Greyhaven is operated solely by volunteers. We have no paid staff. This makes our team of volunteers the most important resource we have. Without dedicated, caring volunteers/directors, Greyhaven would not be able to provide the excellent care and attention our birds deserve.

Directors
 

Dr. Anne McDonald, D.V.M. - Avian Medicine Director

 

Dr. McDonald D.V.M. is an executive board member providing veterinarian care to all our birds and is integral to all medical alerts which are of public concern.

 

 

Jan Robson - Education & Grants Director

 

Jan joined Greyhaven as a volunteer in 2003 and as the Director of Volunteers in September of 2004. As of the end of April, 2006, she became the Director of Education. 

She brings to the position many years of experience volunteering in the non-profit sector, including 10 years with Orphaned Wildlife. Her professional background includes working with violent offenders; currently she is the coordinator of the Alzheimer Society's Dementia Helpline.  As Director of Education she is responsible for recruiting, assessing, approving, and training our growing cadre of volunteers and organizing educational and pet therapy presentations.  She is the willing slave of 2 conures, 3 lovebirds, and 2 budgies -- most with special needs."
 

Jenny Tamas - Adoptions Director
 

Director of Adoptions was a natural fit for Jenny. After 33 years in the airline industry, Jenny has mastered the ability to balance patience and compassion through strong listening and problem solving skills.

Her focus with Greyhaven has solely been on bringing a balance to Greyhaven's ever increasing intake of companion birds versus adoptions out. She brings many specific skills that are necessary to the position. Her experience, knowledge and skills are a very welcome addition to the Greyhaven team.
 

Melanie Walker - President
 

Melanie was appointed President of Greyhaven in 2000 and has been an active member and volunteer since 1998. She has stepped back into a role that she loves in order to slow things down a bit. As a result of Melanie's dedication, Greyhaven has evolved into a highly respected and recognized society committed to education, community services, and acting in liaison with other agencies to promote Greyhaven's many programs. Melanie's managerial and administrative background has been integral to the implementation of these programs and through the strong team she has helped to assemble; the future of Greyhaven has no boundaries.
 

Nancy Brady - Business Development

Director & Website
 

Nancy came to Greyhaven as a volunteer offering her many talents, and a desire to promote Greyhaven as a first class non-profit society. We have recognized for some time that we required an individual on our team who could wear many hats and this position is well suited to Nancy's background and skills.

 

Nancy's bio includes 8 years as a Graphic Artist with CTV Saskatchewan, marketing, editing scripts and coordinating newscasts. Nancy and her husband moved to Vancouver where her ventures have been in promotions, sales and marketing. Nancy works full-time as the Marketing Team Leader for Colliers International. Nancy holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts and Visual Arts Degree. In addition she is completing her Commercial Property Marketing  Certificate.
 

Peter Verschoor - Administration Director

Peter and his wife Cindy live in Vancouver with Max, a 2 year old Eclectus; Toot, a 15 year old Eclectus; and Monty, a 4 year old Indian Ringneck. Peter has been an active volunteer with Greyhaven since January 2006 and was appointed Director of Administration in August 2007.

Peter is a Registered Professional Forester and works full-time as a strategic planner with the Integrated Land Management Bureau, Ministry of Agriculture and Lands in Surrey, BC. Peter has two Bachelor of Science degrees from the University of British Columbia, one in analytical chemistry and the other in forest resource management. In addition, he is expanding his knowledge of business administration through continuing education programs in financial accounting and project management.

As Director of Administration Peter’s roles include Treasurer, Membership Coordinator and Secretariat. In addition, he develops policies and procedures to ensure Greyhaven’s operations meet all legal and financial reporting requirements under the Society Act and Greyhaven’s by-laws.
 

Robin Fiorese - Communications Director
 

Robin became the Director of Communications in 2004 in order to meet the ever increasing demand of responding to public inquiries. This is a very demanding position and requires an individual who possesses strong organizational skills, ability to prioritize matters of urgency, and responding to or forwarding emails, telephone calls and all correspondence to the appropriate director in a timely manner. Robin's mandate is to provide consistency in all information given to the public and to improve all communication systems. Her experience, knowledge and skills in operating her business venture has been an invaluable asset to Greyhaven.
 

