Ian Bushfield, Executive Director

Ian Bushfield has been involved in the BC Humanist Association since 2009 and aside for two years in the UK he has been the Executive Director since 2012. He has a background in physics and non-profit management and grew up in Alberta. In 2017, he joined the BC Civil Liberties Association's Board of Directors.

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Dr Teale Phelps Bondaroff, Research Coordinator 

Dr Teale N Phelps Bondaroff is an experienced researcher with a PhD in politics and international studies from the University of Cambridge and BAs in political science (honours) and international relations from the University of Calgary. He is proficient with in a wide range of social science research methods, which he employs in his research on behalf of his strategy and research consultancy, the Idea Tree Consulting.

With years of experience in the field, Dr. Phelps Bondaroff is a world expert on illegal fishing and organized crime, and currently works as the Director of Research of OceansAsia, a marine conservation organization, and has consulted for a number of marine conservation groups (The Black Fish, the Sea Ranger Service, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, and others). Dr Phelps Bondaroff remains active as an academic researcher, with work examining the strategic use of international law by non-state actors. He also cofounded the AccessBC Campaign for free prescription contraception in BC and is active in all levels of Canadian politics.

Since December 2018, he has been serving as a research coordinator for the BC Humanist Association. 

You can learn about his numerous projects at www.teale.ca

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Isabelle Easton, Research Officer

Isabelle Easton is joining the BC Humanist Association as she enters her final year of study in the Political Science Major and Social Justice Studies minor at the University of Victoria. Her studies as well as previous lobbying experience in BC makes her a proficient researcher, and she is always looking to find ways to use her research to aid her community.

Isabelle is a white settler working and living on the unceded territory of the Lək̓ʷəŋən, Songhees, and Xʷsepsəm peoples, as well as the W̱SÁNEĆ nation on whose territory she resides, and whose relationships to these storied places continue to this day. Raised in Treaty Four Territory, the traditional land of the Cree, Assiniboine, Salteux, Dene, Metis, Dakota and Lakota peoples, Isabelle works to continually critically self-locate herself and integrate decolonial praxis into her work and personal life.

Isabelle looks forward to continuing her passion to work on community, for community, and in community as a research officer with the BCHA team.

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Elena Kugelstadt, Research Officer

Elena holds a Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences from Simon Fraser University, where she specialized in health equity and community health research. She has worked as a researcher and advocate across the not-for-profit and public health sectors. Elena is committed to secularism, social justice, and using evidence to drive meaningful change. She brings that same values-driven approach to her community volunteer work, including with the Downtown Eastside Women's Centre. She is passionate about building a more equitable and reason-based world.

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Sarah Fowler, Legal Policy Researcher

Sarah Fowler is a Juris Doctor candidate at Dalhousie University’s Schulich School of Law and a graduate of Memorial University of Newfoundland, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. Sarah has contributed to academic research on law, religion, and secularism, supported public education initiatives for prospective university students, and volunteered extensively through legal aid, tutoring, and disability inclusion programs. She is passionate about access to justice, public legal education, and community engagement.

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Christopher Lee, Communications Officer

Christopher Lee is a passionate advocate and community building residing in Vancouver. He has worked on a wide variety of initiatives and organization focusing on public education, youth engagement, and civic participation. Christopher is happy to join the BC Humanist team over the summer to support communications work. 

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I am delighted to serve on the Board, sharing the mission and values of BCHA, in recognition of its vital place in our contemporary society to uphold and promote our secular way of life.

I obtained my bachelor and master’s degree in social work at McGill University and a doctorate (PhD) at the Université de Montréal. As a community organizer, and therapist, I worked with individuals and families that included child protection services, therapeutic counselling, and working with domestic violence offenders in group treatment programs I helped to develop throughout Québec in the 1990s. My research included publications in numerous journals on the topic of effective intervention with intimate partner abusers and offender program standards evolving in the US and Canada. I accepted an appointment teaching as Assistant Professor at the School of Social Work, University of Houston, Texas in 1994, and, later, in 2002, as permanent faculty with the sociology department at Kwantlen Polytechnic University in B.C. until my retirement. I published in numerous peer-reviewed journals in Canada and elsewhere, and continue to do research and serve as reviewer for several journals.

I additionally volunteered and collaborated with progressive organizations such as Amnesty International, B.C. Civil Liberties Association, La ligue des droits et libertés in Québec, the Greater Montreal Anti-Poverty Coordinating Committee, served on the Advisory Committee of the Senate-appointed Canadian Panel on Violence Against Women, and, more recently, B.C.’s Sunshine Coast Elder College Program Committee. I worked with anti-war coalitions in the US and Canada that included volunteering with the Montreal Council of War Resisters in the 1970s and also the War Resisters Support Campaign in Québec and B.C. during the last two decades. I am Director of  the Farewell Foundation for the Right to Die, in British Columbia, and Associate with the Research Center on Violence at the University of West Virginia.

My current research and publications critically examine the evolving right-to-die movement worldwide, specifically their legal foundations that definitely establish their practice, and their acceptance or their opposition for any further development in assisted dying.

