The Four Tides Hospice Society is governed by a Board of Directors, who are directly responsible to the community for the effective management of the organization.
Kim Barton-Bridges, President
Kim is an experienced project manager and event planner and has worked with PRISMA (Pacific Region International Summer Music Academy) since 2015, now serving on their board. Kim is returning after having been a founding board member of the Hospice Society in 2014, shortly after her family received amazing support in a hospice house in the Greater Vancouver area when her father was dying. She is a firm believer that where you live shouldn’t determine how you die, and is looking forward to having a hospice house in qathet. For several years, Kim has worked tirelessly for the community through her volunteer role as Chair of the Northern Sunshine Coast BC Ferries Advisory Committee. Kim enjoys spending time with the grandkids, exploring the trails with their dogs and glamping.
Gary Olson, Vice President
Gary and his family moved to Powell River in 1995. For fifteen years they owned and operated “Workwear World” in Town Center Mall. In 2010 Gary began working for PRACL (now Inclusion PR) and held a variety of positions working with individuals in a group home setting. He was also a founding member of Powell River Gymnastics Society and was President for five years. Gary retired in 2020 and now enjoys gardening, fishing, foraging, cooking and hanging out with his daughter. He has a business management certificate from Sheridan College and a Diploma in Disability Studies from VIU.
Niky Burnett, Secretary
Niky grew up on Quadra Island. She moved to qathet Region District in 2017 with her partner Bill. Niky works as a Registered Nurse in Community Health. Seeing the amazing difference that Hospice volunteers and programming makes in our community, and the much needed Hospice House, made her want to join the Hospice Board. In her free time she enjoys gardening, hiking and playing with her Dog Waffles.
Ashley Hanson, Treasurer
Ashley has a long connection to Powell River, having spent much of her childhood here before returning in 2019 to raise her own family in the community. She values the opportunity to live close to nature and can often be found exploring local trails on her mountain bike. Ashley is an investment professional and holds both the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designations, bringing a strong financial background to her role as Treasurer. She was drawn to Four Tides Hospice by a desire to contribute to something meaningful locally. Ashley is grateful for the compassionate care her grandfather received through hospice and is honoured to support an organization that provides comfort and dignity to individuals and families during life’s most difficult moments.
Matthew Mowbrey, Director
Matthew has become a person of many hats since relocating to Powell River in 2024. He practices law remotely, teaches business, life-skills, and legal courses online and in-person, and is an active volunteer and entrepreneur since joining the PR/qD community. He is a firm believer that people deserve respect and dignity in how they live, and that should continue to where and how they choose to pass on. You will often see him around town volunteering and participating at various community events with his partner, taking his chihuahua for walks, and jumping in rain puddles.
Terry Noreault, Director
Terry is now retired from a diverse career. His last job was as Chief Librarian of the Powell River Public Library. While there he oversaw a successful ballot initiative for the library and the construction and move to the new library. Terry’s first career was as a university professor of computer science at Colgate University and the University of Pittsburgh. After leaving the university environment for the next 3 decades he led software development team for various companies. Terry is also on the board of the qathet film society and was involved in the acquisition of the Patricia for the society. In his free time he enjoys walking his dog, sailing, and golf.
Jodie Young, Director
Jodie grew up in Powell River, moved away for a decade and returned to Powell River after obtaining her nursing degree. Jodie has worked in various departments in the qathet Regional Hospital and currently holds a position in Home and Community care, providing palliative care and medical care to clients in their homes. Palliative care has always been an important part of Jodie’s career and she recently received Palliative Care Nursing certification through the Canadian Nurses Association. Away from work, Jodie spends her time with her family and loves being out in nature either on one of the local beaches, hiking in local trails, and paddleboarding in the summer.
