Directors List

The Directors are always interested to hear from people who have new ideas or would like to volunteer to help with events or fundraising. Contact us!

Directors

Kathy Ramsey - President
email:
Born and raised on the Gulf Islands (with a few stops around the world along the way), Kathy has lived on Gabriola with her three kids for the past 18 years. Leaving behind a life as a big-city reporter, Kathy has happily owned and operated Gabriola Artworks for the past dozen years. A long-time enthusiast for all things art-related, Kathy has served on the board for several years and currently sits as GAC's president.

 

Jim Wilson-Storey - Vice-President
email:
Jim and his family have lived on Gabriola for thirteen years. When he retired, following a career as a public services management consultant, he began enthusiastically reinventing himself through his creative writing, gardening and volunteering.

 

Joe Dicara – Director
Email: info@dicara.ca
Joe DiCara moved to Gabriola in 2008 to enjoy the ocean, mountains and opportunities for outdoor activities.  He was born in Italy, raised in Winnipeg and later lived and worked in Ottawa for 30 years.  Joe is a semi-retired computer systems project manager consultant and has worked in Victoria and Vancouver for various BC government ministries and agencies.  Joe’s interests include live music; playing drums; science and technology; as well as staying in good health through activities such as volleyball, badminton, basketball hiking, cycling and kayaking.   Joe is happy for the opportunity to learn about and support Gabriola’s vibrant social and cultural life as a volunteer.

 

Jean Llewellyn – Secretary
Email: jean@jeanllewellyn.com
Born and raised in London, England, Jean arrived on Gabriola in 2007 via Calgary, Courtenay and the rest of the world! An international athlete during her younger days, she always considered herself “sporty” rather than “artsy” … until she rediscovered her ancestral roots on the stage with Gabriola Players. With a grandfather who played the iconic “dame” in Vaudeville, she was encouraged to dance and act as a young child, and studied ballet for eight years before track and field claimed her.

As a journalist and managing editor for the past 25 years, Jean has specialized in equestrian sport, working for many high-profile newspapers, magazines and sports’ agencies, as well as providing a PR, media communications and event consultancy service to corporate clients worldwide. She worked as program coordinator for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games and will be heading the Olympic and Paralympic News Service for equestrian sport in London 2012. 

Jean claims to be a neophyte where the visual arts are concerned – something that’s rubbed off on her during the 34 years she’s been married to a professional photographer and watercolour artist, and she likes nothing better than visiting galleries and museums and browsing studios to better appreciate the world of natural art that surrounds us.

 

Karen Aaker – Director
Email: karenaaker@shaw.ca
Karen moved to Gabriola from a tiny condo in Steveston 5 years ago, to pursue her love of mosaics.

Following a career in corporate and government travel, working with senior executives arranging business and international travel,  she has settled down to a slower pace, enjoying the island lifestyle and the friendly artist community.

Karen’s interests include her mosaics, reading, puzzles, painting, and looking forward to the 2 weeks in the summer that her grandsons visit where they explore the island and join her in creating new art projects every year. 

Jeff Molloy – Director
email:
Jeff Molloy was adopted as an infant by a hard drinking, hard smoking lower middle class couple living off the Danforth in Toronto in 1957 . As a young boy, Jeff took to art using it as an emotional and expressive outlet in an age when children were spoken to but seldom heard.
His earliest artistic influences were Vassily Kandinsky and Henry Moore, both of which he encountered at the Ontario Art Gallery. Molloy particularly loved the naturally lit Henry Moore wing and spent countless hours admiring Moores plaster maquettes. Jeff also remembers walking past a doorway catching a glimpse of his first Vassily Kandinsky painting, an experience he describes as "feeling a wind". These early encounters set Molloy on a path from which he would never return.

In 1995 Jeff enrolled at The Victoria School of Contemporary Art, a school that would close after one year of operation. He transfered to the Victoria College of Art where he graduated in 1999. Until attending Art College Molloy had never considered himself an artist or exhibiting his artwork publicly.

Since graduating Jeff has won numerous awards, mounted many solo and group exhibitions as both an artist and a curator. Molloy, on occasion has teamed up with other artists to produce award winning collaborations while maintaining his solo practice. For nine years Jeff mentored countless upcoming artists through their first solo shows as the curator from 2000 to 2009 for the Gallery at the Mac in Victoria BC.

 

Moira Nichol– Director
email:

Born in Edinburgh Scotland, Moira made her way to Gabriola, via Duncan BC, Calgary and Burnaby. After 25 years working in the public sector, Moira is a born again "Wetcoaster" and loves all things green. She can be found rain or shine in her garden, beach combing, walking the trails or chatting on Ichat with her beautiful grand boys. That is when she is not exploring the various art activities found on this lovely Isle.

After years of approving (or not as the case may be) government funding, she is experiencing the other side of the other side of the grant application process. Having experienced first hand the difference the Arts can make in a child's development, Moira loves the role the Arts play in Gabriola family life and will be looking for ways to enhance this through her volunteer work with GAC. Music, visual and theatre art, she loves them all.

 

Staff

Kathy McIntyre - Program Coordinator
email:
In addition to coordinating Arts Council programs, Kathy is responsible for providing administrative support to the Directors, the day-to-day administration of the Arts Council and the weekly E-newsletter. Regular office hours are Wednesdays from 10:00 a.m. to noon. Kathy has lived on Gabriola for over 16 years, and she has been with the Arts Council since April 2010.