Huu-ay-aht First Nations elected Chief Councillor and Alberni-Clayqouot Regional District board chair John Jack is joining the North Island College Board of Governors.
North Island College (NIC) announced last week that it will be adding two new members to its Board of Governors this summer.
In July, Jack will officially join the board for a two-year term, along with Roger Kishi of Cumberland. They will replace outgoing members Barry Minaker (who served on various committees including, most recently, the governance and board development committee) and Jane Atherton (who served as chair and vice-chair).
Kishi and Jack follow Corinne Stavness of Comox, who also joined the board in December.
The three bring a wide range of experience to the board. Kishi is currently co-ordinator of Homeless and Housing Programs for the Wachiay Friendship Centre and is responsible for Wachiay’s Naut’sa mawt affordable housing project. He was a two-term council member for the Village of Cumberland from 2011 to 2018 and served as a director and finance committee member with the St. Joseph’s Hospital Board from 2012 to 2020.
Jack, meanwhile, has worked with communities in many ways. He is elected Chief Councillor for the Huu-ay-aht First Nations, and through that, a director and chair of the Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District board. Other commitments include ICET and a position on the Vancouver Island University Board of Governors, for which he is completing his term. He and his wife operate a consulting business oriented toward services for First Nations and Indigenous organizations.
“My background has a lot of economic development,” said Jack. “I bring some experience from the board of governors for VIU. I do have some familiarity with post-secondary governance.”
Stavness is the vice president of corporate affairs at Western Forest Products. Previously, she was the director of prevention services and communication for the Ending Violence Association of BC. She holds a Bachelor of Science in forestry from the University of British Columbia and a Master of Science in economics from the University of Helsinki.
The NIC Board of Governors oversees the college’s strategic direction and makes policy-level decisions to provide guidance. For more information, see www.nic.bc.ca/board.