Wanda Costuros (Board Chair)
Nominated by the Province of British Columbia
Wanda Costuros is the Board Chair of the LTSA. She also serves as a Director of BC Hydro, Powerex Corp., and YWCA. In addition, Wanda serves as Chair of the Audit Committee of BC Hydro.
Wanda has held a series of Senior Financial positions, primarily in technology and forest industry sectors. She was formerly Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Xantrex Technology Inc, Chief Financial Officer of Aber Resources Ltd., Vice President of Finance for Fletcher Challenge Canada Ltd. and Chief Financial Officer of TimberWest Forest Ltd.
Wanda is a Certified Management Accountant and holds a Master of Business Administration from Simon Fraser University.
Richard J. Swift, QC (Board Vice Chair)
Nominated by the Law Society of British Columbia
A native of Burnaby, B. C., Richard J. Swift obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree from Simon Fraser University, and in 1975, he received his LL.B degree from the University of British Columbia. He articled in Vancouver and practiced there briefly before moving to Courtenay in 1977. He is now the senior partner in a nine-lawyer practice.
Richard's legal practice includes acting for land developers, homebuyers, and mortgage lenders. He has been active in professional associations, as a member of numerous committees and the executive of the BC Branch of the Canadian Bar Association. He has been a member of the Provincial Council of the BC Branch of the Canadian Bar Association, president of the local bar association, a lecturer and course designer for the Continuing Legal Education Society (in the area of real property law), and a member of several Law Society and Canadian Bar Association committees.
Richard is a past President of the Courtenay Rotary Club and the Comox Valley Community Foundation. He currently serves as the Vice Chair of the LTSA Board of Directors, as Chair of the LTSA Governance Committee and as Chair of the Patient Care Quality Review Board for the Vancouver Island Health Authority. He previously served as Chair of the LTSA Human Resources Committee from 2005 through to 2008 as well as serving as a member of the Board of Governors of the BC Institute of Technology from 2002 to 2008, serving as Chair for the last two years.
Richard was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1989.
Brent Atkinson
Nominated by the Society of Notaries Public of British Columbia
Brent Atkinson has been a Notary Public since 1974. He served as Director of the Society of Notaries Public of BC for 24 years (1984-2006 and 2007-2009) and was President of the Society of Notaries Public from 1990-1992. During that time, he participated on various committees, including Audit, Finance, Discipline; Information and Privacy; and Insurance (chaired). Among his many accomplishments, he led the establishment of the society's self-insurance facility and has negotiated to allow Notaries Public to draft and register mortgages on behalf of financial institutions. Brent has also served on the Board of Governors of the Notary Foundation for 10 years.
Brent graduated from the University of British Columbia with a Bachelor's degree in Commerce in 1966. He obtained his Fellowship in the Insurance Institute of Canada in 1971 and founded Atkinson & Terry Insurance Brokers that same year. Currently Atkinson & Terry Insurance Brokers has 19 branches in the Fraser Valley with approximately 150 employees. Brent was a Director of the Insurance Brokers Association of BC for eight years and President in 1980 as well as being Vice-President of the Canadian Federation of Insurance Brokers of Canada. As a representative of the Insurance Brokers Association of BC, Brent helped negotiate the first two five-year Accords between the Brokers in BC and ICBC, and acted as a consultant on the last negotiation rounds.
Brent is an active member of the community and has also served in the following capacities over the years:
- New Westminster School District (School Trustee 30 years and Chair 3 years);
- The Royal Columbian Hospital Foundation (Treasurer 4 years); and
- President of the Hyack Swim Club.
A Vancouver native, he has resided in New Westminster for over 50 years with his family which includes three children and six grandchildren.
Peter Baran
Nominated by the British Columbia Association of Professional Registry Agents
Peter Baran is an experienced operational executive, business developer and information systems expert. Currently the Principal Consultant of Cambridge Street Partners, he develops and implements strategies that combine product and service innovations, effective business processes, and process automation technologies.
Peter was previously Chief Operating Officer for JER Envirotech and has worked for global companies such as IBM, Fujitsu Consulting and CGI Information Systems where he was Regional Vice President. In addition to assisting in the startup and growth of several smaller companies, he has acted as Project Director of the Government of Alberta's electricity deregulation program and as CEO for Juricert services, which manages electronic signatures for lawyers in BC.