We are always looking for more volunteers. You can donate as much or as little time as you wish. Some options include: help at the sanctuary or fund raising events, donating handicrafts for fundraising, assist a director, foster a small bird, etc. - wherever your interests lay! If you would like to donate your time, please complete the Volunteer Application Form.

Amanda
 

Hi my name is Amanda. I'm an early childhood educator who's been a volunteer at GH for a little less than a year. Unfortunately, I have only the birds of friends and GH for feathered company, although I've had many birds over the years. My first, a cockatiel I saved up my allowance for when I was 9, still lives in California. In 1989 I moved to Canada with my family. I now live on my own and just around the corner from Greyhaven so it makes volunteering real convenient.

Audrey
 

We've had birds for 6 years. The more I learn about them, the more I love them! We live on a farm in the Fraser Valley and have chickens, roosters, ducks, goats, dogs, cats, one fish and of course the birds - 19 of them currently! Each one is like a member of the family to us. I thoroughly enjoy my volunteer work at Greyhaven. The sanctuary birds are wonderful to spend time with and I get cage-cleaning practice! I have met some of the nicest people since beginning my Greyhaven volunteering in May 2005. I wish I had known about Greyhaven years ago!

Bree  - Parrot Patrol Coordinator

 

My heart soared and my eyes opened when I acquired my 1st bird, a cockatiel, in 1999.  Now my bird family includes 2 wonderful budgies from Greyhaven as well as 2 adorable zebra finches. Always a dedicated supporter of animal welfare and environmental causes, nothing could match the excitement and fulfillment of my association with Greyhaven (since May 2005). My career has been the airline industry for more than 28 years and travel has been a real passion, but my time with the birds and staff at Greyhaven has shown me the greatest sense of happiness. 

Brittani  - Membership Coordinator

Brittani  is a professional artist who lives with her husband in Steveston, BC. Her adopted companions include budgie Zipper, cockatiel Robert, and lovebird Sparky. The 3 boys like to watch her
paint and freely offer their criticism.

Britt likes to travel and wander by foot in order to pursue her longtime passion for photography. She also likes to compose digital art and play with photo- art programs on the computer.

Britt is currently a Director on the boards for the Federation of Canadian Artists and Pastel Artists Canada. She is very happy to be part of the Greyhaven team.

Carol
 

Carol was appointed Director of Administration in 2001 to facilitate the restructuring of Greyhaven in the administrative sector. Carol took her extensive experience to the president's position where she was very successful.

 

Carol then moved to Kelowna. Greyhaven has been fortunate enough to have Carol stay involved updating our Petfinder listings. http://www.petfinder.com

Catherine

 

While I am a relative newbie to the bird world, I am slave & Mom to Quincy my cheeky, crazy 5 year old Quaker Parrot.

 

Animals have always been a big part of my life, people often accused me of liking animals more than humans and they are not far from the truth. My interest in parrots began when I was in high school with a friend's Derbyan Parrot.

I am a corporate instructor and my job has me travelling quite a bit but I love my days at the Greyhaven shelter, my only challenge is not coming home with another bird! My other passion after animals, is gardening. During the summer months you will usually find me outside, covered in dirt & loving it!

Cheryl - Community Events Coordinator

Cheryl started as a volunteer back in 1998 and made the transition to Education Coordinator in 2003. In order to better facilitate the ever-increasing demands on our many programs, Cheryl was elected Education Director in March 2005. Cheryl’s dedication, creativity and unrelenting drive for setting the highest standards possible have made our Education Program the success it is today.

In September of 2005 Cheryl passed over her responsibilities as Education Director to Jan and took on the challenge of Director of Fundraising. Cheryl has worn many hats since then, with her fundraising responsibilities, Parrot Patrol, land acquisition, working full-time, and caring for her family.

She is a valuable asset to our organization. Cheryl continues to administer the HSBC Rewards and Mohawk card program and will remain a dedicated Parrot Patroller and will help out whenever she can.

