The Whistler Adaptive Sports Program is governed by an elected Board of Directors. The composition of the Board of Directors is determined at an Annual General Meeting. This meeting is open to the public but only Whistler Adaptive members in good standing can vote or be elected. Year-round memberships are valid from August 1- July 31 in a given year. Members provide guidance in electing new directors, approving bylaws, helping with fundraising, and improving programming. If you’d like to become a member, please purchase an athlete, volunteer or Friend of Whistler Adaptive membership online.
Whistler Adaptive is always seeking passionate and dedicated individuals to join our Board of Directors. If you or someone you know would be a good fit or if you want more information on the role of a director and time commitment, please contact Shelley Milstien, Executive Director.
President: Alan Kenney
Alan would like to bring his sincere interest in neurologically disabled children and young adults having outstanding outdoor experiences to the Whistler Adaptive Board. Whistler Adaptive has enabled Alan's family to experience together many fantastic ski adventures over the past 10 years with their son, Ethan, who has cerebral palsy, and daughter Leah. Alan has previous NGO Board experience having been a past Board Member and President of the BC Centre for Ability (BCCFA) Association (2007-2012). He was actively engaged in its growth as the leading provider of community-based services for neurologically disabled children, youth and adults in BC. Services provided by the BCCFA include: physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, social development programs, and school / university to work transition programs. Alan is a professional bio-resouce engineer / MBA and is the Quality and Food Safety Manager at Bulldog Bag Ltd. in Richmond, BC.
Vice President: Matt Hallat
After a diagnosis with cancer, and the amputation of his right leg through the knee, Matt and his family discovered skiing on the North Shore mountains of Vancouver in the early 1990’s. As he improved Matt ventured north to Whistler, and his journey in skiing continued, eventually taking him around the world. Matt has been involved with the Canadian Para-Alpine Ski Team for much of his life, starting in the grassroots programs before spending 13 years as a member of the World Cup Team, including participating in three Paralympic Winter Games (Torino, Vancouver, and Sochi). After his athletic retirement in 2015, Matt had the opportunity to take over as High-Performance Director of the Para-Alpine team in 2016.
Through his skiing journey Matt has lived in Whistler, Squamish, and Vancouver’s North Shore. While living in Whistler in preparation for the 2010 Games his awareness of Whistler Adaptive continued to grow. He has taken part in various WAS programs himself, and along with his operational experience working in the sporting world, and Bachelor of Business Administration Degree from Simon Fraser University, his skill set helps provide leadership, finance, and operational guidance to the Whistler Adaptive Board of Directors.
When not on the ski hill Matt enjoys spending time with his young family, riding his bike around the North Shore in Vancouver, and playing golf. Matt also helps his wife run a small Yacht Detailing business in Vancouver.
Treasurer: Taylor Hanscom
Taylor Hanscom is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CA) with 6 years’ experience in public accounting. Taylor’s career has included work on diverse clients reporting under many of the current accounting frameworks. His recent work has focused on clients in the not for profit and government sectors. Taylor’s interests include mountain biking and snowboarding, and he has been a longtime resident of Whistler (both full and part time). Taylor was pleased to join the Whistler Adaptive Sports Program board at the 2016 AGM and looks forward to contributing his knowledge in promoting adaptive sports in Whistler.
Secretary: Laura Naivar
Laura first moved to Whistler in 2018 from Oxfordshire, UK. Laura attended Cardiff University where she completed an undergraduate degree in English Literature and a postgraduate diploma in Law before moving to Canada. She previously worked in the ski school at Whistler Blackcomb and joined the adaptive program in 2019. Laura has volunteered both on snow in the ski programs and in the summer programs and has experienced firsthand the life changing opportunities and experiences of adaptive sport.
Laura is passionate about fundraising for charities that support health and wellbeing and previously ran a half marathon raising money for the mental health charity, Mind. While at University, she was also part of the pro-bono work in the law school, creating advice toolkits for the charity Mencap, which supports people with a learning disability, their families and carers. Laura currently works as a paralegal at Race & Company in Whistler and her goal is to contribute to Whistler Adaptive’s mission and vision, by sharing her knowledge and interest in law. Laura’s interests include skiing, biking, hiking and exploring our beautiful home here in Whistler. She is passionate about the future of adaptive sport and is keen to help contribute to Whistler Adaptive’s vision and to make a difference.
