VCHC Board Members

Mark Sherman is a physician practicing at the James Bay Community Project. He is a founding member and one of the driving forces in the creation of the health cooperative. He is currently the President of the Board of Directors of the cooperative. His interests include facilitating board meetings and groups, funding, business planning, and health education.

James Christian is a medical herbalist. His interests include practitioner development, health education, group facilitation, and business planning. In the long term, he is interested in having the co-op develop a herb garden and reuniting people with plants.

Chris Mather has a financial background and brings that extensive experience to help in developing the financial resources and strategies of the co-operative.

Born in Toronto, Ian MacPherson grew up on a farm near Ottawa. He taught high school for four years at Streetsville, near Toronto, and then pursued graduate studies at the University of Western Ontario. He taught history at the University of Winnipeg (1968-1976), where he founded the Canadian Studies programme. He taught history at the University of Victoria from 1976 until retirement in 2005. He was chair of the Department of History (1982-89), Dean of the Humanities Faculty (1992-2000), and founding director of the British Columbia Institute for Co-operative Studies (2000-2008). 

He is the author/editor/co-editor of some eighteen books and the author of over 150 articles, most of them on the Canadian and international co-operative movement. He has participated in over 350 conference sessions, workshops, and co-operative meetings in over 75 countries. He has served on co-operative boards at the local, provincial, regional, national, and international levels. He was the founding President of the Canadian Co-operative Association. He led the process and wrote the documents whereby the International Co-operative Alliance adopted a Co-operative Identity Statement at its 1995 Manchester Congress. It provided a definition of co-operatives, a statement of co-operative values, and a set of principles by which the international movement could better address some of the key issues of the twenty-first century.  Among other forms of recognition, he has received the highest awards of the British Columbian, Canadian and international co-operative movements.

Julie Foreman is a compounding pharmacist. Her experience includes pharmacy management and an integrated practice of allopathic and complementary modalities. Julie’s interests are in development and promotion of the VCHC Health Centre, health education, business planning, and integrated care research.

I apprenticed as a Community Development Worker from 1985 to 2004 at the James Bay Community Project.  My work as a community organizer had the “social determinants of health” as a central theme and I was challenged with pioneering that concept in all facets of my work in the region. My personal journey of self development and self-directed education in alternative and spiritual healing modalities grounded my understanding of this theme.  I am passionate about the responsibility for citizens’ most fundamental needs of food, clothing and shelter to be addressed by a “civil” society, and a major focus of my work included advocacy and education for tenants and advancing access to affordable housing. 

During 19 years at the JBCP, I supported the community in developing specific projects including the James Bay Community Market, the James Bay Beacon Newspaper and installation of the Labyrinth in Irving Park.  I gained additional experience as a Project Manager with the Women’s Housing Action Team and Program Director of Meals on Wheels. I am excited to join the Board of the VCHC as an opportunity to collaborate with others to advance an integrated health model as an option for the future direction of health care.

Jenneke van Hemert has over ten years in sales and marketing in the corporate sector,  over five years of experience in executive and business management, and executive management over one year in the not for profit and cooperative sector. Educated in the Netherlands in business economy and administration, she continued her education in Canada. She has Masters in Leadership - the Not for Profit Healthcare Sector Lead 516 certificate from Royal Roads University, completed two Community Economic Development courses through Simon Fraser University and is currently studying to become a dietician. Her strengths are providing creative and insightful leadership and business development with a strong affinity for the health care sector.