Corbin

 

Hi! I have been volunteering with my mom, Nancy, at Greyhaven for a while now. I started out with attending pet therapies and helping clean the shelter. After a while my volunteering expanded to helping prepare for various events, making toys, painting a photo background, and basically helping out where ever it is needed. I will be helping Greyhaven for a long time as I have such a fun time and get to meet lots of great people and their birds.

Debbie
 

I'm a Fire Dept Dispatcher, with 2 Teenage Girls. I love the solitude of my fine feathered friends - they are my release and I love them all. I am a pet human to a most wonderful Goffin's Cockatoo named Toby. The best Too in the world!! I also have two wonderful cockatiels - Buzz and Mikey who have been together for 12 years, a lovebird - Robin and a budgie - Cuddles.

Debbie
 

Growing up, my mother always had a cheerful, wonderful, entertaining budgie. Years later, I decided to get a companion for myself. I chose a 12 week old, hand raised peach faced love bird that I named Jo-Jo. We were inseparable. I soon noticed an advertisement for Greyhaven at one of my many visits to the pet store. Wanting to experience the wonderful world of more feathered friends I began fostering different species. I've been enjoying the experience since Sept. 2003 and look forward to making many more friends (with and without feathers)

Debbie and Don
 

We have always had a love for all animals. The strays always seem to know where to go when they need a home. Our menagerie consists of 3 dogs, 3 cats, tropical fish, 5 Cockatiels (Chuckie, Cricket, Polly, Charlie & Milo), Pino, a White Capped Pionus that we adopted from Greyhaven, Corky, a Hahns Macaw and Rocky, an Umbrella Cockatoo. During the spring you will also be able to find a room full of kittens as we also foster kittens for the SPCA. We heard about Greyhaven through the SPCA. We think Greyhaven is a great growing organization and enjoy helping out when we can.

Dorothy
 

At my daughter's suggestion, to give back to the community of birds and my love of parrots, I decided to volunteer at Greyhaven. I've been volunteering at the sanctuary since August 2004. I thoroughly enjoy it as well as participating in all the other events. My own flock consists of a Sulfer Crested Cockatoo (Triton), an Orange Winged Amazon (Koko) and I recently adopted a Sun Conure (Zilla) from Greyhaven.

Jenny - Liaison Coordinator
 

Jenny was appointed Liaison Coordinator in July 2006 in order to provide support to the Board of Directors.  This position required excellent interpersonal skills, avian knowledge and experience, in addition to strong administration and organizational skills.  Jenny retired from BC Tel/Telus after 35 years of service and has been a dedicated volunteer with Greyhaven for several years and is an invaluable asset in many areas.  As Liaison Coordinator, Jenny may be called upon by any of the directors to assist them with a project or with on-going programs. This position is challenging and requires a person who is adaptable and ready to go and Jenny is just that person.

John - Newsletter
 

John joined Greyhaven as a volunteer early in 2004, after moving to Vancouver from Calgary where he edited the Calgary Parrot Club's newsletter for two years. He is owned by "world-famous" Congo African Greys Nikki (in photo) and Coco. They're "famous" (and VERY smug about it!), because their pix have been featured with many of John's articles published in magazines like Birds USA, Parrots Magazine, Pets Quarterly, African Ark and Pet Lovers Digest. A freelance writer-photographer, John is also a PIJAC Certified Avian Specialist, a member of the World Parrot Trust and African Parrot Society.

Lorraine
 

Lorraine has been a volunteer with Greyhaven since September 2005. She started out assisting our Adoptions Director. In July 2006 she became our Fundraising Coordinator, as well as editor of our Squawk Box, putting her extensive background in fundraising and her creative talents to good use for us. Lorraine has stepped down as Fundraising Coordinator in Nov./07, but will continue to organize Greyhaven’s Coffee and Conversation sessions and help out whenever she can with our many events and programs.

