Executive Committee

IPAC Vancouver Executive Committee

IPAC Vancouver is run by volunteer board members with the commitment and willingness to advance our mission. The programming and events offered by our regional group would not be possible without their time and dedication.

Laura Aucoin, Chair

Laura Aucoin's current role is to support Community Initiatives for Indigenous Services Canada. Throughout her career she has remained dedicated to supporting community-led development. In addition to her experience in British Columbia and Alberta, she worked in Kingston, Jamaica, as an Advisor through Cuso International to a non-governmental organization. Laura joined IPAC to extend this experience, and further collaborate with diverse communities to develop innovative ideas and approaches to the advancing the Public Service. She has supported IPAC Vancouver as a Co-lead for Programming and will diversify her skills as the Communications & Marketing Lead.

Jonathan Menold, Past Chair

Jonathan Menold serves as the Chair/President of the Institute of Public Administration of Canada (IPAC)- Vancouver. Jonathan has been involved with IPAC since 2016. In his work with IPAC Jonathan has taken on various roles on the executive committee including Membership and Institutional Partnerships Lead and New Professionals Co-Lead. Jonathan has worked as a public servant for the Province of British Columbia in a number of roles spanning several departments in two Ministries.

Lisa Nye, National/Regional Representative for Western Canada Lead and Indigenous Engagement Lead

Lisa has 28 years of experience in a variety of areas within the BC Public Service including: Indigenous Community Development, Indigenous Relations, Treaty Negotiations, economic development, post-secondary education, clean energy, program evaluation, post-secondary education/training and employment. She has received both the Lieutenant Governor’s Medal for Excellence in the Public Service and the Métis Order of the Sash. Lisa established her own consulting business in 2010 and works on a collaborative basis with Indigenous Nations and communities, governments, non-profit organizations and the private sector. Lisa was involved with the Institute of Public Administration in Victoria prior to joining IPAC Vancouver. Lisa has taken on various roles and is currently the National representative.

Melanie McNeill, Secretary and Logistics Lead

Melanie McNeill is a policy analyst at Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council. NSERC is one of Canada's three granting agencies, responsible for funding research in sciences and engineering. Melanie has been working with the federal government since 2005, in Ottawa, Mississauga and Vancouver, and has extensive experience in policy, program delivery, grant administration and procurement. She is new to the policy side of things, and has joined IPAC to be part of a strong network of local professionals. Melanie has an BA in Economics from Carleton University in Ottawa, and is currently completing a Master's degree in Public Policy at Simon Fraser University.

Penny Bruin, Treasurer

Penny has extensive local government finance experience both in Canada and in South Africa. Her areas of expertise include strategic planning, leadership, organizational development, succession planning, financial management and interest based problem solving. She holds a Master’s in Business Administration and has a Chartered Professional Accountant designation. Penny is a long term member of the Government Finance Officers Association of US and Canada and provides conference program planning services to the Canadian Association of Government Finance Officers, formerly GFOA of Western Canada. She is also a member of the Institute of Public Administration of Canada and volunteers with the IPAC Vancouver Regional Group. In addition, Penny is a Volunteer Advisor with the Canadian Executive Services Organization (CESO) and volunteers in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. In her spare time, she loves to hike, go four-wheeling and travel with her family.

Anjum Mutakabbir, Communications & Marketing Co-Lead

Anjum Mutakabbir is an Economist and Policy Analyst with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), where he works in Reconciliation and Partnerships Division. Prior to working at DFO, Anjum spent time in Ottawa with Statistics Canada, where he conducted economic analysis around agriculture land valuation and producer price indices. Anjum completed a Honours Bachelor of Arts in Economics from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario in 2014. In 2016, he received his Master’s in Public Policy from Simon Fraser University’s School of Public Policy, where he conducted research on the role of foreign capital in Vancouver’s housing market.

