Vice chair profiles and assignments

Luningning Alcuitas-Imperial has served as a WCAT vice chair since its inception in March 2003, and was appointed as WCAT chair on December 2, 2021. Prior to that, she served as a vice chair of the Workers’ Compensation Review Board since January 2001. She worked previously as assistant to the registrar and acting registrar at the Medical Review Panel Department of the Workers’ Compensation Board. At WCAT, she served as the registrar from 2004 to 2006 and from 2016 to 2020. She was also a WCAT team leader. Her other administrative law experience includes being a member of the Civil Resolution Tribunal and chair of the Mental Health Review Board. She obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree in 1988 and her Juris Doctor degree in 1991 from the University of Manitoba.

David Newell graduated from the University of British Columbia in 1982 with a B.Sc. and in 1986 with an LL.B. He was called to the bar in 1987. He practised law in North Vancouver until joining the Law Society of B.C. in 1991 as a staff lawyer in the professional conduct department and from 1998 onwards as the Law Society’s corporate secretary, providing support to the benchers of the Law Society in areas such as governance, policy, and in their role as an administrative tribunal. Mr. Newell was appointed as a vice chair of WCAT in February 2009 and as Tribunal Counsel in 2015.

Debbie Sigurdson was appointed as a vice chair at WCAT on April 1, 2003. Between 2013 and 2020 Ms. Sigurdson was a team leader at WCAT. In 2020 she was appointed as Senior Vice Chair and Registrar. Prior to joining WCAT, Ms. Sigurdson worked as an industrial relations officer with the Employment Standards Branch and as a human rights investigator and mediator for the provincial and federal Human Rights Commissions. Ms. Sigurdson graduated from the University of British Columbia in 1994 with a Bachelor of Laws and from the University of Victoria in 1990 with a Bachelor of Education. She was called to the bar in 1995 and practised in the area of civil litigation and personal injury.

Beatrice K. Anderson was appointed as a vice chair of WCAT in March 2003. Prior to that, she worked with the Workers’ Compensation Review Board since 1991 after having worked eight years in labour relations and occupational safety areas for two large trade unions. Her post secondary education from Simon Fraser University is in the fields of political science and criminology.

Anand Banerjee graduated from the University of Toronto Faculty of Law in 1993 and was called to the Bar of B.C. in 1994. He practised law in Vancouver with an emphasis on labour and employment law and has appeared at all levels of court in B.C. In 2004 he became a Review Officer at WorkSafeBC and decided matters in dispute under the Workers’ Compensation Act, in the areas of Compensation, Assessment and Prevention. After nearly 14 years as a Review Officer, Anand Banerjee joined WCAT as a vice chair in October 2017.

Hélène Beauchesne was appointed as a vice chair of WCAT in April 2003. Prior to her appointment, she was an industrial relations officer with the Ministry of Labour, Employment Standards Branch. As an industrial relations officer, she investigated, mediated, and adjudicated complaints under the Employment Standards Act and conducted investigations and mediations on behalf of the Labour Relations Board. Ms. Beauchesne obtained a Bachelor of Commerce in Industrial Relations Management at the University of British Columbia (1993).

Sarwan Boal was appointed as a vice chair of WCAT in March 2003. From 1991 to his appointment at WCAT, he served as an appeal commissioner at the Appeal Division of the Workers’ Compensation Board. Before joining the Appeal Division, Mr. Boal was the president of the Canadian Farmworkers’ Union seeking legislative reform on behalf of B.C. farm workers. He obtained his Bachelor of Arts in 1968 and his Master of Arts in Economics in 1970. Mr. Boal was appointed to PACE (Pacific Asia College of Education) Canada as a Board member and secretary to the Board of Directors in October 2011.

Larry Campbell was appointed as a vice chair of WCAT in October 2017. Previously he was a member and assistant deputy chairperson of the Immigration Appeal Division of the Immigration and Refuge Board of Canada from 2009 to 2017. Mr. Campbell was a vice chair and senior vice chair at WCAT from 2003 to 2009. He has also been employed with the Worker’s Compensation Review Board, the Workers’ Compensation Board, and at both the Workers and Employers Advisers. He has a BA from the University of Calgary and an MBA from Cass Business School in London, UK.

