Board of Directors

Board of Directors

Board members are elected at VIMHS annual general meetings (usually held in June each year) and generally serve for two-year terms. The current board of directors includes the following members:

Brock Williamson, Chair

Brock Williamson is a commissioned land surveyor with a background in engineering surveys and computer applications. He has served on the board of variance for the Regional District of Nanaimo and was chairman for five years.

James Brennan, Vice-Chair

James Brennan has served on various boards of directors over the years. His career includes a management role with John Howard Society, counselor for an alcohol and drug program, and work with disability and legal assistance initiatives.

Sharon Hobenshield

Sharon Hobenshield, Ha-Youly, PhD, is of mixed ancestry, Gitxsan First Nations on her mother’s side and German on her father’s. She has been working at Vancouver Island University since 2006 as the Director of Aboriginal Education and Engagement.
Sharon believes strongly in the spirit and resiliency of Indigenous people and promotes that Indigenous ways of knowing and being in this world, have to be built into service delivery across all sectors. 

Gagan Minhas, Secretary

Gagan Minhas was born and raised in Calgary Alberta. She moved to Nanaimo in 2017 and is currently working at Community Living British Columbia.
Gagan has a Bachelor of Science degree with a major in Neuroscience and a Master’s degree in counselling. She has experience working with people with mental health challenges and other vulnerable populations and has worked in a variety of settings including schools, shelters, and private practice providing addictions and mental health support.

Dan Kucherka, Treasurer

Erika Kellerhals

The work of the Board

The Vancouver Island Mental Health Society’s board of directors is a governance board, meaning that it is responsible for the broader directions of the organization, while the management and staff are responsible for the details of the organization’s work.
The Board meets regularly with senior management and once a year in a day-long themed workshop. Members of the Board also meet in smaller committees as required.
Above, Board members Lynne Fraser, Brock Williamson, Arthur Burrows and (in background) Sharon Hobenshield work in small groups at a September 2018 workshop focused on the organization’s external communications and messaging.