D.A.R.E. BC Society

(Drug Abuse Resistance Education)

4949 Heather Street
Vancouver, BC V5Z 1K6
Tel: (604) 264-2765
Fax: (604) 264-2649
Email: dare@darebc.com

  • small group.jpg
  • two girls.jpg
  • small group 2.jpg
  • three girls.jpg
  • classroom.jpg
  • officer and boy.jpg
  • Kids in Tree.jpg
  • Officers and Kids.jpg

D.A.R.E. Talk

Recent Topics

All Topics

Board of Directors

Greg Tedesco has been a Chartered Accountant since 1988. He currently serves as the Society’s President, and is also a member of the Finance, Partnership and Executive Committees. The early part of Greg’s career was spent as an audit and accounting manager with KPMG in Vancouver. Greg has since worked in progressively challenging positions for international professional service organizations, successfully leading business expansions, acquisitions and financial improvement initiatives. Greg currently is the Chief Financial Officer with Abacus Private Equity, a leading independent investment firm which has been successfully acquiring Canadian and international businesses for over a decade. Greg has enjoyed volunteering through the provincial Chartered Accountants’ Institute to help seniors, high school students and articling CA students. Greg has also focused his volunteering efforts on helping those who are financially challenged and in medical need. A lifelong and proud Vancouverite, Greg is an outdoor and fitness buff who enjoys spending his spare time with his family, including his two children who help keep Greg very active. Greg currently serves as President of D.A.R.E. BC.  
 
Carolynne (Lynne) Mahood has spent most of her working career in Human Resources, in both the private and public sector, for local and national organizations. That experience provided her with the opportunity to introduce and participate in various volunteer activities and committees. She is currently self-employed as a Human Resource Contractor and instructs various courses at Vancouver Community College.   She is also an avid runner and gardener.  Carolynne is on the Board of Directors of Charlford House, a recovery home for women. She is also a Human Resource advisor to Vantage Point (formerly Volunteer Vancouver) Board of Directors, an organization that introduced her to D.A.R.E. BC in 2008.   She currently serves as Vice President of the Board at D.A.R.E. BC, and participates on the Executive Committee.  

Joanna Li is the Business Development and Strategic Partnerships Manager for the Better Business Bureau (BBB) serving Mainland British Columbia. She currently serves as the Society's Secretary.  With a passion for creating opportunities for and with children and youth, Joanna has served as a youth worker, career guidance/academic mentor, an English tutor, and youth program instructor throughout the Lower Mainland. Her desire to support the future generation brought her to D.A.R.E. BC as a Board Member. Joanna’s community commitments also include her participation in various capacities with the Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society, Eastside Movement for Business and Economic Renewal Society (EMBERS), The Minerva Foundation, a Focus on Seniors task force and a professional women’s networking group. During her spare time, Joanna indulges herself with coffee and a good book, spending time with her family and golfing at the driving range.

Chuck Doucette is a founding member of the D.A.R.E. BC Society and currently serves as the Society’s Past President.  He is a member of the Society's Partnerships, Communications and Executive Committees. He retired in July 2007 after serving over 35 years with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). Over 30 of those years were spent in various aspects of drug enforcement in and around Vancouver, BC. Chuck’s last twelve years in the RCMP were spent in the Drug Awareness Service, first as the Provincial Coordinator for BC and then as the Pacific Region Coordinator (BC and Yukon). His experience includes giving presentations at public meetings, conferences and RCMP training sessions dealing with drug investigations, awareness and prevention. He has attended a number of international conferences dealing with drug prevention and has visited England, Sweden, Germany, Argentina and The Netherlands to examine their drug policies. Chuck has also served on the board of the Pacifica Treatment Centre in Vancouver, and is a co-founder of the Addictive Drug Information Council. He currently serves on the board of the Drug Prevention Network of Canada and is a member of the International Task Force for Strategic Drug Policy.

Mike Shekhtman is President and Chief Executive Officer of eeko Couriers Inc.  Prior to establishing eeko Couriers Mike spent the last ten years working in various roles and has a proven track record in driving revenues while decreasing operational expenditures.  As a result Mike has developed proven methodologies for enhancing business performance and productivity of organizations in the public and private sectors.  He has built a strong professional network of corporate executives in the Vancouver marketplace while working in telecommunications, technology, consumer packaged goods, resource management, and business consulting. Mike has always been a tremendous leader and has a way of empowering others around him.  As a former coach of high school basketball and minor league hockey teams in North Vancouver, Mike always brought the best out in his players.  Mike studied Social Sciences at Capilano College and Marketing Management at British Columbia Institute of Technology.  He is an avid Vancouver Canucks fan and also loves playing soccer in the Metro league for the West Vancouver Royals.  Mike enjoys traveling, fine dining and spending time with his wife and new baby boy. 

Esther Ho was educated and trained in social work in Hong Kong. She immigrated to Canada in 1995, and has since gone on to accomplish many wonderful things in her community and abroad. Having spent her early years in Vancouver working with young people as a tutor, Esther founded her own business in 1999, Mustard Seed Education Path Incorporated. The success of her business has allowed Esther to support herself and dedicate more of her time to her passion – helping youth. To that end, Esther has gone on to develop Vancouver's first Chinese children’s theatre program, Mustard Seed Children's Theatre, and in 2002 she founded Integration Youth Services Society (IYSS) where she currently volunteers as Executive Director. IYSS assists young immigrants to integrate with their new country and overcome the challenges that this entails. IYSS has served over 40,000 young people in the areas of education, personal growth, community outreach, and cultural and recreational activities since its inception. Esther is also a researcher and adviser on youth issues. She is a commentator for Fairchild Radio, and writes a weekly column for a Chinese newspaper. Besides her youth services in Vancouver, she is also actively involved in projects to rebuild schools in China. Her work for the community was recognized when she was awarded the British Columbia Community Achievement Award in 2006, and the Nova Star Award from Richmond Volunteer Information Service in 2004. Her fist book, Ideal Parents, was proudly published on 2009.  

