Our Team
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IFRC proudly works alongside the What If Foundation, a registered charity dedicated to building individualized funding. You can donate to the What If Foundation by clicking the donate button.

Paul-Gauthier  Paul Gauthier, Executive Director

Paul Gauthier is the Founder and Executive Director of the Individualized Funding Resource Centre (IFRC) Society. Paul’s key responsibility is program development for the IFRC and in collaboration with other organizations and municipalities in the province. He oversees all financial operations, and government resources.

Prior to the IFRC, Paul’s career also focused on improving the quality of life for all British Columbians with disabilities and has been a key figure in multiple, successful municipal projects that impact people with disabilities.  

Paul is one of the founders of the Choice in Supports for Independent Living (CSIL) program; a government funding program which allows people with disabilities to remain in their homes and employ their own personal support workers through individualized funding. His passion for helping people with disabilities has never waivered and his steadfastness lends him to being proof of its benefits to full participation in society.

No stranger to public speaking, Paul readily gives of his time, knowledge and experience in order to educate others on the value of individualized funding and how to be successful with it. He is a goal-setter and a natural born leader; breaking down barriers so people with disabilities can pursue their dreams.

Sports champion for Boccia: Paralympic Games, Parapan Games, Canadian Championships.  Paul is a multiple Gold medal, Silver medal and Bronze medal winner. He successfully represented Canada as 5X Paralympian and in 2004 was the first Canadian to win a gold medal for Canada in this sport. 

Award Moments: BC Paraplegic Association for Outstanding Community Contribution  Award in 2005, the BC Community Achievement Award in 2009 and the Premier’s Athletic Award for 7 years between 1995 and 2003. He received the BC Paraplegic Association award for Outstanding Community Contribution in 2005 and was named Sportability’s Male Athlete of the year in 2005.

Paul was awarded the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012 

In 2019 Paul was inducted into the Canadian Cerebral Palsy Sports Association Hall of Fame. It is his sincere hope that the next generation of athletes will continue to impact the Sports World by challenging themselves and society with true Community and World inclusion.

In 2023 Paul was accorded the esteemed honour of being appointed as a Member of the Order of Canada, for his “social entrepreneurship and advocacy of people living with disabilities in British Columbia”. The Order of Canada is the cornerstone to the Canadian Honours System and is the second highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit


Chris-Hofley  Chris Hofley, Founding Board Member

Chris Hofley is Co-Founder and IFRC Founding Board member.  Chris brings over 20 years of combined business and personal support experience. In addition to his career in the banking industry, Chris continues to give much of his time to mentoring young people with disabilities through various community and educational programs.

Being a person with tremendous empathy for others and strong social conscience for community, he has also spent 20 years counselling people with addiction through various programs in the lower mainland. He has brought his high level of passion for helping others succeed forward as a critical part of the team.

 An open, strong communicator, Chris enjoys public speaking before groups at events and education sessions for people who are learning about community living. He has a unique   way of working with families in addition to people living with both physical and development disabilities. Whether it is supporting peers, and resolving challenges which impact people   with disabilities or lending friends a helping hand, he will utilize his skills and extensive resources to resolve the issues he’s presented with. Chris is a valuable contributor to the success of any team he is on and his lighthearted sense of humour and enthusiasm keeps the team moving forward with an abundance of zeal.

Chris has an innate ability to connect with people from all walks of life. In supporting people with disabilities, he builds strong relationships with support workers and other resource professionals who make a significant difference to people with disabilities living in the community.

Chris applied that same spirit to team sports when he played Power Soccer off and on for 10 years. Chris enjoys being active, travelling to warm destinations and with the same team spirit he demonstrates every day the people and issues he supports professionally. That energy is also channeled into his personal life with his devotion to family. 


Dalton-Final-1 Dalton Finlay, Project Manager

Dalton Finlay is Project Manager and Navigator for the Right Fit Project (RFP) and the Individualized Funding Resource Centre (IFRC) Society. Dalton has been with the Right Fit Project since its 2017 inception and has since forged many positive relationships with clients, housing providers, and the many vital partners of the project. Dalton has brought over seven years of related experience to the project which has provided him with additional insight.

With a foundation of knowledge in the Choice in Supports for Independent Living (CSIL), Dalton is able to provide RFP clients with a high level of support in remaining independent in the community. With a thorough knowledge of home support and assistive equipment, he can address the needs of the individual in an all inclusive and comprehensive manner.

 Dalton has strong ties to the disabled community. His mother has Cerebral Palsy and had been told she would never be able to have children; she defied the odds when Dalton was   born.  Dalton has a passion for assisting people with disabilities to live life to the fullest and credits his mother for being an example of strength and resilience, and for the ability to   remain calm and centred in the face of life’s challenges.

Dalton and his wife enjoy travelling and collecting Funko Pop! figures in their spare time. Dalton is also an animal lover and together he and his wife have a small chihuahua named Rex. 


