West Point Grey Academy

Governance

Message from the Board Chair

West Point Grey Academy is proud to have an active and engaged Board of Directors who cares deeply about the wellbeing of our students, staff, families and community. The WPGA Board of Directors includes current and alumni parents, with the participation of the Head of School and principals, and those who have been instrumental to the school’s history and success, including founding member Dr. Peter Wong, OBC.

The role of an independent school Board is to guide the school’s mission, vision, values and strategic goals and to establish policies and procedures consistent with those objectives. The Board safeguards the school's assets and oversees executive decision making to enhance the school's performance and reputation.

Each WPGA Board member brings professional expertise and insights to support the Head of School and Leadership Team. As a collective, the Board approves the school's strategy and distributes the allocation of resources to maintain WPGA’s high-calibre programs. With the Head of School and Leadership Team, the Board holds the trust of the founders, informs the school community, guides the Strategic Plan, and provides vision and leadership for the school’s continued growth. The WPGA Board embraces the CAIS National Standards of governance practices and holds at least four meetings annually.

If you have any questions or to learn more about West Point Grey Academy, I invite you to connect with me at any time.

Sincerely,

Sacha McLean
Chair, WPGA Board of Directors

Board Directors

List of 7 members.

Peter Blake

Past Chair
Bio
A native of Richmond, BC, Peter earned degrees at the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) and the University of Alberta. He received his Chartered Accountant (now Chartered Professional Accountant) designation while at KPMG Vancouver and, in 2013, was elected an FCA by the BC Institute of Chartered Accountants. After a 23-year career with Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers, as CFO and then CEO, in 2014 Peter was appointed CEO of WesternOne Inc.

A long-serving member of WPGA’s Board of Directors, Peter became Chair in 2016, a position he held until 2024, providing leadership and guidance to WPGA through two Head of School transitions and the pandemic. As Chair, he was a mentor to other Board Chairs within the ISABC community and shared his governance expertise on panels at several CAIS and ISABC conferences.

Along with serving as Past Chair of the WPGA Board of Directors, Peter is a Board member of Junior Achievement of BC and Adam’s Apples Foundation, and contributes to several other community organizations focused on youth and education. Peter and his wife, Leslie, are alumni parents to Emma '18 and Tess '20.
Patrick Chan

Board Director
Bio
Patrick joined the WPGA Board of Directors in August 2005, and also serves as a Director on its Finance Committee. He is the managing partner at SRTK Tam Kurozumi, a certified public accounting firm in Vancouver, and brings extensive experience as a past director and treasurer of numerous charitable organizations, including SUCCESS and CCF Community Care Foundation. He and his wife, Sarah, have a son, Jonathan, who graduated from WPGA in 2010.
Lauren Ilich

Board Director
Bio
Lauren is President of TL Housing Solutions, which works closely with government, nonprofit groups and financial partners to plan and build non-market housing communities. Prior to forming TL Housing Solutions, Lauren was a Development Manager for Townline Homes, which develops market housing projects in the Lower Mainland, Fraser Valley, Vancouver Island and Los Angeles. She was also a Senior Planner for the City of Richmond and Senior Policy Planning Manager in the City Manager’s office. In these roles, Lauren led many community involvement processes and participated in a range of strategic initiatives. Her private, nonprofit and public experience provides her with a unique insight into city planning and development processes. She holds a Master of Community and Regional Planning from UBC.

Lauren and her husband, Rick, have long been strong believers and supporters of West Point Grey Academy. Mackay and Ryder will graduate in 2025 as “lifers,” and Tanner ‘09 was in the first kindergarten class at WPGA.
Wendy King

Board Director
Bio
Wendy is responsible for managing legal, enterprise risk management, insurance and corporate governance at Capstone Mining Corporation. She has been practicing law for over 20 years and is a certified director with the Institute of Corporate Directors. She holds a Master in International Tax Law and a Master of Business Administration, and has completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard University. She is past Director of Via Rail Canada Inc. and currently serves as Director and Chair of Audit of the Royal BC Museum as well as Trustee and Chair of the Strategy Committee of the Vancouver Police Foundation. Wendy and her husband, Casey Manarey, have three children, Jacob ’24, Chloe ’27 and Ashton ’27.
Miranda Lam, K.C.

Vice Chair
Bio
Miranda Lam is the Chief Legal Officer & Vice President, Business Development at Acuitas Therapeutics, Inc., a biotechnology company that works with partners to advance nucleic acid therapeutics to address unmet clinical needs based on its globally recognized capabilities in delivery technology.

