Board Members – 2015

Mayor Rob Hutchins - Ladysmith

Rob Hutchins is currently serving his seventh term as Mayor of the Town of Ladysmith, having first been elected in 1993. He is also chair for the second time of the Cowichan Valley Regional District Board. Mr. Hutchins retired at the end of 2011 as a school teacher and counsellor. With his family, he also operates a small business – “The Old Town Bakery" - in the heart of downtown Ladysmith.

Chief "Chip" Seymour - Cowichan Tribes

Chief William C. (Chip) Seymour served as a Cowichan Tribes Councillor from 2005 to 2013. In 2013 he was elected Chief. He grew up exploring the Cowichan watershed, the river and its tributaries. As Chief his primary focuses are education, employment, training, culture, housing and working to re-establish a sense of hope among young people. In his role of Co-chair of the Cowichan Watershed Board he intends to reinforce the importance of whole of watershed thinking and collaborative approaches to achieving the Watershed Board’s targets. He is particularly concerned about the impacts of forest practices on water quality, fisheries and other resources. Chip has coached sports for over thirty years initially coaching lacrosse and then soccer.

Chief Seymour and Mayor Hutchins are Co-Chairs of the Cowichan Watershed Board.

Mayor Ross Forrest – Lake Cowichan

Ross Forrest was elected as the Mayor of Lake Cowichan in November 2008. Ross was born and raised in that community. He spent much of his working life in logging camps often as the Camp Chair of Safety Chair. He currently works for the Municipality of North Cowichan’s Parks and Recreation Department. Ross continues to be active in and supportive of recreation and sports as well as other initiatives that contribute to a strong community.

Lori Iannidinardo – Director CVRD Area D, Cowichan Bay

Lori Iannidinardo was elected an Area Director in November 2008. She has lived in the Cowichan Bay area for over 40 years. Lori has been an active volunteere for the betterment of local schools, parks and recreation local planning and the Cowichan Bay area. She has been particularly active in the local food movement. In her first year as director, she helped lead Cowichan Bay to become the first community in Canada to gain International Cittaslow status.

Ian Morrison - Director CVRD Area F, Cowichan Lake South/Skutz Falls

Ian was first elected as an Area Director in 2008.

Mayor Jon Lefebure - North Cowichan

Jon was elected to his fourth term as Mayor of the District of North Cowichan, in November 2011.

David Slade - Past President, BC Groundwater Association

Since 1982, David has been a partner in the Duncan based, family business, Drillwell Enterprises Ltd. Drillwell provides well and environmental drilling services to a variety of clients. David is passionate about groundwater and its relationship to the rest of the environment. He has been very active with both the Canadian and BC Groundwater Associations recently serving as President of the BC Association. David is an active community volunteer and supporter contributing resources and spare time to volunteer firefighting and youth sports in particular

Andrew Thomson, Area Director - South Coast, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO)

Andy grew up in Nanaimo, earned his Marine Biology degree from UBC, and worked on diverse projects with a primary focus on the effects of escaped Atlantic salmon from fish farms. From 2005 to early 2012 he was the Director of Aquaculture Management with the Regional Aquaculture Coordination Office of DFO. Andy is now DFO’s Area Director for South Coast BC. He lives with his wife and her three children in beautiful Ladysmith.

Darin George - Councillor, Cowichan Tribes

Darin was elected as a Cowichan Tribes Councillor in December 2009. He also serves as the alternate for the Area Director for the CVRD’s Area E. Darin has lived on the Cowichan River all his life. He is passionate about angling and recreation and spends part of his year working as an angling guide. Darin is a strong advocate for a whole watershed approach to watershed management.

Tim Kulchyski - Natural Resource Consultant

Tim has worked with a variety of clients assessing upland, freshwater and marine ecosystems for 15 years. His work often involves examining the impacts of development on cultural values. Recently he participated in a program to control invasive plants in the watershed. Tim has travelled extensively studying the interaction between resource issues and cultural heritage. Over the past five years he was involved in a major Hul'qumi'num language revitalization initiative.

The Honourable David Anderson – Retired Member of Parliament

David Anderson’s experiences include an Olympic silver medal (rowing), foreign service, environmental consultant, professor, Member of the BC Legislature, and Member of Parliament. David was elected as an MP six times and held four Cabinet portfolios including Transport, Fisheries and Oceans and Revenue. In addition he was Canada’s longest standing Environment Minister. A fisherman, David is an active outdoors enthusiast and has a special fondness for the Cowichan region. In the 1990s, he was instrumental in the Cowichan River being designated as a Canadian Heritage River. David has received numerous awards and two honorary degrees for his support for the environment.

Dr Lorna Medd –Public Health Consultant

Dr. Medd began her medical career as a general practitioner. Later she pursued further training in population health focussing on innovative community health practices in Primary Health Care and remote communities. Since completing her community medicine training, she has worked in the field of Public Health as a Medical Health Officer (MHO). From 1996 –2007 she was the MHO for the Central Interior Health Authority -Prince George. Since September, 2007, she was the MHO for VIHA Central Island -Nanaimo. She retired in 2011 and now consults in the field of public health. Lorna’s areas of focus include food security and ecosystem health.