Shawna Lawson
President
Shawna (She/Her) is a non-disabled settler, mom, and entrepreneur. She is the Co-Founder and Innovation Lead at the consulting firm Inclusive Experiences (IX) where she supports companies of all sizes to create more inclusive experiences for their customers and staff. She holds a Master of Arts degree in Kinesiology from the University of British Columbia (Dr. Brian Wilson), and a Certificate in Social Innovation from Simon Fraser University. Together with her husband Greg, she is raising two busy boys, Charlie (4) and Jack (2). Since Charlie’s diagnosis of Bilateral Optic Nerve Hypoplasia at 2.5 months old, Shawna’s family have benefitted immensely from the support and expansive opportunities offered through Blind Beginnings.
Kathie JOhnson
Vice-President / Secretary
Kathie is a complex program manager at an international IT consulting company with over 30 years of experience implementing systems across a wide range of industries. She currently uses her experience to ensure quality delivery across a portfolio of projects and promotes best practices within her company’s project management community. Kathie became involved in Blind Beginnings in 2019 when she was motivated by the mandate for Blind Beginnings - Limitless potential is all we see. She also has had a number of close relatives who were blind in the later years of their lives.
In her spare time enjoys travelling, pickleball and ballroom dancing.
Tamara Kropp
Treasurer
Tamara graduated with a B.B.A. from Simon Fraser University in 2016 and went on to complete her Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) designation in 2020. She currently works as a Manager in the cost accounting department for an international real estate company.
Richard Marion
Member-AT-Large
Richard has been blind since birth. As a blind adult, he brings a lifetime of experience of dealing with overcoming barriers presented to him because of attitudes of people towards the abilities of people who are blind. Currently, Richard is in his third year as a board member and works in the field of accessibility doing website accessibility reviews and as the Access Coordinator in Access Transit Planning at TransLink.
Amit Gatenyo
Member-At-Large
Amit immigrated to Canada from Israel 5 years ago and is a proud new Canadian citizen. He brings more than 20 years of technology executive leadership experience to Blind Beginnings. Amit currently operates as a technology entrepreneur and seed-stage angel investor, he pipelines companies, advises them, and invests in their growth. Previously, Amit founded and led Dario IT Solutions, a leading System Center & Private\Public Cloud integrator from Israel which was acquired by in 2013. Amit is married to Julia and has three children, Tom, Mika, and Neil.
Fernando MErino
Member-At-Large
Fernando is a finance professional with more than 10 years of experience in the non-profit, municipal, professional services and natural resources spaces. He is excited to apply his knowledge with Blind Beginnings. In 2016, Fernando left Peru for Vancouver, where he obtained his Masters of Business Administration at the University of British Columbia and stayed in town ever since. In his spare time, Fernando enjoys playing the Beatles on his guitar or stargazing at the Planetarium.
Louise McDonald
Member-At-Large
Louise is a Teacher for Students with Visual Impairments (TSVI) with the Rocky Mountain School District 6. She has been in the TSVI role for seven years in British Columbia and Alberta. She first became interested in this field when teaching students with visual impairments in her elementary classroom. Her first foray into the world of braille included learning her tactile ABCs and being quizzed by one of her classroom students. Now, after graduating with a Masters in Visual Impairment from the University of British Columbia, she teaches braille, assistive technology and other vision impairment skills to K-12 students. She loves helping students build independence and a repertoire of experiences to expand their future opportunities. Her other interests are pottery, kayaking and spoiling her poodle.
Jordan Podealuk
Member-At-Large
Jordan is an experienced IT Consulting Sales professional with a strong background in the non-profit and professional services industries, with a specific focus on the Public Sector. With over 8 years of experience, Jordan is excited to apply her knowledge and join the remarkable team at Blind Beginnings. Originally from Edmonton, she has been living in Vancouver since 2020. During her free time, Jordan enjoys playing tennis, cooking, spending time with friends, and embracing the outdoors.
Peter Moroney
Member-At-Large
Peter Moroney is Director of Education Policy & Planning with Camosun College, Victoria, B.C. He is a Program Director Emeritus with the University of British Columbia and holds a master’s degree in political science from Western University, and an MBA from Western Governors University. Since 1990, Peter has held a number of management and leadership roles in higher education and currently resides in Victoria, B.C., with his family. Peter was introduced to the world of blindness with the birth of his daughter, Alethea, and was a founding board member of Blind Beginnings having served as Treasurer, Secretary, and President.
Leesa Schurman
Member-At-Large
Leesa graduated with a GDBA from Simon Fraser University in 2016, majoring in Strategic Human Resource Management. She is a member with the Chartered Professionals in Human Resources of British Columbia & Yukon as of 2022 and currently works as a Human Resources Manager for a long-standing non-profit in Vancouver. Outside of work, Leesa enjoys spending time by the water and exploring all that BC has to offer.
Acacia Cousins
Youth Representative
Acacia is excited to serve as the youth rep for the coming year. She has been a youth leader at Blind Beginnings for almost three years now, and has been involved with the organization since she was a little kid. She has recently graduated highschool and is looking forward to attending the University of Victoria this fall, where she will study writing. She eventually hopes to become a novelist, screenwriter, and/or an arts and humanities teacher. Acacia loves music and anything to do with storytelling, with an emphasis on representation of blind and partially sighted as well as other characters with disabilities in the media. She spends most of her free time reading, writing, hiking, kayaking, scheming to get to concerts and playing the piano.