential real estate market. He is passionate about delivering not just more than the average homebuilder, but also a Fairborne Residence with vibrant living spaces within a pleasant community. Over the years, Chris has been awarded winner of the Urban Development Institute’s Award for Excellence in Urban Development, where Fairborne has created some of the Lower Mainland’s most memorable homes.


Charlie Lamb

Financial Associate — ZLC Financial

Charlie Lamb is a Financial Associate as ZLC Financial where helps his clients establish, implement and maintain a financial strategy that will help to build and preserve capital, business and investment assets, for a lifetime and for the next generation. Charlie was born and raised in Vancouver but spent over ten years in New York City practicing corporate and securities law. He is very proud to call Vancouver his home and, on most evenings, can be found trying to grill the perfect NY strip steak on his Big Green Egg barbeque. When he’s not working, Charlie can typically be found playing sports, watching sports, spending time with his 2 kids, wife and dog or walking the trails of North Vancouver. Charlie is actively involved in the Tom Lamb Foundation and is a supporter of various not-for-profit and community initiatives.


Jessica Bouchard

Associate Director, The Polygon Gallery

A creative and resourceful fundraiser, Jessica Bouchard has enjoyed two decades of fundraising success in both the public and private sectors. She has worked as the lead fundraiser for the largest visual arts organization in Western Canada; crossed over to the private sector and successfully raised a real estate private equity fund of $120 million; and is currently the associate director of The Polygon Gallery, which, under her leadership, has just successfully completed the capital campaign for its new home, which opened on Vancouver’s north shore waterfront at the end of 2017. In addition to her work with the CKNW Kids' Fund, she also sits on the board of the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival.


Sharon Singh

Partner — Bennett Jones LLP

As a partner at Bennett Jones, Sharon Singh provides practical, strategic, and innovative legal solutions to clients for their priority and complex projects. She specializes in providing advice on regulatory, governance, environmental, and Aboriginal law to infrastructure, mining, energy, construction, technology, agribusiness, and transportation sectors. Sharon has been providing practical advice on implementing Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) principles, practices, and reporting, and Indigenous and community relations for decades. She has a reputation for her ability to progress issues through creating trusting relationships between industry groups, associations, governments, Indigenous and local communities, and the not-for-profit sector.

Sharon is a member of the Canadian Bar Association and is on the executive of the Aboriginal Law section of the British Columbia chapter. She is recognized as a leading lawyer in The Legal 500: Canada and Chambers Canada and is a Business in Vancouver's 40 under 40 recipient. In March 2016, Sharon was awarded a Wendy McDonald Award, in the category of Women of Promise by the Leadership Circle of the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade.


Kathryn Stewart

Director of Talk & Talent — 980 CKNW

Kathryn Stewart is a program director and radio leader with deep roots in Greater Vancouver.

She is the Director of Talk & Talent for 980 CKNW, one of Canada’s leading stations for local news coverage & relevant conversation. Previously, Kathryn managed network programming for Corus Entertainment’s AM radio network, leading the growth of nationwide radio coverage through the country’s biggest stories: federal elections, terror attacks, and the COVID-19 pandemic, to name a few.

She serves as the West Region co-chair for RTDNA Canada, and from 2014-2019 she was the lead producer of the CKNW Kids’ Fund annual Pledge Day on CKNW. It was through Pledge Day that Kathryn first connected with the impact the Kids’ Fund has on children and families in BC, and she is grateful to support their mission today.


Jennifer Twiner-McCarron

CEO - Thunderbird Entertainment Group and Atomic Cartoons

Jennifer Twiner-McCarron is the CEO of Thunderbird Entertainment Group, and it’s Kids and Family Division, Atomic Cartoons. She joined Atomic Cartoons as the Head of Production in 2011 and under her leadership, the studio has grown from 25 artists to more than 900 today. She has lead production on multiple titles including the Emmy-winning Beat Bugs for Netflix, Cupcake & Dino for eOne and 101 Dalmatian Street for Disney+. Jennifer was promoted to Chief Executive Officer of Atomic Cartoons in 2016, then CEO of all Thunderbird companies in June 2018. She continues to hold both roles, overseeing the $85 million business (FY2020) as well as a team of more than 1,200 people, in Vancouver, Los Angeles, Toronto, and Ottawa. This summer Jennifer & her team won the Peabody award for Molly of Denali with a focus on Diversity and Inclusivity and recently, BC Business voted Jennifer woman of the year for Diversity and Inclusivity.

Over the past 20 years, Jennifer has produced or executive produced dozens of animated series, video game cinematics, and direct to DVD features, including the popular Barbie Princess franchise with Mattel Filmed Entertainment. Jennifer holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario, and a degree in film studies from the Vancouver Film School. She is an award-winning producer having received multiple Leo awards, an ELAN, and a DTV award. She was voted one of the “Top 25 Women in Animation” by Animation Magazine in 2010, and named Executive of the Year by Playback Magazine in 2018. In 2019, she was also named by the Women’s Executive Network (WXN) as one of Canada’s 100 Most Powerful Women. Jennifer’s greatest achievement, however, is her family and she cherishes spending time with her husband and three children.


Mike Searson

Vice President Local Revenue – Corus Radio Vancouver

Having started his career as a golf professional at the Vancouver Golf Club in 1994, Mike transitioned to radio sales in 1999 and has not looked back. During his career, Mike has held many leadership positions within Corus and is currently the Vice President of Local Revenue. Mike leads Sales, Marketing and Creative teams across the country who support many of Canada’s top brands in video, audio and digital such as Global News, Global TV, STACK TV, HGTV, Food Network, CFOX FM, Rock 101, CKNW AM980 and the Global Go App to name but a few. He has worked tirelessly to help transform Corus into Canada’s leading multiplatform sales organization. For the past 20+ years, Mike and his team have played an integral role in supporting the CKNW Kids' Fund during Pledge Day, the Picnic at Playland, the Take-a-Swing Golf Tournament and the Pink Shirt Day campaigns.

As a long-term Board member and newly appointed Governance Committee member Mike believes “It is truly a privilege to support the CKNW Kids’ Fund, as you see firsthand how the generosity of the donors goes to support children in need.”