Over Peter's career he has worked with bio-composite companies, global and regional information technology companies, the Alberta, British Columbia and Italian governments, electric utilities, professional regulatory agencies, health insurance providers, financial services firms, and manufactures.
Peter holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree (Honours) from the University of BC, past member of the Digital MBA Advisory Board, Royal Roads University and former Vice-President, 1989 Canada Summer Games.
Peter Cook
Nominated by the Province of British Columbia
Peter Cook is a seasoned financial services executive and professional economist who has spent his more than 37 year career in businesses and government. For the last decade, he has managed both a management consulting firm and a company that specializes in treasury services for financial institutions. Prior to that, he was the President and Chief Executive Officer of Citizens Trust Company and Chief Financial Officer of VanCity Savings.
His background includes experience in translating policies and plans into action and he is well versed in the process of shaping new directions, challenging assumptions, exploring strategic alternatives, testing options and in finding effective solutions to business problems. He is currently the Board Chair of the BC Safety Authority where he has served as a board member since 2004. He has served as both the Vice Chair of the LTSA Board of Directors and as Chair of the LTSA Governance Committee from 2005 through to 2008. Peter has also served as a board member of a BC Crown Corporation and as director of various companies, community associations, foundations and professional organizations.
Peter is a graduate of the University of Victoria and the University of Western Ontario and attended the Stanford University Graduate School of Business Executive program.
Geoff Plant, QC
Nominated by the Law Society of British Columbia
Geoff Plant, a partner in the national law firm Heenan Blaikie LLP, has a broad legal practice including aboriginal, administrative, and constitutional law, as well as policy consulting, mediation and arbitration experience. From 2001 to 2005, Geoff was the Attorney General of BC and Minister responsible for Treaty Negotiations. As Attorney General, Geoff chaired the Legislative Review Committee and was the Minister responsible for the creation and oversight of the Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform.
Prior to his election to the Legislature, Geoff practiced as a litigation lawyer with a particular emphasis on aboriginal and public law.
Since 2005, Geoff has been appointed as a senior advisor to the BC government in land and resource negotiations with the Council of Haida Nation, and has provided strategic advice to a BC Crown corporation in relation to its power acquisition processes. He has also advised private sector businesses on establishing effective relations with First Nations.
In 2006, Geoff was appointed as Special Advisor to the Premier and Minister of Advanced Education to undertake the first comprehensive review of post-secondary education in BC in over 40 years. In May 2007, he was appointed Vancouver's Civil City Commissioner.
Geoff obtained his undergraduate education at Harvard University and has law degrees from Dalhousie University, the University of Southampton, and Cambridge University.
Brian Ross
Nominated by the Union of British Columbia Municipalities
Brian Ross completed his law degree at the University of Alberta in 1971 and is the senior partner of Fulton & Company in Kamloops. He specializes in the corporate, commercial and municipal fields.
In his practice, he helps businesses and municipalities with their business decisions and long-range planning including: acquisitions, contract negotiations and funding of these enterprises. As past President of a Mortgage Investment Corporation and a former Trustee of a Pension Plan, he has gained valuable experience to assist clients with their investment goals.
Brian has participated extensively in many community undertakings including chairman of the Kamloops Centennial Society, director of Canadian Men's Curling Championship, Vice President of World Curling Championship and Vice President of Kamloops Foundation. Currently he serves as the Director of Sponsorship for the Kamloops 2011 Western Canada Summer games and as a member of Thompson Rivers University Law School Advisory Committee.
His management skills have been tested and enhanced by five wonderful children.
Michael Waberski
Nominated by the Association of British Columbia Land Surveyors
Michael Waberski is a British Columbia Land Surveyor with 30 years experience as a professional land surveyor, spending most of his career in Fort St John B.C.
Michael was involved in the Oil and Gas Industry in north eastern British Columbia for 25 years. In 1982, he founded Waberski Darrow Survey Group Ltd and in 2000 became the president of EBA Waberski Darrow, a new joint venture company formed with EBA Engineering Consultants Ltd. offering environmental and land management services for the Oil and Gas sector. Mike retired from active practice in 2004 and now lives in Coldstream B.C.
