About EducationPlannerBC
Every journey looks a little different.
We connect people to education and career opportunities through information, support, and technology. Our website is home to the provincial post-secondary application service and valuable resources. Students can access information such as program and career planning, admission requirements, financial aid options, and can easily apply to any of B.C.’s 25 public post-secondary institutions. EducationPlannerBC improves access to post-secondary education in B.C. by engaging and informing students and their supporters, throughout their planning, researching, and applying stages, with no associated cost.
Vision
To every person, a pathway to the future.
Mission
We connect people to education and career opportunities through information, support and technology.
Values
Collaborative | Innovative | Fun | Inclusive
Leadership team
Karen McCredie, Executive Director
Karen joined EducationPlannerBC as the Executive Director in 2019. Karen drives the strategic direction of the organization. She brings a wealth of experience from her previous roles in B.C. post-secondary institutions as well as being a member of a variety of councils, working groups and committees in related agencies and the Ministry.
Stacey Baker, Chief Technology Officer
Stacey has been with EducationPlannerBC since 2017, responsible for facilitating and managing systems development projects for EPBC’s services. He brings a wealth of knowledge from many different technology leadership roles in Canada and the UK, in various sectors including in the e-commerce, financial, government, as well as health care sectors.
Cathy van Soest, Director of Client Relations
Cathy joined EducationPlannerBC in 2015 and leads the integration and strategic utilization of EPBC’s products and services for use by the post-secondary sector, including client relationship management, product/service management and delivery, and technical support. Cathy is also responsible for EPBC’s annual conference, EPBConnects. Cathy has worked in both post-secondary and K-12 sectors and has a background in open learning, education technology and international education. She is a member and past Co-chair of the Canadian Postsecondary Electronic Standards Council User Group (CanPESC) and collaborates across Canada to advance the use of digital data standards for educational record exchange.
Jillian Feist, Director of Corporate Services
Jillian has been with EducationPlannerBC since 2019 and is responsible for leading the internal services for the organization in the areas of administrative services, policy, privacy, internal IT, and reporting. She brings a comprehensive leadership background in post-secondary education from her roles in the registrar’s office, faculty human resources, and co-op education as well as her involvement in post-secondary sector working groups and as a sessional instructor.
Kelly Cameron, Director of Marketing and Engagement
Kelly joined EducationPlannerBC in 2021, leading the community engagement work to reach students and their supporters throughout the province, as well as managing EPBC’s branding and communications to create awareness and deliver messaging to support EducationPlannerBC services. She brings a well-rounded background in marketing and communications from across a range of corporate, government and not-for-profit environments, with a focus in branding, community engagement, and program implementation.
Steering Committee
The Steering Committee is responsible for overseeing the strategic operations and finances of EducationPlannerBC (EPBC) to support the provision of a provincial application and data exchange hub designed to improve access to public post-secondary education in British Columbia by engaging and informing applicants and their supporters throughout their post-secondary research, planning and application stages. The Committee is committed to principles of diversity reflective of the province.
Members
Dr. Kathy Denton, Co-Chair, Douglas College
Daniel Blue, Simon Fraser University
Michael Bluhm, Thompson Rivers University
Mary DeMarinis, Justice Institute of British Columbia
Dr. Jane Fee, Member at Large
Benjamin Ferrel, Ministry of Post-Secondary and Future Skills
Dr. Robert Fleming, BC Council on Admissions and Transfer
Dr. Andrew Hay, Okanagan College
Dr. Dennis Johnson, College of New Caledonia
David Johnston, University of the Fraser Valley
Reza Khakbaznejad, Kwantlen Polytechnic University
Nicola Lemmer, Ministry of Post-Secondary and Future Skills
Eleanor Liddy, Ministry of Education and Child Care
Wency Lum, University of Victoria
Karen McCredie, EducationPlannerBC
Wendy Taylor, University of Victoria
Executive Committee
The Executive Committee helps to ensure the effective governance of the organization by providing timely support, advice and/or recommendations to the Co-chairs of the Steering Committee, members of the Steering Committee, committee chairs, and the Executive Director on matters related to human resources and compensation, as well as time-sensitive, strategic operational or significant human resources issues emerging between meetings of the Steering Committee.
Members
Dr. Kathy Denton, Chair, Douglas College
David Johnston, Vice-Chair University of the Fraser Valley
Dr. Jane Fee, Member at Large
Nicola Lemmer, Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Training
Karen McCredie, EducationPlannerBC
Finance and Risk Committee
The Finance, Audit & Risk Committee assists the Steering Committee in fulfilling its obligations and oversight responsibilities relating to financial planning and risk management and when required, to make recommendations to the full Steering Committee for approval.
