The Government of British Columbia has appointed five new directors to the board of the BC Lottery Corporation (BCLC).

BCLC is the Province's Crown corporation that is responsible for the conduct and management of gambling in B.C. under the Gaming Control Act.

The new directors are:

Joan Axford (term runs to Oct. 31, 2021)

Joan Axford is a professional accountant (CPA) with more than 40 years of experience, who has worked in public education finance for nearly three decades. Most recently, Axford worked as the executive director of the BC Association of School Business Officials. She served as secretary-treasurer with School District No. 63 (Saanich) until 2011. Previously, she held the position of director of school finance with the Ministry of Education and worked in School District No. 62 (Sooke) as the assistant secretary-treasurer. Axford is past chair of the BC Teachers’ Pension board of trustees and of Beacon Community Services. She is also past director of the British Columbia Investment Management Corporation.

Hilary Cassady (term runs to Oct. 31, 2019)

Hilary Cassady is the senior vice-president, IT and digital strategy at QuadReal Property Group (LP). Cassady spent 20 years overseas working in various roles for Danone, including regional information system director, Asia; director, organizational development and corporate projects; chief information officer (baby and medical divisions) and director, global e-commerce. Cassady also was a management consultant at PricewaterhouseCoopers, Beijing.

Lisa Ethans (term runs to Oct. 31, 2019)

A trusted advisor to many First Nations, Lisa Ethans is the founder of Deloitte’s National Indigenous Client Services practice. Her expertise includes the creation of First Nation wealth management and governance structures, trust structuring and administrative trustee services. Ethans often serves as an expert witness in judicial proceedings. Her community involvement includes an Indigenous mentoring program and an Indigenous scholarship fund.

Mario Lee (term runs to Oct. 31, 2021)

Mario Lee is a former senior social planner for the City of Vancouver, with extensive expertise in gaming policy, and has led a number of public consultations in this sector. Lee was involved in drafting the 1998 memorandum of agreement on gambling policy between the Government of B.C. and local governments and helped provide municipal feedback to the drafting of the Gaming Control Act (2002). Lee holds a master of arts in political science from the Simon Fraser University. His master’s thesis, The Role of Local Government in Gambling Expansion in British Columbia, has contributed to the understanding of the sector’s role in the province. He also holds a graduate diploma in urban studies from Simon Fraser University. Lee is board chair of Little Mountain Neighbourhood House, a social service agency located in Vancouver, which provides programs to new immigrants, seniors, youth and families.

Coro Strandberg (term runs to Oct. 31, 2020)

President of Strandberg Consulting, Coro Strandberg has a background in business, government and non-profit leadership working in social, environmental and financial roles. She has 20 years of experience as a corporate director and six years of industry association experience. Strandberg was a director of Vancity Credit Union for 12 years, three as board chairperson. During the 1990s, she helped position the credit union as an international leader in corporate social responsibility and values-based banking. Strandberg is a member of the Office of the Auditor General’s sustainable development commissioner advisory panel for the Government of Canada. She has a master of social work from University of British Columbia.

Learn More:

BCLC corporate governance and board of directors:
http://corporate.bclc.com/who-we-are/governance-and-oversight/board-of-directors.html