The BC Schizophrenia Society hosted its 2024 Annual General Meeting (AGM) and Education Session on Saturday, October 26^th at the Sandman Signature Vancouver Airport Hotel & Resort in Richmond, BC, and virtually via Zoom. The day was a great success, and our Education Session, led by keynote speaker Bethany Yeiser, was a thought-provoking and inspiring event that brought together our community from across the province. 

Board Meetings

The morning portion of the Annual General Meeting consisted of two board meetings for the BCSS Board of Directors and the BCSS Foundation Board of Directors. Both meetings were short and effective and helped align the boards for the coming year.

During these meetings, the lineups for both boards for 2024-2025 were also finalized. Board members are as follows:

The 2024-2025 BC Schizophrenia Society Board of Directors: 

• Jack Middleton
• David Halikowski   
• Dr. John Gray  
• Joanne Leung   
• Donna Motzer   
• Don Monsour   
• Lena Bortnick   
• Paul Bhushan   
• Colleen Crossley   
• Brenda Sawatzky-Girling   
• Jasdeep Dhaliwal   
• Noni Nabors  
• Gerrit van der Leer   
• Jane Gladman  

The 2024-2025 BC Schizophrenia Society Foundation Board of Directors:  

• Renato Zane 
• Guelda Redman 
• Joanne Leung 
• Sylvia LeRoy
• Dr. Fidel Vila-Rodriguez

Remarks from BCSS CEO and President

The afternoon portion of the AGM and Education Session began with a short board meeting and some words from our CEO, Faydra Aldridge, and BCSS’ President, Jack Middleton.

Faydra spoke briefly about our accomplishments and updates since the last AGM, which include expanded programs and services, a new season of our podcast ‘Look Again’, and new websites for both the main BCSS page and for BCSS Youth. She also touched on our commitment to key priorities from our 2024-2025 Strategic Plan, including strengthening our voice through increasing advocacy and awareness and boosting organizational excellence.

Jack also echoed Faydra’s sentiments about our commitment to the priorities in our Strategic Plan, and thanked the families, staff, boards, policy committee and medical advisory board for their help in advocating for awareness and supports for those with severe mental illness.

BCSS Champion Award Recipient: Marilyn Donnelly

This year, the BCSS Champion Award went to Marilyn Donnelly. When two of her brothers were diagnosed with schizophrenia as young adults, Marilyn then spent decades fighting for better services and resources for them and others with schizophrenia. She later became a Registered Nurse and continued to advocate tirelessly for people with schizophrenia.

Marilyn passed away in 2022, and her brother, Terry, accepted the award in her honour. He described his sister as a “force to be reckoned with”, with “unshakeable determination and fearlessness” who advocated tirelessly on behalf of those with schizophrenia.

“She was adamant that in the end, her gift went to frontline services to help those with schizophrenia directly so they could have a better quality of life. This is an honour and privilege for our family. I know Marilyn would be very pleased.”

Marilyn also left a substantial gift to BCSS in her will when she passed, for which we are extremely grateful.  

The recording for this portion of the event can be found here:

Keynote Speaker/Education Session

Our Education Session was held by Bethany Yeiser, a motivational speaker, TEDx presenter, president and co-founder of the CURESZ Foundation, and author of Mind Estranged: My Journey from Schizophrenia and Homelessness to Recovery.

During the Education Session, Bethany spoke about her experiences with psychosis, homelessness, and recovery, from living on the streets in California to being diagnosed, receiving treatment, and eventually recovering from her delusions.

Bethany has since been in recovery for over ten years, and in 2016, created the CURESZ Foundation, which stands for Comprehensive Understanding via Research and Education into Schizophrenia, with Dr. Henry Nasrallah, who originally diagnosed and treated her illness.

During her talk, Bethany mentioned that she wished that she’d had access to something like the Strengthening Families Together (SFT) program when she was first diagnosed, which might have helped her and her family better understand her illness.

The Education Session was followed by an informative Q&A, where she answered many questions from the audience on everything from medication side effects to what she wished the people around her had known when she was in active psychosis and much more.

The event concluded with some final words from Faydra. You can watch a recording of the education session here:

Want to become a BCSS Member?

Join the BCSS community by becoming a member through our membership form. Membership is FREE and comes with several benefits, including:

➡️ Access to exclusive events
➡️ Voting rights at the BCSS Annual General Meeting
➡️ Opportunities to share your experiences on the BCSS website, newsletters, and social media channels

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*This event is generously sponsored by Otsuka-Lundbeck Alliance.