Meet Our Team
DIRECTORS
BRIAN BOONE, P.ENG. B.SC. CIVIL ENGINEERING/PROJECT MANAGER, PRESIDENT
Brian is our senior project manager with extensive experience in civil and structural engineering design, construction management and project management with both Canadian and international projects. He is a proven manager of a variety of design and construction projects from inception to delivery. Projects worked on include residential, institutional and industrial buildings, oil industry facilities, power stations, forestry and mine infrastructure, environmental and multiple small projects. Brian also has international project management and engineering experience in Indonesia, the Caribbean, Middle East (Qatar), Australia, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Angola, Equatorial Guinea and Algeria.
ROBERT ‘BOB’ CULBERT, B.APP.SC., P.ENG., DIRECTOR
Bob is a civil engineer with over four decades of domestic and international project experience, including concrete quality control, highway and bridge design, seaport planning in British Columbia and New Brunswick, and international project management in Nigeria, Nepal and Indonesia. Previously a president of a land resource consulting company and a BC ski resort, he is now a director of several mineral exploration public companies. He is proud to be with Builders Without Borders for fifteen years including post-earthquake rebuilding in Gujarat Western India, Northwest Frontier Pakistan, Haiti and Nepal.
DE WHALEN, DIRECTOR
De Whalen was a union negotiator for fifteen years and worked in public health as a laboratory scientist. De now focuses her time as a community activist work in antipoverty advocacy. This includes the areas of affordable housing, food security, transportation and childcare. De is Chair of the Richmond Poverty Response Committee working on a housing campaign for the homeless that offers wrap-around support. De offers experience in advocacy, start-ups and governance having been on many boards.
MARK OLSSON, DIRECTOR
Technology Professional with expertise in Leadership, Project/Product Management, Data Architecture, and Infrastructure Management. Over 15 years of working on a wide array of technology projects in several industries in both Public and Private sectors. Significant successes in Process Creation & Improvement, Leading Development High-Performing Teams and Customer Relationship Management.
THOMAS PIWOWARSKI, DIRECTOR
Thomas Piwowarski is a marketing specialist and founding shareholder of a Vancouver brewery. He has over 10 years of experience in sales and marketing, specializing in digital marketing and 7 years as a carpenter. He is the Marketing Manager at New-Line Hose & Fittings. Thomas is highly educated in the marketing industry, completing Marketing Management at Harvard University. He has also studied at UBC Sauder School of Business and Kwantlen University College. Thomas is also a member of the Gull Bay First Nations Band and has a passion for building Indigenous capacities.
CAROLINE HART, DIRECTOR
Caroline Hart has 25 years of experience in working in non-profits overlapping with 10 years’ experience in the construction industry. Over the past three years she has worked as a relief worker and videographer with BWB in Haiti, HOPE Foundation in the Rohingya refugee camps and GlobalFire in Honduras. She has volunteered with BWB since 2010 and will remain in this position until she leaves to work in the developing world full time in 2021 when her last child (of four) graduates. Caroline is beyond grateful for the years of knowledge and experience gained working with such an internationally renowned organization.
ADVISORS + PROJECT MANAGERS
NEIL GRIGGS, M.A. PROJECT MANAGER, FOUNDER
Neil has spent forty years managing and developing construction projects in British Columbia, United States, Australia and South East Asia. British Columbia projects include properties on Vancouver’s False Creek waterfront lands and BC Building Corporation’s Oakland residential neighbourhood in Burnaby. As President and General Manager of Whistler Village Land Company, he was responsible for managing development of infrastructure, hotels, restaurants and shops. He spent five years in Australia and Asia managing the development of large tourist resorts, hotels and residential properties. In 1998 he founded BWB, together with colleagues and his brother. Over the next twenty years, BWB has worked on medical facilities, schools and housing projects in twelve countries.
ROBERT DICKINSON, CPA, CA
Rob is a retired chartered accountant. He was the Vice President Finance for 13 years with Sandwell Inc. Sandwell was a major consulting engineering firm with offices throughout North America and internationally. They were engaged in design, build and construction of major projects in pulp and paper, as well as materials handling and the ports and marine industry. More recently Rob ran his own accounting practice in Vancouver providing taxation and accounting services to owners of small business and to self employed professionals
ANDREW CHAD, M.ENG, P.ENG.
Andrew is a Structural Engineer and owner of Aspect Structural Engineers Inc. based in Vancouver. He has over 14 years of structural engineering experience, working on a variety projects ranging from simple houses to $30M+ school and community centers. Andrew is proficient designing with all major building materials and is familiar with construction means and methods found in developing countries. Prior to starting his own firm, he was employed at Fast + Epp Structural Engineers, a firm renowned for it's innovative and architecturally expressive structures. Andrew has a Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering and a Masters degree in Earthquake Engineering. Andrew joined Builders Without Borders in 2011 and consulted on a variety of projects in Nepal, the Philippines and Haiti.
JANET PORTER, MBA
Janet has over 17 years of experience in humanitarian work, relief & recovery, shelter & disaster management. As a Cambridge MBA graduate, she stewarded multiphase projects and programs in Africa, Haiti, India, Canada and the UK from inception through planning, execution, completion and review. Known as a communications bridge, she thrives on engaging stakeholders and rallying diverse teams towards a unified vision. Janet has worked with various local and international organizations, as well as with both Red Cross and First Nations Economic Development initiatives. With an education background in business, engineering technologies (GIS) and environmental science she is pleased to be a part of Builders Without Borders team and continue her passion for social impacts and sustainable initiatives.
RICH HUMPHRIES, M.Sc., PE, PEng
Rich Humphries is a consulting engineer with over 50 years of experience in planning, design and construction of large engineering projects in many parts of the world. His work experience has primarily been on dam, hydroelectric and tunnel projects. These projects have been in Canada, the USA, Zimbabwe, Indonesia, Australia, Chile, France, and many other countries around the world. He is a registered Professional Engineer in Canada and the USA. Rich was brought up in Zimbabwe and has lived the UK, France, Canada and the USA. He is fluent in English and French and has a working knowledge of Spanish. He has recently joined Builders Without Borders and is happy to work on planning, design and construction of their many projects.
BWB ADVOCATES AND VOLUNTEERS
Elias Alacar – Philippines
Julia Armstrong – Turkey, Sri Lanka
Enda Bardell – Turkey
Jonn Bramen – Maldives
Svetlana Brzev – Algeria, Nepal, India
Chris Culos – Graphic Designer
Brendon Farrell – Sri Lanka
Bob Fiddes – India
Mark Grimm – Sri Lanka
Ralph Heading – Sri Lanka
Gudrun Hupfauer – Turkey
Saqib Khan – Pakistan
Doug Nelin – Sri Lanka
Charlie McGregor – India
Bishu Pandey – Nepal
Emma Risley – Sri Lanka
Glade Schoenfeld – Nepal
Wayne Traux – Sri Lanka
Rob Unger – Sri Lanka
Gerry Zipursky – Haiti