Directors at Large:
Roger Weetman: Roger is an accomplished community development professional with over 30 years of experience in community services, emergency operations, and strategic business management. His education specializes in Business, Environmental, and Sports Management and he has also worked in non-profit, private, and public sectors, currently as the Recreation Director for Whistler Resort. Roger’s passion is turning a shared vision into an operational reality that is sustainable and meaningful. With this long-term passion and expertise, he has become a thought leader in Recreation Management working for key stakeholders in BC and volunteering on various organizational boards, including Whistler Adaptive Sports.
Roger has lived in Whistler since 1994 finishing his degree at UBC starting with a short career in the ski industry and a long career in local government. His present role with the RMOW has him overseeing the Meadow Park Sports Centre, three community centres, the youth centre & LUNA program, skating at Whistler Olympic Plaza, and the Lost Lake Nordic Trails.
Kevin Niland
Olivia Rey
Yasuko Donily: Yasuko was born and raised in Japan and moved to the United States in 2000 and Canada in 2004. She came across WASP in 2019 when her partner Greg (who used to be a ski racer) had been diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease). Whistler Adaptive has enabled Yasuko’s family to experience memorable adventures with her partner Greg who passed in October 2021. Yasuko believed "it was important for us as a family to go back to Whistler where Greg enjoyed and ski raced in his early days, where we hold many great memories as a family.” As awful as Greg’s passing was, Yasuko is determined to make the world an accessible place and believes that everyone should have access to sports, traveling as well as support to make it happen. Yasuko is an accomplished entrepreneur and the founder of dmkstyle, an Interior decorating and design company in Vancouver focusing on barrier-free designs. She is also part of an inclusive education program provided to Japanese educators. Yasuko is pleased to join the Whistler Adaptive Sports Program Board and looking forward to contributing her knowledge.
Mary Beth McNamara
Executive Director: Shelley Milstein
Meet Shelley the Executive Director of Whistler Adaptive. She joined WAS last year as the Director of Philanthropy after many years at Spinal Cord Injury BC. She loves to help people get outdoors, access sports and rec opportunities, and find their passions.
Lead Coach and Equipment/Facilities Coordinator: Adrià Flor
Meet Adrià, the Lead Coach and Equipment/Facilities Coordinator of Whistler Adaptive. He started volunteering with the program in 2016 in the winter program as a snowboard coach which has grown into the full time role he has today. He has a background in guiding and has been on and lead many expeditions in kayaking and mountaineering among others. He has a passion for the outdoors and loves to share that passion with everyone.
Coach and Volunteer Coordinator: Eliska Bezstarosti
Meet Eli, a Coach and the new Volunteer Coordinator of Whistler Adaptive. Originally from Czech, she worked as a sports therapist in the Spinal Cord Injury center in Prague. She started working with WAS as a volunteer 5 years ago. She loves putting smiles on people's faces through sport. She is a big fan of Nordic Sit Skiing and a crochet master.
Athlete Coordinator: Stephanie Wood
Stephanie started coaching as a volunteer with her local summer swimming club at age 12 and she hasn’t looked back since then! Over the years, she has coached speed swimming, soccer, rock-climbing, cross-country skiing, and mountain biking, with people of all ages. Stephanie has worked with Power To Be Adventure Therapy as a Program Facilitator, and volunteered as a coach with the BC Para Nordic Cross-Country Ski Team. She comes to Whistler Adaptive fresh from a season of hiking and kayaking guiding at a remote wilderness lodge located in the Great Bear Rainforest on the central coast of BC. Her previous work and volunteer roles have been fueled by her love of sharing experiences with others and supporting people in accessing sports and the outdoors. When she’s not working, you’ll find her biking or skiing (season dependent), hanging out in forests looking at trees, or eating ice cream.
Lead Coach and Social Media Coordinator: Alanna Poole
Meet Alanna, the Lead Coach and Social Media Coordinator of Whistler Adaptive. She started as a summer volunteer in 2019 and since then has been working in Squamish as our Lead Coach and Social Media Coordinator. Alanna comes from a background in recreation therapy and loves to make all types of recreation accessible to everyone.
Account/Bookkeeper Kara Bayley
Meet Kara, the Account/Bookkeeper of Whistler Adaptive. Kara started in 2022 and is excited to be a part of the Whistler Adaptive Team in their pursuit to break down barriers to access and promote inclusivity within sport and outdoor recreation programming.
WASP Governance Files
