Board of Directors

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.

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.

Mike Huitema graduated from the University of Alberta with a BSc in Pharmacy in 2007. Growing up with both parents owning various small businesses, Mike has been involved in small community business his whole life.
 
After graduating from university, he lived and practiced in Kamloops, where he was the associate-owner of Shoppers Drug Mart #277 for more than 10 years. In 2020, he moved to Salmon Arm, where he is now associate owner of Shoppers Drug Mart #248.

Mike started his first term on the BCPhA Board in 2019 as an elected board member.

Livia 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.

She has experience managing and overseeing both urban and rural community pharmacies across B.C. that makes her appreciate the uniqueness and challenges pharmacy colleagues face on a day-to-day basis. 

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.

Mark Dickson began his pharmacy career in 1991 as a pharmacist at Dawson Creek and District Hospital. After three years of hospital practice, he spent ten years in community practice primarily on Vancouver Island, before joining the Shoppers Drug Mart Regional office in 2004. 

After completing an MBA at SFU in 2005 Mark joined Pharmasave Drugs where he led the national pharmacy team until 2013. Mark led the successful wrap up of the Peoples Drug Mart banner in 2018. 

As a Board Director and then chair of the Canadian Association of Chain Drug Stores from 2009 to 2011, Mark engaged in and led discussions and negotiations with government and industry leaders across the country that continue to shape the pharmacy industry in Canada today. He subsequently served as a Board Director for the Canadian Pharmacists Association from 2015 to 2018. 
  
In 2018, he and his wife, Terra, retired to the Okanagan where they split their time between Kelowna and their cabin on Mabel Lake. Mark is enjoying the opportunity to give back to the pharmacy profession through service on the BCPhA Board. He has served on the Board of Directors for a total of 10 years.

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. 

Gary Go completed a Bachelor of Science in Biology before completing a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy in 1995, both from the University of British Columbia. He has been a BCPhA member since he graduated and is a participant of the Neighbourhood Pharmacy Association of Canada.

Gary worked as a pharmacist in various Lower Mainland locations and in Victoria before becoming a regional manager, pharmacy operations with Save-on-Foods Pharmacy. In his current role, he has looked after pharmacies in Alberta, Kootenay, Vancouver Island, Okanagan, Vancouver Lower Mainland and the Fraser Valley.

Michelle Gray graduated from the University of British Columbia in 1997. She started her career as the Zellers Pharmacy Manager in Cranbrook. She joined a small independent pharmacy, Medicine Centre in Kimberley in 2002 and took on the role of starting a non-sterile compounding service. She went to Houston, Texas to start her compound training with PCCA. Eventually, the independent pharmacy was sold to Shoppers Drug Mart in 2006. 
 
Michelle then became an associate owner of Shoppers Drug Mart for 3 years in Cranbrook. This training was invaluable for her next step in opening her independent compounding pharmacy back in Kimberley in 2013. Gray’s Compounding Pharmacy has been in operation for 10 years now. Michelle is passionate about serving her customers with an in-depth, whole health approach.

Michelle says being part of the BCPhA Board of Directors has been very important and rewarding. The BCPhA has had the privilege of leading the largest changes that our pharmacy practice has seen during the 25 years of her practice. 

When not at work, she enjoys spending time with her three kids, exchange student, husband, and dog.  She enjoys the great outdoors from telemark skiing in the winter to hiking and golfing in the summer.  

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.
 

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.

Bless 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.