Governance

Message from the Board Chair

The role of an independent school Board is to guide the school’s mission, vision, values and strategic goals and to establish policies and procedures consistent with those objectives. The Board safeguards the school's assets and oversees executive decision making to enhance the school's performance and reputation.

West Point Grey Academy is proud to have an active and engaged Board of Directors who cares deeply about the wellbeing of our students, staff, families and community. The WPGA Board of Directors includes current and alumni parents, with the participation of the Head of School and principals, and those who have been instrumental to the school’s history and success, including founding member Dr. Peter Wong, OBC.

Each Board member brings professional expertise and insights to support the Head of School and Leadership Team. As a collective, the Board approves the school's strategy and distributes the allocation of resources to maintain WPGA’s high-calibre programs. With the Head of School and Leadership Team, the Board holds the trust of the founders, informs the school community, guides the Strategic Plan, and provides vision and leadership for the school’s continued growth. The WPGA Board embraces the CAIS National Standards of governance practices and hold at least eight meetings annually.

I invite you to review our most recent Annual Report and to contact me at any time to learn more about West Point Grey Academy.

Peter Blake, FCPA, FCA
Chair, WPGA Board of Directors

Board Directors

List of 6 members.

Peter Blake

Board Chair
Bio
Peter grew up in Richmond, BC, and earned degrees at the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) and the University of Alberta. He received his Chartered Accountant (now Chartered Professional Accountant) designation while at KPMG Vancouver and, in 2013, was elected an FCA by the BC Institute of Chartered Accountants. After a 23-year career with Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers, as Chief Financial Officer and then Chief Executive Officer, in 2014 Peter was appointed Chief Executive Officer of WesternOne Inc. Along with serving as Chair of the WPGA Board of Directors, Peter is a Board member of Junior Achievement of BC and contributes to several other community organizations focused on youth and education. He and his wife, Leslie, sit on the Board of the Adam’s Apples Foundation. Peter and Leslie have two daughters, Emma '18 and Tess '20.
Patrick Chan

Board Director
Bio
Patrick joined the WPGA Board of Directors in August 2005, and also serves as a Director on its Finance Committee. He is the managing partner at SRTK Tam Kurozumi, a certified public accounting firm in Vancouver, and brings extensive experience as a past director and treasurer of numerous charitable organizations, including SUCCESS and CCF Community Care Foundation. He and his wife, Sarah, have a son, Jonathan ’10.
Wendy King

Board Director
Bio
Wendy is responsible for managing legal, enterprise risk management, insurance and corporate governance at Capstone Mining Corporation. She has been practicing law for over 20 years and is a certified director with the Institute of Corporate Directors. She holds a Master in International Tax Law and a Master of Business Administration, and has completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard University. She is past Director of Via Rail Canada Inc. and currently serves as Director and Chair of Audit of the Royal BC Museum as well as Trustee and Chair of the Strategy Committee of the Vancouver Police Foundation. Wendy and her husband, Casey Manarey, have three children, Jacob ’24, Chloe ’27 and Ashton ’27.
Miranda Lam

Board Director
Bio
Miranda Lam is the Chief Legal Officer & Vice President, Business Development at Acuitas Therapeutics, Inc., a biotechnology company that works with partners to advance nucleic acid therapeutics to address unmet clinical needs based on its globally recognized capabilities in delivery technology.

Formerly an equity partner in the litigation group at the national law firm McCarthy Tetrault, Miranda has been recognized as a Leading Lawyer in the area of General Commercial Litigation in independent publications such as Chambers Canada, The Best Lawyers in Canada, and Benchmark Canada: The Definitive Guide to Canada’s Leading Litigation Firms & Attorneys. In 2019, market research firm Acritas identified Miranda as a “Stand-out Lawyer”. In 2018, she was named to Vancouver Magazine’s Power 50 List of the City’s Most Influential People. She has been identified as a Leading Lawyer under 40 by Lexpert (2017), “Best 40 Under 40” Lawyer by the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (2015), and was the recipient of the Association of Women in Finance 2014 PEAK Women in Finance “Rising Star” Award. In 2013, she was recognized as one of Business in Vancouver’s “Forty Under 40.” In 2023, Miranda was recognized by YWCA Vancouver as a Woman of Distinction in the “Business & Professions” category.

