Board of Directors
David Budd - President
From a young age David has had a keen interest in wildlife and the domestic animals around him. From caring for his first dog Chevy at a young age to becoming vegetarian at 15 years old, David has always held close the values of compassion and care.
David is the Chief Pilot at Ocean Air Floatplanes with over 20 years experience flying the BC Coast, daily observing firsthand the West Coast’s wildlife, and the constant pressures on habitats that are all too easy to witness.
After almost 5 years on the Board of Directors of the BCSPCA where David was a member of the Provincial Membership and Executive Committees, he reached the position of Second Vice President. He has also visited several animal Sanctuaries including The Elephant Nature Park in Thailand where he was involved in the resettlement of a blind elephant named Lucky from a circus to the Park, PAWS in California where the elephants from the Toronto Zoo have finally been retired and Farm Sanctuary in Upstate New York where farm animals have been rescued and afforded the ‘luxury’ to live full lives after the extreme cruelties of factory farming.
When not advocating for animal welfare David can be found on spending time on beaches and trails, gardening and bike riding around the Capital Regional District.
Kristy Kilpatrick - Vice-President
Kristy Kilpatrick is a recently retired teacher from the Greater Victoria School District, recognized for innovative teaching practices and for giving her students the tools to excel.
A two-time recipient of the Prime Minister’s Award for Teaching Excellence, her initiatives included an outdoor nature space at her school to support “urban wild culture” and community mapping.
Kristy encouraged her students to be stewards of the natural world by incorporating nature, including urban wildlife, into the school curriculum wherever possible.
In her new found spare time Kristy loves to garden, read, sew and go for long walks, but most of all, spend time with her husband, children and three young grandsons, along with her beloved dog Po.
Holly Vear - Secretary
Holly Vear works as a lawyer with a focus on assisting First Nation governments across Canada with all governance-related matters. Holly also works with local animal advocacy and animal welfare groups to help advance their respective missions.
As a Director on the board of the UWSS, Holly brings valuable insight, research skills, compassion and determination to animal welfare issues particularly, at this time, to humane and non-lethal methods of managing deer.
Holly enjoys spending time with her adopted dog, Bebesote, trail-running in Vancouver Island’s beautiful natural spaces, cooking delicious plant-based foods, and advocating for animals.
Susan Laberee - Treasurer
Susan has spent the majority of her 30+ year career working in a multinational corporation across Canada, Europe and Asia. Her experience has been primarily in the field of human resources focusing on management training, succession planning and organizational development. She is an accredited business Coach working with organizations and individuals in areas of career planning, team development and change management. In her roles as an executive team member, responsibilities included regional, national and global budgeting planning and analysis.
Prior to her recent relocation to Victoria, Susan enjoyed working as a volunteer with at risk youth in Vancouver and now looks forward to focusing her spare time in the area of environment and animal welfare.
She enjoys spending leisure time with her two sons, her sisters and their families, all of whom relocated to the Island over the course of the last 5 years. She is an avid traveler and has recently taken up trail-running, highly influenced by her niece as part of a healthy lifestyle.
Lynette Browne - SAG Liaison
Ever since Dr. Lynette Browne graduated from veterinary school in 1985, she has been passionately involved in the welfare of animals, both domestic and the wild ones that accidentally cross paths with humans. With her passion for both the animals and the environment, she believes it is important to back facts with science when making decisions involving animal welfare, especially in this rapidly changing climate we now live in.
Dr. Browne was an integral field team member since the 2018 capture and collar phase of the Oak Bay/Provincial and UWSS urban deer management research project. When not working at the animal emergency hospital, she volunteered her professional expertise in the capture, collaring, and releasing of 20 does. Dr. Browne’s calm, expert, efficient and compassionate care of the deer was invaluable to the process, and the UWSS was grateful for Lynette’s ongoing participating in the IC field work, as well as contributing her knowledge of wildlife and the interactions between animals and humans, to the UWSS.
Dr. Browne’s dream of living on the West Coast, amongst the mountains, the ocean, the animals and the beautiful landscape, finally became reality ten years ago when she re-located from Ontario. The move has proved to be beneficial both personally as well as in her professional life. She enjoys the challenges and rewards of working in multiple different small animal practices, including an emergency hospital, as well as the recently renewed gratification of home ownership. During her time away from work, she enjoys gardening, gymnastics, yoga, hiking, camping, kayaking, birding, and dog walks on the beach. She feels truly blessed to live in such a wonderful part of this country, to be able to contribute in whatever way she can to the local animal community, and is very mindful that we are in a small part of this beautiful ecosystem we call the Pacific Northwest.