Members
Michael Bluhm, Chair, Thompson Rivers University
Dr. Kathy Denton, Vice-Chair, Douglas College
Daniel Blue, Simon Fraser University
Benjamin Ferrel, Ministry of Post-Secondary and Future Skills
Dr. Robert Fleming, BC Council on Admission and Transfer
Dr. Andrew Hay, Okanagan College
Reza Khakbaznejad, Kwantlen Polytechnic University
Karen McCredie, EducationPlannerBC
Nominations Committee
The Nominations Committee oversees the succession planning for the Steering Committee/Board and its subcommittees. The Nominations Committee ensures that selection criteria are being met, recommends potential members/directors to the Steering Committee/Board (for eventual appointment by the general membership) and recommends membership for subcommitees to the Steering Committee/Board. The Nominations Committee ensures the timely identification and selection of new members/directors and representatives in the event of anticipated or unanticipated vacancies from the Steering Committee/Board and subcommittees.
Members
Dr. Kathy Denton, Chair, Douglas College
Dr. Jane Fee, Vice-Chair, Member at Large
Daniel Blue, Simon Fraser University
Michael Bluhm, Thompson Rivers University
Nicola Lemmer, Ministry of Post-Secondary and Future Skills
Karen McCredie, EducationPlannerBC
Functional Advisory Committee
The Functional Advisory Committee provides support and advice to the Executive Director, EducationPlannerBC (EPBC) on functional enhancements and technology development for application services and transcript services to ensure the best user experience for applicants/users and post-secondary institutions (PSI).
Members
Mary DeMarinis, Chair, Justice Institute of British Columbia
Michelle Badger, North Island College
David Johnston, University of the Fraser Valley
Sam Saini, University of British Columbia
Amanda Hawkins, University of Victoria
Jan Smith, British Columbia Institute of Technology
Keleigh Annau, Ministry of Post-Secondary and Future Skills
Nadia Henwood, Kwantlen Polytechnic University
Karen McCredie, EducationPlannerBC
Technical Advisory Committee
The Technical Advisory Committee provides support and advice to the Executive Director, EducationPlannerBC (EPBC) on strategies related to sector architecture, technical policies and industry best practices.
Members
Stacey Baker, EducationPlannerBC
Jason Columbo, College of the Rockies
Clifton Dildy, Camosun College
Karen McCredie, EducationPlannerBC
Corinne Pitre-Hayes, University of British Columbia
Juliana Hui, Simon Fraser University
Transcript Standards Reference Group
The Transcript Standards Reference Group provides a reference group for PESC XML transcript standards and inter-institutional exchange, so that all participating BC PSIs are following the same convention for transcript exchange.
Members
Kathy Andreatta, Vancouver Community College
Steven Birnie, Simon Fraser University
Renée Carreiro, EducationPlannerBC
Stefanie Carter, Douglas College
Jason Colombo, College of the Rockies
Pat Cretney, University of Victoria
Daniel Goertz, University of the Fraser Valley
Sarah Graham, University of the Fraser Valley
Alexy Grewal, Kwantlen Polytechnic University
Scott Harris, Camosun College
Laura Havercroft, Douglas College
Amanda Hawkins, University of Victoria
Nadia Henwood, Kwantlen Polytechnic University
Heather Howie, North Island College
Juliana Hui, Simon Fraser University
Raymond Kaan, University of British Columbia
Jason Kwok, University of British Columbia
Rachel Lamb, Vancouver Island University
Heidi Lawson, Thompson Rivers University
Lianna Lillies, Okanagan College
Jill Long, Selkirk College
Cynthia Macapagal, Justice Institute of British Columbia
Natasha Makortoff, Selkirk College
Akhtar Malik, University of the Fraser Valley
Delinah Marples, University of the Fraser Valley
Armity Namiranian, Simon Fraser University
Silvia Paias Costa, EducationPlannerBC
Mike Peragine, Simon Fraser University
Don Reimer, Douglas College
Dina Shafey, Simon Fraser University
Min-Ni Sharp, Simon Fraser University
Teryl Smith, Douglas College
Stephanie Stenerson, University of the Fraser Valley
Gordon Stickney, Camosun College
Emily Suderman, Coast Mountain College
Terri Taylor, Kwantlen Polytechnic University
Cathy van Soest, EducationPlannerBC
Danielle Zandvliet, Emily Carr University of Art and Design
Anna Zhu, Langara College
Richard Foo, Capilano University
Les Apouchtine, Vancouver Community College
Lizz Fransen, Vancouver Island University