Our Leadership Team
Marcia Yale (Huntsville, ON) - President
Marcia Yale was born totally blind and attended elementary school at the Ontario School for the Blind, where she learned to read and write Braille. She was then lucky enough to be able to return to her own neighbourhood, where she attended the remainder of elementary school, junior high and high school. Marcia has always loved technology. She started working with computers in 1987 and has no fear--there's always the cancel button, alt-F4 or the power button if all goes truly wrong! In 2016, Marcia received her first refreshable Braille display-now she pairs it with her iPhone and is so happy to be able to truly read.
Marcia has been volunteering with AEBC since 2001, becoming National President in October of 2020. She currently represents AEBC in the leadership group of the Canadian Disability Network, and is also the Chair of the Board of the Broadcasting Accessibility Fund.
Marcia's saddest moment was when her husband, Mike, died in 2015. Her proudest moment since then was graduation day at Guide Dogs for the Blind in July of 2017. After a life of cane travel in the big city, she brought a precious guide dog back to her adopted small town.
Linda Bartram (Victoria, BC) - 1st Vice-President
Linda was born with a degenerative eye condition, Retinitis Pigmentosa, which has left her totally blind. Linda has always been a passionate advocate for inclusion and the rights of persons with visual and other disabilities. Throughout the past 40 years, she has advocated as a consultant to BC Ferries, the Federal and BC Governments, the Town of Oliver and for the past nine years, the City of Victoria.
In the 70s, Linda trained as a Physiotherapist in London England and worked in this field both in England and Victoria, British Columbia, for about 10 years. Linda left the workplace when her eyesight worsened and raised a young family. In 2009 she returned to work as a Super Navigator with the provincial Equipment and Assistive Devices Initiative (EATI) and later the Pacific Training Centre for the Blind (PTCB) teaching blindness travel and life skills and hosting out-of-town students attending PTCB.
Linda joined AEBC in the 90s taking on research and projects related to mentorship, provincial assistive device programs, and provision of alternate formats of federal documents. She formed and acted as the first president of the Victoria AEBC chapter in the early 2000s and as the BC Affiliate President after returning to Victoria in 2012. In 2020, Linda took on the position of National Treasurer and in 2022 that of National 1st Vice President.
When Linda finds a few hours to spare, she enjoys puttering in her garden, creating art, singing, learning new crafts such as weaving, reading a good book, and walking on her treadmill.
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Now in her 70s, Linda hopes to pass on the baton to a younger generation of blind activists, but she wonders where they are!! "My generation has made great strides in improving the lives of blind Canadians, but there is much more work to be done and maybe its your turn? If you think it is or if you are just curious, I strongly encourage you to join AEBC!! We’ll help you find your role in shaping a more accessible World for yourself and the next generation of Canadians who are blind."
Ryan Fleury (Vancouver, BC) - 2nd Vice-President
Ryan is totally blind and lost his sight due to a car accident back in 1995. Five years later he began working in the assistive technology field providing sales, support and training to customers across Canada which he continues to do today.
Ryan is also a podcast host on the A T Banter podcast over at www.atbanter.com and a singer-song-writer who plays guitar and bass. You can check out his music on his YouTube channel at www.whitecanerecords.com
In 2022, Ryan became a Director on the national board of AEBC and currently sits as the 2nd Vice President. He is also on the Equalizer committee, Communications and Membership committees working with others to help position the organization to move forward. In 2023, Ryan also became the Vice President of the BC Affiliate to focus his efforts locally as well as nationally.
"I encourage everyone to think about advocacy, inclusivity as they go about their daily lives, The disability community is the only minority group anyone can become a part of at any time so the work we do now will benefit everyone."
Diana Brent (Calgary, AB) - Secretary
Diana says that her rush to come into the world two-and-a-half months early must have been because she was meant to be a Gemini, rather than a Leo. Her early education began at Jericho Hill School for the Blind in Vancouver, but after two years of consistent advocating by her family, she left there and remained in her hometown from grades 4 through graduation where she was the Valedictorian. A love of music has always been Diana's passion, though it never became a vocation – her mother always said she could sing before she could talk.
“That’s why I think Gemini fits, because shortly after graduation from the University of British Columbia with my music performance degree, I moved with my newly minted English professor husband who was one of my university readers, to Calgary, where we raised two girls and have lived ever since. My career in all thing’s technology, though without the same emotional highs as singing, has been equally as challenging and rewarding,” she says. It has taken her to schools, colleges, and into private contract settings.
In the early ‘80’s, Diana's volunteer job teaching living skills at the CNIB turned into employment with a rehabilitation certificate and sneaking bits of assistive technology home on weekends to master its wiles. Eventually Diana ended up teaching other staff and clients to use it too. In the ‘90’s before the Internet was a thing except for academic or military settings, she ran a national telecommunications network that was able to accommodate a wide variety of assistive technologies used by a diverse population within the disability community, giving them a space for virtual meetings or chats. When the Internet made that network superfluous, Diana worked as an Education Assistant, and once her girls went off to university, she returned there too, for a second degree in teaching, retiring from the Calgary Board of Education in 2013.
