Taskforce Members
The Mayor’s Task Force on Crime Reduction has 13 members that represent relevant expertise and sector representation. The Mayor serves as the Chair. The Task Force is in place for a 12-month term, with the ability to extend, and provide quarterly updates to Council.
Elected as Mayor for the first time in 2022, Tom currently sits on the RDCO Board as a Director, Chair of the Airport Advisory Committee, Chair of the Mayor’s Task Force on Crime Reduction, Member of the BCUMC, as part of the RDCO board a representative on the Municipal Finance Committee, sits on the board of Uptown Rutland Business Association and a member of the Audit Committee.
Tom moved from Toronto to British Columbia in 1986 to be the executive sous chef at Expo. He then went on to be executive chef of Delta Hotels in Whistler. In May of 1987 Tom changed direction when he went into the insurance and financial industry creating his own company, TD Benefits, which he has proudly owned and operated ever since. Over his 36 years in the insurance and financial industry, his company has won numerous awards for customer service, growth of business and client retention.
Tom has always been actively involved in the community, coaching local soccer clubs and sitting on the Boards of Kelowna Minor Hockey, the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce, the Okanagan College Advisory and the Child Advocacy Centre and chair of the 2020 Memorial Cup Host Committee.
Running a successful, respectful business has always been a primary focus for Tom, although to date he feels his greatest achievement has been raising his three children into adulthood.
With his children now grown and his business a family enterprise with a strong team, Tom’s focus is now on serving our community.
Councillor Cannan was first elected to Kelowna City Council in 1996 and served for nine years before becoming a Member of Parliament for Kelowna-Lake Country from 2006 to 2015. During his time on Kelowna City Council, he served as Board Director for the Central Okanagan Regional District, Central Okanagan Regional Hospital District, and UBCM Executive, as well as President of the Okanagan Mainline Municipal Association. An entrepreneur and self-employed as business consultant with Cannan Consulting Corporation, his professional career includes sales and management with Coca-Cola, Hershey Foods and Costco Wholesale, in addition to several years in media sales.
Councillor Cannan has earned the ICD.D designation, which represents a lifelong commitment to excellence in the boardroom and, in 2019, received the Chamber Board Director of the Year Award. He has volunteered with various community and non-profit organizations such as Okanagan Mission Hall Society, Sunrise Rotary, Kelowna Foundation and is a founding team member of the Kelowna Child Advocacy Centre. He and his wife, Cindy, have called Kelowna home for 33 years and are active members in WestMOUNT Church. They have three daughters and five grandchildren. In his spare time, he enjoys playing drums, riding his e-bike, hiking, playing pickleball and slow pitch, reading and spending time with his grandchildren.
A former police officer with a degree in Criminology, Micki’s career transitioned from policing to human resources where she held executive HR positions at several companies. After a 20-year career, she was appointed to the Halifax Board of police Commissioners which she chaired for just under 2 years. Following this, she joined the Edmonton Police Commission and was involved with the Canadian Association of Police Governance (CAPG), serving as a committee member, board member, and finally president. She was recently reappointed to the CAPG board on July 19, 2023.
In Kelowna, Micki has served on a City action committee tasked with addressing one of the components of Kelowna's Public Safety Plan. She has also joined the board of the John Howard Society. One of her proudest accomplishments was chairing the selection committee to strategically hire a Chief to transform the policing model in terms of the working relationships with other social organizations to improve public safety and secure better outcomes for those within the social/justice environment.
Micki has been actively involved in public safety since 2010 through police governance and the police study and implementation of new models of public safety. In total, she has over 10 years’ experience with police governance.
Laura Thurnheer, B.Comm., MBA, CPHR, SHRM-SCP, is currently an Associate Dean in the Okanagan School of Business at Okanagan College. As a Business professor, Laura specialized in teaching Leadership, Strategic Management, Human Resources Planning, and Organizational Development and Change. As an active member of her local business community, she is very aware of the challenges facing businesses today and strives to help new and existing businesses develop and expand.
Laura is a past President of the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce and a past Director with the British Columbia Wine Authority and CPHRBC & Yukon. She is the current Past Chair/Treasurer with KCR Community Resources and on the executive of the Okanagan Chapter of the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD). She was also recently appointed as the Thompson/Okanagan Board Representative for the BC Chamber of Commerce.
Laura is keenly interested in the areas of Human Resources Management, Organizational Sustainability and Development, Governance, and Social Entrepreneurship. One of her personal areas of interest is the development of young adults through business competition coaching. Laura is fortunate to have many opportunities to coach and mentor our future leaders.
Ken Doige is a corporate security and emergency management professional with over 30 years of experience in corporate security sectors and law enforcement; relating to commercial real estate, renewable power generation, and cannabis industries. An industry leader, Ken has held VP, Head of Security, and CSO positions at organizations including CannTrust, Fire & Flower, and Brookfield renewable energy, where he personally oversaw numerous significant corporate security investigations, established and managed emergency response centres, directed teams in large-scale crowd management deployments, and commanded search and rescue operations.
Some of his accomplishments include being recognized by US President Barrack Obama for his direct efforts in the 2010 Toronto G20 Summit private sector security response design and implementation, as well as the founding of a ERSM Solutions Inc - a successful corporate security consulting firm with clients in North America and around the world. He also has 17 years’ experience serving with the Toronto and York Regional Police Services.
Ken has dedicated most of his life to the safety and security of people and physical assets in the various roles that he held in the public and private sectors. He truly believes that all of us can make positive impacts on the safety and security of our communities and feels that he has the necessary experience to assist the citizens of Kelowna to enjoy a safe and secure city for many years to come.