Michael has successfully participated in a broad spectrum of Oil and Gas Industry projects and numerous cadastral surveying projects. He has also been involved in various regulatory review initiatives and was active in the Oil and Gas Commission Practice Advisory Group. In addition to serving as the Chair of the Oil and Gas Commission Advisory Committee for the last 4 years, he was appointed by Order-in-Council to the Council of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of BC in September 2008.
Michael currently serves as the Chair of the LTSA Human Resources Committee. He previously served as the Chair of the LTSA Audit and Finance Committee from 2005 through 2008.
Robert Wallace
Nominated by the British Columbia Real Estate Association
Robert Wallace is Chief Executive Officer of the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver, Canada's second largest real estate board. The Board represents more than 9,600 realtors.
Robert was instrumental, along with the Executive Officers of the Fraser Valley and Chilliwack real estate boards, in establishing a joint initiative between the three Lower Mainland real estate boards which resulted in a regional Multiple Listing Service(R) technology system. It stands as a model for cooperation among real estate boards in Canada.
In 1977, prior to joining the Real Estate Board, Robert was employed by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of BC. He served as Director of Education for a number of years, and was Director of Operations from 1989 to 1995.
Originally from Saskatchewan, Robert received a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Saskatchewan and is a Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants and a Fellow with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of BC. He has been a Director and Past President of the Life Line Society, Director of the Pacific Forum for Ethics in Business, and a Research Associate for the Centre for Applied Ethics at the University of British Columbia. He has also been a member of the Executive Directors and Registrars of Professional Organizations of BC, an instructor with the CA Professional Development Program, and a participant in the Mediation and Negotiation Program at the Justice Institute of BC.
Robert has served as a Director of public companies in the oil and gas industry, and in the forest products industry. He currently serves as Chair of the LTSA Audit and Finance Committee.
Daniel Watts
Nominated by the First Nations Summit
Daniel Watts is a citizen of the Hupacasath First Nation and served as Chief Councillor for that First Nation in Port Alberni for 14 years.
Recently and up until this year, Mr. Watts was the principal of his own consulting firm where he provided project management for major capital projects for First Nations on Vancouver Island.
Mr. Watts was Manager of Capital Programs for the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council from 1979 to 1993. He provided engineering services and training to 14 First Nations in the formulation of overall capital programs including housing, community and educational buildings, water supply systems, roads, bridges and all other related infrastructures.
His other previous positions included Technical Advisor and Executive Director of the West Coast District Council of Indian Chiefs, and Housing Coordinator for B.C. Remote Housing, a joint federal/provincial housing authority.
Mr. Watts was first elected as co-chair, the two member administrative executive of the First Nations Summit (FNS), in 1993. He was re-elected in 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, and again in June 2006.
As co-chair, he dealt with the administrative issues of the First Nations Summit and worked with the First Nations Summit Task Group (FNS political executive) who were authorized by the FNS to carry out specifically mandated tasks on issues related to treaty negotiations in BC. The First Nations Summit represents the majority of First Nations in BC on treaty related issues and other issues of common concern to First Nations.
Mr. Watts was appointed to the Land Title and Survey Authority Board of Directors effective August 1, 2008.
Richard (Dick) Wright
Nominated by the Association of British Columbia Land Surveyors
Richard (Dick) Wright has over 40 years of land surveying experience including more than 20 years as a notary public, excelling in numerous aspects of the land development process. He is a BC Land Surveyor and a Canada Lands Surveyor. His expertise covers all the legal and technical aspects of a development project. Dick provides strong technical knowledge, project management skills, and knowledge of the Land Title System to clients in the land development business and the real estate divisions of forest companies and pulp and paper companies.
Prior to joining The Focus Corporation Ltd., Dick was president of and was instrumental in building Wright Parry, Land Surveyors and Consulting Engineers, from a 6 person, one office survey practice in the 1970's to a 75 person survey and engineering firm in the 1990's with four offices on Vancouver Island. Currently he is involved in management related and business development activities for Focus. He also served on the Board of Directors of The Focus Corporation Ltd.
Dick, representing the Geomatics sector under the auspices of the Canadian Council of Land Surveyors, currently sits as a member of the International Trade Committee, whose mandate is to negotiate a Mutual Recognition Agreement, under the NAFTA, between Canada, the United States, and Mexico. He is also a member of:
Dick has served on the LTSA Board of Directors since 2005.