Slipped in between work and family responsibilities, volunteering on local, provincial and national boards of disability organizations including HandiBus, the local accessible transportation service, ACCD, now the Voice of Albertans with Disabilities, and CCD, consumed any vacant hours left in her day.
Since retirement, Diana and her husband have been enjoying their adult children’s families including 4 grandchildren, taking cruises, and snow birding in their winter home in Arizona. The infamous pandemic, with its variety of virtual zoom opportunities, has returned Diana to volunteering where she currently enjoys her Secretary role on AEBC’s national board. “It’s a fantastic advocacy organization that is very welcoming and friendly,” Diana says, “and I encourage everyone, young and old, regardless of skill level, to get involved. you can learn a lot putting your creative energy to good use, and more important, it’s helping others and is fun!”
Chantal Oakes (Kelowna, BC) - Treasurer
Chantal is originally from St. Jerome, Quebec and moved to British Columbia in the 70s. She was born with congenital cataracts and has little sight, but that has never stopped her from achieving her goals. She attended Jericho Hill School for the Deaf and Blind as a French speaking student in an English environment—travelling home only on weekends. She views this as a confidence building time which strengthened her belief that one can overcome many hurdles with perseverance.
Fluent in both official languages benefited Chantal’s career with the Federal Government for over 20 years. Chantal also holds a certificate in Community Social Work and while she was never employed in that capacity, she found many ways to use her skills in the volunteer sector and throughout her tenure as a public servant.
Chantal’s involvement with volunteering started in her early 20s as she was introduced to the world of becoming an advocate on behalf of persons who are blind. She recalls her work with the BC Educational Association of Disabled Students which was a take on the National organization (NEADS.) A memorable event was when she and a colleague successfully applied for a grant to create a Provincial Association to assist Disabled Students in British Columbia.
A member of AEBC since the 90s, Chantal’s late husband Rick was a big influence for her and together they gave much of their time to the organization while raising two daughters. Now a grandmother of two, Chantal enjoys spending time with her family while fitting in the work of AEBC and other volunteer opportunities as time permits. In her spare time, Chantal enjoys Kelowna’s dinner theatre, exploring her love of cooking and baking, knitting, and other craft projects.
Hilton Schwartz (Montreal, QC) - Director-at-Large
Hilton was born in Montreal, where he still lives with his amazing wife. Together they have many years of happy marriage, four kids, and nine grandkids. Hilton received a science degree at McGill University, worked in industry and manufacturing, and was a management consultant until his failing vision became total blindness. He uses these experiences to impact and affect the ideas and actions that he brings to AEBC.
Invited to a meeting as a new member to review the Accessible Canada Act, Hilton mostly listened and learned. The drumbeat of inclusion came through, and he was beginning to soak up and glow with what it means to be an advocate.
Currently in his third term on the national board as a Director, Hilton is also active on the Advocacy and Communications committees. Hilton brings different ideas and creative thinking to his involvement. As examples, he created and led an outreach task force to connect with major banks to present ourselves as their accessibility advisory partner, and ran a pilot project newsletter focusing on our advocacy activities. Other activities include standards for self-service kiosk, acting as our representative to the Canadian Transportation Agency, Consumer Access Group, and on the Advisory Committee to create standards for the instructions we receive when starting with our devices.
Nominated for volunteer of the year, Hilton encourages everyone to lead the fullest life they can, breaking down and running over any barriers, and encouraging everyone to do the same. He says that AEBC has enabled him to do the best he can to remove barriers. “I have created and enjoy relationships with colleagues and other organizations, and my life is richer and fuller for this activity."
Pat Seed (Thunder Bay, ON) - Director-at-Large
BIO COMING SOON
Lee Pigeau (Ottawa, ON) - Ex Officio, Executive Director
Lee has more than 25 years of experience in Canada's non-profit sector, showcasing leadership roles in various national and local organizations including National Executive Director for the Canadian Hard of Hearing Association, CEO at Habitat for Humanity Huronia, Executive Director of Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital Foundation, and has operated his own consulting firm.
Lee's involvement in philanthropy includes management and executive roles in both the hospital and education sector. He spent six years as an adjunct faculty member at Georgian College, shaping the Fundraising and Resource Development post-graduate program and authored sections of the book "The Vigilant Fundraiser." Engaged in community service, Lee participated in the Resilience 2020 project, aiding charities amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Additionally, Lee has served on the Board of Directors for Obesity Canada, and volunteers in marketing for the CHITF Taekwondo Associations in Canada and the Dominican Republic.