BCEdAccess is a British Columbia nonprofit and a registered Canadian charity, number 723648317RR0001. The BCEdAccess Board of Directors is elected at the Annual General Meeting of the Society.
Constitution and By-Laws:
Annual reports:
| Board-AGM-Report-February-2020.pptx | Download |
| BCEdAccess-Society-2020FS | Download |
| BCEdAccess-Society-2021FS | Download |
| BCEdAccess-202122-Annual-Report | Download |
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Nicole Kaler, she/her Chair
Nicole has 3 children, one still school aged and in the Surrey School District. Prior to having children she worked as an engineer. After her eldest child’s Autism diagnosis, Nicole dedicated herself to becoming a career parent committed to the caregiving and advocacy required to support her daughter. Nicole is currently focused on the volunteerism and community activism that can leverage the experience and knowledge that she has acquired in the process of securing her daughter’s right to an education. Her efforts have included advocacy at the school level, various political levels, and ultimately within the Human Rights Tribunal process.
Nicole works with BCEdAccess to use her experiences to empower parents and challenge our education system so that all children have an equitable opportunity and a safe and healthy experience in BC public schools.
Kaori Lau, she/her Secretary
Kaori is a mom to two elementary-aged children in Vancouver. She has been passionate about working with children since a young age, which led her to pursue her teaching degree. She currently works with children in a sports and recreation setting.
Her learning and unlearning began when her younger daughter was diagnosed with a rare disease at age 2. Becoming the mother to a disabled child led Kaori to learn about intersectionality and teach her non-disabled daughter about social justice. After navigating medical systems, Kaori came upon BCEdAccess while researching school systems. Through learning from parent/caregiver communities like BCEdAccess’s private Facebook group and other people she met along the way, Kaori has developed a passion for connecting families with support and resources for navigating the complex systems of our society, and advocating for change to these systems to better support families.
Kaori’s other volunteer commitments include PAC Co-Chair and DPAC representative at her elementary school, as well as DPAC advocacy efforts, especially relating to inclusive education.
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Cindy Dalglish, she/her Treasurer
Cindy came to advocacy for inclusion and BCEdAccess through building trust within our community – slowly and over time. It’s a story she would love to share if it weren’t for space limits in this bio!
She hasn’t been a stranger to advocacy, however. She didn’t recognize it at the time, but Cindy has been advocating for others since elementary school where she stood up for segregated disabled students, often making herself a target in doing so.
Cindy worked in the non-profit sector for organizations such as the Lions Society of BC (Easter Seals), and CNIB. As a long-time Surrey resident and community-minded person, Cindy is past Chair and board member for the Panorama Neighbourhood Association and Treasurer for Canadian Parents for French – Surrey Chapter. Her previous volunteer commitments included PAC President, Treasurer, and DPAC rep at her daughters’ school, supporting the ALS Society of BC, Victoria Hospitals Foundation, Special Olympics, Ronald McDonald House, and baking with hospitalized children, to name a few. She ran for School Trustee in 2018 and can be often heard in media standing up for education in this Province.
Cindy has a degree in Communications and credentials in Special Event Planning and Instructional Design. She works for Prospera Credit Union as their Instructional Designer and sits on the Prospera Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Council and Working Group. She is leading their DEI all-employee training program that will launch in 2023.
Cindy was diagnosed with ADHD in 2021 at the age of 46 and her family are no stranger to disabilities and brain health challenges. Cindy lives in Surrey with her husband Ian, daughters Zoe and Lucy, and rescue dogs Holly and Maggie.
Cindy’s passion is ignited by the simple fact that we are all human and are all worthy.
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Neesha Blajberg, she/her, Director At Large
Neesha brings to BCEdAccess her social justice advocacy as well as the knowledge and experience that comes from being a public school teacher in BC for more than 25 years.
Neesha has experience at both the elementary and secondary level as a classroom teacher and learning support teacher, and at the district level as a district learning support teacher. She has also worked in French Immersion, the private system, and three different lower mainland districts, so she has a comprehensive understanding of many of the issues that children, parents, and education staff face in the school system.
Neesha was active in both her local and provincial unions, and as such was one of the BCTF representatives on two of the Ministry of Education working committees reviewing and updating the Special Education Policy Manual in 2017-2018: the Inclusive Education Policy Development Working Committee and the Inclusive Education Guidelines Working Committee. As a past member of the BCTF WLC (Working and Learning Conditions) Advisory Committee, she is familiar with the language of collective agreements. She also served on local union executives and committees.
Neesha is dedicated to doing her part in challenging systemic marginalization in education by advocating for equity. She has experience designing and conducting equity audits and has advised in reviews of inclusive practices. Whereas she used to push for change from within the system as a teacher, she is now more than happy to continue that advocacy work from the outside as a mother and a member of BCEdAccess.
As a social justice advocate, she also volunteers with Moms Against Racism Canada, has worked with the North Shore Restorative Justice Society, and she is a member of Women Transforming Cities.
Since retiring from teaching, Neesha has been self-employed as a Stress & Anxiety Coach and Educator. Neesha has two children who she wants to see growing up in a more just and equitable world.
ADVISORY BOARD
The Board of Directors of the BCEdAccess Society works with a dedicated group of active volunteers comprising our Advisory Board, who make up the voting membership of the Society and help guide the strategic direction of the organization. As members of different Board committees, they also take on different roles such as moderating the community Facebook group, and help plan and execute group actions. Individually and collectively, members of our online Facebook community/discussion group take up action which we support and promote.
To learn more about getting involved in our work, contact us tracy@bcedaccess.com
wow, that an all star team. i can’t believe i’m just discovering you! thank you for all that you are doing!
What an amazing group!