Salt Spring Forum Board
George Sipos – Writer (Forum Treasurer)
"When I finished high school in 1967 I scored in the bottom 2% of Ontario students for showing interest in a clerical career. Now, after many decades as a teacher, writer, bookseller, and performing arts administrator, I have discovered a late-life love of bookkeeping. Who would have thought? “Excel is your friend,” I now profess to anyone who will listen."
Jim Erickson – Oscar-winning
Set Decorator
“In 1974 I immigrated to Canada seeking a more tolerant and healthy society. This I found here. Canada allowed me to grow and embrace the challenges of life. I found myself invited into the film industry. This career satisfied my curiosity of life. The Salt Spring Forum continues to do this. It is a welcome privilege to be part of this group of smart forward-thinking people who really care about lives, the role of government and contemplate our responsibility to this island rock on which we live and beyond.”
Kaylea Kray-Domingo
"I've lived across Canada and internationally, but I will always consider the west coast home. I am currently a JID/JD law school student at UVic, which is a joint degree program in Indigenous Legal Orders and Canadian Common Law. I'm an alumni of Gulf Islands Secondary School, United World College of the Atlantic, University of Toronto, and in 2018 I completed the Institute for Future Legislators at the University of British Columbia. Prior to law school I worked in politics for almost five years at both the federal and provincial level. I'm passionate about encouraging thought-provoking conversations that challenge and engage our understanding of the world, and I'm delighted to be a part of the Salt Spring Forum."
Michael Byers – Political Science Professor, UBC (Forum Chair)
“I moved to Salt Spring Island for its beautiful beaches, parks and vistas — and soon found that the true beauty of this place lies in its cohesive, compassionate, internationally-oriented, highly engaged community.”
Tara Martin- Professor, Faculty of Forestry, UBC
Dr Tara Martin is a Professor of Conservation Decision Science in the Faculty of Forestry at the University of British Columbia and holds UBC’s inaugural Liber Ero Chair in Conservation. Tara is a pioneer in the field of conservation decision making - combining ecological data with decision science to bridge the gap between research and on-ground conservation action and policy. Her research interests include prioritizing threat management action for biodiversity conservation under global change and ecocultural restoration in the Salish Sea. For more on her research visit www.taramartin.org; Follow on Twitter: @TaraGMartin or Instagram: @ConservationDecisions
Martin Adam-
Martin Adam is Associate Professor in the Religion, Culture and Society Program at the University of Victoria. He received his Ph.D from McGill University in 2003. He works in the area of Buddhist Studies with research interests in ethics, philosophy of religion, and meditation theory and practice.
Peter Haase-
Peter Haase is an electrician/builder, singer/musician, artist, gardener, letterpress printer/teacher, former preacher and scriptural teacher. A centre-left political activist. Opened and ran a crisis centre for runaway kids in Sydney for two years. Has interests in mythology and the sciences. Enjoys intelligent dialogue, fishing, soccer, chess, classical music.
Born in Everton, Liverpool, he immigrated to Australia in December 1966, then Canada in 1971. Lived in Toronto, the Yukon and Vancouver, before settling on Salt Spring Island in 1990. He married Canadian writer and publisher Mona Fertig.
They have a son and daughter. Has a published book on early memoir and a sequel nearly finished.