Vicki Bradbury is a retired school principal from Langley School District.  Vicki began her 37 year career in Surrey as an elementary classroom teacher.  Over the years she also taught at the secondary level and served as a school librarian at the elementary, secondary and district levels.  In the early 1990’s Vicki was appointed as one of Surrey’s Career Education Coordinators.  Her work in this area included the implementation of the then new curriculum that included social issues.  In 1996 she was seconded to the Ministry of Education to serve as the provincial Career and Personal Planning Coordinator, supporting the implementation of that curriculum throughout the province.  Her five years with the Ministry of Education also included three years as a Regional Coordinator, supporting lower mainland districts in the implementation of all curriculum and ministry policies.  Upon completion of her secondment, Vicki accepted a position with Langley School District as a school principal.  During her six years with Langley, Vicki was principal of Coghlan Fundamental Elementary School and Langley U-Connect, the district’s distributed learning school.   Vicki is currently the Returning Officer, responsible for the preparation and conduct of electoral events in the federal riding of Burnaby Douglas.  She currently serves as Chair of the Communications Committee.

Mark Fleming is the Deputy Criminal Operations Officer, Federal Policing, for British Columbia. He is nearing 30 years service with the RCMP. His career started in British Columbia and has spanned across Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario. Mark considers himself fortunate to have gained diverse and extensive operational experience in various contract and federal policing roles including general duties, serious crimes and drug enforcement. Following his participation as a member of the 2002 G8 Summit Joint Planning Team, he was commissioned to serve as the Executive Officer to the Northwest Region Deputy Commissioner. He then served as the Officer Commanding Greater Toronto Area Drug Section until promoted to undertake command of the Ontario Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit, a position he held for four years. Most recently, he served as the Deputy Criminal Operations Officer - Federal and Integrated Policing, in Alberta. Mark enjoys outdoor activities including fishing and golfing and is looking forward to participating as a D.A.R.E. BC Board Member.  

Peter Louwe was born and raised in Penticton and educated at UBC and BCIT.  He married young and began a career in freelance journalism while driving truck for a living in his early days.  From there his career developed into TV reporting where he did the daily news for 20 years. Following his TV reporting days, Peter made a career switch in 2006 to public and media relations doing all kinds of communications in both the private and public sectors. Thought to have a knack for issues management and crisis communications, Peter is currently Director of Communication for Hollyburn Properties.  Being thrown into new situations, learning new skills, and making a living from finding stuff out and telling other people about it continues to invigorate the determined individualist.  Creating partnerships is also a new passion for Peter, who loves his long-time and patient wife and two daughters, spending free time on the slopes, beach, biking, gardening and pondering wrinkles in space and time.  

Ben Parkin grew up in Vancouver and attended the University of British Columbia obtaining a B.A. in 1984 and an LL.B in 1987.  He has been practicing law here since 1988.  His practice focuses on civil litigation.  He started his career in private practice working at a downtown firm in the defence of professional negligence claims.  He then worked in the legal department of the Workers' Compensation Board of British Columbia conducting subrogated personal injury litigation and defending the Board in judicial review cases.  In 2002 Ben moved to the City of Vancouver Law Department and continued a litigation practice defending cases brought against the City and related agencies including the Vancouver Police Department.  Ben is currently the Assistant Director - General Litigation for the City's Law Department.  Ben also worked on a part time basis as a chair for the Mental Health Review Board from 2002 to 2011.  Ben has been a coach for the Richmond Girls' Soccer Association for the last six years and is actively involved in the Richmond community.

Michelle Moriartey is a tax lawyer with Legacy Tax + Trust Lawyers in Vancouver. Previously, Michelle worked as an associate lawyer at a national law firm. She also spent a year in Ottawa clerking at the Federal Court of Appeal. Michelle is actively involved in the legal community and frequently publishes and presents on legal issues. In her spare time, Michelle enjoys hiking and skiing with her husband and working in her garden. Michelle is excited to join the D.A.R.E. Board and looks forward to contributing to the future growth and success of the D.A.R.E. Program in B.C.  

Colin Grant is a native Vancouverite and has spent most of his career working for financial institutions in accounting, commercial lending and risk management. The last 10 years have been in executive positions where he participated in developing and implementing strategic plans, policies and guidelines that managed risk while supporting corporate growth goals. Colin is a continuous learner.  He has a diploma in Urban Land Economics from UBC, an MBA from SFU and is currently a student member of the Certified General Accountants Association of British Columbia, nearing completion of a CGA designation. He currently serves as Treasurer on the D.A.R.E. BC Board.  Colin was involved with Scouts Canada for a number of years as a Beaver, Cub and Scout leader. He is also a past chairman of the Advisory Committee for Lansdowne Chapter of the International Order of DeMolay. In his spare time Colin enjoys golf, going to the theatre, reading and working on home improvement projects.