Formerly an equity partner in the litigation group at the national law firm McCarthy Tetrault, Miranda has been recognized as a Leading Lawyer in the area of General Commercial Litigation in independent publications such as Chambers Canada, The Best Lawyers in Canada, and Benchmark Canada: The Definitive Guide to Canada’s Leading Litigation Firms & Attorneys. In 2019, market research firm Acritas identified Miranda as a “Stand-out Lawyer”. In 2018, she was named to Vancouver Magazine’s Power 50 List of the City’s Most Influential People. She has been identified as a Leading Lawyer under 40 by Lexpert (2017), “Best 40 Under 40” Lawyer by the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (2015), and was the recipient of the Association of Women in Finance 2014 PEAK Women in Finance “Rising Star” Award. In 2013, she was recognized as one of Business in Vancouver’s “Forty Under 40.” In 2023, Miranda was recognized by YWCA Vancouver as a Woman of Distinction in the “Business & Professions” category.

Miranda is a frequent speaker on corporate governance issues, investigations, and dispute resolution processes, as well as diversity and inclusion and served as McCarthy Tetrault’s first National Chair of its Gender Equality Action Group. She has also served as faculty for the Continuing Legal Education Society of British Columbia, The Directors’ College and for The Advocates Society, and as an adjunct professor on corporate law topics at the University of British Columbia Allard School of Law.

Miranda is currently the co-Vice Chair of the Board of Governors of the University of British Columbia, and a member of the boards of directors of UBC Properties Trust, the BC Cancer Foundation, and the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade. She has previously chaired the boards of the Vancouver Foundation, the largest community foundation in Canada, the UBC Alumni Association and Vantage Point, and has served as a director of the boards of the United Way of the Lower Mainland and Imagine Canada.

Miranda and her husband, Michael Johnson, are Grey Wolf parents to Nathan '32.
Sacha McLean

Board Chair
Bio
Sacha McLean is Chair of the McLean Group, a second-generation diversified family holding company active in film and television studios, helicopters, real estate investment, corporate investments, and communications.

In 1999, Sacha was a founder of Vancouver Film Studios, which, together with Pacific Blacklot Services (production equipment) and Signal Systems (telecommunications division) became one of Canada’s largest and most successful production services and facilities businesses, resulting in the historic sale in 2023 to HCP Capital Partners.

A commercial helicopter and jet pilot for over 30 years, in 2006, Sacha led the expansion of the McLean Group’s aviation interests. The result was Blackcomb Helicopters, a helicopter charter company operating a large fleet of aircraft out of permanent bases throughout Western Canada. The company provides specialized flight operations in powerline construction and maintenance, film and television, forestry, mining, emergency services, and tourism.

Sacha gives generously of his time to the school and greater community. He has served on the Board of Directors of WPGA since 2014 and has been Chair of the Finance and Audit Committee since 2016. In June 2024, he was appointed Chair of the Board.

He also serves as a Director of Cascade Public Media in Seattle (KCTS 9 Television), Past-Chair of YPO BC (Young President’s Organization), and Director of the McLean McCuaig Foundation. Previous Board and Chair positions include several years on the Faculty Advisory Board of Sauder School of Business (UBC), the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade, Southlands Riding Club, and Whistler Film Festival.

Sacha holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Urban Planning from Queen’s University and has completed the Families in Business Program at Harvard University. He is a past winner of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award (2014) and the Business in Vancouver 40 Under 40 Award.

Sacha and his wife, Melanie, have two children at WPGA, Hazel '26 and Kate '32.
Teresa Edgar

Board Director
Bio
Teresa joined the WPGA Board of Directors in February 2024. She served on the PVG Executive for four years and as PVG Chair from 2019-2021, working tirelessly to meaningfully engage the parent community during the pandemic while fundraising for priority programs and projects. During her tenure, she leveraged her expertise in operations and marketing to streamline the parent volunteer and PVG governance processes to be more future-focused and to effectively support the PVG Executive, School Leadership, and school community at large.

Teresa holds an MBA from the Beedie School of Business with a specialization in Marketing and Operations, and has worked with leading law firms to create and implement marketing and business development strategies.

