Board of Directors
2025
We are always on the lookout for folks interested in local history who would like to be part of bringing the society back to a place of sustainability. We are a working board focused on making sure our work is both useful and enjoyable. For those interested in putting approximately 5-10 hours a month into the society, a board role might be for you. Feel free to reach out to us at admin@wvhs.ca if you want to meet for coffee to learn more.
Stephen Price
President
Stephen lives in the Cedardale neighbourhood and is a West Van public school grade 4/5 Montessori teacher in Eagle Harbour. He has served on the board off and on since 2020 and brings governance experience as the past Vice President of the West Vancouver Teachers’
Association, President of the Ambleside Yachting Cooperative, and as a board member of a variety of nonprofit and community groups. He currently sits on the West Vancouver Arts and Culture Advisory Committee and the Community Grants Adjudication Panel. Stephen brings a passion for storytelling and community building to his work with the WVHS.
Victor Holysh
Treasurer
Recently retired from a long career as a financial executive and CPA, Victor has been focusing
on community engagement and community development as the chair of the West Vancouver Municipal Community Grants Committee. He brings a passion for golf, history and community building to our Society and has graciously agreed to be typecast by offering his extensive financial management expertise to our organization as the treasurer.
Sheelah Donahue
Publications Director
Sheelah resides in the Whytecliff neighbourhood and is a former West Vancouver School Trustee with a passion for history and particularly Indigenous history. She worked in the insurance industry for many years and has been involved in youth sports on the North Shore as the former president of the Cypress Park Little League, West Vancouver Minor Hockey board member and youth hockey coach. Over the past two years, Sheelah helped to modernize the administrative tools of the society and played a key role in setting us on a path to sustainability.
Catherine Schachtel
Secretary
Catherine brings over 25 years of experience working with government and industry
associations in both the high tech and environmental engineering sectors. Acting as the founding Executive Director of the CSAP Society—Society of Contaminated Sites Approved Professionals of British Columbia, she transformed the society into a high-performing
organization that enabled its members to advance their corporate goals and objectives. As the current President of the West Vancouver Arts Council, she provides a key set of networks to our work as a historical society. She is known for her creative flair and collaborative approach in tackling any challenges that come her way.
John Calimente
Director-at-Large & Communications
New to the board this year, John is a resident of the Ambleside neighbourhood. He is a
transportation planner with the City of Vancouver and formerly with the District of West
Vancouver. John brings a passion for community and a keen eye for local history. He will be co-leading our website renewal project in 2025.
Barbara Hunter
Director-at-Large
First appointed in 2011, Barb is the ‘Dean of the House’ for the WVHS Board of Directors. A
retired West Vancouver public school teacher, Barb brings a wealth of knowledge in
communication, governance, event planning, and local history to the society. When she isn’t
being a grandmother extraordinaire, she is supporting the society’s work by leading planning for events like our fall BBQ.
John O’Flynn
Director-at-Large and Partnerships
New to the board this year, John grew up in Vancouver as the son of Irish immigrants and has been a North Shore resident since 2002. Presently living at the Spuraway Gardens in the
Cedardale community, he teaches at St Thomas Aquinas Secondary. John is a board director
with BC Soccer and a West Vancouver pickleball advisory roundtable member. Author of The
History of the Gaelic Athletic Association in Canada and a former Commissioner for the North Vancouver Museum & Archives, he is pleased to be serving with notable and like-minded volunteers on the WVHS. John is excited to work on developing new events and helping to connect the society to other organizations both locally and provincially.
Anna Yamaoka-Enkerlin
Director-at-Large and Communications
Anna grew up in Eagle Harbour before heading to Oxford University to study law in 2015 and
completing her Master’s in Law at NYU. After a stint in a New York law firm with a focus on
commercial law and arbitrations, she co-founded an up-and-coming robotics company based in West Vancouver. With a passion for history, governance, and technology, Anna is helping toco-lead our website renewal project.
Eldon Phukuile
Director-at-Large and Partnerships
Eldon grew up outside of Johannesburg, South Africa and came to Canada in 2022, settling on
the North Shore. He is a business consultant and analyst, dad, and community builder. When he isn’t working on WVHS events, you can find him helping to support the South African
community at events like the Boerwors festival that happens each year at Dundarave Park, or at
the South African tent at West Vancouver’s Culture Festival. Eldon is one of our speakers for the 2025 Local Voices series - you can watch his presentation here.
Rod Day
Historian
Rod Day's distinguished career in public service spans many years. It began in the 1970s with
his election as president of the Citizens' Planning Forum. First elected to Council in 1986, Rod served four terms until 1996. He ran again in 2003, serving two additional terms until 2008. During the years he was not on Council, Rod served on advisory bodies and working groups. He and his family have lived in West Vancouver in the same house on Sinclair Street for 55 years. Rod has served for many years on the WVHS Board of Directors, and as President of the Society from 2016-2021. He is the author of Inside West Vancouver: People, Politics, and
Planning since 1912.