Board of Governors

Grant Christoff, Chair

Grant and his wife, Leah, have a son, Caleb, in the MYP. Grant is the General Counsel at First Nations Financial Management Board. Previously he worked with the First Nations Health Authority and on a contract basis with his own community for six years. Before that, he practiced public law for over 20 years within the federal Department of Justice, finishing his public service career as the Director of the Aboriginal Law Section in the B.C. region. Grant also sits as a director on a few different boards and is a graduate of, and previously an adjunct professor, at the University of Victoria Law School. Grant was elected as a governor in 2019 and re-elected in 2022.

Gloria Leong-Sit, Vice-Chair

Gloria Leong-Sit and her husband, Colin Edwards, are the parents of Jack who is in the DP, and Sloane who is in the MYP. Gloria has a Bachelor of Commerce and Asian Studies from the University of Alberta. She started her career in sales and marketing with Fairmont Hotels, working across Canada in Alberta and Ontario. She has also worked as a client development manager for the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario, and as a director, business development, for the Mercer Creative Group in Vancouver.

Gloria was elected as a governor in 2016, and re-elected in 2019 and 2022. She is also serving her eighth year as a class parent.

Bryan Yu, Treasurer

Bryan Yu and his wife, Ava Chuang, have two daughters at SJS: Jacqueline and Juliana, both in the PYP program. Bryan is the chief economist at Central 1 Credit Union where he provides organizational thought leadership related to economics, treasury and risk, and leads a team providing economic research services to credit unions in B.C. and Ontario. He is a frequent media commentator on current and emerging economic issues in outlets such as CBC, BNN and the Globe and Mail. Bryan also serves as a director with S.U.C.C.E.S.S., the B.C. Paraplegic Foundation, and is chair of the the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade’s Government Budget and Policy Committee. Bryan was elected as a governor in 2021.

Marian Jakovcic-Attanasio

Marian Jakovcic-Attanasio and her husband David Attanasio have two children at SJS, Hailey and Austin in the PYP. Both children have attended SJS since Junior Kindergarten and they are actively involved in community sports: VanU soccer, Westside Warriors football and Dance Co.

Marian has extensive board experience serving non-profit organizations including Richmond Community Living Society (treasurer), Micronutrient Forum (audit committee and board member) and Institute of Internal Auditors Association (audit and governance chair). Marian is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and has a Certification in Risk Management Assurance (CRMA). Marian is a partner at MNP as their risk leader and has worked at KPMG and PwC in assurance services. Marian was elected as a governor in 2023.

Laura Jeffrey

Laura Jeffery has two children, Amelia in the MYP and Jack in the PYP. Laura is a chartered professional accountant (CPA, CA) with over 20 years of experience providing tax advisory services to private and public companies across a wide range of industries. Laura obtained her CA designation working in KPMG’s Greater Vancouver practice and is currently the vice president, tax at WELL Health Technologies Corp., a healthcare technology company. Laura’s community focus has been on organizations that support the development of youth and she previously served as treasurer of the Vancouver chapter of KidSport and currently serves on the Board of Big Sisters of B.C. Lower Mainland. Laura was elected as a governor in 2021.

Bobby Ning

Bobby Ning and his wife Susan Kim are the parents of Dylan in the MYP and Ella in the PYP. Bobby co-founded the Financial Literacy Counsel in 1999 which is a boutique financial literacy company focusing on heirs and beneficiary education. Their programs are delivered throughout the medical community, Vancouver Coastal Health, Canadian Sports Institute, CPA-BC, independent schools and through family offices. He believes volunteering in anything you are a part of will enrich and enhance the lives of everyone around you. Bobby was elected as a governor in 2021.

Tiana Mah

Tiana Mah and her husband Mark Patterson are the parents of Cara and Maya in the PYP, and Caelan in the MYP. Tiana has over 18 years of experience in marketing, post-secondary and not-for-profit member communications, and research. Her educational background includes a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Victoria. Tiana is the marketing manager for Northeastern University’s Vancouver campus. Within the community, Tiana is a a team manager for her daughters’ Vancouver Hawks field hockey team and is a past director with Vancouver Athletic Football Club. Tiana was elected as a governor in 2022 and has also volunteered as a class parent.

Richard Pearce

Richard Pearce and his wife, Tiffany Lee Pearce, have two children at SJS, Liam and Olivia, who are both in the PYP. Richard has a law degree from the University of British Columbia, is a senior partner with over 20 years’ experience as a civil litigator at the law firm Webster Hudson & Coombe LLP, and is a board member of the Allard Law Alumni Association. Richard and his family participate in a number of community-based activities such as Little Mountain Little League, Vancouver United Football Club (Richard is a coach), and the Vancouver (Angels) Female Minor Hockey Association. Richard was elected as a governor in 2021.

Natasha Prodan-Bhalla

Natasha Prodan-Bhalla and her husband Sonny Bhalla are the parents of alum Maya ’23 and Leila in the DP. Natasha has been an active member of the school community and has volunteered for numerous events.

Natasha is the VP, Quality and Safety, Clinical Informatics, and Chief of Nursing and Allied Practice at the Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA) and also works as a nurse practitioner at B.C. Women’s Hospital. She is the founding president of the B.C. Nurse Practitioner Association, and was the lead for their work on primary care transformation in B.C. She is also a member of the Nurse Practitioner Association of Canada. She holds a Master of Nursing / Adult Nurse Practitioner degree from the University of Toronto with a minor in the Ethnic and Pluralism Collaborative Program, and completed a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Western Ontario. Natasha gained her Doctorate in Nursing Practice from the University of Colorado focusing on influencing healthcare policy and health systems change. Her skills for the board include expertise in leadership, change management, policy development and project management. Natasha was elected as a governor in 2017, and re-elected in 2020 and 2023.

Erika Reilly

Erika Reilly has a daughter, Sophia, in the PYP. Erika has 20 years of capital markets experience, having spent the majority of her career as an investment professional with Brookfield Asset Management, a leading global alternative asset manager. She has led acquisitions and divestitures, public and private financings, and played a key role in restructuring and managing large timberland and infrastructure businesses. Concurrently, Ms. Reilly served as president and chief executive officer of Acadian Timber (TSX:ADN) from 2019 to 2021, and served as its chief financial officer from 2013 to 2016. Erika was elected as a governor in 2021.

Allan Russell

Allan Russell and his wife Jennifer Russel have two sons, Wesley and Charlie. who were previously students at the school. At the end of the last school year, the family moved to Toronto and Allan was appointed by the Board as a member of the SJS Society. Allan was elected as a governor in 2020 and re-elected in 2023.

Michael Wu

Michael Wu and his wife Joanna Liu have two children, Kayden in the MYP, and Ariana in the PYP.

Michael is a successful entrepreneur and started his first business at 19. Throughout the years, he owned, operated and built multiple music karaoke entertainment facilities in the Metro Vancouver area. In 2006, Michael joined the RCMP and became an auxiliary member in Burnaby. In addition to providing 24/7 translation services, Michael also worked at the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit (CFSEU), assisted various section of the RCMP, and had general duties attending calls throughout Burnaby. Michael was elected as a governor in 2023.