Board Members & Operations
Michael is an accomplished digital executive and product leader with strong business acumen and analytical skills, He excels in dynamically changing environments and technologies and has held various leadership roles, including CEO at Stocksy United, a multi-class co-op with employees and suppliers as members. Key successes include implementing structured processes, driving revenue growth, launching new products, and fostering diversity and inclusion. Michael’s passion for mindfulness comes first-hand from seeing its power in helping deal with stress and anxiety and he looks forward to helping others discover the same!
Dana is committed to helping her community and is excited to be part of the BCALM team. She credits the organization for kickstarting her mindfulness journey. She is currently legal counsel for the Province, working on liquor and cannabis regulation. Since 2009, she has worked in criminal defence, civil litigation and as a barrister in the Province’s Indigenous Legal Relations group. In her work and life, she strives to support Reconciliation and values collaboration, respect and fairness. She is a drummer and singer in local bands and loves cooking and reading.
Elitsa is a passionate advocate for well-being. She believes in the human potential to heal, and live life joyfully, creatively, and purposefully. Elitsa is a former senior Capital Markets professional with a career in Corporate and Investment Banking managing a multi-billion dollar credit portfolio. Her expertise is finance, credit, and risk management. During her Capital Markets career Elitsa was also committed to diversity and leadership development through Women in Leadership, mentorships, and various Wellness, Diversity and Inclusion programs. Elitsa’s current focus is on promoting physical and mental well-being and expanding her education in the area. She is a certified Breathwork facilitator, transformational and leadership coach, and is currently completing a Compassionate Inquiry approach to therapy professional training.
Darshi is excited to work as part of a team to build on the successes of the BCALM program. She participated in a team effort to bring the inaugural and 2nd Annual BC Mindfulness Summits to Victoria and is chairing the Conference and Events Planning Committee to develop and hold the 3rd Annual BC Mindfulness Summit in April/May 2022. Darshi is retired from her 30-year BC Public Service career extensively in the debt management area of the Ministry of Finance. As Executive Director of Debt Management, she and her team were responsible for overseeing a multi-faceted borrowing program and managing a multi billion dollar debt and derivatives portfolio on behalf of the province and Crown agencies. She has completed the ALM program, is an avid golfer, practices yoga and trains regularly in a variety of fitness activities.
Ryan is an individual committed to making a positive difference within his community. Presently, he is working on an inclusive workforce development project for the Burnaby Board of Trade. This initiative aims to generate fair job prospects for all job seekers. Additionally, Ryan is actively involved in expanding a food recovery and security program that supports families in Maple Ridge. Prior to these engagements, he held Director positions at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam, focusing on fostering trade, business, education, and connections for a span of 6 years. In his leisure time, Ryan’s passion for Lacrosse shines through as he dedicates a significant portion to playing and coaching the sport.
Marc has worked in the Finance industry for more than 15 years. He is currently a Portfolio Manager for Vancity Investment Management, a subsidiary of Vancity Credit Union and a pioneer in socially responsible investing, where he is responsible for managing several public equity portfolios. Investing has been a passion of his since he was a teenager and he is excited to bring some of what he has learned to his role as a Director at BCalm. After graduating from University Marc spent time travelling Europe and North America and also worked in Northern BC as a tree planter for two years, followed by two years working for a non-profit organization based out of Banff, Alberta. He has also volunteered for several organizations over the years including Meals on Wheels, Big Brothers of Canada and Special Olympics where he was a soccer coach for 10 years. In his spare time Marc enjoys spending time outdoors hiking and skiing with his Wife and two children.
Katherina’s influence as a role model for women in engineering and physical sciences crosses disciplines and international boundaries. An award-winning educator in mechanical engineering, Katherina has connected with scholars and industry representatives across Europe, Australia, Asia and the Americas, demonstrating by example her mode of authentic inclusion. A strong advocate for fairness and instilling a sense of belonging, Katherina teaches engineering, project management and social responsibility courses for post-secondary institutions including the University of British Columbia, manages international projects as President of the Lokhorst Group Ventures and is a sought-after speaker on a wide range of project management, policy development and governance topics that focus on authenticity.
Facilitators & Staff
Lisa Baylis has been sharing well-being strategies for the last 20 years. A natural-born connector with an innate ability to make people feel valued and heard, she is a teacher, a counsellor, a speaker, and a mother. Lisa is a published author of Self-Compassion for Educators as well as, the creator of the AWE Method — Awakening the Wellbeing for Educators — which merges self-care, mindfulness, and self-compassion. Lisa has a master’s degree in Counselling Psychology and a bachelor’s degree in Physical Education. She has taught internationally and locally. Much of her vast teaching experience was gained in classrooms across British Columbia as a school counsellor. Currently, she is the Education Director for the Center for Mindful Self-Compassion, the non-profit organization created by Drs. Kristin Neff and Chris Germer to spread self-compassion around the world.