Miranda is a frequent speaker on corporate governance issues, investigations, and dispute resolution processes, as well as diversity and inclusion and served as McCarthy Tetrault’s first National Chair of its Gender Equality Action Group. She has also served as faculty for the Continuing Legal Education Society of British Columbia, The Directors’ College and for The Advocates Society, and as an adjunct professor on corporate law topics at the University of British Columbia Allard School of Law.

Miranda is currently the co-Vice Chair of the Board of Governors of the University of British Columbia, and a member of the boards of directors of UBC Properties Trust, the BC Cancer Foundation, and the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade. She has previously chaired the boards of the Vancouver Foundation, the largest community foundation in Canada, the UBC Alumni Association and Vantage Point, and has served as a director of the boards of the United Way of the Lower Mainland and Imagine Canada.
Sacha McLean

McLean Group

Chair
Bio
Sacha McLean is Vice Chairman of the McLean Group, a second-generation diversified family holding company active in film and television studios, helicopters, real estate investment, corporate investments and communications. He also leads Gun Lake Pictures, a factual television production company, and 50° North Productions, a scripted television production company.

Sacha joined the business in 1997. In 1999, he was a key leader in the founding of Vancouver Film Studios, Canada’s largest film and television production facility that today includes 12 sound stages and production offices; Canada’s third-largest production equipment rentals company (Pacific Backlot Services); a telecommunications division (Signal Systems); an aerial film unit (Blackcomb Helicopters); and an in-house creative development division. Home to hundreds of international feature films and television series since its inception, Vancouver Film Studios was the recipient of the 2013 BC Export Award for excellence in the category of Digital Media and Entertainment.

Sacha is a commercial helicopter and jet pilot and, in 2006, was the family lead on the expansion of the McLean Group’s aviation interests. The result was Blackcomb Helicopters, a helicopter charter company operating a large and varied fleet of aircraft, out of permanent bases in Vancouver, Whistler, Pemberton, Squamish, Sechelt and Lillooet. The company provides specialized flight operations in powerline construction and maintenance, film and television, forestry, mining and emergency services, and is very active in the tourism sector.

Sacha gives generously of his time to the community and is the Chair of the Finance and Audit Committee and a Director of West Point Grey Academy, a Director of Cascade Public Media in Seattle (KCTS 9 Television), Education Chair of YPO BC, and a Director with the Vancouver Board of Trade. Recent board duties have included several years on the Faculty Advisory Board of the Sauder School of Business. In addition, Sacha is a Director of the McLean McCuaig Foundation, the family’s philanthropy arm.

Sacha has a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Urban Geography, Geographic Information Systems and Urban Planning from Queen’s University. In 2008, he completed the Families in Business Program at Harvard University. Sacha was a winner of an EY Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2014 as well as the Business In Vancouver 40 Under 40 Award.
Elena Smith

Board Director
Bio
A graduate of the Sauder School of Business, Elena is lead human resources strategist at TPD, a global human resources and workforce solutions company, which aligns companies’ human resources with their organizational objectives and cultures to create effective, engaged teams. Prior to TPD, Elena was CEO of Walker Bay Boats, a 70-person consumer products company, at which she managed international sales departments and set up offices in Canada, the United States and Mexico. During her 10-year tenure at Walker Bay Boats, she also held high-level positions in human resources and marketing. Elena joined the WPGA Board of Directors in 2014 and sits on its Communications and External Relations Committee. She is also an active member of WPGA’s Parent Volunteer Group. Elena and her husband, Jason, have two daughters, Sienna '21 and Zara '22.

List of 5 members.

Robert Standerwick, K.C.

