BCSTA Staff
Administration & Executive Offices
Her career started with Mission Public Schools before moving to the Langley School District, where she spent most of her career as a teacher, administrator, and superintendent. Suzanne was then seconded to the Ministry of Education as part of the curriculum outreach team. While working in the ministry, she also held the positions of chief educator and the superintendent of learning transformation. In January 2018, Suzanne became the first female superintendent at the Vancouver School Board. In 2021, Suzanne joined BCSTA, where she is excited and appreciative of the opportunity to take on the CEO role.
Suzanne is a wife, a mom to two grown children and a cairn terrier, and a passionate lifelong learner currently living on the unceded territory of the Katzie and Kwantlen Nations.
She is honoured and humbled to support BCSTA’s board of directors and boards of education across B.C.
- Phone: 604-734-2721 ext. 2
Carmen Batista - Acting Deputy CEO
Carmen cumulatively spent 33 years with the Vancouver School District. During that time, she learned much about collective agreement language and bargaining from the employee perspective. During her time in human resources she managed staffing and recruitment before becoming the associate superintendent for employee services. In this capacity, she supervised a staff of 70 that supported the district’s 9000 employees. Married for 25 years with two beautiful daughters and a Pomeranian named Einstein, Carmen is honoured to join BCSTA and its amazing team.
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- Phone: 604-734-2721 ext. 3
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Please contact Carmen for matters regarding:
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- Human resources
- Labour relations
- Bargaining
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Donna Depretto - Program Assistant - Administration
- Phone: 604-734-2721 ext. 0
Please contact Donna for matters regarding:
- Updates to the BCSTA database
- District policy updates
Maggie Yuen - Executive Administrator
- Phone: 604-734-2721 ext. 2
Please contact Maggie for matters regarding:
- General information and details regarding support of the CEO and board of directors
- Details on BCSTA meetings
Communications
Mark Regier - Director - Communications
Mark oversees BCSTA’s communications and also works closely with the IT manager in support of member services, such as the Portal (our members-only area). He also provides various forms of assistance to the association’s board and supports various branches and committees.
- Phone: 604-734-2721 ext. 9
Please contact Mark for matters regarding:
- General communications
- The Portal
- Website comments and concerns
Monique Atwal - Advocacy, Public Relations Manager
She has recently joined BCSTA’s communications team as the Advocacy, Public Relations Manager. She holds an Honours Bachelor’s Degree in Communications, minoring in English Literature from York University and a Diploma in Journalism from Seneca College.
Specializing in communications and marketing strategy, she excels in shaping brand narratives that resonates with diverse audiences, creates marketing objectives that increase engagement and crafts compelling communications.
- Phone: 604-842-1167 (mobile)
Please contact Monique for matters regarding:
- Media inquiries
- Advocacy
Mike Russell – Manager, Community and Partner Relations
Mike was most recently the Director of Communications for the Cowichan Valley School District where he used narrative and framing research and restorative processes to fundamentally change the story of the district.
- Phone: 604-341-1641 (mobile)
Please contact Mike for matters regarding:
- General communications
- BCSTA’s website
Charlotte Ficek - Graphic Design and Social Media Coordinator
- Phone: 236-886-1603 (mobile)
Please contact Charlotte for matters regarding:
- Newsletters
- Graphic design and publications
Education Services
Gordon Li - Director - Education Services
Gordon Li has worked in various roles as an educator in British Columbia, including as a teacher, program consultant, vice-principal and principal in the Burnaby School District. Most recently, he was the director of learning technology at the BC Ministry of Education and president of BCPVPA. As part of this work, he has visited 54 school districts throughout this province and has supported districts, schools and parents on a variety of subjects including building strong organizational relationships, expanding public profiles of educational leaders, providing background on educational matters, advocating for sectoral initiatives, leading committees for the Ministry and advising strategic planning for various institutions.
He completed his Bachelor of Applied Sciences (Civil Engineering) and his Masters of Education at the University of British Columbia. His work in a variety of settings; elementary and secondary, larger and smaller, suburban and inner-city schools has provided a well-rounded perspective of the needs of students, parents and education partners in BC. His focus is on building positive relationships and meeting the needs of all learners. His passion for sports and working with children drew him into education; he has coached at the high school and provincial elite levels in multiple sports. Gordon has an extensive history as a representative in regional and provincial organizations in educational and public forums and is an unwavering advocate for public education.
- Phone: 604-734-2721 ext. 7
Please contact Gordon for matters regarding:
- Trustee Academy and AGM professional development
- Board Performance Reviews and other facilitation needs
- Trustee education resources
- The Professional Learning Committee
Sara Hunter - Senior Event Planner
- Phone: 604-734-2721 ext. 5
Please contact Sara for matters regarding:
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- BCSTA meetings & events, including event venues, logistics and general inquiries
- Conference registration for BCSTA’s AGM and trustee academy
Finance
Elaine Teng - Director - Finance
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- Phone: 604-734-2721 ext. 6
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Please contact Elaine for matters regarding:
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- Accounts payable and accounts receivable
- BCSTA’s finances and budgets
- The Finance and Audit Committee
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Human Resources
Carmen Batista - Acting Deputy CEO
Carmen cumulatively spent 33 years with the Vancouver School District. During that time, she learned much about collective agreement language and bargaining from the employee perspective. During her time in human resources she managed staffing and recruitment before becoming the associate superintendent for employee services. In this capacity, she supervised a staff of 70 that supported the district’s 9000 employees. Married for 25 years with two beautiful daughters and a Pomeranian named Einstein, Carmen is honoured to join BCSTA and its amazing team.
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- Phone: 604-734-2721 ext. 3
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Please contact Carmen for matters regarding:
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- Human resources
- Labour relations
- Bargaining
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Information Technology
Matthew Taylor - Manager - Information Technology
At BCSTA, Matt’s responsibilities revolve around maintaining the organization’s IT infrastructure and telecommunication services. He manages the online collaboration platform, email and communication systems, electronic voting, digital document management and disaster recovery systems. Additionally, Matt oversees BCSTA’s online learning technologies, ensuring smooth operations.
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- Phone: 604-734-2721
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Please contact Matt for matters regarding:
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- The Portal
- The Indigenous Education Committee
- General BCSTA related IT service concerns
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Legal Services
Maryke Peter - Program Assistant - Legal Services
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- Phone: 604-734-2721 ext. 8
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Please contact Maryke for matters regarding:
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- Legal services
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