Lesley A. Christensen was appointed with the Workers’ Compensation Review Board in 2002 and then with WCAT in March 2003. She was appointed Deputy Registrar in 2017. Ms. Christensen previously worked as an industrial relations officer with the Ministry of Labour, investigating, mediating, and adjudicating complaints under the Employment Standards Act and investigating and mediating applications pursuant to the Labour Relations Code.

Melissa Clarke obtained her Law degree from the University of Victoria. She was a judicial law clerk at the B.C. Supreme Court and was called to the bar in B.C. Ms. Clarke’s experience as a lawyer includes positions in private practice and government. Ms. Clarke was a review officer in the Review Division at the Workers’ Compensation Board prior to her September 2005 appointment as a vice chair of WCAT.

In 2005, Jyoti Dasanjh completed her Bachelor of Science Degree, majoring in Biochemistry, at the University of British Columbia. She obtained her law degree at the University of Victoria in 2009, and was called to the bar in 2010. After articling and working for a year at an intellectual property law firm in Vancouver, Jyoti returned to the personal injury firm she had summered at as a law student. She spent six years working in personal injury litigation as counsel for individuals injured in motor vehicle accidents. In 2018, Jyoti joined WorkSafeBC as a review officer in the Review Division where she was responsible for adjudicating reviews of claim decisions.

William J. Duncan joined the Workers’ Compensation Review Board in January 2001 as a vice chair, and effective March 3, 2003, was appointed as a vice chair of WCAT. He was a team leader from March 2003 to March 2006. Mr. Duncan was educated at Carleton University (Bachelor of Arts) and the University of British Columbia (LL.B.) and was called to the bar in 1974. He practised law at firms in Vancouver, Prince George, and New Westminster. He also had an extensive career in professional legal education as the director of British Columbia’s Bar Admission course, as a consultant with the College of Law in the U.K., and in providing courses for junior lawyers of major law firms.

Scott Ferguson obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in English at the University of Toronto in 2007. He then graduated from the University of Windsor Law School in 2011 before beginning his articling under the legal counsel at a Toronto-based hedge fund. Mr. Ferguson was called to the Ontario bar in 2012. Mr. Ferguson was appointed as a Vice Chair of WCAT in June 2015. Previously, he represented employers within the workers’ compensation system in British Columbia and prior to that had represented landlords at the Landlord and Tenant Board in Ontario.

Willa Forbes graduated from the University of Victoria with a degree in Psychology in 2011, obtained her JD in Law in 2015, and was called to the BC Bar in 2016. In 2014, she conducted work for WorkSafeBC as a co-op Investigative Legal Officer and later articled for a civil litigation firm handling a wide variety of files which included insurance, injury, and worker’s compensation matters. Ms. Forbes joined the Ministry of Labour, Employers’ Advisers Office in 2016, where she provided advice, assistance, and representation on all WorkSafeBC matters, including claims, assessments, and occupational health & safety. In 2022 she served as Acting Manager, Law & Policy for the Employers Advisers Office. A long-time volunteer, Ms. Forbes served for several years on the Board of Greater Victoria Police Victim Services; she currently serves as a director of the Board of the Victoria Bar Association.

Sherelle Goodwin became a BC lawyer in May 2000. She initially practiced civil law then criminal law. In 2007 Ms. Goodwin moved into administrative law with a focus on professional regulation. Ms. Goodwin was appointed as a WCAT vice chair in 2014 and worked as a deputy registrar from 2019 to 2020. Ms. Goodwin was also appointed as a Civil Resolution Tribunal member in 2017 and as a CRT vice chair from 2023 to 2024. She returned to WCAT as a full-time vice chair in 2024. Ms. Goodwin is also an instructor with the BC Council of Administrative Tribunals.

