Steering Committee

The Right Fit is governed by a multi-partner Steering Committee that brings executive level expertise from governmental and non-governmental organizations to the strategic planning and management of the Right Fit. The Steering Committee provides real time problem solving and continuous quality improvement to eliminate or prevent barriers to timely access for wheelchair users to accessible, affordable housing.

Members

Christine Gordon, Steering Committee Chair

Christine is a policy consultant with a lifelong commitment to ground up community development, law and policy reform and coalition building. Among her accomplishments, Christine coordinated the Adult Guardianship law reform process from 1993 to 2000, which resulted in the creation of four new statutes including the world renowned Representation Agreement Act; facilitated the creation of the Provincial Respiratory Outreach Program and the creation of Technology for Living; chaired the Equipment and Assistive Technology Initiative, which was a 7 year government/community partnership to improve access to equipment and assistive devices in British Columbia, developed the Community and Residents Mentors Association and facilitated Pearson residents involvement in the ongoing redevelopment of the Pearson lands. She is a co-creator and the current Steering Committee Chair of the Right Fit.

Chris McBride, PhD, Executive Director, Spinal Cord Injury BC

Since 2010, Chris has served as the executive director of Spinal Cord Injury BC, where he brings a passion for making a difference for people with disabilities and their families. He also brings 25 years of experience as a researcher and research-community network builder. After completing a PhD in Neuroscience from UBC, Chris’s past roles include managing director of UBC ‘s ICORD spinal cord injury research centre, managing director of the Rick Hansen Institute, and co-leader of the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research-funded Disabilities Health Research Network. Presently, he is on the executive of the SSHRC-funded Canadian Disability Participation Project, is a member of Praxis’ Consumer Advisory Panel, chairs Spinal Cord Injury Canada’s Executive Director’s Council, and co-chairs the province of BC’s COVID-19 Disability Working Group.

Kelly Vidas, Housing Consultant, Fraser Health

Kelly brings a balance of community and hospital perspective to health care with over 20 years working directly with the homeless population.  She spent the first 8 years with Fraser Health as a hospital social worker and transitioned into her current role as Housing Consultant for the Fraser Region for the last 2 years.  Kelly focuses on collaboration with BC Housing, municipalities, housing service providers and other community partners to strategize and identify housing and health service options for the most vulnerable in our communities.

Jane Vorbrodt, Architect, City of Vancouver’s Persons with Disabilities Advisory Committee

Jane is a Vancouver-based architect who believes that the built environment should be used and enjoyed by everyone, and she integrates the principles of universal design in her projects. With over 20 years of experience in architecture, she has worked on projects spanning from tiny to huge, ranging from residential renovations to large-scale airport developments. Jane started her own firm, Kuno Architecture in 2016, and her focus on accessible design began when she was asked to design an accessible triplex for a close family member.  She sees each residential and commercial project as an opportunity to find creative ways to bring accessibility into the built environment without sacrificing design. While maintaining a strong focus on research and experimentation, Jane enjoys finding and using and materials and fixtures that look and feel non-institutional.   Jane works to reduce barriers for people with disabilities by serving as a member for the City of Vancouver’s Persons with Disabilities Advisory Committee (“PDAC”), by acting as co‐chair of the PDAC Housing Subcommittee, and by participating in steering committees including the Right Fit Program.  Since obtaining the Rick Hansen Foundation Accessibility Certification™ (“RHFAC”) professional designation in 2018, Jane has been performing accessibility assessments, with a focus on pre-contruction review.

Tammy Bennett, Senior Manager, Corporate Planning, BC Housing

Tammy is the Senior Manager for Corporate Planning at BC Housing. Tammy has more than 20 years of experience with outcomes, performance measures and program evaluation on housing and homelessness. Her work has positively impacted the housing sector in BC through a range of social housing research projects. Tammy brings a strong background in social planning, social research, and project management Skilled with identifying the key ingredients to enable business areas to demonstrate their successes, she has been recognized for Innovative thinking for solving and improving functions that made positive impact on the organization. Tammy holds a Masters degree in Planning, from the University of British Columbia.

Ken Fraser, Executive Director, Vancouver Resource Society

Ken Fraser is the Executive Director of the Vancouver Resource Society (VRS). Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1958, he graduated as a Certified General Accountant from the University of British Columbia in 1992.

Ken Fraser has worked at VRS since 1982 and has been the Executive Director since 1987. VRS has operated as a non profit society since 1972 providing independent living opportunities in the community for people with disabilities, independent living opportunities for seniors and affordable housing for families in British Columbia and Alberta.

Ken has considerable knowledge around developing, financing and operating accessible housing projects to ensure the housing meets the needs of the end user.

Karen Williams, Senior Researcher, BC Housing

Karen joined BC Housing’s Research Centre team in 2019. Her work has positively impacted the housing sector in BC through a range of technical and social housing research projects. Karen brings a strong background in social planning, social research, project management, community development, community outreach, and non-profit management. For more than 5 years, she was the Manager of Accessibility Initiatives with the Social Planning and Research Council of BC (SPARC BC). During her time at SPARC BC, Karen gained extensive experience working in collaboration with people with disabilities. Karen holds a Masters’ of Urban and Regional Planning Degree from Queen’s University and is a certified member of the Canadian Institute of Planners (CIP) and the Planning Institute of BC (PIBC). She is currently serving as Co-Chair of the South coast Planning Chapter of PIBC and as BC Housing’s representative on the Right Fit Steering Committee.

Jacqueline Cardwell, Vancouver Coastal Health

Caitlin Etherington, Vancouver Coastal Health

Ti Lam, City of Vancouver

Nesreen Lee, Vancouver Coastal Health

Krissi Spinoza, Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction