Our board of directors

While a lawyer by profession, Allan Seckel, KC, has had a career that has spanned private practice, public service and the not-for-profit sector.  

After serving as Law Clerk to the Chief Justice of British Columbia from 1983 to 1984, Allan practised as a litigation lawyer with a major Vancouver firm. He then became the Deputy Attorney General for British Columbia from 2003 to 2009; and was the Cabinet Secretary, Head of Public Service and Deputy Minister to the Premier of British Columbia from 2009 to 2011. More recently, Mr. Seckel was the CEO of Doctors of BC until December of 2021. 

Mr. Seckel is active in his community, currently serving as the chair of the Board of Directors of Covenant House Vancouver and the chair of the BC Housing Management Commission. Previously, he was a member of the Telus Vancouver Community Board and the board of LIFT Philanthropy Partners. 

Mr. Seckel holds a Bachelor of Arts degree with joint honours in economics and commerce from Simon Fraser University; a law degree from the University of Victoria; and a Master of Law degree from Gonville & Caius College at Cambridge University, where he attended as a Commonwealth Scholar. Mr. Seckel is the co-author of two legal texts. He was designated a King's Counsel in 2003 and as an ICD.D in 2013.

Gisela Ruebsaat (BA, LLB) is an independent legal analyst, writer and scholar. She has played a lead role in key justice reform initiatives throughout her career. As an analyst for the Ending Violence Association of BC, Gisela worked with police, corrections and community advocates to design and implement provincial anti-violence programs to improve access to justice for marginalized women. Many of these BC-born initiatives, such as the provincial Third Party Reporting Protocol, are now generating interest across Canada.

Gisela also worked at the Ontario Ministries of Attorney General, and Citizenship and Culture, developing race relations, human rights and multiculturalism policies. Gisela received the Silver Medal Award from the Ontario government and the BC Building a Safer Future Award for her anti-violence work.

In 2006 Gisela co-authored a groundbreaking study that documented police misclassification of sexual assault cases, ultimately leading to a national review of police practices. In 2016, Gisela was nominated by MOSAIC and selected to serve as one of 150 woman leaders in Canada to support gender equality.

Gisela is an accomplished poet and scholar whose work has appeared in both literary and academic journals. Her debut poetry collection, Heart Mechanic, was published in 2016.

For over 30 years, Lisa Scott has held progressively responsible financial leadership roles and is driven by a desire to listen and learn from her community. Proud to be Quw'utsun, she is dedicated to lifting individuals up towards a brighter path, now and for future generations.

In her current role as Executive Director of Haven Society, Lisa works to support the Society’s mission, which is to promote the integrity and safety of women, children, youth, and families, and the development of a respectful and healthy community.

Lisa brings with her a strong background in governance. She also has extensive experience in finance, business administration, commerce, banking, accounting, and public administration, having held several senior leadership positions, including Interim President at Xyntax Group Inc., an Indigenous technology company, Chief Financial Officer at Naut'sa mawt Tribal Council, and Acting Band Manager at Malahat Nation.

Among Lisa’s personal and professional accomplishments, she is proud to have led successful negotiations and to have empowered self-sufficient, self-reliant, prosperous Indigenous organizations.

Karen is a partner and business advisor in MNP’s Kelowna office. Drawing on more than 20 years of experience, Karen delivers a full range of business advisory and assurance solutions to help private enterprise clients, including business owners, real estate developers and professionals, achieve their goals and meet their regulatory, financing and governance requirements. She prides herself on her ability to provide the expertise her clients need to effectively manage and grow their business.

In 2002, Karen was awarded the Early Achievement Award by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of British Columbia (ICABC) for her contributions to the profession and outstanding accomplishments. In 2012, she was honoured with a fellowship (FCPA, FCA) from ICABC. In 2015, she became a fellow of Chartered Professional Accountants of British Columbia (CPABC). Karen is chair of CPABC’s Member Recognition Committee and Search Committee.