Warren Hoole received his LL.B. (co-op) from the University of Victoria Law School in 2000. Since then, Mr. Hoole clerked at the Federal Court of Appeal in Ottawa and articled and practised at a large downtown law firm. Mr. Hoole is particularly interested in administrative law and co-authored a legal text on standards of review of federal administrative tribunals that is currently in its fourth edition. In September of 2003, Mr. Hoole joined the Review Division of the Workers’ Compensation Board. After two years as a review officer, Mr. Hoole joined WCAT as a vice chair in September of 2005. Mr. Hoole was the updating author of Workers Compensation in B.C. (LexisNexis – looseleaf) between 2007 and 2015 and was an adjunct professor teaching administrative law at the University of British Columbia Law School for three years.

Cynthia J. Katramadakis graduated from Memorial University of Newfoundland with a degree in Political Science and Business Administration. She was employed with the Newfoundland Workers’ Compensation Commission as case manager and internal review specialist prior to moving to British Columbia in 1993. Mrs. Katramadakis held the position of district supervisor with the provincial government’s Ministry of Human Resources. During her tenure as district supervisor, Mrs. Katramadakis represented the Ministry at the B.C. Benefits Tribunal where she gained valuable knowledge in the principles and practice of administrative law. In January 2001, she was appointed to the Workers’ Compensation Review Board as member with an employer-interest background. While there, she participated in three-person panels deciding workers’ compensation appeals. Mrs. Katramadakis was appointed as a vice chair of WCAT in March 2003.

Joanne Kembel received her Bachelor of Arts Degree (Criminology) from Simon Fraser University in 1987. She worked as an ombudsperson officer from 1987 through 1989 and as an industrial relations officer for the Ministry of Labour from 1989 until 2004. Her experience includes Employment Standards Act adjudication, grievance mediation and providing mediation and consultative services to the Labour Relations Board, Collective Agreement Arbitration Bureau, and the B.C. Council of Human Rights. Ms. Kembel was appointed vice chair of WCAT in March 2004. She is a member of the British Columbia Council of Administrative Tribunals.

Rob Kyle has been a tribunal member for 29 years, the last 20 of which were full-time with the Worker’s Compensation Appeal Tribunal (WCAT) and previously, the Appeal Division of WorkSafeBC. He served on the British Columbia Forest Appeals Commission as one of its original members beginning in 1996. He left that position in 1999 to take a position with the Appeal Division of the British Columbia Workers’ Compensation Board as an Appeal Commissioner. In 2003 Rob joined WCAT as a Vice Chair. He retired from full‑time tribunal work in 2019, and now returns as a part-time tribunal member. Prior to that, Mr. Kyle was a primarily self-employed registered professional forester, and successfully completed a variety of forestry projects throughout BC between 1983 and 1999. During that time, Mr. Kyle owned and operated two forestry consulting companies.

Randy Lane received his Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws degrees from the University of British Columbia. He articled in the Legal Services Division of the Workers’ Compensation Board from 1985 to 1986. From 1986 to 1991, as an appeals administrator, he provided advice to the former commissioners of the Board. From 1991 to 1997 he was a policy analyst in various parts of the Board. In December 1997 Mr. Lane was appointed as a non-representational appeal commissioner with the former Appeal Division of the Board, and he was the assistant chief appeal commissioner from June 2001 until his appointment to WCAT in March 2003.

Ms. LeBourdais graduated from the University of Northern British Columbia in 2008 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree (English), and in 2014, with a Master of Arts Degree (Natural Resources and Environmental Studies – Human Geography). During her graduate studies, Ms. LeBourdais worked as a teaching assistant, as well as a research coordinator for interdisciplinary projects focused on knowledge translation, ecohealth, health service coordination, and immigration experiences. Ms. LeBourdais’ professional experience includes work as the safety, quality, and environmental coordinator for a heavy civil/industrial construction firm, and training as a Construction Safety Officer. From 2015-2023, Ms. LeBourdais worked as an Employers’ Adviser with the Employers’ Advisers Office, wherein she provided advice, assistance, representation, and educational training on a range of workers’ compensation issues.

Lori H. Leung earned her law degree from the University of Ottawa. She clerked for the B.C. Supreme Court, before completing articles. She has volunteered for the Canadian Bar Association and Access Pro Bono Clinics.

