Staff

Our staff deliver the day-to-day operations of Forest Professionals BC to meet the responsibilities mandated by the Professional Governance Act and achieve the strategic goals and objectives set by FPBC Board.

Staff Organizational Chart
Business Function Overview by Staff Team

Senior Leadership Team

Christine Gelowitz, RPF

Chief Executive Officer and Registrar

Christine Gelowitz, RPF, is chief executive officer and registrar of Forest Professionals British Columbia (FPBC), a regulatory body that governs the professional conduct of 5,400 forest professionals licenced to practice professional forestry in British Columbia.

Christine is a change leader, policy designer, and regulated professional. She has held executive leadership roles since 2011, and has more than 20 years experience in policy and program development in the forest, natural resource, professional regulation, and association management sectors.

Christine knows how to partner to drive transformative business change, and how to turn strategy into real business results. Most recently, Christine led Forest Professionals BC to transition its whole operations to operate under the Professional Governance Act after nearly 75 years of operating under the Foresters Act. Christine is also proudly supporting the organization to advance Indigenous reconciliation and gender equity in the forest sector.

Christine holds a professional designation as a Registered Professional Forester (RPF), and a science degree in Natural Resource Management with a forestry major.

Prior to joining Forest Professionals BC in 2016, Christine worked in the BC provincial government for nearly 20 years in various forest and natural resource ministries, where she honed her skills delivering government business programs and received training and executive coaching in people leadership, policy design, business improvement, strategy development and execution.

Christine is grateful to live, work and play on Vancouver Island in the traditional territories of the Lkwungen peoples.

Kate Haines, MSc

Chief Compliance Officer & Deputy Registrar

Kate Haines, MSc, brings nearly two decades of natural resource management, policy development, and decision-making experience from working in the BC Public Service, most recently as superintendent of the Office of the Superintendent of Professional Governance (OSPG) and the Office for International Credential Recognition.

Kate has a bachelor’s degree in biosciences from the University of Calgary and a master’s degree in geography from the University of Victoria. She was a Registered Professional Biologist until 2015 and plans to re-register.

As chief compliance officer and deputy registrar for Forest Professionals BC, Kate will exercise the statutory authority of the registrar in the areas of complaints, discipline, enforcement of reserved title and practice, and indictable offences. Kate serves as the secondary authority to the CEO and registrar.

Tara Bergeson, RPF, MSc

Director of Practice

Tara Bergeson, MSc, RPF, is the director of practice with Forest Professionals BC. She is responsible for ensuring standards of practice and competence are developed, reflective, and conveyed to all forest professionals of BC. She also leads professional practice and conduct advice for all registrants.

Previous to this role, she built her career working in forest management throughout the province and in western Canada, specializing in wildland fire and urban forest management. Tara regularly volunteers and contributes on several advisory panels, and understands the value in bringing the lens of governance, protection of the public interest, and strategic vision to all areas of her work.

Tara lives and recreates on the traditional lands of the Syilx Okanagan people, in Kelowna, BC.

Aga Jendo, CPA, CMA

Director of Finance & Administration

Aga Jendo, CPA, CMA, is a registered finance professional, holding CPA and CMA designations, and has more than 20 years of financial and administrative experience, the past 12 at the director level.

Aga is the director of finance and administration for Forest Professionals BC and previously served as the director of finance and operations at West Point Grey Academy.

Chi Cejalvo, MA, RD

Deputy Registrar and Director of Registration

Chi (Charissa) Cejalvo, MA, RD, is the deputy registrar and director of registration with Forest Professionals BC. In partnership with the senior leadership team, Chi oversees all admissions and registration systems. Chi has been regulating forest professionals since 2019 and has worked in professional regulation for more than 10 years.

Chi is a regulated health professional (registered dietitian), having completed a bachelor of science in dietetics at UBC, as well as a dietetic internship at Regina General Hospital in Saskatchewan. She also holds a master of arts in leadership from Royal Roads University.

Admissions and Registration

Registration Manager

Sylvia Xie, BScF

Registration Coordinator

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Harvinder Singh, MBA

Learning Management Coordinator

Complaints, Discipline, and Enforcement

Charlotte Mellstrom, RPF

Deputy Director of Compliance

Conrad Malilay

Compliance Manager

Finance and Administration

Thrishala Weerawardana, CMA

Senior Accountant

Ondrej Sindar

Business Services Manager

Wendy Halasz Corless

Executive Assistant

Professional Practice

Deputy Director, Competence & Practice

Troy Lee, MA, BScF

Manager, Learning and Development

Sabrina Kiupel

Administrative Coordinator

Registrant Communications, Public & Stakeholder Engagement

Dean Pelkey

Director of Communications

Cheryl Waddell

Communications Manager

Michael Hall

Senior Online Communications Specialist