Meet the Board

Many years ago he was an active member of HI and spent a year traveling in Europe, staying in a variety of rudimentary hostels. As he grew older, he thought of HI as an association for young people, but five years ago he and his wife took a tentative step back into the hostelling world when they stayed several times in the newly-renovated hostel in Nelson, BC.

Following their retirement in June 2005, they went on a four month backpacking trip to Thailand, Australia and New Zealand and they stayed almost exclusively in YHA hostels. Due to their age, they wondered how they would be accepted. These hostels were new or renovated, clean, quiet, well-located and safe. For the most part they were able to stay in double or twin rooms that gave them privacy. They cooked, ate and swapped stories with travelers and had a wonderful time. They met people from all age groups and their concerns about being accepted due to age were unfounded.

His goal in joining the HI Board of Directors is to find ways to broaden the hostel appeal to Canadians of all ages with an emphasis on the 50+ age group.

Peter has a passion for travel and has toured Canada from coast to coast. He has also explored other, more distant corners of the world - hostelling extensively, meeting people and experiencing cultures from around the globe. His recent travels have taken him to New Zealand, Hawaii and Colorado. As an avid cyclist, he has completed many single day rides with elevation gains of over 10,000 ft. and distances in excess of 100 miles. Peter is an advocate of workplace wellness initiatives, a proponent of sustainable transportation and a supporter of green building initiatives. He also enjoys hiking and skiing.

Peter has served as a Vice-Chair of the Pacific Mountain Region for the past year and was previously the President of the Northern Alberta Region, leading that association to join the Pacific Mountain Region in 2008. Peter is the Chair of the Ownership Linkage Committee, coordinating the recent member engagement initiative, while also serving on the Governance Committee. He has also been involved extensively in the hostelling movement at the national level.

Throughout Peter's commitment to hostelling, member engagement has been and will continue to be a key hallmark. Member concerns such as increasing grassroots linkages and enhancing access to hostel facilities will be key go-forward priorities. Peter is a lawyer, a graduate of the University of Alberta Law School and a member of the Law Society of Alberta. Peter is keen to use his professional skills and life experiences to work for you - our members.

Before joining the Pacific Mountain Region Board of Directors Brian had served on the Northern Alberta Regional Board since 1992. He has extensive board and governance experience and has been actively involved in many initiatives to advance hostelling, at the regional and national level. Brian's continuing interest is to ensure that a range of hostelling opportunities can be provided in Western Canada now and in the future. While on the Northern Alberta Board, he played a major role at the Board level in the acquisition of the new Edmonton hostel, moving forward with plans for a new Jasper Townsite Hostel; improving wilderness hostels and had significant involvement in the merger of Northern Alberta with Pacific Mountain Region.

Brian has a strong interest in conservation and outdoor recreation management. He is a graduate of the University of Alberta with a Master of Science degree in Geography and has over 20 years of public sector management experience. Brian has most recently traveled more extensively in Canada and enjoys a range of outdoor interests including camping, canoeing and downhill skiing as well as curling.

Alexandra is an outdoor enthusiast with an adventurous spirit. She has been an active hosteller for over eight years. Alexandra has travelled across Canada and has independently travelled to about twenty countries in Asia, Australasia and Europe. She loves staying in hostels and thoroughly enjoys the communal atmosphere and the opportunity to make new friends.

Alexandra has a background in business administration, sociology and anthropology and held executive positions in many student unions and clubs. She received the Soroptimist Youth Citizenship Award and Volunteer Vancouver's Leaders of Tomorrow Award and helped operate a student-based company which was recognised as being one of the best managed Junior Achievement companies in Canada.

Alexandra passionately supports HI's mission and goals and is committed to improving its presence and operations. She is a life member and has been a HI-C volunteer since 2002. She has helped out as an Info Desk volunteer and has led the Museum of Anthropology and Bowen Island tours in Vancouver. She wants to see the continued success and sustainability of HI-C-PM and enhance the enjoyment of the hostelling experience for all.

