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The BCSALN Board and Members

Michael McLellan

BCSALN Board of Directors  & President
Member of the Self Advocate Committee of Inclusion BC

Michael lives with a visual impairment. Michael’s beginning of self-advocacy was advocating for himself for his white cane. Through this, Michael gained confidence, and shared the importance with others of having your voice heard. Or specifically, to feel the “power of the white cane”, whatever that white cane may be to you. Michael is the recipient of the 2022 WOW Award. This prestigious award was awarded to Michael based on his tireless efforts given to promoting Advocacy throughout the province. He currently sits on the boards for The Self Advocacy Foundation, The Learning Community for Person Centered Practice and Inclusion BC, and he represents Inclusion BC on the Board of Inclusion Canada. Michael is also a part of the Provincial Accessibility Committee within the BC Government. He is the President of a non-profit workers’ cooperative called ESATTA. Michael works with CLBC and other community services by conducting presentations to spread the importance of self-advocacy and inclusivity amongst the B.C. community. Michael is a co-founder of SALN.

Dave Sheritt

 

BCSALN  Member
Member of BC People First

Dave is a happily married self-advocate living in Burnaby. He enjoys helping people with diverse abilities who need support to speak up. This is something he is passionate about because he lives with a disability himself. He recognized that he didn’t like the way people with diverse abilities were being treated. He became involved with self-advocacy work in the 1980s. He continues to be an active member of BC People First. He thought that if he could make a difference, he wouldn’t mind getting involved. He is now advocating for people with diverse abilities so they can live, work, and play as equal citizens.

Michaela Robinson

BCSALN Member
Member of the Self Advocates of Semiahmoo (SAS)

Michaela Robinson lives in her own apartment with her roommate and enjoys having a place to call her own. She works at Staples and White Spot part time. Michaela has received the Bronze, Silver, and Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, The Royal Canadian Legion Medal of Excellence, the B.C and International Exceptional Children’s Award, the Yes, I Can Award, and the Kwantlen Polytechnic University Distinguished Alumni Award. Michaela is active in Special Olympics; participating in 5 and 10 pin bowling and Rhythmic Gymnastics. She’s also a very involved in her church and the newest member of the Catholics Women’s League (CWL) Michaela has been a member of Toastmasters for many years which has helped her excel in her public speaking skills. People enjoy her positive attitude as well as her enthusiastic personality. She is passionate about accessibility and ensuring that everybody is able to be apart of their community.

Chelsea Rinquinha

BCSALN Board of Directors

Chelsea is a resident of Kitimat BC and happy to say she is the Northwest delegate for BCSALN and the co founder of TALK Northwest. She is on the Planning Committee for the 2023 Self Advocate Leadership Conference. She is proud of the advocacy work she is involved with. She enjoys meeting new people and networking on important issues. She is excited to learn and grow more with every new connection.

Bryce 
Schaufelberger

BCSALN Member & BCSALN  Website Manager & Vice President of the Mission Self-Advocacy Group & Self AdvocateNet manager

Bryce Schaufelberger is the webmaster of SelfAdvocateNet.com, the largest and one of the oldest Self Advocate websites in the world. Bryce's vision for a website began over 20 years ago when the site went live. Bryce is a well known Special Olympic athlete who has traveled to many international events. He is also a member of the Mission BC hall of fame for his many achievements. Bryce has been an early adopter of technology. He refurbishes computers and makes them available to Self Advocates. Bryce teamed up with Cam Dore and CedarCreekTech to help create the new SALNBC.com site. Bryce is the recipient of the BC People First Presidents Award 2002.

Alexander Magnussen

Co-founder and member of BCSALN

Alexander Magnussen is a co-founder of The Self- Advocates Leadership Network. He was a Mentor to The Self-Advocates of Semiahmoo in South Surrey. Alexander worked for Community Living B.C. for two years and for CBI Consultants for 2 years. He has been a professional public speaker for the over eight years and is a former board member of Inclusion B.C. Alexander is on the Board of UNITI.

Kara Anderson

BCSALN Board  of Directors  & Treasurer
Alumni of the Self advocates of Nanaimo

 

Kara is a mother of a son with a disability. Kara is passionate about self-advocacy work and has lived in B.C. for over 10 years. Kara is the secretary for Empowering Self-Advocates to Take Action and has given presentations for the Regional CLBC Staff Meeting. She helps facilitate the Welcome Workshops for CLBC. She is an alumni of the Self-Advocates of Nanaimo. Kara developed and was part of a film called "Fun, Food, and Advocacy”, which was presented at the Inclusion BC conference in Victoria 2019 " and was in the Inclusion BC film “Gender Matters.” She sits on the Provincial Advisory Committee to the CLBC Board. In 2022, Kara helped facilitate the keynote at the Inclusion BC Conference. Kara is a certified People Planning Together Trainer with The Learning Community for Person Centred Practices.

Jo-Anne Gauthier

BCSALN Board of Directors  & Vice President
Member of BC People First

Jo-Anne Gauthier has been advocating for inclusion and accessibility rights for people in BC for over 20 years. She is the past President and current member of BC People First, a provincial organization run by self-advocates. Jo-Anne is an integral part of BCPF Fundraising and Communications Committees – she is a tireless volunteer who leads by example. She has also worked on community projects for Possabilities, Inclusion BC, the Canadian Institute for Inclusion and Citizenship and is involved with CLBC Partnership meetings and projects. Jo-Anne spends her free time enjoying life on the BC coast with her husband, getting outdoors to enjoy nature, travelling and spending time with her children and grandchild.

Tami Pedersen

BCSALN and crafts.
Board of Directors 
And A Member of Speaking Up For Self  Advocacy
Tami grew up in Kamloops, moved away for a few years, and then came back. She has been a self-advocate for a long time. People often told her she couldn’t do certain things, but she has shown them that she can! Tami loves to travel, read, watch movies, and enjoy sports like hockey, football, and wrestling. She also likes listening to music, painting, and crafting.
Being part of the SUSA group has been a highlight for Tami because she can help create opportunities for people to get the support they need to reach their goals. She has presented at City Hall, events, and conferences. Tami’s goals are to have control over all areas of her life and to keep improving her skills so that one day she can sell her paintings

Krista Milne

BCSALN Board of Directors  & Secretary
Member of the Self Advocates of Semiahmoo (SAS)

 

Krista is the Secretary for the B.C SALN Board.She attends conferences, gives interviews and has made several videos focusing on inclusion and promoting self-advocacy. Krista is employed at White Spot as hostess and enjoys learning new skills and interacting with the customers. Krista is also working as a Community Leader Igniting Change (CLIC) Storyteller. In this role she gets to interview CLIC graduates. Krista says this has been a very exciting opportunity since it’s helped her gain more confidence and leadership skills. Krista lives in her own apartment with her roommate and values her independence and freedom. Krista feels very passionate about Affordable and Inclusive Housing and often gives speeches about this issue. Krista aims to be a leader in her community by creating positive change for herself and for others.

Lorie Sheritt

BCSALN Member
Cosultant for BC People First

Lorie is a self-advocate. She cares about Human Rights. She has been in a loving marriage for over 35 years. She has been involved in self-advocacy work since the 1980s. She went to one self-advocacy meeting and the rest is history. She is passionate about educating self-advocates about their rights so they learn how to advocate for themselves. Lorie assisted in reinstating People First. She helped demolish Woodlands starting in 2010 and accomplished that task in 2012 as the President of British Columbia People First, (BCPF). As of now, she is the consultant to the BCPF Board and is the 2nd Vice President of PosAbilities.
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