Ready to Lead
ORIENTATION DAY This year’s BCNU elections resulted in eight new regional council members on the union’s 25-member provincial council. These newly elected members join re-elected incumbents. From left: Simon Fraser region’s Todd Decker, Pacific Rim region’s Rachel Kimler, South Islands region’s Laura Martin, East Kootenay region’s Denise Nelson, Thompson North Okanagan region’s Patricia Cameron, Okanagan Similkameen region’s Jennifer O’Brien, Simon Fraser region’s Nicholas Landstrom and Coastal Mountain region’s Genevieve Dallimore
Every three years, BCNU holds province-wide regional elections for all of the positions that make up the union’s 16 regional executives. At the same time, the union holds an election for the five-member provincial executive committee. Together with the elected regional council members (RCMs), the committee makes up BCNU’s 25-member provincial council – the union’s top governing body. These one-member, one-vote elections are a reflection of the democratic values BCNU is built on.
RCMs are the leaders of their regions. They oversee local union activities and chair regional meetings, which are open to all members and usually held three times a year. This April, BCNU members elected eight new RCMs, who began the 2026–29 term on Sept. 1. They are joined by returning RCMs and members elected to the provincial executive committee.
A FOND FAREWELL
This year BCNU said goodbye to many regional council members who will no longer be serving on the union’s governing body. Some are retiring, while others will continue to be active on their regional executives. BCNU thanks them for their dedication to the nursing profession and for stepping up as leaders in our organization. From left: Simon Fraser region’s Frank Martens, Provincial Treasurer Sharon Sponton, South Islands region’s Leanne Robertson-Weeds, Simon Fraser region’s Roy Hansen, Pacific Rim region’s Deidre Knudson, Simon Fraser region’s Wendy Gibbs, Coastal Mountain region’s Angela Crawford, East Kootenay region’s Carly Vanderhart and Thompson North Okanagan region’s Leah Takats.
New Faces on Council
Learn more about BCNU’s eight newly elected regional council members.
PATRICIA CAMERON
Thompson North Okanagan
Patricia Cameron is grateful for all the experiences that led her to the profession.
“I was certain I would have a career in public relations,” she recalls. “So I initially pursued education in business and PR after high school. Eventually, I discovered a passion for mental health – and then for nursing.”
Cameron graduated from nursing school in 2008 and quickly became active as a steward in the Union of Psychiatric Nurses, which merged with BCNU in 2014.
“I value the opportunity to connect with people,” says Cameron when asked what she likes most about being a nurse. “Building relationships has been one of the things I’ve valued most in every nursing role I’ve held. Those connections allow us to make a difference during some of the most difficult moments in a person’s life.”
Cameron’s relationship-building skills served her well in her role as a BCNU Enhanced Disability Management Program representative from 2021–26, where she supported members navigating illness, injury, accommodation and return-to-work processes. Prior to this, she worked for many years in a community role at Kamloops Mental Health and Substance Use.
Cameron was first elected to the Thompson North Okanagan regional executive in 2014 as a communications secretary. Her other regional executive positions include professional responsibility advocate and health and safety rep. She was inspired to run for council for the opportunity to advocate for members on a broader level and help ensure the realities nurses face in her region are reflected in provincial discussions and decisions.
She says her experience supporting members individually also showed her how frequently their particular challenges are connected to larger systemic issues. “Running for council felt like an opportunity to help address both,” she explains.
She aims to create a working environment where everyone feels supported in their role, information and expertise are shared and honest conversations can happen with respect and compassion.
GENEVIEVE DALLIMORE
Coastal Mountain
Genevieve Dallimore says she’s gained significant respect for many BCNU leaders and advocates she’s worked with since becoming active in the union.
“Their passion for advancing the rights of our membership, their commitment to nurses’ occupational health and safety and their willingness to fight for these issues at every level of government is incredibly inspiring,” she remarks.
It was this inspiration that led her to run for council.
“I hope to continue learning from these leaders and develop the ability to lead with that same passion, courage and commitment,” she adds.
Dallimore also brings her own leadership experience to her new role. A public health nurse with certified practice in STI and contraceptive management, Dallimore began nursing in 2006 and worked on a child/youth team before her election to council. She became a BCNU steward in 2013 and was first elected to her regional executive in 2017, serving two terms as a professional responsibility advocate before being elected to the health and safety rep role in 2023.
Nurses’ occupational health and safety is top of mind for Dallimore.
“It is incredibly frustrating to see violence become so commonplace that it feels like an expected part of the job,” she says. “And it becomes even more frustrating when nurses raise concerns, and the focus then shifts to ‘what could the nurse have done differently?’ rather than addressing the systemic issues that allowed the situation to occur.”
She looks forward to seeing the impact of the recently negotiated Appendix XXX (weapons screening pilot) in the Nurses’ Bargaining Association contract while she works to ensure that the experience and priorities of all BCNU members are heard.
“Nurses are highly educated professionals,” she says. “We carry tremendous responsibility, and yet continue to fight for the recognition, respect and safe working conditions that we deserve.”
Over the next three years, Dallimore hopes BCNU members feel more connected to their union and, most importantly, they feel that they are not facing difficult situations alone.
“At the end of my term, I hope I can look back and know that I showed up, listened and made a difference for our members.”
TODD DECKER
Simon Fraser
Advocating for change has been a big part of Todd Decker’s nursing journey.
“I heard a desire for change from many members within our union,” he says when asked why he ran for his position on council. “Wanting change isn’t a sign of division,” he says, “but a sign that our members care deeply about the future of our union, our working conditions and our collective strength.”