Lenore first became interested in the hostellign movement in 1995 when she did volunteer work for Hostelling International - Northern Alberta.  Her involvement with that Board soon evolved into Lenore becoming president of HI-C-NA - a postition she held for 3 years.  Much of her time as President was focused on the development and implementation of a governance model for the Board and the planning of a new hostel in Jasper.

Since becoming actively involved in hostelling, Lenore has taken every opportunity to
visit hostels across Alberta, British Columbia and Europe, often with her family. For Lenore, staying at a hostel means much more than inexpensive accommodation!  She takes great satisfaction in introducing family, friend (and even complete strangers) to the open an interactive lifestyle that hostels provide.

As a member of the PMR Board of Directors, Lenore will commit her extensive leadership and goverance experience plus her love of hostelling to support all who enjoy the hostel experience. 

Lenore is employed as a labour and employment lawyer with the public sector in Alberta.  She has also had extensive experience on non-profit Boards and Advisory Committees, most recently the Human Rights, Citizenship and Multiculturalism Education Fund Advisory Committee for the Province of Alberta.

Cindy was born in Asia, raised and lived in Vancouver most of her life. Growing up, her family did not travel but she always had the desire to explore other countries and cultures. After completing her undergraduate degree in Business Administration from Simon Fraser Univeristy (with majors in Finance and Accounting), she then started to do some travelling around Europe, USA and the Middle East. In between, she obtained her Certificate General Accountant designation.

Four years ago, Cindy decided to complement her personal goal of travelling with work. She gave up her full-time job and pursued consulting. It was at such time she stepped into the wonderful ways of backpacking and hostelling. Her sister taught her the ropes of backpacking while travelling in SE Asia and China. She discovered hostelling not only makes travelling more affordable, but it is a great way to meet people, make friends and learn about different cultures, especially when traveling independently.

During the last few years, she travelled for an extended period in SE Asia, Europe, Australia and New Zealand utilizing hostels almost exclusively if not staying with friends. In 2006/2007, she lived and worked in Sydney, Australia. Fortunately she landed on interesting contracting work with Disability, Aging, and Home Care and University of New South Wales.

Travelling continues to be her passion and she feels that HI is a great place to connect travellers around the world while making it affordable. As a way to give back to her community and to combine her passion for travel, she thought this would be a good opportunity to contribute.

I was first elected to the HI-PMR Board as a Director in October 2005 and I have served as a Vice Chair from June 2006 to June 2008. The experiences I have had while serving in these positions have been both rewarding and challenging.

My involvement with hostelling started by chance in the fall of 1990, when a friend suggested I go on a hike with the Hostel Outdoor Group in Calgary. There were 13 participants on the trip that day to Mt. Cory in Banff National Park and I continue to hike, scramble, ski and climb with five of them. As a volunteer, I have over the years been involved in the following activities:

• Coordinated hikes, scrambles and ski trips.
• Organized wilderness first aid, leadership and avalanche courses.
• Participated as an active member of the trip planning committee.
• Volunteered at various stations at the K-100 relay race.
• Appointed for one year as the official photographer for the K-100 relay race.
• Photographed in 1993 all the hostels in both Northern and Southern Alberta.

My wife and I are both life members. We travelled to Europe in 1998 and again in 2000, staying at hostels when and where possible. In 2003, after a successful climbing expedition to Argentina, I met my wife in Chile, where we travelled to the southern most parts of South America. We have also travelled extensively in Canada and the USA.

I lived in Vancouver for 10 years, where I received a B.Sc. (Geophysics) degree from UBC. In 1990 I moved to Calgary, where I've been working as a geophysicist ever since. In 1997 I started a geophysical consulting practice, which has been very successful to date.

Hostels, and hostelling in general, are a means of bringing like-minded people together, so as to share ideas, adventures, experiences and camaraderie. It is absolutely imperative to keep the membership informed and involved in hostelling. There is a lot of untapped talent ready and willing to be engaged in the promotion of hostelling and the benefits it can bring to the quality of life of its members.