Board of Directors

Born and raised in Nanaimo, Kylee Power began her career in pharmacy 15 years ago as a pharmacy assistant. After graduating from Pharmacy at UBC in 2010, she returned to Nanaimo and is currently manager of Central Drugs in Lantzville and a member of the ownership group with The Central Drug Stores Ltd, an independent pharmacy group with 7 locations in the Nanaimo area.

Justin Dovale commenced his pharmacy career as an assistant at the age of 16. Graduating from UBC's Faculty of Pharmacy in 2011, Justin dedicated four years to front-line pharmacist roles, then transitioned into a regional management position, showcasing a commitment to both hands-on practices and strategic leadership. He furthered his education with an MBA from Simon Fraser University in 2017. 

Notably, he embarked on an extended vacation, travelling to 30 countries over a one-year period. Upon returning to Canada, Justin played a pivotal role on a clinical and systems transformation project for the Provincial Health Services Authority while learning a lot about our health-care system and where pharmacists can add value. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Justin moved to Kelowna and co-founded two pharmacies. Here, Justin won the prestigious Collaborative Care Award from the BCPhA in 2022 for his primary role managing Two Nice Guys Pharmacy.

Beyond professional achievements, Justin is a dedicated father and husband, a recreational soccer player, a brunch connoisseur and always willing to showcase his barbecue skills. 

Colleen graduated from the University of British Columbia’s Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences in 1995 and became an entrepreneur in 1999 when she opened Cove Pharmacy, the first pharmacy on Quadra Island, then known as the People's Drug Mart, the first pharmacy established on the rural island community. She owns two pharmacies: Cove Pharmacy and Gold River Telepharmacy on Vancouver Island, which serves rural and remote patients, especially those in Indigenous communities like the Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nations. 

In 2016, she won the BCPhA’s Excellence in Patient Care Award and has volunteered as pharmacist offering pharmaceutical care to villagers in Sosúa, Dominican Republic, on two humanitarian trips, in 2018 and 2019. Her third trip will be in early 2024. As an advocate for not only the pharmacy profession but also access to health-care services for remote communities, Hogg believes success in pharmacy is strongly tied to a passion for helping her community.

Raised in Northern Alberta, Chris Chiew’s interest in chemistry led him into a part-time job as a pharmacy assistant, encouraged by his Grade 12 chemistry teacher. He enjoyed the patient interactions and worked in the role until he was accepted into the pharmacy program at the University of Alberta.

Shortly after graduating from the pharmacy program at the University of Alberta in 1994, Chris joined London Drugs.

Since then, he has served 29 years, first as a pharmacist, then assistant pharmacy manager, pharmacy manager, pharmacy operations manager, General Manager, Pharmacy before moving into his current position as Vice President - Pharmacy and Healthcare Innovation at London Drugs.

In addition, Chris also serves on the Board of Directors of the Neighbourhood Pharmacy Association of Canada, where he is Chair of the Audit and Finance Committee.

Livia Chan graduated from UBC with a BScPharm degree. She became a certified asthma educator and later, a certified diabetes educator. In 2012, she decided to go back to school and obtained her PharmD degree in 2016 from the University of Florida. Currently, she is a Regional Manager in Pharmacy Operations. Her primary role is to support pharmacy operations, including leadership development, stakeholder management, support of pharmacist scope of practice, and identifying opportunities to develop and expand pharmacy services within the community.

Alex Dar Santos joined the BCPhA Board of Directors in 2013 and was elected vice-president for the 2016/17 term. He is the associate-owner of Shoppers Drug Mart #2237 in Richmond.

Alex graduated from the University of British Columbia with a Bachelor of Science in Biology in 1996 and a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy in 2002.

He has more than 13 years of experience as a pharmacist and in pharmacy management, as well as 18 years of retail pharmacy experience.

Alex is active in various charitable causes including the Shoppers Drug Mart Tree of Life, which is held in partnership with the Richmond Hospital Foundation, and the Ride Don't Hide Event in support of the BC division of the Canadian Mental Health Association.

Alex has been a Structured Practice Education Program (SPEP) preceptor for the past ten years, and greatly values the connection with UBC and its students. In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with his two children.

Julie Ford lives in Kamloops, where she operates an independent compounding pharmacy, Pharmasave Aberdeen. She opened her pharmacy in September 2021. 

Julie was raised in Williams Lake, BC, and graduated in 1994 from the University of British Columbia with her Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy. She went on to complete her Masters of Business Administration (MBA) at the Ivey School of Business, graduating in 2000.

Julie began her career as a pharmacist at an independent pharmacy in Williams Lake before working for Shoppers Drug Mart in Vancouver and throughout B.C. After completing her MBA, she has held a number of positions outside of pharmacy practice, most notably as the business affairs leader, pathology and lab medicine, at the BC Cancer Agency.