Board Chair Emeritus; Foundation Director
Bio
Born and raised in Vancouver, Bob holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws from UBC. He was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 2009. He has practiced law for over 35 years in Vancouver, most recently as a partner in a national law firm, and has been Corporate Secretary/General Counsel to a Federal Crown Corporation for more than five years. He has been a member of the WPGA Board of Directors since 1999, was Chair from 2000-2016, and is a founding member and director of the WPGA Foundation and the WPGA Property Society. He serves on the boards of a number of charitable groups. Bob and his wife, Marilyn, have four children.
Mark Tourigny

Board Director; Building Committee Chair
Bio
Mark was born in Edmonton and raised in Vancouver. After a brief career in music, he obtained a Bachelor of Arts from UBC and a Master of Science in Business Administration specializing in Urban Land Ecomonics. Mark’s real estate development and investment activities have been primarily in Vancouver and the southern United States. Mark chairs the Buildings and Grounds Committee for WPGA. His other community commitments include being the founder and president of Jerome Outreach, a nonprofit society that provides sports programs to 2500 at-risk inner city children, and serving on the Board of Health and Home Care Society B.C.

Mark joined the WPGA Board of Directors in September 2009. He and his wife Lesley have two daughters, Katherine ’12 and Elizabeth ’14, who both attended WPGA since junior kindergarten.
Kory Wilson

Board Director
Bio
Kory is Kwakwaka'wakw and has 20 years’ experience teaching and advocating for Indigenous access and programs in postsecondary institutions. She is Executive Director of Indigenous Initiatives and Partnerships at BCIT, where she provides strategic direction and leadership to BCIT in the continuous development of Indigenous initiatives, programs and partnerships. She is Chair of the National Indigenous Education Committee of Colleges and Institutions Canada and Chair of the World Federation of Colleges and Polytechnics Indigenous Affinity Group. With a deep commitment to education, she knows innovative and creative solutions are a must to move Reconciliation into ReconciliACTION. Education and access to knowledge are key to move everyone forward. When people know better, they do better.

Kory is a member of the BC Law Society and serves on several nonprofit Boards. She is also a proud Grey Wolf parent to Kaija ‘17, Kaylene ‘18 and Kadence ‘22.
Peter Wong

Board and Foundation Director; Founding Member
Bio
Dr. Wong is a founding member of West Point Grey Academy and sits on the WPGA Foundation. A graduate of UBC Faculty of Medicine, Dr. Wong has a medical practice in Vancouver. He is also an active business person and community leader, recognized by Vancouver Magazine as one of the "Power 50," and is a recipient of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal for community service. Involved in a number of community organizations, Dr. Wong is Vice Chair of the Yue Shan Society (Vancouver), an Honorary Patron of the Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Vancouver, and a Member of the Overseas Exchange Committee of Guangdong Province. Dr. Wong has participated in several government trade missions to China and is a Special Adviser to the Musqueam Nation for Asia-Pacific affairs. In 2016, Dr. Wong was appointed to the Order of British Columbia. He and his wife, Simmy, have two daughters, Jacqueline '13 and Katelyn '15.
Cheryl Yue

Board Director
Bio
Born and raised in Vancouver, Cheryl grew up in Kerrisdale and obtained her Bachelor of Commerce from the Sauder School of Business at UBC, with a double major in Accounting and Marketing. Cheryl designated as a Chartered Accountant (now Chartered Professional Accountant) while working in the Audit and Assurance Group at PwC LLP, servicing clients across the retail, technology, real estate and not-for-profit sectors. After a 7-year career at PwC, Cheryl furthered her retail industry experience by working in various finance roles at two privately-owned apparel companies based in Vancouver. Currently, Cheryl works in the Global Internal Audit Services group at lululemon athletica inc. Cheryl joined the WPGA Board of Directors in 2016 and sits on the Finance and Audit Committee.

Governance

Message from the Board Chair

Board Directors

List of 6 members.

Peter Blake

Patrick Chan

Wendy King

Miranda Lam

Sacha McLean

Elena Smith

List of 5 members.

Robert Standerwick, K.C.

Mark Tourigny

Kory Wilson

Peter Wong

Cheryl Yue

West Point Grey Academy