Deborah Ling obtained her law degree from the University of British Columbia in 2006 and was called to the bar in 2007. She began practice as in-house corporate counsel in 2007. In 2011, she returned to the Workers’ Compensation Board of British Columbia as a review officer. She had previously been a summer intern review officer in 2005 and 2006. Ms. Ling was appointed as a vice chair of WCAT in June 2015.

Julie C. Mantini obtained her law degree from the University of British Columbia in 1993 and was called to the bar in 1994. She practised personal injury law, both plaintiff and defence, in the private sector for approximately two years. After that, she spent approximately seven years as legal counsel at the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia. Ms. Mantini joined the Review Division of the Workers’ Compensation Board in 2003 before being appointed to WCAT in 2004.

Susan Marten was appointed as a vice chair of WCAT in March 2003. Prior to this, she was a non-representational appeal commissioner with the Appeal Division of the Workers’ Compensation Board from August 2000. Previously, she had worked as an adviser at the Workers’ Advisers Office since 1985. Ms. Marten was involved in the presentations made by that office before the Royal Commission on Workers’ Compensation in British Columbia. Prior to her work as an adviser, she worked in the women’s office and the employment programs branch of the Ministry of Labour. Ms. Marten has her Bachelor of Arts Degree (Honours) in psychology from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario.

Cheryl McKitrick graduated from the University of British Columbia in 2008 with an LL.B. Cheryl joined the Workers’ Advisers Office in 2011 as a Workers’ Adviser, providing advice, assistance, and representation to injured workers. She articled with the Workers’ Advisers Office and was called to the bar in 2017.

Chad McRae was appointed as a vice chair of WCAT in October 2017. He gained extensive experience in adjudication from his work at the Canada Revenue Agency from 2002 – 2014. Mr. McRae worked as both a unionized employee and manager at the tax department where he was involved in the adjudication of CPP/EI and income tax appeals, voluntary disclosures, taxpayer relief requests and general income tax matters. Following his tax career he worked as a case manager at the Workers’ Compensation Board of BC for two years and had also previously worked as an independent tax consultant, a lifeguard, and a hockey referee. Mr. McRae holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Simon Fraser University in addition to his accounting education.

Renee Miller was appointed as a vice chair of WCAT in May 2010. Previously she was a member of the Appeal and Refugee Divisions of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada and a vice chair of WCAT. Ms. Miller obtained her J.D./LL.B. from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1989 and has been a member of the bar since 1991. Her prior work involved private practice in the areas of criminal and immigration law, as well as work with the Law Society of B.C. and the Continuing Legal Education Society.

Anthony Moffatt received his Bachelor of Laws from the University of British Columbia (2006), master’s degree in political science from the University of Toronto (2002), and Bachelor of Humanities from Carleton University (2000). He was called to the bar in Ontario in 2007 and the bar in British Columbia in 2010. For seven years, Mr. Moffatt was a legal and policy advisor at WorkSafeBC. He drafted WorkSafeBC policies and regulations, advised WorkSafeBC’s Board of Directors, and consulted with community stakeholders. For eight years, Mr. Moffatt practiced law in the areas of employment, labour, and human rights. While in private practice, Mr. Moffatt regularly advocated for his clients at WorkSafeBC, the Review Division, and WCAT.

Herb Morton obtained his Bachelor of Law (1982) and Bachelor of Social Work (1978) degrees from the University of British Columbia, and was called to the bar in 1983. He was the legal administrator for Medical Review Panel appeals from 1983 until 1986. From 1986 until 1991, he was an appeals administrator in the office of the commissioners of the Workers’ Compensation Board. He was the assistant to the chief appeal commissioner of the Appeal Division of the Board from 1991, and was appointed as a non-representational appeal commissioner of the Appeal Division in April 1995. He has served as a WCAT vice chair since 2003.

Barbara Murray has been a lawyer in private practice, focusing on insurance and personal injury claims, for more than 20 years. She has good administrative law knowledge and adjudication experience as a member on the Employment and Assistance Appeal Tribunal, and as a certified arbitrator. Barbara also has knowledge of relating to the workers’ compensation system having previously represented parties in hearings before WCAT.

