Recreation Programmer, North Vancouver Recreation Comission (NVRC)
Lisa Bealle is a North Vancouver Recreation Commission (NVRC) Recreation Programmer. Her academic education includes: BKIN (Leisure & Sports Management), Associate Certificate of Leadership (BCIT, pending graduation Nov. 2012), and a Business Admin Diploma. After getting her Business Admin Diploma many years ago, Lisa got into the Desktop Publishing/Typesetting trade. Deciding to return to University in 1995 to pursue an interest in the Leisure and Sports Field, Lisa went on to complete an HKIN co-op program in her fourth year with an internship at Britannia Community Centre. After successfully drafting a “Parks Projects” grant, Lisa went on to act as Co-ordinator for two years – ultimately, operating and implementing five successful Parks Projects. Elsewhere, she has worked on the East Side Sports League Committee. This internship and volunteer work eventually turned into a job, as an ‘acting’ Recreation Programmer at Britannia and then at Mt. Pleasant CC. Most recently, Lisa has volunteered as the Chairperson with the Outdoor Club for Women for two years (2010-2011).
Brand Supervisor and Event Specialist, Cossette
Bianca Knop is currently Brand Supervisor and Event Specialist for Cossette. She has been with Cossette for over five years working in a variety of account roles focusing on: sponsorship strategy and activation; event development and management; brand development and design; and advertising strategy and design. She began her career as an intern at Mount Seymour in their marketing department. After completing several seasons there graduating from UBC, she moved on to working at Inventa Sales and Promotions. It was her first account role and where she learned the ‘ropes’ of agency life. At Inventa she was in charge of developing and managing all of Nintendo of Canada’s national events, game launches, and retail partnerships. Moving on to her next challenge, she joined Cossette in 2007 as an account coordinator working in their Olympic sponsorship department. From there, she has stayed with Cossette to the present day but has moved around to different departments and through three different account roles.
Training Manager, Phillips DirectLife
Jennifer Dowdeswell is the Training Manager for Phillips DirectLife where she works on a product called DirectLife & ActiveLink whose concept is to help people become more active in their day to day lives. She currently works from home with a team based in Amsterdam (Netherlands) and satellite teams situated in Minnesota, Indiana (USA) and Mumbia (India). The majority of her work is videa based and online learning tools.After graduating from UBC’s School of Kinesiology (Sport and Business Management), Jennifer went on to work for Sport BC (admin/marketing), The Esteem Team (admin/speaker), Pinnacle Pursuits (providing team building), Studeo55 (personal training and business development), had her own business as a professional speaker, and spent five summers working as a commercial prawn fisherman. She has traveled and lived in over 37 countries and is keen to continue to learn and grow in her own skills as well as share what she has learned over the years.
Associate Director, Partner Network and Marketing, LIFT Philanthropy Partners
Lyndsey Chauhan is the Associate Director, Partner Network and Marketing for LIFT Philanthropy Partners. LIFT Philanthropy Partners uses a venture philanthropy approach to support not-for-profit organizations to become sustainable and more effective at delivering measurable social impact that improves the health and productivity of Canadians and their communities. As a graduate of UBC’s School of Kinesiology (Leisure and Sport Management), Lyndsey has gone on to accrue more than eleven years experience in developing and executing marketing, sponsorship and branding strategies. She currently manages marketing and partner network development and engagement in LIFT Philanthropy Partners. As manager, marketing, at 2010 Legacies Now, Lyndsey led the organization through a re-branding process to develop and launch its new brand as LIFT Philanthropy Partners. During her time at 2010 Legacies Now, Lyndsey was seconded to VANOC and led a team of up to 55 volunteers and paid staff at BC Place during the 2010 Winter Games.
Owner and Founder, M1 Sports Management Inc.
Mark Ernsting is the owner and founder of M1 Sports Management – an agency that oversees corporate marketing, event management, and athlete representation. After graduating from UBC’s School of Kinesiology, Mark received a cycling scholarship to attend a university in the United States where he completed his graduate degrees. During this time, he represented cycling teams in North America, Europe, and was part of the Canadian National Team. Mark competed for Canada at World Cups, World Championships, Pan-Am Games, and other International Road and Track events until his retirement from the sport in 2004. Upon graduation, Mark accepted a position as an Assistant Professor at West Virginia Wesleyen College in WV (USA) where he established and created a world-class scientific test facility. In 2007, Mark made the decision to leave academia, return to Canada, and begin his own sport management business. After the successful creation of M1 Sports Management, Mark also co-founded a sports sustainability business called EARTHsport. Recently Mark has received UCI certification as Canada’s first certified UCI Rider Agent allowing him to represent cyclists at the World Tour level.
Co-Founder and Director of Business Services, Debrand Services Inc.
