VOKRA’s elected board of directors guides the organization to achieve its mission. Directors act in a position of trust for the community and are responsible for the effective governance of our organization.

The number of directors must be five (5) or a greater number determined from time to time at an annual general meeting but not be greater than twelve (12).

Tamsin Wyne, Chair
Maria Soroski, Director at Large
Karen Duncan, Director at Large
Michael Sheldrake, Director at Large
Sherry Work, Director at Large
Peggy Sullivan, Director at Large
Jazmin Peach, Director at Large

To meet the board click here.

General Manager: Dania Sheldon

Dania joined VOKRA on 4 July 2005 as a foster, and the organization quickly became a huge part of her life. After relocating to Gabriola Island in 2009, Dania continued to participate in VOKRA fundraising campaigns and to foster cats. She also became the liaison between VOKRA and her local cat rescue group, as well as other rescue groups in the Gulf Island and Vancouver Island regions. At present, she is the team lead for VOKRA’s Adoption Readiness and Support Team. In 2001, Dania received a doctorate in English language and literature from the University of Oxford, and for the past 25 years, she has been a self-employed professional writer and editor. She brings to the VOKRA Board excellent verbal and written communication abilities; a high level of organizational skills, focus, and self-direction; a very strong work ethic; well-developed interpersonal skills; a collaborative problem-solving approach; and a wide-ranging knowledge of cats and their physical, mental, emotional, and behavioural needs. Her family currently includes ten cats, nine of whom have chronic health challenges and permanent mobility differences, and she is the medical lead for her local cat rescue group on Gabriola.

 Dania’s employment history encompasses working for federal and provincial government departments and Crown corporations, including in human resources, corporate security, policy writing, and business continuity/succession planning. As a volunteer, she served for several years on the BC and national boards of Editors Canada, and from 2007 to 2023, she also served on the board of the Vancouver Oxford and Cambridge Society.

 In her two decades with VOKRA, Dania has helped found the Walk for the Kitties and the VOKRA Calendar, organizing and creating 11 of the 12 calendar editions, and she looks forward to continuing that work. Back in the mists of time, she started the earliest VOKRA newsletter, the Mewsletter, writing or sourcing and editing all of the content, doing the digital layout, and arranging the printing and distribution logistics. Dania was VOKRA’s first Operations Manager in the years before HQ was moved from Kitsilano to Wall Street, created VOKRA’s first website and org chart, and organized a successful media and fundraising campaign at a critical financial juncture in 2009–2010.

Finance

VOKRA receives no ongoing funding and relies solely on adoption fees, donations and grants to support our efforts.

2024 Financial Statements (unadudited)

2023 Financial Statements (unaudited)
2022 Financial Statements (unaudited)
2021 Financial Statements (unaudited)
2020 Financial Statements (unaudited)
2019 Financial Statements (unaudited)
2018 Financial Statements (unaudited)
2017 Financial Statements (unaudited)

Core Policies

Code of conduct

All staff, volunteers and members must abide by VOKRA’s Code of Conduct.

Privacy Policy

We’re committed to protecting the privacy of our donors, members, employees, volunteers, adopters and other stakeholders. Learn more here.

Donor Bill of Rights

To demonstrate our appreciation for the generosity of our donors, VOKRA honours the Donor Bill of Rights. VOKRA does not sell, rent or exchange any personal information collected from our supporters with any other organization or entity.