Elaine Murray obtained her law degree from the University of British Columbia in 1986. She then practised law for six years before joining the Criminal Injury Compensation Program as a legal adjudicator where she worked for ten years. Following that, Ms. Murray was a review officer in the Review Division of the Workers’ Compensation Board for two years before she joined WCAT as a vice chair in 2004. She left WCAT in 2006 to work as an investigations legal officer at the Workers’ Compensation Board, and returned to WCAT as a vice chair in 2011.

Kristina Nelless graduated from the University of British Columbia in 2002 with an LL.B. She was called to the B.C. bar in May 2003. She practised law in Prince George until joining the Workers’ Advisers Office in 2010 as a Workers’ Adviser where she provide advice, assistance and representation to injured workers. Prior to joining the Workers’ Advisers Office, her legal practice focused on personal injury and general civil litigation matters.

Christopher Ramsay is a vice chair for the Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal. He was previously senior counsel, Litigation with London Life Insurance Company/Great West Life/Canada Life. He is a former workers compensation specialist with Canada Post and a former articling student with the Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal. Mr. Ramsay holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Brock University, a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Western Ontario and a Master of Laws degree in Dispute Resolution from Bond University (Australia).

Dale Reid graduated from Simon Fraser University in 1973 with a Bachelor of Arts degree and teaching certificate. Mr. Reid entered the public service in May of 1980. He worked from 1980 to 1988 for the Ministry of Labour in the fields of employment law, labour relations, and human rights. While employed by the Ministry, he developed and honed his skills in administrative law working as an arbitrator and mediator. In 1989 he joined the Workers’ Compensation Review Board as a vice chair. Mr. Reid was appointed registrar of the Workers’ Compensation Review Board in January of 2001. On March 3, 2003 he was appointed as vice chair, inventory strategist of WCAT. In this assignment, Mr. Reid was responsible for developing and implementing strategies for dealing with the undecided inventory of the tribunal. On April 1, 2006, having overseen the elimination of the backlog, Mr. Reid returned to work as a vice chair of WCAT.

Deirdre Rice holds a law degree and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Victoria. She has been a lawyer since 1990 and has extensive experience as a lawyer, adjudicator, and educator in a range of administrative law areas. Ms. Rice was appointed as a vice chair of WCAT on April 1, 2003.

Ellen Riley was appointed as a vice chair of WCAT in January 2014. Prior to her appointment, she served both as a legal member of the Mental Health Review Board of British Columbia and as a tribunal member of the Employment and Assistance Appeal Tribunal of British Columbia. Before that, she completed a six year appointment as a member of the Veterans Review and Appeal Board of Canada, the final level of disability compensation appeals from decisions of the Minister of Veterans Affairs. Currently, she is a member of the board of directors of the British Columbia Council of Administrative Tribunals. Ms. Riley earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of British Columbia and a law degree from the University of Victoria following which she practised law in Vancouver.

Simi Saini received her B.A. from Simon Fraser University and LL.B. from the University of Western Ontario. After being called to the B.C. bar, Ms. Saini practised labour and employment law before taking a position at the Workers’ Advisers Office where she assisted injured workers with their workers’ compensation matters. Ms. Saini was also called to the Ontario bar. In Toronto, she worked for a private management company as a legal consultant providing workers’ compensation claims management and appeal services to employers across Canada. She returned to B.C. and worked in private practice in workers’ compensation and immigration law. Ms. Saini was appointed as a vice chair to WCAT in September 2011.

Dawn Shaw-Biswas obtained her law degree from the University of British Columbia (BC) in 1992, and was called to the BC bar in 1993. From 1993 to 2002 she practiced as a litigator with an emphasis on criminal defense, personal injury and family law. In 2003 Dawn joined WorkSafeBC as a review officer. She spent the next 14 years deciding reviews involving workers’ compensation, assessment and prevention matters, and during the period 2008-2012 worked concurrently as a management representative on WorkSafeBC’s Joint Diversity Committee. In 2017 Dawn was seconded to WorkSafeBC’s Fair Practices Office where she investigated and adjudicated allegations of unfair practice brought against WorkSafeBC. Dawn accepted a permanent position as a fair practices officer in 2018 and continued to work in this capacity until she joined WCAT as a vice chair in September 2021.

