Martha Jane Lewis – Executive Director
Jane was born in Winnipeg and attended schools in Toronto and Switzerland. She received a BA in Economics from the University of Victoria and has worked in investments and in international trade research in Canada, England and Thailand.  

When her children were in high school, Jane received an LLB from the Law School at the University of British Columbia. After articling with the BC Public Interest Advocacy Centre, she received an LLM from the University of Bristol, England. Her Masters courses were in labour and welfare rights, and human rights.

After a few years in private practice, Jane took the position of Executive Director and supervising lawyer at the Tenant Resource & Advisory Centre (TRAC) in Vancouver. At TRAC, Jane worked to provide legal information to individuals, legal support for advocates, and public legal education to tenants and landlords in BC.

Jane is passionate about social justice and enjoys working with the BCCEAS team to provide legal information and assistance for vulnerable seniors.

Grace Balbutin – Director of Social Advocacy & Outreach Programs
Grace obtained her Bachelor’s Degree in  Behavioral Sciences from Maryknoll College and pursued her Master’s Degree in Sociology at Xavier University in the Philippines. She moved to Vancouver from the Philippines, where she worked in human resources management for a manufacturing company with over 1,000 unionized employees.

Prior to joining BC CEAS, Grace was the Legal Advocate at the West Coast Domestic Workers’ Association, assisting immigrants working under the federal live-in caregiver program in their employment and immigration issues. Grace’s diverse work experiences include working for Vancouver Rape Relief and Women’s Shelter, Richmond Multicultural Concerns Society, and BC 211.

Grace also volunteers with other Asian women to address issues about trafficking of Asian women. In conjunction with this volunteer work, Grace presented at the Women’s Worlds Conference held in Ottawa in July 2011.

Kristine Chew – Lawyer
Kristine Chew completed both her undergraduate and law degrees at the University of British Columbia.  Prior to  joining BCCEAS,  Kristine worked at the British Columbia Law Institute and Canadian Centre for Elder Law.  Her practice focuses on elder law matters including financial abuse and financial exploitation, housing,  and pensions and appeals.

Heather Campbell – Lawyer
Heather Campbell is a graduate of Queen’s University and has a law degree from the University of Saskatchewan. Heather articled at the British Columbia Law Institute & Canadian Centre for Elder Law. Her practice focuses on elder law, labour, employment and human rights matters. Heather has appeared before the B.C. Court of Appeal and the B.C. Provincial Court. She has also assisted clients with matters before the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal, the B.C. Labour Relations Board, the Residential Tenancy Branch, the Office of the Commissioner of Review Tribunals, Service Canada (CPP/OAS), boards of trustees of pension and benefit plans, and professional disciplinary bodies.

 Linda Malek – Legal Client Coordinator
Linda Malek is the Legal Client Coordinator at BC CEAS’s Elder Law Clinic (ELC) and the first contact that a caller has.  In addition to providing general information about ELC’s services, Linda refers callers to one of our ELC lawyers or, if the matter falls outside of ELC’s scope of services, provides callers with appropriate alternate outside resources and/or services.

Nighat Afsar – Legal Advocate
Nighat has a law degree and practised law for 15 years in Pakistan. As a Britannia Chevening Scholar, she completed her Master’s degree in International Law from the University of Hull, UK. She also has a Master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Colorado-Denver. Nighat works in the Legal Advocacy Program, providing information, referral and representation services to older adults.

Genevieve Smith – Victims Services Worker
Genevieve is a graduate of the University of Natal, Durban, South Africa with a B.A. in Psychology. She is also a graduate of the Langara College Social Service Worker Program. Genevieve provides information, assistance and, practical and emotional support to older adults who call the SAIL Line. She also coordinates the Building Community Bridges: Outreach to Older Women At Risk project  and the Seniors Peer to Peer Outreach and Support project.

Genevieve also volunteers as a Mental Health Advocate at North Shore Schizophrenia Society.

Shelley McClenahan – Manager of Outreach & Communications Initiatives
Shelley is a graduate of the University of Western Ontario and  has an education degree from the University of Windsor. In her role as Project Manager, Shelley coordinates the highly successful Seniors Reaching Out to Seniors Workshop Program. Shelley and the Community Education Team volunteers present 6-8 workshops each month to community groups around the Lower Mainland, raising awareness about elder abuse and empowering older adults with knowledge and resources to get help. Shelley also coordinates other BC CEAS outreach and communications initiatives, raising the profile of BC CEAS and our mission throughout the province.

Rebecca Walters – Office Manager
Rebecca  is one of two staff who share the position of Office Manager at BC CEAS. She and Ronaye are the contact persons for all administrative matters at the BC Centre for Elder Advocacy and Support

Ronaye Haynes – Office Manager
Ronaye is one of two staff who share the position of Office Manager at BC CEAS.  In administration, she has worked in varying fields, such as print media, event management, temporary staffing solutions and theatre for young audiences. She is also a Stage Manager for the Arts Club Theatre, Gateway Theatre and The Playhouse Theatre.