Board of Directors

Southard Quint got involved with the IDHHC Board of Directors because of his diminished hearing loss. He had a rewarding career as a teacher in the Saanich School District where he was involved in volunteer opportunities and leadership roles. Through his work on the Board he has gained valuable insights into the daily operations of IDHHC and the services it provides to the community. Southard enjoys committee work, setting goals and achieving objectives. In his spare time Southard enjoys gardening, golfing, boating and spending time with family and friends.

Linda Bradford recently retired from her professional role as Executive Director of Procurement and Contract Management with the provincial Ministry of Children and Family Development. In her work as a change leader within the social services sector over the past 15 years she has been responsible for complex large-scale business transformation projects. She led and coached multi-disciplinary teams and is a respected mentor. She holds a Master’s degree in Economics, Certificate in Adult and Continuing Education, Project Management Institute’s Project Management Professional Certification and Agile Specialization Certification. She is a life-long learner and continues to take courses to help keep her apprised of changes and innovations. She enjoys Vancouver Island living, boating with her husband, watching her young adult daughter launch and caring for her 90-year old father.

Anne Minnings is the board treasurer and chair of the finance committee. She got involved with IDHHC after being referred to the Chair by a former work colleague. Anne is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CMA) with extensive experience in all aspects of financial management largely through her 25 plus years with the Provincial Government. Her role in executive positions in several different ministries has also provided her with experience in strategic planning, financial governance and oversight. Anne is passionate about fairness and inclusivity and is keen to use her skills and knowledge where she can make a positive difference. Since her retirement, when not volunteering Anne is learning a new musical instrument (the harp), indulging in her hobby of cooking and baking for her family, and offsetting that with regular exercise, often in the company of cherished friends.

Mike Hayes has been an IDHHC Board member for over 8 years and is currently Past President. He originally contacted the agency due to his own hearing loss and was inquiring about tech aid support for help with the telephone. After reconnecting with a former colleague who was a Board member at the time he was encouraged to consider running for a Board position. As a retired teacher, school and union administrator he brings communication, problem solving and people skills to help sustain and grow this small but vital agency. There have been many lessons over the 8 years of involvement with the Board and with strong leadership and the fabulous staff, the agency has grown and prospered. His time away from the Board table is filled with family, especially his delightful grandchildren.

Chris Beresford has worked with The Boys and Girls Clubs in Victoria and Nanaimo and with MOSAIC, an immigration settlement organization in Vancouver. Since 1982 he has worked with the Ministry of Attorney General in a variety of roles. He has been a family court counsellor and probation officer, and was the first ‘youth gang’ specialist in Vancouver in the late 1980s. He was an instructor at the Justice Institute and then became a policy analyst with the Corrections Branch in Victoria. He then worked as the communications director for the Corrections Branch and then for the Ministry of Attorney General’s office as well as a short term in the Premier’s office in 2000-2001. In 2001 he became the Director of Maintenance Enforcement and has been responsible for a number of family justice programs. Chris has been a board member of the National Child Support Enforcement Association and the chair of Canada’s support enforcement directors. Outside of work, Chris has been a long term member of the John Howard Society of Victoria (and is the current Chair of the Board) and has been the treasurer of the Justice Education Society. He has a great love of older cars and feels fortunate to own a few which provides him with great pleasure. Chris lives in Victoria with his wife and has two adult children.

Simone is someone who’s core values are “making a difference” and “community,” and is honoured to be a Director with IDHHC. She is the parent of a son who has recently lost his hearing due to his medical illness. Through her journey of supporting someone as they lose their hearing and helping them and the family adapt, she wants to help others in similar situations. Simone is a passionate, community-minded, and inclusive leader, with strong skills in human resources and team development. Her non-profit experience includes time with Make-A-Wish Foundation, United Way of Greater Victoria, and volunteer work with Tumour Foundation of BC. Simone believes the way to grow any non-profit is through the engagement of the community, something she has repeatedly demonstrated when recruiting and empowering volunteers and supporters to put the best of themselves into worthy causes. She lives in Cowichan Bay with her husband Greg, son Ryan, three rambunctious dogs, and enjoys exploring all Vancouver Island has to offer.

Michael Colussi is hard of hearing himself and has multiple family members who live with, or have lived with a variety of disabilities including being deaf and others being blind. He also has a strong interest with Indigenous communities and has a personal goal of building bridges with Indigenous Deaf people. Throughout his working career he has worked in partnership with individuals and organizations supporting people who are deaf or hard of hearing, blind or low vision, mobility impaired and those with mental health challenges. Michael has sat as an active committee member with the BC Coalition of People with Disabilities, BC Human Rights Coalition, National Employment Committee for the Blind and Visually Impaired and the Beckton Dickinson International Safety Advisory Group. His work has been with project and program planning specifically designed to improve individual, group and corporate health and wellbeing through a risk management lens to ensure sensitivity to the individual and culture always remains at the forefront. He has had a life-long connection within multicultural environments.

Mark Dunn is a Director at Large. Mark’s parents were instrumental along with a group of other parents with Deaf children in the founding of what became the Island Deaf + Hard of Hearing Centre. Mark served two terms as a Board of Director in the mid 1990’s before returning again now serving his 2nd term. Part of Mark’s role on the Board is to act as a liaison between the Deaf community and the Board, exchanging relevant information and news about upcoming events. Mark has been involved with the South Vancouver Island Association of the Deaf (SVIAD) for many years and currently holds the position of President with that Deaf organization. He is also the Chairperson for the 2021 World Deaf Ice Hockey Championships which will be taking place in Vancouver, BC. Deaf hockey teams from around the world will be competing against each other for the championship title. Mark is a proud Board member with IDHHC and has been impressed with the Sound of Change program providing free refurbished hearing aids to those in need. When Mark is taking a break from his Board duties with 3 organizations he can be found out on the water as he is an avid fisherman.

Suzanne Lang is a Director at large. In 1986 she developed tinnitus which precipitated a steady decline in her hearing and she was fitted with bilateral hearing aids. It was her audiologist that encouraged her to reach out to IDHHC after seeing how passionate she was about accessibility awareness. Since becoming a Board member she has taken Speech Reading classes through IDHHC and has been learning ASL.  After a 23 year career in various offices with the Provincial Government, she took early retirement to pursue volunteer work as a pre-board security screener at Victoria International Airport, at Greater Victoria Victim Services, Victoria Hospice (RJH) and Palliative Care (SPH) and Beacon Community Services in Sidney. She is delighted and eager to be working with the Board and staff in generating widespread recognition of the everyday life challenges for deaf and hard of hearing individuals in our community.  Suzanne is an animal lover, and enjoys nature walks and travelling.

As an advocate for community involvement, Don has enjoyed participating and leading organizations in achieving their goals. While working with profit and not for profit organizations for over 45 years, he has successfully created, implemented, and managed small and large teams with a focus on effectiveness, profitability -both financial and non-monetary goals, membership numbers, and community impact. As a leader of volunteer groups, he has successfully managed challenging goals and budgets, and helped to raise close to 2 million dollars for not for profit associations.

Gajanan Sahasrabudhe brings with him expertise in healthcare, project management and information technology; experience in managing and leading teams in the public sector and a passion for serving people and communities through volunteering. As a recipient of IDHHC’s Hearing Health Services, he has wanted to contribute to the mission and mandate of IDHHC. Gajanan will like to contribute to IDHHC’s growth by building closer ties with healthcare service providers and evolving technologies available to the deaf and hard of hearing clients and their families. Other than balancing work and family life with 3-generations-under-one-roof, Gajanan loves to spend time outdoors and enjoy wilderness.