An ardent supporter of UNICEF, Teresa has been involved with Women UNlimited, a women’s philanthropic circle with a collective giving strategy to champion global programs for women, children and communities. In February 2023, Teresa travelled to Ghana, Africa in support of education and nutrition programs for children, specifically girls. In May 2024, she will visit Bangladesh to continue her advocacy work on behalf of UNICEF Canada.

Teresa and her husband, Peter, are proud Grey Wolf parents to Peter ‘29, Ari ‘31, Eva ‘33 and Apollo ‘36, and tremendously value WPGA’s family-centred culture and commitment to giving back to our local and global communities.

List of 4 members.

Robert Standerwick, K.C.

Board Chair Emeritus; Foundation Director
Bio
Born and raised in Vancouver, Bob holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws from UBC. He was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 2009. He has practiced law for over 35 years in Vancouver, most recently as a partner in a national law firm, and has been Corporate Secretary/General Counsel to a Federal Crown Corporation for more than five years. He has been a member of the WPGA Board of Directors since 1999, was Chair from 2000-2016, and is a founding member and director of the WPGA Foundation and the WPGA Property Society. He serves on the boards of a number of charitable groups. Bob and his wife, Marilyn, have four children.
Kory Wilson

Board Director
Bio
Kory is Kwakwaka'wakw and has 20 years’ experience teaching and advocating for Indigenous access and programs in postsecondary institutions. She is Executive Director of Indigenous Initiatives and Partnerships at BCIT, where she provides strategic direction and leadership to BCIT in the continuous development of Indigenous initiatives, programs and partnerships. She is Chair of the National Indigenous Education Committee of Colleges and Institutions Canada and Chair of the World Federation of Colleges and Polytechnics Indigenous Affinity Group. With a deep commitment to education, she knows innovative and creative solutions are a must to move Reconciliation into ReconciliACTION. Education and access to knowledge are key to move everyone forward. When people know better, they do better.

Kory is a member of the BC Law Society and serves on several nonprofit Boards. She is also a proud Grey Wolf alumni parent to Kaija ‘17, Kaylene ‘18 and Kadence ‘22.
Peter Wong

Board and Foundation Director; Founding Member
Bio
Dr. Wong is a founding member of West Point Grey Academy and sits on the WPGA Foundation. A graduate of UBC Faculty of Medicine, Dr. Wong has a medical practice in Vancouver. He is also an active business person and community leader, recognized by Vancouver Magazine as one of the "Power 50," and is a recipient of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal for community service. Involved in a number of community organizations, Dr. Wong is Vice Chair of the Yue Shan Society (Vancouver), an Honorary Patron of the Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Vancouver, and a Member of the Overseas Exchange Committee of Guangdong Province. Dr. Wong has participated in several government trade missions to China and is a Special Adviser to the Musqueam Nation for Asia-Pacific affairs. In 2016, Dr. Wong was appointed to the Order of British Columbia. He and his wife, Simmy, are alumni parents to Jacqueline '13 and Katelyn '15.
Cheryl Yue

Board Director
Bio
Born and raised in Vancouver, Cheryl grew up in Kerrisdale and obtained her Bachelor of Commerce from the Sauder School of Business at UBC, with a double major in Accounting and Marketing. Cheryl designated as a Chartered Accountant (now Chartered Professional Accountant) while working in the Audit and Assurance Group at PwC LLP, servicing clients across the retail, technology, real estate and not-for-profit sectors. After a 7-year career at PwC, Cheryl furthered her retail industry experience by working in various finance roles at two privately-owned apparel companies based in Vancouver. Currently, Cheryl is Senior Director of Global Product Integrity at Lululemon.

Cheryl joined the WPGA Board of Directors in 2016 and serves on the Finance Committee.

West Point Grey Academy

4125 West 8th Avenue, Vancouver, B.C., V6R 4P9
Tel: 604-222-8750

Since 1996, West Point Grey Academy has gratefully resided on the Jericho Lands, the unceded traditional territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam Indian Band), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) Nation and sə̓lílwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nation. Honoured to learn and play on these beautiful lands, we endeavour to be a leader in Indigenous education. In creating shared understanding and opportunities, we hope to help foster a more equitable society for all.

Governance

Message from the Board Chair

Board Directors

List of 7 members.

Peter Blake

Patrick Chan

Lauren Ilich

Wendy King

Miranda Lam, K.C.

Sacha McLean

Teresa Edgar

List of 4 members.

Robert Standerwick, K.C.

Kory Wilson

Peter Wong

Cheryl Yue

West Point Grey Academy