Our board is the college’s governing body. It receives its authority from the Health Professions Act. The board is an oversight body and ensures that the college has the resources, leadership and strategy to meet the duties and objects specified in the Act.
- Leisa Belanger (public board member)
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Leisa Belanger holds a Bachelor of Science (Chemistry) and is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA‐CGA). She is currently Senior Director, Solutions Delivery, Finance for one of North America's most diversified and successful private beverage companies, founded in B.C. She also spent 10+ years as a Director of Finance at the University of British Columbia. She brings to the role a diverse skillset including financial management and literacy, strategic planning, change management, communications, risk management, implementing technology solutions, in addition to a passion for public access to quality healthcare.
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- Pinder Cheema(public board member)
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Pinder Cheema received her law degree from UVIC and was called to the Bar in 1984. She practises with the BC Prosecution Service, as Crown Counsel and has conducted trials at the provincial and superior courts. Pinder is also a member of the province’s bilingual prosecution team. She has served on a number of adjudicative boards, including the Mental Health Review Board, the Community Care Assistance Appeal Board, and the Safety Standards Appeal Board. Pinder presently serves as an elected Bencher of the Law Society of BC, for Victoria County. In that regard, she has served on the Governance, Ethics, Complainants Review, Rule of Law, Act and Rules, Lawyer Education committees, and a number of Task Forces; she has also chaired several hearings inquiring into the conduct of lawyers allegedly breaching ethical standards, and sat as a member on Review Panels. Pinder was nominated “Queen’s Counsel” in 2002. In her spare time, she assists with the Province of New Brunswick’s provincial court’s legal language education program.
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- Janene Erickson (public board member)
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Janene Erickson is Dakelh, from Nak'azdli Whut'en, a First Nations community in northern BC, an adopted member of the Takaya Wolf Clan, FNHA family. As a 'customer-owner', she proudly serves First Nations people through her current role in the Office of the Chief Medical Officer at the First Nations Health Authority. Janene applies her Masters in Public Health to her work in health system partnerships facilitating better health outcomes for First Nations people, grounded in governance and championing the BC First Nations Perspective of Health & Wellness and Cultural Safety & Humility. A co-author and facilitator of the 'Remembering Keegan: A BC First Nations Case Study Reflection', she is an advocate to address with urgency the issues raised from the In Plain Sight Report; addressing Indigenous-specific racism in healthcare. Janene was appointed to the board of the BC College of Nursing Professionals and also serves on the Inquiry Committee of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC. An adjunct professor with the School of Population & Public Health at the UBC Faculty of Medicine, Janene brings her lived experiences, the teachings she's learned, and the education she's earned to her work and strives to do life with an open heart and open mind.
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- Rose Melnyk (registrant board member)
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Rose Melnyk (B.Sc.N, MN) identifies as Secwépemc and mixed white settler ancestry, and currently resides in the unceded, ancestral, traditional, and illegally occupied lands of the T’Kemlups te Secwépemc. She currently serves as the inaugural Director, Indigenous Health & Cultural Safety at Provincial Health Services Authority, BCMHSUS (effective January 16, 2022) and brings more than 14 years of nursing experience that continues to be informed through Secwépemc ways of knowing and being and working alongside First Nations, Métis Nation BC, Urban Indigenous organizations, and Indigenous leaders. She is driven by foundational knowledge of what upholds inequities and systemic racism for Indigenous people and remains committed to actively practising speak-up culture.
- Tanya Momtazian, Board Chair (registrant board member)
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Tanya Momtazian, RM, BSc., BMW, MPH is co-founder of a midwife/family physician collaborative practice called Apple Tree Maternity in Nelson, BC. She is the Midwifery Department Head and Co-Chair of the Facilities Engagement Initiative Steering Committee at Kootenay Lake Hospital. Tanya is an Adjunct Professor of the Midwifery Program at the University of British Columbia and served as president of the board for the College of Midwives and a member of the Transition Steering Committee throughout the process of amalgamation to the new BC College of Nurses and Midwives. She is looking forward to the new challenges and opportunities of regulating Registered Midwives within a larger, more resourced college.
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- Jenny Damstrom (registrant board member)
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Jenny Damstrom is a member of the Oneida Nation of the Thames (Turtle Clan, mother). She is a practising LPN who currently resides on the unceded territory of the Ktunaxa Nation. Jenny has worked as an LPN since 2011. Her experience includes: med/surge, mental health and substance use, hemodialysis, education and community health nursing. She is passionate about food security/sovereignty, menstrual equity, harms reduction and social advocacy. Jenny is an advocate for First Nations communities and strives to ensure that standardized health care is offered to all First Nations communities. Jenny comprehends the significance of nursing through a trauma informed lens.
- Tiffany Sayers (registrant board member)
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Tiffany Sayers (RPN), identifies as Métis, and is a member of the Métis Nation of BC. She currently resides in the unceded, ancestral and traditional lands of the Stó:lō people, the Semá:th First Nation and Mathxwí First Nation. She is currently employed with Coast Mental Health as a Senior Program Manager. In her role, she oversees the provincially-funded Forensic Transitional Housing Program on the səmiq̓ʷəʔelə lands (home of the kʷikʷəƛ̓əm First Nation). She also works alongside BC Children’s and Women’s Hospital funding partners and FNHA to develop an integrated substance treatment program, utilizing a two-eyed seeing approach, for youth and young adults identifying as female. In 2023, Tiffany graduated from UBC Indigenous Health Administration and Leadership program and was able to learn from change makers across the province working within Indigenous health care settings. She is excited for the opportunity to be a part of the governance that strives for reconciliation, equality, well-being and safety of the public.
- Ashley Gueret (registrant board member)
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Ashley Gueret, MScN, NP(F) is a primary care nurse practitioner, the clinical lead for nurse practitioners and the clinical implementation lead for Nurse OUD Prescribing for Northern Health. She is clinical faculty for UBC Faculty of Medicine Northern Medical Program as well as part-time instructor for UNBC undergraduate program. She acts as a preceptor both for the NP program and for RN/RPN OAT prescribers and a mentor to many new NPs within the North. She is committed to inclusive, equitable, and accessible healthcare for all patients and to upholding these values while serving on the BCCNM board.
- Sangeeta Subramanian (public board member)
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Appointed by the BC Minister of Health to BCCNP in July 2018, Sangeeta holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Madras, India, and an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management. Additionally, she has a Certificate in Non-Profit Management and Leadership from the Schulich School of Business, York University and a Governance Certificate from the Rotman School of Business. Sangeeta brings to her role 20 years of professional experience in the not-for-profit sector in Canada as well as Asia. This encompasses facilitation, anti-racism training and policy development, partnership development, inclusive governance, mentoring, leadership development and civic engagement. She is currently Lead Consultant at The Inclusion Project, which is committed to driving racial equity and inclusion in institutions, organizations, and communities. Sangeeta has served on the board of Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants (OCASI), Children’s Aid Society of Toronto, and Groundswell Alternative Business School.
- Richard Turner, Board Vice Chair (public board member)
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Rick Turner, BEd (secondary) is a retired high school English teacher. His 30-year teaching experiences were in Haida Gwaii, Barriere, and Kamloops, B.C. He served on many committees with his local teacher associations and as President and Bargaining Chair and as a member of the BCTF Executive Committee for 5 years. He has been active on the BC Health Coalition Steering Committee and has served as Co-Chair representing community organizations for many years. Rick has also been on the Board of the Kamloops Aboriginal Friendship Society for many years, including as Board President.
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