Lizzie Cheng, Communications & Marketing Co-Lead

Lizzie has joined us on the West Coast after living in Fredericton, New Brunswick for more than 13 years. Lizzie has been an active IPAC volunteer after joining the IPAC Fredericton Regional Board in 2011 where she held the New Professional Representative role and later a Learning Events Chair position. Lizzie also volunteered as a Conference Chair at Government of New Brunswick New Wave (New Professional) Executive Committee from 2011 – 2013. She worked as a Team Lead for Settlement and Multiculturalism in the Government of New Brunswick. Lizzie received a BA in Economics from St. Thomas University and MBA in University of New Brunswick. Lizzie is currently a Citizen Services Officer in Service Canada.

Ashley Steuck, New Professional Co-Lead

Ashley Steuck is an analyst at Health Canada. She holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of British Columbia and started in government as a Co-op student in 2013. As a new professional herself, Ashley was inspired to take on the Incite Co-Lead role in order to connect a wide range of new professionals and to provide opportunities for career development. During her spare time, Ashley enjoys: running with her 100 pound Bernese Mountain Dog, Bear; getting lost in a good book; listening to country music; and skiing on the local hills.

Sam Joshva, New Professional C0-Lead

Sam Joshva is a Freelance Data Scientist. He obtained his PhD degree in Neuroscience. Besides volunteering with IPAC, Sam volunteers to teach English to newcomers, help others develop public speaking skills, and supported various tech groups to organize hackathons. In his spare time, he likes hiking, running and photography.

Blair Polychronopoulos, Membership & Partnerships Co-Lead

Blair Polychronopolous has been involved with IPAC since 2008, holding various Committee roles throughout the years. Blair has worked within the Federal Public Service for over a decade. Currently holding the position of Western Region Senior Manager of Real Property and Asset Management for Employment and Social Development Canada, she has also occupied positions with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police as Asset Manager, and previously, with Public Services and Procurement Canada as a Real Estate Advisor. During this time, Blair worked on a wide range of Real Estate projects with a range of federal clients, as well as assignments with P3 National Centre of Expertise and Asset and Facilities Management. Blair holds a Bachelor of Arts from Simon Fraser University and will earn a Diploma of Urban Land Economics at University of British Columbia in April 2018.

Esther Lee, Programming Co-Lead and Membership & Partnerships Co-Lead

Esther is an experienced government professional having worked in a variety of program areas and ministries within the BC Government since 2010. She has built expertise in advising policy makers and executives with the strategic use of qualitative and quantitative data using a range of methods to produce results that drive organizational efficiency and performance. A key component of her current role involves looking at how labour market participation could be increased by underutilized populations and how this can inform programs or policy. Serves as an executive committee member at IPAC and volunteers as a member of the Intercultural Association of Greater Victoria. She has studied at University of British Columbia (UBC) and the University of Victoria (UVIC), where she received an MA in Sociology.

Sherry Wu, Programming Co-Lead

Sherry Wu is a dedicated mid-level service professional with experience in private, non-profit and public service sectors. Her passion is to foster a positive community and workplace environment, contribute to society wellbeing, and support open and efficient government operations. In her spare time, she enjoys swimming, reading and learning new things that interests her. She currently resides in Vancouver.

Julia Diamond, IPAC Victoria Liaison and Director At-Large

Julia Diamond has been involved with IPAC since she graduated with her Masters in Public Administration in 2014. Julia joins IPAC Vancouver from Victoria, where she spent the last 12 years, and held several roles on the Victoria Chapter’s executive committee, including New Professionals Lead, Events Lead and Secretary. Julia started her career in the BC Public Service over seven years ago as a co-op student and now works as a Director with the BC Ministry of Agriculture. She has expertise and professional interests in strategic planning, program development, and leadership development and recently completed a Certificate in Applied Leadership from the Justice Institute of BC. Outside of work and IPAC, you can find Julia at a spin class or at the beach on the North Shore with her toddler daughter, Holdyn, and rambunctious dog, Roland.