I am delighted to serve on the Board, sharing the mission and values of BCHA, in recognition of its vital place in our contemporary society to uphold and promote our secular way of life.

I obtained my bachelor and master’s degree in social work at McGill University and a doctorate (PhD) at the Université de Montréal. As a community organizer, and therapist, I worked with individuals and families that included child protection services, therapeutic counselling, and working with domestic violence offenders in group treatment programs I helped to develop throughout Québec in the 1990s. My research included publications in numerous journals on the topic of effective intervention with intimate partner abusers and offender program standards evolving in the US and Canada. I accepted an appointment teaching as Assistant Professor at the School of Social Work, University of Houston, Texas in 1994, and, later, in 2002, as permanent faculty with the sociology department at Kwantlen Polytechnic University in B.C. until my retirement. I published in numerous peer-reviewed journals in Canada and elsewhere, and continue to do research and serve as reviewer for several journals.

I additionally volunteered and collaborated with progressive organizations such as Amnesty International, B.C. Civil Liberties Association, La ligue des droits et libertés in Québec, the Greater Montreal Anti-Poverty Coordinating Committee, served on the Advisory Committee of the Senate-appointed Canadian Panel on Violence Against Women, and, more recently, B.C.’s Sunshine Coast Elder College Program Committee. I worked with anti-war coalitions in the US and Canada that included volunteering with the Montreal Council of War Resisters in the 1970s and also the War Resisters Support Campaign in Québec and B.C. during the last two decades. I am Director of  the Farewell Foundation for the Right to Die, in British Columbia, and Associate with the Research Center on Violence at the University of West Virginia.

My current research and publications critically examine the evolving right-to-die movement worldwide, specifically their legal foundations that definitely establish their practice, and their acceptance or their opposition for any further development in assisted dying.

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Jonathan Dickie

Originally from Nova Scotia, I’ve lived in BC since 2009.

Though my post-secondary education was engineering and physics, I ended up having a career for more than a decade in federal and provincial politics. I was the campaign manager for the first Green to win a federal riding in 2011 and was the national campaign manager for the Greens in the 2019 federal election, along with campaign manager and advisor roles for key Green wins between ‘11 and ‘19.

I’ve transitioned from politics since 2020, as I update my education for the next stage of my career.

I learned about and became a humanist in my mid-twenties, leading me to leave the faith community in which I was raised.

Outside of my career I am an avid cyclist. I live in North Saanich with my partner and our 7 year old son.

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Mike Gray

I live in the Columbia Valley in BC’s East Kootenay region, where I’m active in local government and community life. I currently serve on a number of governance boards and committees, and have previously held roles with organizations such as Columbia Valley Pride, Tourism Radium, and the Centre for Inquiry (CFI) Canada, where I was both a national board member and Acting Executive Director for CFI Calgary.

Though there’s not an active freethought community in my immediate area, I’ve remained connected to the broader movement, including helping organize this year's WeCanReason conference in Calgary. I’m passionate about building inclusive, rational, and ethical communities, especially in rural or underrepresented regions.

I live with my husband in Radium Hot Springs and am eager to bring an East Kootenay perspective to the BC Humanist Association board, while supporting its work across the province.

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Adam Highway, President

Adam is a seasoned professional with a diverse background in business development, operations, and project management. His career spans various industries, including financial services, legal, and engineering consultancy. He has experience working in firms of all sizes, as well as running his own business for a decade. He has pursued sustainable growth and innovation in his roles wherever possible. He has also worked as a volunteer for 2SLGBTQIA+ charities, food banks, and the BCHA. Adam's commitment to humanist principles is reflected in his advocacy for secularism, critical thinking, and evidence-based decision-making. He believes in fostering inclusive communities that prioritize empathy and rational discourse. As a board member of the BCHA, Adam strives to bring strategic insight and a collaborative spirit, aiming to advance the organization's mission of promoting humanist values throughout British Columbia.

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Kathy Leavens, Treasurer

With an MBA and a Chartered Financial Analyst designation, I worked in the financial industry in Vancouver for 30 years.  After retiring in 2014, I travelled and volunteered for various groups including Take a Hike Youth at Risk Foundation, Vancouver Rape Relief and Women’s Shelter and Douglas Park Community Association. 

When I was in my teens, I realized I was an atheist, but it wasn’t until my 40’s that I discovered humanism.  I joined BCHA in 2002 and later served on the board as treasurer.  Over these past 20 years, my involvement in the humanist community has contributed so much to my understanding of the world and possible solutions to many of its problems.

Paul Schachter, Vice-President

Paul is a retired labour, human rights and civil liberties lawyer and a lifelong humanist. He began fighting for justice in the 1960’s as part of the US civil rights and anti-war movements. As a lawyer, Paul worked on civil rights, civil liberties, academic freedom, union rights, decolonization, torture claims, police abuse, and systemic discrimination. Paul continued supporting efforts for justice and equity on coming to BC more than 25 years ago. Over that period, he has worked on natural resources conflict resolution and in non-profits involving civil liberties, MAiD, employment, literacy, diversity, immigrant rights, family and social services, sustainable agriculture, and live orchestral music. He is an outspoken advocate for justice, equity, transparency, and accountability in policing. Paul continues to work closely with BC Black History Awareness Society and the Canadian Association of MAiD Assessors and Providers.

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Janice Selbie

Janice Selbie is a Registered Professional Counsellor and religious trauma recovery coach living in Kelowna, BC, where she currently serves as President of KASHA – Kelowna Atheists, Skeptics, and Humanists Association. 

Growing up in a Pentecostal home, Janice believed the Bible was the literal and inerrant Word of God. Married to a pastor, she chose to homeschool their young children and became increasingly insular in her beliefs, eventually rejecting all things secular and fully embracing Christian fundamentalism. 

After divorcing religion and her husband in her early 40s, Janice became a Registered Professional Counsellor specializing in religious trauma and purity culture recovery.

In addition to her private practice, Janice founded the Conference on Religious Trauma (CORT) and the Shameless Sexuality: Life After Purity Culture Conference. She also hosts the Divorcing Religion Podcast, on which icons Ian Bushfield and Margaret Atwood have both been guests. Podcast episodes and conference sessions are available on her YouTube channel.

Last year, Janice published Divorcing Religion: A Memoir and Survival Handbook, which reached #1 in seven Amazon categories. She also took pleasure in contributing a chapter to the book Humanism - Canadian Perspectives.

As a religious fundamentalist, Janice saw humans as sinful and worthy of punishment and used the words “secular humanist” as an insult. Now, she sees each person as having inherent value and the potential to change our world for the better.

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