Since turning tail on a career as a lawyer, choosing instead to devote herself to motherhood full-time for many years, Tracey has gone on to explore a professional life as a wellness coach, holistic nutritionist, yoga instructor, retreat leader, organic food farmer, and most recently, SYA accredited Shinrin Yoku/Forest Bathing Guide. Tracey offers Forest Bathing in secluded parks and urban natural spaces in and around Victoria, as well as at retreat settings on Southern Vancouver Island and surrounding Gulf Islands. As your guide in this beautiful practice, Tracey will support you in fostering mindful presence, sensuous awareness, and an embodied sense of ease, peace and belonging with nature. She contributes as a supporting member of the Shinrin Yoku Association.
Jane’s medical career spans 35+ years and has seen her in many rewarding positions of health services delivery. After providing medical administrative expertise for many years, she became a founding member of BCalm in 2010. She assisted in redesigning and creating The Art of Living Mindfully and continues to provide input, expertise and guidance throughout the organization. Jane has welcomed meditation and mindfulness into her life and continues to see positive changes on a daily basis. Family connections mean a lot and her daughter and granddaughter are a continual source of pride, joy and love, as is her ginger tabby cat Georgie….the self-proclaimed and unofficial mascot of BCalm.
Lyndsi has been providing administrative support for BCALM since 2018. She has gained invaluable tools from attending our mindfulness offerings and incorporates these skills in to her daily life. Time spent with family is very important to her and you can find them playing Bocce, exploring local parks, refueling at a spa or absorbing the great outdoors on camping trips.
Ocean is passionate about the Body-Mind-Spirit continuum. She holds a BSc in Nutrition and Biochemistry and a Master’s degree in Counselling Psychology. Ocean is a Registered clinical Counsellor in private practice. She specializes in a holistic approach to anxiety, depression and trauma by integrating talk therapy, somatic practices and yogic principles. She is ardent about helping distressed couples with Emotionally Focused Therapy. In addition, Ocean is a Yoga teacher and a Yoga therapist. While she loves all aspects of Yoga, she is particularly drawn to the psycho-spiritual aspects of Yoga. She has been teaching Yoga since 2002.
Jennifer is a family physician in Comox BC, where she has been practicing for twenty years. She discovered mindfulness meditation early in her career, and continues to enjoy profound personal healing and growth as a result of the practice. After wishing for many years to share this practice with her patients, she was fortunate to train with BCALM in 2018; since then she has been offering Art of Living Mindfully classes in the Comox Valley. Prior to entering medicine, Jennifer studied International Relations at UBC and Oxford, and she maintains an interest in international affairs and social justice. In her spare time Jennifer enjoys spending time in the great outdoors, especially hiking and sailing.
Hayley is an experienced bookkeeper working from home in beautiful Cowichan Bay BC. She has supported a variety of clients over her 20-year bookkeeping career, and especially loves supporting Not for Profit groups. When not bookkeeping, Hayley keeps herself busy with her husband and two boys. Hayley is also a certified instructor in Kundalini Yoga – the Yoga of Awareness.
Mark is a family physician in Victoria, British Columbia, and is the founder and Past Executive Director of the BC Association for Living Mindfully (BCALM). Mark attended McGill University for his medical training and then UBC for his postgraduate Family Medicine residency. Mark has formal postgraduate training in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Clinical Hypnosis, Yoga, Medical Acupuncture and Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction. Mark’s passion and principle clinical interests lie in mind-body medicine and in the use and potential of mindfulness and meditation helping people navigate the negative effects of stress in their lives.
Krista is a family physician based in Saanich, BC. She completed her Family Medicine training with a specialized focus in Indigenous Health at the University of British Columbia in 2007. Since that time she has primarily practiced as a family physician in First Nations communities on the west coast of BC. Krista sat her first Vipassana meditation retreat in 2004, after a particularly trying time in her training opened the door to her healing journey. Inspired by an early teacher, she learned to bring this lens of mindfulness into her work with patients. Later, living and learning in First Nations communities, Krista’s worldview and helping approach was further transformed by land base healing practices founded in ‘All My Relations’.
Megan is a family and addiction medicine physician based in Victoria, BC. Her mindfulness journey began in medical school after an unexpected diagnosis, which reshaped her approach to patient care and deepened her commitment to compassion-based practices. Since attending her first silent retreat during residency, she has cultivated a daily meditation practice and experienced its profound impact in many aspects of her life. This personal journey of healing has inspired her to share these practices with the patients she serves.
She has completed various trainings in mindfulness and self-compassion and integrates these practices into both her clinical work and teaching. She is passionate about supporting patients and colleagues in cultivating mindfulness, self-compassion, and resilience in the face of stress and suffering.
Caren is a US-trained Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) whose professional specialization is in Family Medicine. After receiving her medical degree at Touro University College of Osteopathic Medicine, she completed the University of California, San Francisco-affiliated three-year allopathic (MD) Family Medicine residency in Santa Rosa, California. In 2009 she became the first Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine to receive full licensure for general practice from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia. Caren was attracted initially to Osteopathic Medicine’s emphasis on the interconnection between all parts of the body, the mind and the spirit, which comprise an integral whole with inherent self-healing properties.