Lynn Webster, Director
Lynn came to Powell River in the 70’s when she arrived for a summer job at the Beach Gardens when it opened. She then returned for several summers working at the Inn, and for the Regional District. In 2004 she and her family bought property south of town and built their home. Lynn is a retired architect and became DIALOG’S first female partner and is now a Principal Emerita after 40 years of practice. As the national healthcare planning and design team leader, she helped develop DIALOG’s Health and Wellness practice to include four studios across Canada and broaden the scope of healthcare practice to include the design of major projects, like the $1.2B Calgary Cancer Centre. As an experienced architect, Lynn believes that palliative care and hospice environments must create their own distinct cultures and care requirements to reflect their communities. She believes in designing for the whole person, for their physical, social, mental, and spiritual needs, including residents, families, clinicians, and staff. Well-designed healthcare environments inspire, provide dignity, comfort, and healing for residents, families, and the community.
Sophie Call, Director
Sophie moved to beautiful Tla’amin territory in 2021 with her partner, Angela, following nearly two decades spent up in the Northwest Territories. She is an educator who has loved working in the classroom, as principal, at the district level, and for the ministry as director of innovation/change and inclusive schooling. She is thrilled to now be putting all her privilege, degrees, and experience to work as Director of Education for Tla’amin Nation. Sophie took a break from education in recent years in order to earn a master’s degree at UBC in Public & Pastoral Leadership, with a concentration in Spiritual Care through which she did her practicums at Vancouver General Hospital, supporting patients and staff through Covid. This is where the importance of good end-of-life care became so very apparent to her. She first joined Four Tides as a hospice volunteer and now also as a board member.
Dr. David May, Medical Advisor
David is a full service family doc working in Powell River BC for the last twenty five years. He also works as an anesthetist and has a consulting practice in palliative care and chronic pain. He was a member of the Physician Support Program chronic pain planning committee and is a member of the Doctors of BC palliative care committee. He is a board director of the Powell River Division of Family Practice and physician lead on the Shared care committee palliative care and chronic pain initiative. He is a board director of the BC College of Family Practitioners. He is married with three kids and all of his family members are experts at keeping his ego in check!
FOUR TIDES HOSPICE STAFF
Melanie Munroe, Executive Director
Melanie is a dedicated nonprofit professional with a passion for creating meaningful experiences that unite people for a cause. She has extensive experience in planning events, fundraising and community-driven initiatives, and has collaborated with various organizations to raise awareness, funds, and impact. Her career has taken her across Canada, but she now calls the vibrant community of Powell River home. When she’s not working or volunteering, you can find her in the garden, experimenting in the kitchen, or enjoying the great outdoors.
Anna Byrne, Client & Volunteer Manager
Anna is an author, speaker, and end-of-life educator. She holds a BA in Psychology and Gerontology and a Master of Theological Studies degree. With extensive experience in the non-profit sector, Anna has been a volunteer, director, and staff member with Four Tides Hospice Society. She is also co-founder of Community-Supported Dying qathet, an initiative that engages and educates communities on topics related to caregiving, illness, dying, and grief. The unifying principle of Anna’s personal and professional experiences is a deep regard for the inherent dignity of all people. Originally from Ontario, Anna moved to BC in 2015 with her husband Andrew.
Cheryl Siba, Program Coordinator
Cheryl brings both professional expertise and lived experience to her work supporting individuals and families facing illness, grief, caregiving, and major life transitions. She is passionate about creating spaces where people feel seen, supported, and connected. She believes that community and compassionate presence can make a meaningful difference as individuals and families navigate end-of-life experiences. Volunteering and community have always been important to her. She enjoys spending time with her family on beaches near and far.
Vanessa Turnbull, Administrative and Office Assistant
Vanessa brings several years of professional office and business administration experience. She feels deeply privileged to be able to contribute her learned skills to such a caring team and meaningful organization. A dedicated community member, Vanessa has spent over 5 years as a registered professional volunteer with the Province of BC serving the Powell River/ qathet region. Outside the office, she can be found enjoying the amazing local forests, gardening, unintentional rock collecting, photographing heart shapes in nature, and visiting her grandchildren.