Our Aislinn Education & Safety Foundation has the added benefit of a seasoned Mentorship Advisory Team (MAT). They include:
Steve Paul - President, Aislinn Education & Safety Foundation.
Stephen Paul has diversified career experiences in large scale manufacturing, industrial environments, commercial enterprises, institutional educational administration, entrepreneurial ventures and joint venture project management.
Steve holds a Masters degree in Educational Administration from the University of Toronto has operated a private consulting practice for twenty two years specializing in staff training. Over this time period, he has been contracted as an Instructor at Kwantlen Polytechnic University, University of the Fraser Valley and Douglas College. Prior to this he worked with Ford Motor Company of Canada Ltd., Gulf Oil Canada Ltd., and served as a Personnel Manager for the University of Guelph. Currently Steve is serving as President of the Aislinn Education and Safety Foundation.
A blending of career skills, personal, academic interests and active community involvement has allowed Steve to serve in a volunteer capacity as: Director and Founding Member Kwantlen Polytechnic University Foundation Board; Board of Directors, Child Abuse Research and Education; President, Vintage Car Club of Canada (Vancouver Chapter); Provincial Chairman, Vintage Car Club of Canada May Tour Committee; Senior Executive Member, Langley Good Times Cruise In Society (Non Profit Charity); Chair, Motorsport Technologies Program Advisory Committee, Kwantlen Polytechnic University.
Peter Podovinikoff - Immediate Past Chairman of the Board, Co-operators Group of Canada and Retired President CEO of Envision Credit Union.
Peter has a long and distinguished career in the credit union movement for which he has received several prestigious awards. As a Certified General Accountant he has focused his expertise on corporate governance and social responsibility. He is the immediate past chair of Kwantlen Polytechnic University Foundation Board; has received an honourary Doctorate from the University and is active in the Delta Chamber of Commerce, Delta Foundation, the Premier’s Advisory Council on Literacy in BC and currently serves as the Vice Chair for the Fraser River Port Authority.
Dr. Lee Southern - Recently Retired Executive Director, BC School Trustees Association (BCSTA).
Dr. Southern is a highly respected contributor to the public education sector throughout British Columbia. Lee is an accomplished athlete who has promoted healthy foods initiatives in the public schools. Lee is very supportive of the basic tenets of the My Safe Ride Home program and the benefits it would provide to the approximate 642,000 students within the public school system. Dr. Southern was requested and did accept, the position of interim CEO of the British Columbia Education Leadership Council. The BCELC is a relatively new organization that has been established as an independent society with a mandate to address the leadership challenges in K–12 Education.
"Bad luck is no respecter of our children and youth. As adults we purposely take steps to insure our lives, health, property and possessions against unforeseen events. The MY SAFE RIDE HOME® concept offers a low cost opportunity to effectively remove our youth from risky situations which can endanger their safety. Regrettably in today's society anyone can find oneself in such a situation where a safe way out is priceless. At any given time any youth could benefit from a MY SAFE RIDE HOME card. It is an example of what Louis Pasteur said: "Fortune favors the prepared mind."
Arvinder Bubber – Appointed to the Board of Governors of Kwantlen Polytechnic University in October 2001 and subsequently Chaired the Board from 2002-2007. Recently, Mr. Bubber was appointed the first Chancellor of Kwantlen Polytechnic University.
Arvinder has created his own firm, A.S. Bubber Chartered Accountants, in Surrey, BC. He was the former director of the revenue and fiscal services department and manager of the internal audit department for the City of Regina. Mr. Bubber is the vice chair of the Asia Pacific Trade Council of BC, and founding President of the SPARK Education Foundation, is a member of the Surrey Chamber of Commerce, as well as a member of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.
Jim Mickey - Founder of CPX Coastal Pacific Express
Jim has 30+ years of entrepreneurial and management experience primarily in service businesses and start-ups, with an emphasis on high growth and operational innovation. For the past decade, he has managed BC based Coastal Pacific Xpress through rapid growth to exceed $150MM in annual sales making it the largest trucking concern domiciled in BC and one of the largest 100 private companies in the province with operations throughout North America for some of the largest consumer products companies in the business. His personal strengths are in big picture thinking and challenging the status quo during tumultuous times with an eye to elegant solutions and disruptions to long standing standard practice, particularly in areas that everyone assumes are not subject to improvement or new strategies.
