BC Business
Soirée raises $450,000 toward mentorship programs for Lower Mainland girls
Almost 500 business leaders and philanthropists attended the Big Sisters of BC Lower Mainland Luminary Award Soirée on October 28 at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver. Sponsored by the Peter & Joanne Brown Foundation and RBC, the event raised $450,000 toward Big Sisters programs for Lower Mainland girls.
The evening began with a champagne reception and silent auction followed by an opera recital by Chandra-Lee Curry. Following dinner was the Luminary Award presentation and Q&A with award-winner John Montalbano, RBC Wealth Management vice-chair, whose civic involvement and reputation as a mentor has spanned his career. Most notably, he established the Montalbano Professorship in Leadership Studies: Gender and Diversity at the Sauder School of Business.
Big Sisters is committed to enhancing the confidence, self-esteem and well-being of girls through supportive relationships with female mentors.
Peter Brown, Canaccord Genuity founder and his wife Joanne, both co-founders of the Peter & Joanne Brown Foundation
Riyaz Devji; RD Management Consulting principal; his wife Sukaina Devji; Roxanna Colquhoun, HNW Services Inc. co-founder; and Neil Colquhoun, Janspec Holdings Ltd. president
Lisa Westermark, BC Epilepsy Society executive director; and Dean Elbe, BC Children’s Hospital clinical pharmacy specialist
Lisa Ethans, Deloitte Canada partner; and Paul Del Rossi, Stern Albert Shapray & Associates criminal defense lawyer
Steve Routhier, retired; and Alison Parry, RBC Phillips, Hager & North Investment Counsel VP
Susanna Darnel, Provincial Health Services Authority technical specialist; Alannah Darnel, Hyperwallet Systems technical implementations; and Beth Hardy, marketing
Big Sisters of BC Lower Mainland Luminary Soiree Committee members: Kyla Smith, Luminary event lead; Katie White, co-chair; Danielle Veldhuis, co-chair; and Rhogene Dadashzadeh, Luminary event lead
Josephine Nadel, Owen Bird lawyer; Marlene Cohen, Cohen family matriarch; and Brenda Bailey Gershkovitch, Big Sisters of BC Lower Mainland executive director
Dean Straith, Dean Straith Landscape Design owner; Richelle Straith, Victoria Veterinary Group practice manager and Big Sister; her little sister Susan Pratt; and her husband Randy Pratt, Adera Capital Corp. president
Suzanne Anton, Attorney General and Minister of Justice of BC and her husband Olin Anton, Chartered Professional Accountants board chair
Opera singer Chandra-Lee Curry performs at the opening reception
Christina Anthony, Odlum Brown VP; Gaby Malette, Odlum Brown investment assistant; and Carol Lee, entrepreneur
Susan Tomaine, Big Sisters BC Lower Mainland board chair; John Montalbano, RBC Wealth Management vice-chair and Big Sisters BC Lower Mainland Luminary Award winner; and Brenda Bailey Gershkovitch, Big Sisters of BC Lower Mainland executive director