James Sheppard was appointed as a vice chair of WCAT when it commenced operations on March 3, 2003. Prior to that date, Mr. Sheppard served as a non-representational appeal commissioner with the Appeal Division of the Workers’ Compensation Board from August 2000 to February 2003. Prior to joining the Appeal Division, he was the senior adviser with the Employers’ Advisers Office of the Ministry of Labour. Mr. Sheppard provided assistance, advice, and representation to employers throughout the province on compensation, assessment, and occupational health and safety matters. Mr. Sheppard was called to the bar in March of 1987 and has Bachelor of Commerce and LL.B. degrees from the University of British Columbia.

Shelina Shivji received her Bachelor of Arts Degree (Economics) from Simon Fraser University in 1990. She worked in the private sector for several years and then for the Ministry of Labour as an industrial relations officer. Her experience includes employment standards adjudication, grievance mediation, and providing mediation and consultative services to the Labour Relations Board, the Human Rights Commission, and the Collective Agreement Arbitration Bureau. She was appointed as a vice chair of the Workers’ Compensation Review Board in January 2002 and then as a vice chair of WCAT in March 2003. She is a member of the B.C. Arbitration and Mediation Institute and the British Columbia Council of Administrative Tribunals.

Anthony F. Stevens joined WCAT in March 2003 as a vice chair and brings many years of experience in the compensation system. He previously held appointments with the Workers’ Compensation Review Board as a member from 1986 to 1990 and from 1993 to 1997. He was appointed as a vice chair of the Workers’ Compensation Review Board in 1997. His background included general advocacy in the early 1980s and compensation specific advocacy in the early 1990s with the City of Vancouver. Mr. Stevens graduated from Simon Fraser University with a Bachelor of Science and has taken many courses and workshops relevant to the compensation system. He volunteers with Ridge Meadows Hospital Foundation, participating in community and special events.

Hilary Thomson graduated from law school at the University of British Columbia in 2007. She articled and practised as a litigator at a national law firm, working primarily in the area of employment, human rights and commercial litigation. She joined the Review Division at WorkSafeBC as an adjudicator in 2014. Ms. Thomson became a vice chair at WCAT in 2017.

Andrew J. Waldichuk obtained his law degree from the University of Windsor in 1989. He then went on to practise law, mainly in the area of personal injury and workers’ compensation. Prior to his appointment to WCAT in 2004, Mr. Waldichuk had also worked as a review officer in the Review Division of the Workers’ Compensation Board and as a legal officer in the former Criminal Injury Compensation Program.

Sherryl Yeager graduated from the University of Victoria in 1991 and began her professional career as a journalist, working as the justice reporter for the Whitehorse Daily Star. In 1994, Ms. Yeager moved to Vancouver to work as a freelance journalist and a duty coroner. She became deputy regional coroner for the Vancouver region in 1998. She completed her Executive Masters in Business Administration degree in 2001. Ms. Yeager was appointed as a vice chair of the Workers’ Compensation Review Board in 2002 and at WCAT in 2003.

Terry Yue received his Bachelor of Arts from the University of British Columbia in 2002 and his Bachelor of Laws from UBC in 2005. He was called to the bar of British Columbia in 2006. After a short period in private practice, he joined the BC Public Service as a Workers’ Adviser in 2006, advising, assisting, and representing injured workers with workers compensation matters. He remained in that role for seven years, and was an acting Law & Policy Adviser with the BC Public Service for one year, before being appointed to WCAT in January 2014.

Lyall Zucko was appointed as a vice chair of WCAT in January 2014. He graduated from the University of British Columbia law school in 1996 and was called to the British Columbia bar in February 2009. Mr. Zucko initially practised general civil litigation and then joined the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia as an in-house legal counsel. In September 2001, he transferred to the Workers’ Compensation Board of British Columbia where he worked in the Freedom of Information Office and then in the Review Division. Mr. Zucko conducted compensation and assessment reviews as a review officer between March 2003 and December 2013.

2023

Remuneration Plan for WCAT Appointees (PDF, 525 KB)