Take a seat at our virtual table. When you serve on the Board of the Belonging Network, you’ll be helping to ensure adoptive and permanency families, waiting children, and youth from care get the support they need to thrive.
If you’re interested in board service, please reach out to our Board chair Chris Roy (boardchair@belongingnetwork.com) with a letter of interest along with either a resume or a LinkedIn profile.
Chris Roy is a Technology leader at Toast Canada. He has over 25 years experience in technology leadership with a focus on software as a service. He is passionate about utilizing technology to solve real-world challenges. Chris joined the board in 2020 with a desire to help bring a sense of belonging to every child that supports them in achieving their full potential.
Kathleen is a global marketing executive with more than 28 years of experience in strategic marketing, brand, product, digital, partner marketing and corporate communications best practices. She has proven experience marketing an array of hardware, software, and connectivity technology and services in the areas of artificial intelligence, wireless telecommunications, and quantum. She has served on boards for profit and non-profit organizations for more than 12 years and continues to support technology start ups and teams as a mentor and advisor. Kathleen was adopted at birth and is married with two children. Connect with her on LinkedIn.
Beatriz is a manager in RSM’s Technical Accounting Consulting (TAC) practice. She delivers complex accounting technical solutions to a variety of clients and industries. Beatriz has over 10 years of experience in accounting and assurance, which includes audit of non-profit organizations. Beatriz is enthusiastic about being involved with the community and has volunteered since an early age, including bookkeeping of four charities in Brazil. Beatriz believes that no child should be or feel they are lonely. She joined the board of Belonging Network in 2024 so she can help the organization to fulfill its goal to have every child and youth feel that they belong.
Jennifer is the Principal of Bloom Communications, a strategic communications consulting firm, which she has operated for the past 24 years. Her clients include the Heart & Stroke Foundation, Canadian Cancer Society, BC Cancer, the YMCA, the City of Vancouver, BC Dental Association, Partnerships BC, UBC, and Vancity, among numerous others. Her passion for her community, however, led to her creating a non-profit organization, BabyGoRound, which is dedicated to providing families in need with equipment, clothing, and products for their infants and young children, assisting close to 900 families per year. Jennifer was nominated for a YWCA Women of Distinction Award as the Founder of BabyGoRound. During her career, Jennifer has volunteered her time to many worthwhile causes and events in her community. Jennifer is adopted and is passionate about supporting others’ journeys. Jennifer is committed to giving back to her community and supporting those in need.
Logan has worked in health policy and program design for more than 15 years. In that time, they have advanced equity and inclusion in health and social services for 2SLGBTQ+ communities and people living with HIV and hepatitis C. Logan is an adoptive parent and lives on Vancouver Island with their partner and child.
Tracey Welsford is a Lower Mainland residential and commercial Property Manager. She has 30+ years of experience in small business, finance, corporate, and not-for-profit relations and systems. As the parent of an internationally adopted child, Tracey is passionate about the value inherent in the support, learning, and connection offered by the Belonging Network and the wealth of experience of the other adoptive parents who participate in the Belonging Network special events and online support groups. Tracey is involved with international and local adoptive networks and revels in the spirit inherent in those communities. She seeks to use those professional and personal experiences to provide depth and perspective to the work of the Belonging Network board.
Anum Ahmed is an Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Practitioner with experience in building cultures of compassion, care, and belonging. Holding a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of British Columbia, Anum’s practice centers on social equity through policy review, program development, and cross-sector partnerships. She currently serves as an EDI Specialist at MOSAIC BC, designing and delivering equity-focused programs across the healthcare, education, government, nonprofit, and corporate sectors.
Grounded in anti-oppressive practice, Anum has advised on equity strategy, embedding EDI in sustainable everyday practice through a lens of lived experience while drawing on a longstanding dedication to social justice. She brings to the board a strong foundation in policy analysis, impact assessment, community engagement, and equity-centered program leadership.
Weyt-kp! Megan Umphress lives in Kamloops, in Secwepemcúl’ecw. She is a mother, adoptive parent, wife, social worker, sessional instructor, and therapy practice co-owner. She spends her days working in her private therapy practice at Lighthouse Therapy Group Ltd., both as a practitioner and co-owner, preparing and teaching social work classes at Thompson Rivers University (TRU), slowly bringing to life her online presence, Adaptive Parenting, all while enjoying her family.
Adoption is woven throughout her personal, family, and professional worlds, bringing to life the theoretical and practical pieces of connection, belonging, and permanency. That lived experience, alongside her clinical work with children and families, is a large part of why she is drawn to the Belonging Network’s mission.
Her professional path started with a business degree and ten years in banking. She loved business, but not banking, so she went back to school for her social work degree, spent eight years in child protection, and eventually earned her master’s degree to become a child therapist. That combination of business and clinical experience continues to shape how she runs her practice today. Outside of work, Megan loves spending time with her family in the outdoors, whether they are fishing, kayaking, exploring, or just relaxing together.