Decker began nursing in 2004. He says that making positive connections with his patients and being part of their journey is the most rewarding part of his work – while disliking the chronic understaffing and moral distress that too often comes with the role.
As he begins his term, Decker says he plans to advocate for grassroots change and to be visible to the membership at their workplaces.
“Nurses are the relentless caretakers who show up on our darkest days, offering unwavering skill, empathy and courage,” he says.
“BCNU empowers these frontline heroes by fighting fiercely for safe working conditions, fair compensation and critical nurse-to-patient ratios that save lives. Our members are the union, and they deserve to feel supported every day so they can care for their patients.”
RACHEL KIMLER
Pacific Rim
Rachel Kimler’s face will be familiar to quite a few BCNU members. She may be starting a new term, but she is certainly not new to union leadership.
Kimler served as the Pacific Rim RCM for two terms, from 2017–23.
“I was inspired to put my voice to some good again,” she says when asked why she decided to run this year. “When I held the role previously, it was one of the best jobs I ever had. I’m now refreshed, with four years back [at the bedside] providing patient care and I am ready to do it again.”
Kimler worked as a corrections officer before she began nursing in 2006. She became a BCNU steward in 2008 and was first elected to her regional executive in 2010, where she served in various roles, including professional responsibility advocate, senior review committee rep and communications secretary.
“The true power of any union comes from solidarity,” says Kimler. “BCNU is a collective of individual voices coming together to transform health-care work environments. This collectivism has enabled BCNU to achieve monumental initiatives like minimum nurse-to-patient ratios that protect our profession and elevate patient care throughout the province and beyond.”
Kimler says she plans to use her term to support the implementation of ratios across the province to improve patient care and the nursing experience.
NICHOLAS LANDSTROM
Simon Fraser
Nicholas Landstrom decided to run for a position on council after strong encouragement from friends and colleagues.
He says he also saw the opportunity for positive change and innovation in the union.
“I want to bring representation and a perspective that aligns with today’s realities and workforce.”
Landstrom worked for a bank as a financial services manager before he began nursing in 2020 and has since worked in general surgery at Burnaby and Royal Columbian hospitals. He enjoys combining clinical expertise with meaningful human connection.
“Nursing is a science and an art,” he says.
Landstrom previously served as communications secretary on his regional executive, but says he supported BCNU well before joining the membership, and believes in the union’s mission, vision and values. He’s also been supported by the union since becoming a member.
“BCNU has helped me professionally. It is the voice of nurses, and the leading model for nursing advocacy and advancement of the profession,” he says. “We continue to set and raise the bar for other organizations to follow.”
Over the next three years, Landstrom plans to promote unity, both within his region and among other BCNU regions and the province.
“I want our members and activists to feel valued and heard. I hope to strengthen diversity, equity and inclusion and enhance collaboration with the BCNU human rights and equity caucuses.”
LAURA MARTIN
South Islands
Laura Martin has held a variety of union roles since she became a steward in 2019. These include member educator, regional steward liaison, regional nominations rep, worksite joint occupational health and safety rep and, most recently, a full-time steward.
With a resume like this, she says she’s looking forward to being part of improving engagement and stewardship in her region and provincially over the next three years.
“Many hands make light work,” she remarks. Martin worked at Victoria General Hospital in adult surgical daycare and as an ortho-tech in emergency. She is grateful for the mentorship of Irene McKinlay, who passed away recently. “I worked with her in the ER and she encouraged me to be an active participant and ‘be the change I wanted to see,’” she says.
“I believe in the power of unionism and have seen firsthand the betterment of workplace issues as a result of our provincial collective agreement,” says Martin when asked why she supports BCNU.
DENISE NELSON
East Kootenay
Teamwork and collaboration have defined Denise Nelson’s journey as a nurse and activist. When asked what she likes most about nursing, she says it’s the friendships she’s developed with fellow nurses.
“It really is a team effort.”
Nelson worked as an accountant, but found that she missed people. She decided to pursue nursing instead. She graduated from nursing school in 2002 and worked in a variety of acute care settings before moving to home health. She became a BCNU steward in 2021 and began serving on her regional executive the same year. She then served as a regional nominations rep before assuming an interim RCM role.
“I enjoyed the opportunity to be interim RCM in 2024–25 and felt very supported by both the regional executive team and the region as a whole. I truly enjoyed the work and advocacy and wanted another kick at the can,” she explains.
Over the next three years Nelson hopes to learn more about what matters to BCNU members and how the union can better engage with members and the public. “I plan on being in the region as much as I can to engage with all of our members and understand what matters to them.”
JENNIFER O’BRIEN
Okanagan Similkameen
Member engagement is an issue that’s top-of-mind for Jennifer O’Brien.
“One of the key reasons I sought this role was to foster greater engagement within the region while ensuring that community nurses are meaningfully represented at the council level,” she explains.
O’Brien says the work of community organizer Jane McAlevey has influenced her by demonstrating that real power comes from organized people, not individual effort.
“Her organizing principles have shaped how I approach member engagement, leadership development and collective action within our union.”
O’Brien has worked as a population and public health immunization program specialist. She began nursing in 2001 and became a BCNU steward in 2004. She was first elected to her regional executive in 2020 and has served as professional responsibility advocate and regional lobby coordinator.
O’Brien’s goal for the next three years?
“I hope to increase engagement throughout our region and elevate the voice of community nurses within BCNU. To empower more members to become actively involved in shaping the future of our union,” she says.
“I believe that through solidarity and member engagement, we can strengthen our profession and improve outcomes for nurses and the patients and clients.”
UPDATE (Summer / Fall 2026)