Kim HoKim Ho, Accounting Services

Kim Ho is a Financial and Managerial Accountant and a member of The Canadian Payroll Association. She has many years of experience working in non-profit and charitable organizations. Her greatest skill is working independently with numbers with a high degree of accuracy. Kim joined the IFRC Society in December 2013 as the Chief Financial Officer. In her current role, she is a payroll specialist. She sets up small business accounts, prepares monthly remittance and source deduction statements, writes cheques and takes the added stress off our CSIL employers.

In her childhood years, Kim contracted the Polio virus. Her disability, in no way, has stopped her from pursuing her dreams of  helping others. In her spare time, Kim enjoys sewing, knitting for charity and creating fruit and vegetable carvings.

 


Shiela SorotenShiela Soroten, Payroll Services

Shiela Soroten is a vital part of our Human Resources department at IFRC, as well as being a field supervisor and part of our payroll team, she is a member of the Canadian Payroll Association. Shiela has supported many of our clients in networking with potential staff based on their individual needs. Shiela has also assisted some of our clients in their transition from care facilities to their own home. Helping them to adapt to their new surroundings, responsibilities and life within the community, by assisting them in the recruitment and training of new staff.

 

 


Ean PriceEan Price, Technical Director

Ean Price joined the IFRC Society team in May 2014. He is our IT expert. Ean’s knowledge in computer software is valuable for website presence. He is an entrepreneur; founder of ICAN Resource Group Inc., a multifaceted corporation primarily focused on Medical Assistive Devices and Multimedia Development in Kelowna, British Columbia. He is a strong activist for independence through technology. This passion led Ean to become Kelowna Chapter Coordinator for the Tetra Society. In 2012, Ean joined the Board of the BC Association for Individualized Technology and Supports for People with Disabilities (BCITS). Other volunteer contributions include the Rick Hansen 25th Anniversary Relay,  Neil Squire Society and Muscular Dystrophy Canada. In his free time Ean enjoys traveling overseas.

 

 


Joseph TheriaultJoseph Theriault, President

Joseph Theriault is President of the IFRC Board of Directors since May 2014. He has valuable experience allowing him to see both sides of health care; working within the industry as a Home Support Worker, Residential Care Attendant and as well as for CSIL Employers. Joseph has been instrumental in assisting Paul Gauthier obtain his initial independence. He worked alongside Paul and others as pioneers of the individual funding project; then known as Enhanced Consumer Participation Model [ECPM].

Joseph continued to work with Paul and the Health Authorities to create and promote the CSIL Program, as we know it today, by travelling throughout British Columbia with Paul and meeting with people throughout the province. He provided workshops about CSIL through the Capilano Community College in the Lower Mainland and has promoted the CSIL Program further in tours and  various training workshops all over British Columbia.

 


Glen BlakeGlen Blake, Vice-President

Glen Blake is Vice-President of the IFRC since May 2014. He was a Special Education Assistant for over fifteen years where his compassion and understanding for the needs of people with disabilities, shone. While fulfilling his role within the Surrey School district, Glen also worked as a Group Home Care Attendant; providing care, patience and empathy to children of the Fraser Valley Child Development Centre. Currently he works as an Equipment Operator I. Glen has Cerebral Palsy and was the Founding member of SportAbility BC.

His love of sports continued with a list of credentials from 1981 to 2005; Track Athlete, Surrey Hotshots Boccia Club Coach, Boccia Referee and the  Provincial and National Boccia Coach for the Cerebral Palsy Sports Association. Glen’s goal is to improve the lives of people with disabilities  and support them to choose their own path; through Education, sports and  individual backing. He believes the fundamental place to start is  choosing how  and where to live. Community is all around us;  living and breathing. Glen whole-heartedly supports our right to grow within our  community.


Anthony ChengAnthony Cheng, Treasurer

Anthony Cheng is a Self-Employed Bookkeeper servicing approximately 60 CSIL employers in the Metro Vancouver area. When Paul Gauthier, our Executive Director, started on the CSIL program in 1994, Anthony was there at the forefront performing payroll services. Anthony had provided payroll training to CSIL employers throughout the mid-1990’s and continues to provide information for various guide materials such as the CSIL Employers’ Association payroll module. He provided orientation to IFRC Society payroll service provider.

In his free time, he volunteers for SportAbility BC in numerous sports such as Boccia, Powersoccer as well as the Vancouver Parks Board in its Adapted Aquatics  Program.

 


Anthony ChengBenson Au, Secretary

Benson Au is the Board Secretary for the IFRC. He has worked with people with disabilities since 2012 as a personal support work and as a Technology Specialist. He has a passion for technology and how it can positively impact the lives of people with disabilities. Benson finds working in the non profit sector rewarding; it allows him to make the personal connections with clients and he continues to be inspired by the success stories of how the IFRC has helped change the lives of the many individuals living with disabilities in BC.

In his free time Benson enjoys ongoing learning, DIY projects, collectibles and investing.