Vice President of the Board of Directors
Ian has been on the Board of the Beaufort Association since 2020, serving as Vice President since July 2021. For Ian, serving on the Board of Beaufort Association for Inclusion in Action is a natural continuation of what has been a lifetime’s work. Ian came to the Valley in 1982 to head up the integration and mainstreaming of the District Special Needs program that was then located at Ecole Puntledge Park Elementary.
Ian holds a Masters’ Degree in Educational Administration, a Bachelor of Education in Administration and Special Education, and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in History and Political Science; and Professional Certificates in Special Education from the Downs Experimental Education Unit of the University of Washington and in Augmentative Communications from the Blissymbolics Communications Institute in Toronto.
With over 45+ years of experience in public and private school education, a Contributing Professional to the BC Special Education CORE Curriculum, and his work developing curriculum for the province of BC in the areas of Social Justice – “Making a Case Against Racism”, Fine Arts – Drama, Social Studies K -7, Salmonid materials in Science, and work on local curriculum packages such the “Legend of Queneesh”, and life skills curriculum development; Ian also has more than ten years experience in the administration of non-profit organizations, as the Assistant Director of CRAMH (the Capital Region Association for the Mentally Handicapped) and then as the Executive Director of the Greater Victoria Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication. Ian also volunteers with community organizations such as the SID Williams Theatre, and has small business experience as partner and licenced private investigator, in a privately owned security service in Saskatchewan.
Ian is now a semi-retired former Public School teacher with over 45 of experience in public education, including in Special Education, and as a former School Board Trustee including two terms as Vice Chair and one term as Chair. Ian continues to work to support the training and development of new teachers entering the profession through his work with V.I.U. as supervisor and mentor for pre-service teachers during their practicums in Comox Valley schools K to 12. Today, Ian continues to demonstrate a strong commitment to providing supports, structure and community to facilitating the inclusion of people with diverse abilities and to promoting their interests and personal development.