Lori Camire

Director and General Manager
Lori Camire is a Director and the General Manager of Venture Connect. She is also the Executive Director of a Community Futures Office. Lori has managed a division of Community Futures since September 1997. Before this, she held supervisory and management positions with the Federal Government for close to 20 years. She has held the position of Island Coastal Community Futures Manager Representative, for 5 years.

In addition, Lori has also been involved with family business operations. She has an intimate knowledge of what goes into the planning and execution of a business transition plan.

Jaclyn Soulis

Executive Assistant

Jaclyn is an experienced Administrative Professional. She started her career in the Health and Safety industry in 2009 working in Northern Alberta. In 2017, she identified a gap in the market so started her own business. In addition, she is currently the Business Administrator for the NP-Alberta Mine Safety Association.

She joined Venture Connect in 2018 where she is responsible for Venture Connect’s website, accounting, customer inquiries, marketing material and day to day operation.

With her experience with non-profits and administration Jaclyn also joined Community Futures Alberni-Clayoquot as their Executive Assistant.

Darrell Goertzen

Business Advisor
After 25 years in a business career as an entrepreneur, business owner, and corporate manager, Darrell joined the Venture Connect team in 2012. Since then he has worked with hundreds of business owners throughout BC, helping them prepare their business for a sale.

As a Business Advisor he provides guidance, market understanding, peace of mind and better outcomes to business sellers and buyers. In addition to his work with Venture Connect Darrell is the Project Manager for the Great BC Business Sale.

Arnold Harasymchuk

Business Advisor
Arnold Harasymchuk is a Director of BMC Business Management Consultants Ltd. Prior to retirement he worked 27 years in economic development at various positions in all three levels of government. In his career as a public servant, his focus had been to assist businesses and communities with economic development and community development related initiatives. Arnold managed numerous development and strategic projects on behalf of the Province and has facilitated a variety of workshops.

Prior to government, he worked fifteen years at the management level in banking. Arnold is a current Director of Community Futures Strathcona and past Director of Vancouver Island Economic Alliance.He presently works as a business consultant with an international immigration firm where he assists clients accessing the Immigrant Entrepreneur component of the Provincial Nominee Program. Personal entrepreneurial experience includes tourism, farming and foreign investment.

Janice Iverson

Executive Director
Community Futures Sunshine Coast

Janice Iverson loves helping people and teams bring new ideas to life. Her career in both business and social sectors has mostly focused on advancing social and environmental responsibility, collaborative approaches, and innovation. She spent 10 years within the credit union movement as an Assistant Vice President, Corporate Citizenship, and most recently held the position of Director of Social Innovation at United Way. Janice began her career as a journalist, embracing the curiosity, creativity and late nights that came with the territory. When the opportunity arose to join the Public Relations team at a large grocery co-op, she jumped at the chance for a more manageable schedule. From there, she had many opportunities to develop and launch innovative programs and services that delivered financial and social returns. Underpinning all her efforts is a core believe that businesses can make money and achieve social good.

Wendy Smitka

Director
Community Futures Central Island

Wendy recently joined the ranks of the retired having capitalized on her own succession plan.

Wendy grew up on Vancouver Island and returned in 1991 with her partner to start a transportation business hauling bulk fuels. They grew their business from a staff of three to a thriving business with 26 employees. When developing her own succession plan Wendy found she needed to travel to the mainland for professional advice and is very pleased to be a part of Venture Connect and the opportunity to provide expertise here on the Island. Owning a business is a lifestyle as much as a living and how to value the goodwill that you’ve built over the years is best done by an arms length professional that can bring objectivity and an understanding of current markets into consideration.

Bob Annis

Chair
Community Futures Cowichan

Bob brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the Community Futures Cowichan Board table. He has a BA, MA and PhD, and has published several reports and documents concerning social and economic issues facing rural Canadians. Bob served for 10 years as the Director of Brandon University's Rural Development Institute, and served for Rural and Northern Development Program for many years as a professor in Departments of Native Studies, Psychology and Rural Development. He serves on numerous community organizations like the Provincial Community Futures Association, the Canadian Rural Restructuring Foundation and as a fellow of the International Comparative Rural Policy Studies Consortium. He also served as a National Selection Committee Member for the Canadian government's Broadband.

Since Bob and his wife moved to BC from Manitoba, they have had the pleasure of boating around the Gulf of Vancouver Island and enjoying his retirement to its fullest.