David Brown, President

Lawyer, Ascent Employment Law Corporation
ac.waltnemyolpmetnecsanull@divad

Professional & Community Development:
David practices as a trial lawyer, with a focus on employment law, human rights law and immigration law.

Personal Info:
Originally from Elkford, British Columbia, David completed his Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Economics at the University of Alberta. During his undergraduate degree, he had the opportunity to participate in a full-year exchange program to the Université Catholique de Lille, in Lille, France. Upon graduation, David worked briefly as a heavy equipment operator in an open-pit coal mine before moving to New Brunswick in 2006. David is an avid outdoorsman and loves hiking, biking, running, camping and snowboarding.

Laura Thurnheer, Past President and Interim Treasurer/Secretary

Associate Dean – Okanagan School of Business, Okanagan College, MBA, CPHR, SHRM-SCP
ac.cb.naganakonull@reehnruhtl

Professional & Community Development:
Laura currently is an Associate Dean at the Okanagan School of Business at Okanagan College. In this role, she works with a leadership team and approx. 90 faculty and staff serving 1500 Business students across four campuses in the Okanagan and Shuswap area. Most recently, she was an Associate Dean in The Science, Technology and Health portfolio at Okanagan College working with 13 teaching departments in the Science and Technology areas. As a Business professor, Laura specialized in teaching Leadership, Strategic Management, Human Resources Planning, and Organizational Development and Change.

As an active member of her local business community, she is very aware of the challenges facing businesses today and strives to help new and existing businesses develop and expand. Laura is a Past President of the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce, past Director of the British Columbia Wine Authority, and current director of the Chartered Professionals of Human Resources (CPHRBC & Yukon).

Reason & Role on the KCR Board:
Laura joined the Board in 2008. Over the years, she has fulfilled a number of roles including Director, Treasurer, Vice-President and now President. She believes that business people and educators need to share their expertise to help build a better and more inclusive community. She believes in the mission and values of KCR and is humbled by the work done by the staff in a multitude of areas. Her way of helping is to share her expertise in the governance and leadership areas.

Personal Info:
Laura enjoys an active Okanagan lifestyle finding time for skiing, golfing, kayaking and camping. One of her personal areas of interest is the development of young adults through business competition coaching. Laura is fortunate to have many opportunities to coach and mentor our future leaders.

Bill Thompson, Vice President

Manager, Grant Thornton LLP, CPA, CA
moc.tg.acnull@nospmoht.llib

Professional & Community Development:
Bill is a Chartered Professional Accountant with experience in working with small business clients, personal tax clients and providing assurance services.

Reason & Role on the KCR Board:
KCR provides an opportunity to be involved with an organization that strives to provide information and services to the people of the Okanagan region with the intent of creating a better community for everyone.

Personal Info:
Born and raised in Saskatchewan, Bill has slowly transitioned westward before settling in Kelowna with his family full-time in 2010. He enjoys spending time with his family, golfing and staying active outdoors.

Peter Boyd, Director

Owner, Peter’s Your Independent Grocer
moc.liamgnull@giysretep

Professional & Community Development:
Owner of Peter’s Your Independent Grocer. 27 years in the retail food industry in Kelowna.

Reason & Role on the KCR Board:
I have followed KCR through my years in Kelowna and I am so impressed with the support it provides for our community and being asked to be a Board member is a true honour.

Personal Info:
Peter was born in Whiterock, BC, but moved to Kelowna in 1989. He enjoys golfing, baseball and spending time with his family.

Eric Li, Director

Professional & Community Development:
Eric is currently an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Management of the University of British Columbia – Okanagan campus. He is also the Principal’s Research Chair (Tier 2) in Social Innovation for Health Equity and Food Security, and the Co-Lead, Rural Health Equity Eminence Research Cluster at the University of British Columbia – Okanagan campus. His research includes social enterprise and social innovation, not-for-profit marketing, pro-social behaviour, multicultural marketing and consumption, consumer well-being, health promotion, consumer privacy, food economy and market system, fashion and popular culture, and digital marketing and social media marketing. His work has been published and presented in a number of academic journals and conferences.

Reason & Role on the KCR Board:
As an immigrant myself, Eric is actively seeking ways to ensure equity and inclusiveness in our multicultural society. Eric is honoured to be a part of the KCR community and will continue support various community engagement activities within and beyond the Okanagan region. He is looking forward to bring his academic perspectives to support KCR’s ongoing commitment to build a better community for all.

Personal Info:
Eric was born and raised in Hong Kong, China. He moved to Kelowna in 2011. He enjoys music, hiking, spending time with his family, and supporting great community initiatives. He is currently one of the Tubists at the Kelowna City Band.

Rob Peter, Director

Professional & Community Development:
Rob is currently a Marketing/Business Specialist with experience in both consumer packaged goods and community-based activities. He was a Senior Marketing/Business Manager at Sun-Rype Products Ltd. for over 20 years. He was contracted as a Marketing Specialist with the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development with assignments in Central Asia. He has been a Marketing/Business Consultant with the City of Kelowna and the Kelowna International Airport. He also was a past Mentor with the Community Futures Organization.
Rob has served on several community Boards – Past President of the Kelowna Museums Society, Past Chair of the Central Okanagan Sports Hall of Fame Museum, and a past Executive with Okanagan Sun Football Team.

Reason & Role on the KCR Board:
His interest in serving as a KCR Board member is to be involved in an organization that works at ensuring that all individuals and families in the Kelowna area have resources available to make their lives healthy and productive.

Personal Info:
His personal interests are sports, the outdoors and community involvement.

Brendon Rothwell, Director

Professional & Community Development:
Brendon practices as a Notary Public, specializing in real estate conveyancing and personal planning. He has helped several adoptive families finalize their adoptions. This opportunity came about primarily due to the fact that Brendon, together with his wife Sheri, adopted both of their daughters through Adoption by Shepherd Care in Orlando, facilitated by the Adoption Centre of British Columbia in Kelowna.

After high school he completed his Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Economics at the University of Victoria. A few years later Brendon then attended Okanagan University College to complete a Business Administration diploma with a specialization in accounting. Brendon then worked a variety of jobs as controller/project manager/construction manager for Kelowna area construction firms and even operated his own construction management company for a number of years. Brendon was accepted for enrolment into the Master’s of Arts Applied Legal Studies program offered by Simon Fraser University in conjunction with the Society of Notaries Public of British Columbia. He received his Masters Degree and was ultimately commissioned as a Notary Public in 2013.

Personal Info:
Brendon is a British Columbian through and through. Born and raised in the Cariboo, Brendon then moved to the Okanagan as a teenager. When not working Brendon enjoys traveling and spending time with his family. He keeps active playing multiple sports including hockey, basketball, soccer and golf.

Jasmine Somal, Director

Lawyer, Ocana Law
ac.anaconull@enimsaj

Professional & Community Development:
Jasmine practices as a solicitor lawyer in Kelowna, with a focus on Canadian immigration law.

Reason & Role on the KCR Board:
As a child of immigrant parents, Jasmine is extremely passionate about assisting individuals immigrate to Canada. One of her main reasons for choosing to be on the KCR board is that KCR provides a strong sense of community, resources and support to new immigrants settling in the Okanagan region.

Personal Info:
Born and raised in the Okanagan, Jasmine completed her Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology locally at UBCO. After completing her Bachelor of Arts degree, Jasmine attended TRU in Kamloops to complete her legal studies. In her free time, Jasmine enjoys staying active outdoors, working out, exploring the Okanagan and travelling the world.