Ken Goosen, P.E., AVS - Former Senior Vice-President Operations, Air Canada.
Mr. Goosen is a Professional Engineer with a 30 year history in the Airline and Aviation industry with experience serving Domestic and International Airlines in a number of senior capacities spanning all aspects of Airline Operations and Maintenance. He has specifically held positions as a Systems and Interiors Engineer, Transport Canada Designated Engineering Authority (DAR), Airworthiness Representative, which included Systems and Interiors, Director of Engineering, Director of Line Maintenance, Vice President of Maintenance and Engineering, and Senior Vice President of Operations of Air Canada. Mr. Goosen is a named co-inventor on a Boeing Patent Pending system for analyzing complex information flows in an ‘Aviation Process Model”. In February 2008, Mr. Goosen accepted a position as President, Aeroinfo Systems, a division of Boeing Operations Canada. As President, Mr. Goosen is responsible for a staff of over 150 skilled employees involved in developing and supporting advanced information technology systems and applications used to provide digital maintenance documentation to Boeing. In addition to serving as president, Mr. Goosen is leading development of a business advisory services unit within Aeroinfo. In July of 2008 Mr. Goosen was awarded standing with the Society of American Value Engineers (SAVE) as an Associate Value Specialist (AVS).
Dr. Terry Anderson - President, Anderson Corporate and Executive Coaching, Inc.
Terry is a successful results-oriented organization development and learning consultant for business, e-business, government and criminal justice sectors. He is actively involved in executive coaching and mentoring, and for over two decades has been a university professor, specializing in leadership and organizational transformation. He has conducted significant executive coaching and mentoring, organization development, strategic planning, team development, and/or executive leadership development projects. Senior executives in business and the most challenging of corporate, government, criminal justice and policing environments have trusted him to be a confidant, coach, advisor, strategic planner and plan implementation coach.
"MY SAFE RIDE HOME® card is a "viral" approach to inoculating youth (and any person who might be temporarily vulnerable) against the onslaught of risks that are inherent in our accelerating environment. As it catches on it will become a preferred gift to give to people who want to ensure their safety in a wide range of higher risk or potential-risk situations. This is the kind of community "safety" net that can be called upon by anyone who finds themselves over .08, at a party they feel they shouldn’t be at, or on a date they want to extract themselves from. This kind of service provides safety not only to the cardholder, but to the community as well."
Tana Plewes - Founder & President, Discovery Center for Entrepreneurship.
An accomplished entrepreneur who has created and run multiple businesses in Canada and the USA since 1981. These diverse businesses range from youth entrepreneurship in retail, to wood manufacturing, business consulting and research. She is a progressive thinker with a high degree of creativity and a natural ability to overcome barriers that leave others stopped. For more than 16 years she has proven that communication and leadership can align diverse interests with a common goal. Tana and her team have achieved many firsts in collaborative action, labour market research, workforce development & industrial transitioning. Committed to lifelong learning, Tana served on the Board of Governors at Kwantlen Polytechnic University from 2001-2004. Tana currently lives in Chilliwack with her husband, Randy, and their two children.
Jim Sellers, Associate.
We recognize Jim as the "Father" of MY SAFE RIDE HOME®. Jim brings 38 years of experience as a professional educator and senior government official to the project. This includes serving as a senior Analyst Treasury Board Division – Department of Finance – Government of Saskatchewan. Jim has demonstrated the financial benefits associated with the business model and why government and private companies alike should support the merits of this Educational/Intervention tool. Though Jim is recognized along with our mentor team, he has a Joint Venture Partnership Agreement (JVPA) with MMC Software Canada Corp.
"What distinguishes the MY SAFE RIDE HOME® card/concept is its unique complementarity. Beyond just contributing financial support to organizations concerned with promoting safety, it actually provides a direct intervention for a wide range of risky situations. It achieves this by creating an unprecedented alliance of: organizations engaged in promoting personal safety; sponsors; participating providers - taxi companies; and those wishing to protect themselves, family members, friends, employees, or colleagues through use of this card. It is the quintessential "win-win" outcome for everyone."