Ruhani Grewal was born and raised in Abbotsford, B.C. and currently works as a staff pharmacist with Loblaw #1559 in Mission, B.C. After completing her Bachelor’s of Science in Biochemistry at UBC, she went onto pursue a career in pharmacy, graduating in 2020. Ruhani says starting her career as a front-line healthcare worker during the COVID-19 pandemic taught her the true value of being a pharmacist. 

She started her career in pharmacy more than eight years ago, initially as a pharmacy assistant, then pharmacy student, and now a pharmacist. She has always enjoyed volunteering her time to the local community, mainly the elderly and immigrant population. From high school to the end of university, she worked with seniors to organize meaningful and productive activities to help with their mental and physical well-being. Now she helps volunteer her time to seniors and immigrants by organizing clinics for their overall health, such as healthy heart and diabetic clinics.
 

Steven Hopp has 23 years as a community pharmacist including 6 years servicing LTC homes, 13 years as a multi-store SDM associate, 8 years on SDM Peers Committee, one year as a relief pharmacist, and the last 4 years owning and managing independent pharmacies in Kelowna, Duncan and Surrey. He has always been involved in day to day dispensing and believes pharmacists are the heart and soul of healthcare in our communities.

Mark Kunzli graduated from the UBC Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences in 2007. After graduation, he managed a pharmacy in Campbell River then worked as a locum while pursuing his MBA in Health Care, which he received in 2011 from the Sauder School of Business. His MBA project on integrating pharmacogenomics into pharmacy practice led to his recognition in 2013 as co-founder of the UBC Sequencing Centre, and his subsequent work in the faculty on various pharmacist-led genomics projects.

After his time at UBC, Mark served as Executive Vice President at Avricore Health during the company’s transition from generic pharmaceutical manufacturing to pharmacy point-of-care testing. He has also worked as an investigator at the College of Pharmacists and currently works as a consultant with community pharmacies throughout the province. Mark is a past recipient of the Murray Dykeman Mentorship Award from the BCPhA and the Wellspring Leadership Award from the Canadian Foundation for Pharmacy.

In his personal life, Mark took on the role of dad in 2021, allowing him to fully embrace his penchant for terrible jokes and puns. Almost equal in importance is his role as judge at UBC Pharmacy Skits Night, an event he has not missed since first attending as a student in 2004.

Andrew Low graduated from the University of British Columbia’s Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences in 2012, but his passion for pharmacy began in 2007 when he volunteered at a retirement home to support a safe medication dispensing program for seniors. After graduation, he worked as a relief pharmacist, travelling across British Columbia to serve diverse communities. In 2013, Low settled in Duncan on Vancouver Island, where he embraced rural practice and became a pharmacy manager with Walmart.

Bless Morales is an International Pharmacy Graduate and began her Pharmacy career in 2005 as a pharmacy intern and has worked as a relief pharmacist in over 40 stores around the province of BC, covered acting pharmacy manager assignments in rural communities such as Prince Rupert and also managed in Mission, BC and Sardis in Chilliwack.

She has completed her pharmacist training at the University of Toronto and was a principal mentor to many foreign training pharmacist candidates that followed. In 2015, she worked in special projects focusing on business acquisitions and physician relations, as well as developing a strategies in entering the pharmacy market in the provinces of Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Yukon Territories. She has then progressed into her current role in Pharmacy Operations with her current employer, supporting stores in BC, Manitoba and Yukon.

She is a certified diabetes educator, certified injector pharmacist, and has done advance training in the area of specialty compounding and OAT. In addition, she was a UBC Pharmacy Practice Educator and the Chilliwack-Hope Representative for MLA Government relations. Outside of work, Bless enjoys baking, exploring the great outdoors,travelling and spending quality time with friends and family.

John Tse returned to the BCPhA Board of Directors in September 2013, having previously served on the Board from 2006 to 2012. He was previously vice-president, pharmacy and cosmetics at London Drugs.

John graduated from the UBC Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences in 1988 and began working in community pharmacy with London Drugs. He continued to work there full-time while returning to school to complete his Masters of Business Administration (MBA) in Commerce in 1994.

After beginning his career as a pharmacy technician more than 29 years ago, John has practiced as a staff pharmacist in a retail setting, in a chain pharmacy, in an independent community drugstore, and in institutional settings serving long-term care homes. He has also served as a pharmacy manager, pharmacy operations manager and pharmacy buyer.

John has also been involved with preceptorship for upcoming pharmacy and commerce graduates and has been a UBC guest lecturer. He has previously held roles with the College of Pharmacists of BC committees, Chain Drug Association of BC, Canadian Association of Chain Drug Stores, and Cedar Cottage Association.