Amelia Ufford is the Co-Founder and Director of Business Services for Debrand Services Inc. – a business involved in environmental services. Past experience has included work the Minnesota Wild (Intern), Vancouver Canucks Game Presentation (2002-2012), and as an Account Manager with Nike (2003-2007). In addition to this, she has: volunteered with Right to Play International in Sri Lanka as a Program Manager (2007-2008), co-founded Debrand Services in 2008, was a participant in the Minerva Leadership Program for Women/Girls (2010), is a member of Forum for Women Entrepreneurs, attended the Social Venture Institute (2011), was a nominee for EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2011, was a Finalist in Small Business BC Best Green Business (2011), and was a YWCA Women of Distinction Finalist (Entrepreneurship 2011).
Academic Counsellor and Coach, West Point Grey Academy
Raj Sush remains active in junior varsity and varsity coaching and an Academic Counsellor at West Point Grey Academy – a private, coeducational, university prepatory high school located on the West side of Vancouver. Hi educational background includes a Bachelor of Human Kinetics (1995), Bachelor Education (1997), Master of Arts in Organizational Management (2002), and he is currently undertaking his Master of Arts in Applied Legal Studies through the School of Criminology at SFU. He has experience teaching at Vancouver’s St. George’s School for boys where he specialized as Physical Education Teacher within the Athletics Department augmenting instructional experience with coaching experience in the sport of soccer. In 2000 he moved onto the BC Christian Academy – a private, coeducational parochial school – where he was the Head of Athletics, Head of University Counselling, and coached varsity soccer for the better part of ten years. In 2009 he was hired on as a faculty member of West Point Grey Academy in the University Counselling Office while remaining involved at the junior varsity and varsity level.
Medical Student, University of British Columbia
Co-Editor in Chief, UBC Medical Journal
Alvin Ip is a first year medical student at the University of British Columbia and Co-Editor in Chief of the UBC Medical Journal. In May 2012, he completed his Bachelor of Kinesiology degree and graduated as the Head of Class. During his undergraduate degree, Alvin designed and pilot-tested a novel rehabilitation strategy to improve walking symmetry in people with stroke. After winning the award for Best Oral Presentation at UBC’s Multidisciplinary Undergraduate Research Conference, Alvin was selected to showcase his research at the Unversita21 Research Conference in Japan. In addition to pursuing academic excellence, Alvin is highly motivated to use his skills and passions to make a difference in the community. He founded two community programs, an after-school homework club for elementary school students and a specialized research class for people with disabilities. Alvin serves on the Board of Directors at Richmond Centre for Disability and volunteers as a choir member at The Salvation Army Rotary Hospice House.
Owner, Richmond Muscle & Tendon Injury Clinic
Nikolay Yelizarov is the owner of the Richmond Muscle & Tendon Injury Clinic. After getting his medical degree in 1980 Nikolay Yelizarov practiced medicine in Pervouralsk, Russia where he focused on Sports injuries at the prestigious Sports Rehabilitation in Astrakhan Russia. At that time he also received his massage practitioners certificate. Armed with a wealth of knowledge about sports and muscle related injuries he moved to Canada and went on to become a Registered Acupuncturist at CTCMA, BC and received his MSc – Human Kinetics at UBC. His professional affiliations are College of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture, Qualified Acupuncturist and Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners Association, Canadian Academy of Sport Medicine, Vocational rehabilitation Association. He is member of Richmond Chamber of Commerce. Using his training and his vast knowledge, he developed his unique and specialized treatment. Since 1993 N. Yelizarov has treated patients with every kind of muscle strain and related injuries. His procedure is fast, painless and effective. In 1998 N. Yelizarov opened the Muscle & Tendon Strain Injury Clinic in Richmond BC and moved to a new location at the centre of Richmond at 2010.
Senior Scientist, NASA Johnson Space Center, Exercise Physiology and Countermeasures Laboratory
Jessica Scott is currently Senior Scientist at the Exercise Physiology and Countermeasures Laboratory (NASA Johnson Space Center) in Houston, Texas. When she began her BSc in Kinesiology she was planning to become a physiotherapist; however, her experience in one directed studies class in her third year completed changed her career direction. She discovered a love for research and was eager to explore the underlying physiology of cardiac function during exercise. She received her BSc from the University of Alberta (2003), MSc from UBC (2005), and completed her PhD in Cardiovascular Physiology in 2009. After winning a scholarship to attend a summer session offered by the International Space University (ISU) and attending another summer working as a teaching assistant at ISU in Strasbourg, France, she became interested in the physiological consequences of spaceflight. After graduating, she completed her post-doctoral fellowship in the Exercise Physiology Laboratory at the NASA Johnson Space Center. Since November 2011, she has been a senior scientist at NASA working on understanding how to keep the hearts and muscles of astronauts healthy in space.