Karen’s career has focused around business and community stakeholder relationship building, which has allowed her to enable others to champion change, support innovation and encourage creativity. She has held senior leadership positions at several member-based business organizations and conference event management companies. She has been responsible for the overall management and delivery of programs, services and corporate events, membership growth and retention, budgets, strategic planning and policy development.
Karen has a strong understanding of anticipating and attending to the needs of members, keeping their interests in the forefront. Her open and consistent approach to working with others leads to results. She is committed to organizational success by valuing relationships with the business community, government, media, staff and volunteers. Currently, she is the Executive Director for the Uptown Rutland Business Association (URBA).
Jeffery Meyers brings a range of relevant experiences to our team. With a career that includes various roles within the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), he has focused on aspects of transnational organized crime. Additionally, his work in international government relations and regulatory compliance in the private sector has enabled him to gain expertise in addressing drug-related issues on a global scale.
Recognizing his expertise, he was selected as the Canadian Delegate on a Subject Matter Expert Working Group by the International Narcotics Control Board under the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime.
His experience with the RCMP, combined with his knowledge of transnational organized crime, international government relations, and regulatory compliance, positions him to contribute effectively to the task force's goal of reducing crime and enhancing community safety.
With a 24-year career in both national and international law enforcement, including his tenure with the RCMP, Jeffery is ready to provide meaningful input to the municipal crime reduction task force in Kelowna, BC, Canada. He is particularly knowledgeable in the field of controlled drugs and substances, a perspective that will be valuable to the team's mission.
A recently retired Judge, Jane has served for 26 years on the Provincial Court. Prior to her appointment to the bench, she was a partner at Pushor Mitchell LLP, a local law firm. She has an extensive academic background and holds degrees in Psychology from S.F.U., and in Law from U.B.C. Currently, Jane is a Director on the Board of Project Literacy, Central Okanagan Society, and the Research Ethics Board for Interior Health.
Jane’s work as a Judge was primarily based in Kelowna, where she spent half of her time in Criminal Court. This experience has given her a broad perspective of the needs of the community, the assistance and power of the justice system, the limitations of the justice system, the root causes of crime and addictions, the effects of crime on specific victims and the community, and the needs, particularly the rehabilitative needs, of offenders.
Ali is a proud member of the Syilx Nation from the Lower Similkameen, and a Social Worker specialized in working with Indigenous communities. She brings many years of frontline and leadership experience working collaboratively with a variety of social-serving organizations in the areas of community outreach, health promotion, suicide prevention, and education. She has extensive knowledge in areas that impact vulnerable populations with expertise in the areas of mental health, crisis response, homelessness, intergenerational trauma and addictions, community navigation and advocacy both on reserve and within an urban setting.
Ali is passionate about decolonizing systems, land-based healing, integrating Indigenous language concepts into practice, building community capacity, and responding to the needs of community in a holistic, inclusive and culturally safe way. She blends traditional teachings and contemporary practices and works to support people to come together in safe spaces without judgment or shame. Ali brings perspectives of lived experience, two-eyed seeing and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work, Indigenous Specialization, from the University of Victoria and is currently studying a Master of Business Administration Advancing Reconciliation.
Mark was a broadcaster for over 40 years in the radio business. Over that tenure he was on-air, a production manager, promotion manager and Program Director. During his time in Kelowna at 99.9 Sun FM, 101.5 EZ Rock and AM1150, Mark was named Small Market Program Director of the Year for 6 consecutive years at the annual Canadian Broadcast Awards. As the Regional Program Director, Mark was responsible for the 22 radio stations in the BC Interior during his 12 years working at 435 Bernard.
Mark joined the Downtown Kelowna Association in November 2018 as Executive Director, where he has since worked closely with Downtown stakeholders on a variety of issues realizing excellent working relationships while creating a better image for Downtown Kelowna.
With more than 30 years’ career experience, Darren has worked and volunteered across the public safety spectrum including victim services, community crime prevention, gang reduction, corrections, parole, and police governance. In the early 1990s, Darren started his career as a correctional officer and a crime prevention coordinator in RCMP detachments before joining Public Safety Canada. There he worked in senior manager roles at the National Crime Prevention Centre and Parole Board of Canada for 12 years. This was followed by nearly a decade with the Alberta Government where he served as the Justice Department’s Director of Gang Reduction before being promoted to the role of Executive Director. Amidst his career, Darren was a Member of the Calgary Police Commission, founding Director of the Alberta Association of Police Governance, and an honorary member of the Alberta Association of Chiefs of Police.
In his current position as Kelowna’s Community Safety Director and the City’s RCMP Liaison, he oversees 150 staff in Bylaw Services, Community Safety Services and Police Services and is responsible for RCMP contract oversight. He brings to the team an extensive background in public safety, crime prevention, and police governance.
Dan grew up in Southern Alberta and graduated from the University of Lethbridge with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. After graduating and obtaining his CPA/CA, he spent over 17 years working in corporate finance in both Calgary and Kelowna and joined the team here at Sunlife in November of 2022. Outside of work, Dan is married and has two children that keep him very busy. He enjoys the Okanagan lifestyle and plays most sports.
He is currently the President of the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce and has previously volunteered as a hockey coach and as the Treasurer of the Kelowna Figure Skating Club.
Carmen is currently the Executive Director at Kelowna's Gospel Mission - a non-profit that operates outreach services, emergency shelters, transitional and supportive housing in the city. In the past three years KGM has more than doubled in size as the organization has responded to the growing need in our community.
Carmen is a resident of Kelowna and a proud community member. Her passion for community development, outreach, and safety is apparent in the work she leads with KGM. She brings experience and education in advocacy and public policy to this team and is strongly committed to making this community safer for all its residents.
