Staff

Operations Director

Maria joined the FSA in October 2011. She works closely with the FSA Board of Directors, the President and Executive Director assisting them with the overall operations of the FSA office. Maria has experience supporting senior level executive teams in both the commercial real estate and retail industries

604.432.8356

mangerilli@bcit.ca

Member Engagement Officer

Kyla joined the FSA in 2013 in the newly created position of Member Engagement Officer. Building on her degree in Political Science and International Development Kyla has worked for social justice in both Canada and Guatemala. With almost two decades of experience in non-profit administration, governance, fundraising, engagement and communications, Kyla is an active volunteer having served on many boards and most recently was a Director with the BC Library Trustees Association (BCLTA), and the Chair of Vancouver Public Library. Kyla also currently serves on the Vancouver Writers Festival board of directors, the Governance Committee of the Rainbow Refugee Society, the City of Vancouver Civic Asset Naming Committee, and in 2017 Kyla was selected to attend the Governor General's Canadian Leadership Conference.

604.432.8569

kepstein@bcit.ca

Labour Relations Representative

George earned a law degree from the University of Alberta, receiving the Alberta Labour Relations Board prize, and was called to the bar of Ontario. Previously, he earned a B.Sc. (Hons.) in physics from the same university.

While articling for a boutique labour and employment law firm, George was an activist with the Council of Canadian’s Ottawa chapter, and later became the Council’s head of human resources. In the past, George has written freelance articles, mostly in the area of labour law and labour relations, for publishers such as Canada Law Book, Lancaster House, and Workforce magazine. As a result of his experiences, he became a founding member of the C.E.P.’s Canadian Freelance Union, now part of Unifor.

Advising organizations in the non-profit, private, and public sectors, George’s repertoire includes collective agreement interpretation, conflict resolution, training, collective bargaining, legal drafting and research. He is a member of the Chartered Professionals in Human Resources, BC & Yukon and of the Law Society of Ontario.

604-432-8568

gtalbott@bcit.ca

Information Officer

Pierre Cassidy has extensive experience in the post-secondary sector, notably on matters of policy, process, and privacy, as well as managing, processing, and securing corporate records. He teaches a variety of courses on ethics and critical thinking, reading, and writing. He has volunteered in the labour movement as an executive committee member, bargaining committee member, and as a shop steward. This experience is supported by robust and broad educational foundation in the liberal arts, business analytics, database administration and design, business process mapping and improvement, and personal information protection.

604.432.8859

pcassidy4@bcit.ca

Labour Relations Representative (On leave)

Tess joined the FSA in April 2011. Tess holds a CHRP and is a member of BCHRMA. She holds the Business Management and Human Resources Management Certificates with Distinction from BCIT and continues to pursue both the Senior Human Resources Management Certificate and the Associate Certificate in Leadership.

Previously she worked on the Human Resources team at HandyDART during the transition from a small Vancouver non-profit society to a Lower Mainland for-profit company. In addition to being part of the bargaining team that negotiated the first Collective Agreement and working through a three-month strike, her responsibilities included recruitment and selection, HRIS management, employee engagement and benefits administration.

604.451.7161

trebbitt@bcit.ca

Labour Relations Representative (On leave)

Christine joined the FSA in October 2008. Previously she worked for the New Westminster School District, where she spent five and one-half years serving the management team as a Human Resource Officer. Among other things in New West, her responsibilities included recruitment, grievance management, job evaluation, managing the HRIS, and collective bargaining for support staff.

Christine's involvement in the labour movement first began in 1979, when she organized a small outfit into the United Food and Commercial Worker's Union, and she subsequently became the chief shop steward. Following that, Christine spent seven years at the Langley School District where she became involved on the executive team of her CUPE local. In addition to serving two terms as president, she sat on union committees at the district, provincial and national level..

604.431.4964

cnagy@bcit.ca