Donna M. Turko, KC, graduated from Dalhousie Law School in 1991. She also earned a bachelor's and master's degree in Sociology from the University of BC. In 2017, she was appointed King's Counsel. She is also honoured to have received the Harry Rankin, KC, Pro Bono Award in 2017. Donna is an executive member (Advisory Committee) of the Criminal Defence Advisory Committee C-DAS. She has mentored and lectured at the UBC Innocence Project. She is also a reviewer for the Association in Defence of the Wrongfully Convicted.

Donna has been invited to speak at numerous conferences for judges and lawyers, including the National Judicial Conference, and Canadian Bar Association (CBA) Continuing Legal Education and Trial Lawyers Association of BC conferences. She is a participant in the Inns of Court program whereby judges and lawyers join to mentor junior counsel.

Donna has served on numerous CBA committees including the CBA Criminal Subsection Committee for Sentencing and Release, Legal Aid Committee, the Advisory Committee to the Judicial Council, Government Relations Committee, and the BarTalk Editorial Board.

Donna has taught at the UBC Allard School of Law and has been principal to over 26 articling students.

Brad Daisley is a retired lawyer and journalist whose career focused on strategic communications, policy development and professional regulation.

From 2008 to 2021, Brad was Legal Aid BC’s (LABC) Communications Manager and General Counsel. In this role, he was in charge of the organization’s internal and external communications, stakeholder relations and government relations. He also assisted in developing LABC’s policies, and public positions on justice reform and legal aid.

Brad began his professional career as a lawyer with a Vancouver firm where he worked from 1983 to 1988. Prior to joining LABC, he spent eight years as the Public Affairs Manager for the Law Society of BC. He managed the society’s communications, government relations, public relations and was part of a team that developed the society’s policies on disclosure of regulatory information.

Since 2012, Brad has held volunteer positions with the College of Dental Surgeons as a committee member. In 2018, the college presented him with an Award of Merit for his contribution to the dental profession.

Brad, who was called to the BC bar in 1984, holds a Bachelor of Arts in English literature from the University of Victoria and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of British Columbia.

Tracy Porteous’s commitment to survivors of gender-based violence and those who support them began when she started at the Victoria Sexual Assault Centre at the age of 19. Her experience there was so meaningful that she decided to dedicate her life to the cause.

Now, 40 years later, Tracy is credited for numerous innovative programs and initiatives; among them, growing the Victoria Sexual Assault Centre from a staff of 2 to 22; founding and leading the 300-program strong Ending Violence Association of BC; co-creating and leading a cross-sectoral program ensuring BC’s legal, health, child protection and anti-violence response systems are working collaboratively; creating the award-winning Be More Than a Bystander: Break the Silence on Gender-Based Violence, a prevention initiative that engages youth in schools across the province and men in male-dominated workplaces with the goal of having people speak up to violence, disrespect and abuse; co-founding the Ending Violence Association of Canada, a national body working to advance policy; and co-creating the gender-based violence policy for the Canadian Football League. 

Tracy is a Registered Clinical Counsellor and holds an Honorary Doctor of Laws and the Order of British Columbia.

Brenda Knights is a capacity builder, with board experience, who serves Indigenous people in Canada. She has experience in various leadership positions advocating for social housing for Indigenous people and is currently the CEO of the Vancouver Native Housing Society.

Previously, Brenda worked for the Kwantlen First Nation’s economic development arm, and Coast Mountain Bus Company, a subsidiary of TransLink, where she held a variety of management roles. She is also on the board of the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business, Metro Vancouver Zero Emissions Innovation Center, the New Relationship Trust, Elizabeth Fry Society, and Tourism Langley.

Brenda lives by her nation Kwantlen’s seven traditional laws which have been around since time immemorial: health, happiness, humbleness, generations, generosity, forgiveness, and understanding. Brenda descends from Grand Chief Wattlekanium, who met the Simon Fraser expedition in present-day New Westminster. Indigenous teachings tell us it takes seven generations for change and Brenda’s daughter represents the seventh generation since Grand Chief Wattlekanium.