About Us
Advisory Committee
The Trust is administered by the Victoria Foundation under the guidance of a nine person Advisory Committee appointed by the Adoptions Council of Canada. The Committee includes a broad range of community perspectives on adoption and permanency. The Director of Adoption at the Ministry of Child and Family Development is a permanent member of the Committee. The members meet quarterly, including twice a year to review grant applications.
Current Committee Members:
Dana Brynelsen is Provincial Advisor for the Infant Development Program of BC. A published author, Dana has been a member of many boards of provincial and national organizations, and has won numerous awards for her work. Dana is an adoptive parent and has been involved in a range of adoption-related activities.
Taylor Conroy of The Condo Group has been running the top condo sales team in Victoria from 2006 to present. A firm believer in giving back to the world, he has been a supporter of a variety of charities over the years, ranging from women’s issues to building schools in Africa. He is also the Canadian Country Manager of the Global Poverty Project, a UN backed non profit based in Australia, the UK, the US and Canada.
Preston Guno is from the Nisga’a Nation of the Eagle Clan and has worked with and for youth for over 12 years. He has worked as a Prison Corrections Officer, a transition worker for youth in the Downtown Eastside and as a Child and Youth Advocate at the Provincial Office for Children and Youth. In his various roles, Preston has consistently advocated for systemic change in the ways that government, schools, and the criminal justice system deal with young people – particularly Aboriginal youth. Preston is currently working as a Youth Program Manager with Carrier Sekani Family Services.
Geord Holland (co-chair) is a partner in the law firm Pushor Mitchell. He has had extensive experience as counsel in adoptions, and was consulted in the BC government’s overhaul of the Adoption Act in 1996. As adoptive parents of four children, Geord and his wife have been involved in the adoption community for many years and are intimately familiar with adoption issues.
Sandra Scarth (co-chair) has advocated for improved permanency planning for foster children for more than 40 years, holding executive positions in numerous community and government agencies across Canada. She was Canada’s non-governmental representative to the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption. An adoptive parent, Sandra is currently president of the Adoption Council of Canada and consults on children’s issues.
Anne Clayton has been the Provincial Director of Adoption in BC since 2008. She has worked for the Ministry of Children and Family Development, in protection and adoption services, for approximately 17 years and in the social service sector for approximately 25 years. Anne is passionate about permanency planning for children and youth in care.