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Mike Gray

I live in the Columbia Valley in BC’s East Kootenay region, where I’m active in local government and community life. I currently serve on a number of governance boards and committees, and have previously held roles with organizations such as Columbia Valley Pride, Tourism Radium, and the Centre for Inquiry (CFI) Canada, where I was both a national board member and Acting Executive Director for CFI Calgary.

Though there’s not an active freethought community in my immediate area, I’ve remained connected to the broader movement, including helping organize this year's WeCanReason conference in Calgary. I’m passionate about building inclusive, rational, and ethical communities, especially in rural or underrepresented regions.

I live with my husband in Radium Hot Springs and am eager to bring an East Kootenay perspective to the BC Humanist Association board, while supporting its work across the province.

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Adam Highway, President

Adam is a seasoned professional with a diverse background in business development, operations, and project management. His career spans various industries, including financial services, legal, and engineering consultancy. He has experience working in firms of all sizes, as well as running his own business for a decade. He has pursued sustainable growth and innovation in his roles wherever possible. He has also worked as a volunteer for 2SLGBTQIA+ charities, food banks, and the BCHA. Adam's commitment to humanist principles is reflected in his advocacy for secularism, critical thinking, and evidence-based decision-making. He believes in fostering inclusive communities that prioritize empathy and rational discourse. As a board member of the BCHA, Adam strives to bring strategic insight and a collaborative spirit, aiming to advance the organization's mission of promoting humanist values throughout British Columbia.

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Kathy Leavens, Treasurer

With an MBA and a Chartered Financial Analyst designation, I worked in the financial industry in Vancouver for 30 years.  After retiring in 2014, I travelled and volunteered for various groups including Take a Hike Youth at Risk Foundation, Vancouver Rape Relief and Women’s Shelter and Douglas Park Community Association. 

When I was in my teens, I realized I was an atheist, but it wasn’t until my 40’s that I discovered humanism.  I joined BCHA in 2002 and later served on the board as treasurer.  Over these past 20 years, my involvement in the humanist community has contributed so much to my understanding of the world and possible solutions to many of its problems.

Roshni Naik

Roshni Naik is a Certified Yoga and Mindfulness Therapist (C-IAYT), 25-year business co-owner (Lightfoot Construction Ltd.), and dedicated community/animal advocate living in Port Moody, BC. A lifelong atheist and secular humanist, she is passionate about fostering critical thinking, compassion, and meaningful community engagement. Over the years, she has contributed to a variety of community initiatives, including the BC SPCA, Barter BC, PoMoArts, Nourish Charitable Society, The Tyee, Free Thinker, Odyssey of the Mind, and the City of Port Moody’s Arts, Culture and Heritage Committee. She joined the BC Humanist Association Board in 2026 after many years as a member with the hope of bringing her experience in business, governance, and community-building to advancing humanist values through thoughtful dialogue and public service.

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Paul Schachter, Vice-President

Paul is a retired labour, human rights and civil liberties lawyer and a lifelong humanist. He began fighting for justice in the 1960’s as part of the US civil rights and anti-war movements. As a lawyer, Paul worked on civil rights, civil liberties, academic freedom, union rights, decolonization, torture claims, police abuse, and systemic discrimination. Paul continued supporting efforts for justice and equity on coming to BC more than 25 years ago. Over that period, he has worked on natural resources conflict resolution and in non-profits involving civil liberties, MAiD, employment, literacy, diversity, immigrant rights, family and social services, sustainable agriculture, and live orchestral music. He is an outspoken advocate for justice, equity, transparency, and accountability in policing. Paul continues to work closely with BC Black History Awareness Society and the Canadian Association of MAiD Assessors and Providers.

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Janice Selbie

Janice Selbie is a Registered Professional Counsellor and religious trauma recovery coach living in Kelowna, BC, where she currently serves as President of KASHA – Kelowna Atheists, Skeptics, and Humanists Association. 

Growing up in a Pentecostal home, Janice believed the Bible was the literal and inerrant Word of God. Married to a pastor, she chose to homeschool their young children and became increasingly insular in her beliefs, eventually rejecting all things secular and fully embracing Christian fundamentalism. 

After divorcing religion and her husband in her early 40s, Janice became a Registered Professional Counsellor specializing in religious trauma and purity culture recovery.

In addition to her private practice, Janice founded the Conference on Religious Trauma (CORT) and the Shameless Sexuality: Life After Purity Culture Conference. She also hosts the Divorcing Religion Podcast, on which icons Ian Bushfield and Margaret Atwood have both been guests. Podcast episodes and conference sessions are available on her YouTube channel.

Last year, Janice published Divorcing Religion: A Memoir and Survival Handbook, which reached #1 in seven Amazon categories. She also took pleasure in contributing a chapter to the book Humanism - Canadian Perspectives.

As a religious fundamentalist, Janice saw humans as sinful and worthy of punishment and used the words “secular humanist” as an insult. Now, she sees each person as having inherent value and the potential to change our world for the better.

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