Monika and Brian
 

Due to an accident, the verdict my Dr. gave me was, "You have to stay home for at least a year or longer". I could not believe my ears! I always wanted a cockatiel since I met my cousin's cockatiel in Germany a few years earlier. I took myself to a pet store and said, "I want a cockatiel". They were going to give me just any one and I told them that I wanted to get into the cage (picture me hobbling with a cane!!!). Zachary came to me right away, sat on my hand and that was it. He was hand fed and from a clutch of 5. He is a cinnamon cockatiel and we bonded right off because I was home all the time. The two of us were inseparable and Brian also fell in love with him right away. We both love animals and have a lot of wild birds that we feed and when we got Zachary, our love for our very own bird began. Zachary is now 9 years old and certainly has a mind of his own and has done a beautiful job of training us. Prior to Xmas (2001) I read an article in the Leader newspaper and it touched my heart. I called Greyhaven and we chatted. The next day they told me about 2 female cockatiels that were coming in and asked if I could help out by providing quarantine for a month. I figured "why not"? And now we have a flock of three - Zachary, Zoe and Zya. In March 2002 we adopted an adorable Dusky Conure from Greyhaven named Data-Zeus and now we have 4! They are our "kids" and they do keep us entertained!

Pam
 

Hi, my name is Pam. I am relatively a "newbie" to the world of birds. But the more I learn, the more passionate about them I become. My family consists of 3 parrots; a lovebird, a quaker and the baby, a CAG. I want to help care of other birds so I am now volunteering! And Greyhaven is a great place to meet other bird lovers as well!

Pauline
 

Hi, my name is Pauline. I have been volunteering at Greyhaven since the end of September 2001. I first heard about Greyhaven while in the waiting room of Avian Vet Dr. McDonald. I became interested in volunteering after reading one of the brochures. I have always had a love for birds starting when I was a child with my first bird, a Budgie named Peppy. When I had children of my own we had two Budgies - Sunny and Cloudy and two Finches - Chick and Pox (bought when my eldest daughter had chickenpox). After my children grew up, my husband brought home this wonderful Lovebird named Peep which started my love affair with birds again. We had a wonderful Cockatiel - Baby and two rescued Budgies - Fred and Ethel. Our flock has dwindled in the last few years. We are now owned by a Moluccan Cockatoo named Winny, Daisy a lovebird and we still have Fred. I look forward to my volunteer day at Greyhaven. The cheerful voices of the birds that greet you as you climb the stairs and their crazy antics that make you laugh out loud is better than any kind of therapy.

Raquel
 

Hi my name is Raquel. I have been a volunteer with Greyhaven since February 2002. I help out at the sanctuary every second Saturday morning. Birds have been part of my life off and on since I was a child. I now share my home with three cockatiels and a male eclectus parrot. My eclectus Charlie is a new addition to my bird family and he is a joy to have around. I sincerely enjoy sharing bird stories with the other bird people at Greyhaven. It has been an interesting and rewarding experience being part of the Greyhaven team.

Sarah
 

My name is Sarah. I work as a barista at Starbucks and am planning on returning to college soon. I have been volunteering at Greyhaven since July, 2005. I first heard about Greyhaven when I was waiting at the avian vet's office with my Mum. I share my home with my two cockatiels, Toby and Jessie; my two lovebirds, Ollie and Merlin; and my white-capped Pionus, Pippin. I adopted Toby from Greyhaven in 2003. I love sharing my birds with others and showing them that birds make the sweetest pets when you (and they!) understand who is in charge!

Sean

 

Hi, my name is Sean. I have been volunteering at Greyhaven since 2003. I got my first bird in 2001, a budgie named Navarre. This was my first real pet (although I had a pet chicken named Penny when I was a kid). I fell in love with birds and found about Greyhaven while researching parrots on the web. I decided that this was the place for me to help out and learn more about parrots. I really enjoy attending Greyhaven’s Pet Therapy sessions. As the parrot patrol officer for Port Moody, I have enjoyed creating more of an awareness in my community for what Greyhaven does.  I am now owned by six wonderful birds, the newest being Lulu, an African grey that I just adopted from Greyhaven. He has become a huge part of my life and we love him very much.

Sharon
 

My husband and I moved to BC from Calgary in August and I was looking for an opportunity to do some volunteer work with animals. I noticed an ad placed by Greyhaven in the local paper looking for volunteers. Since we are cat lovers and our lives revolve around our cats Linus and Lucy, we thought this would be a perfect opportunity for me to fulfill my desire to work with animals and I could not be tempted to bring one home. I have grown attached to many of the birds and it is hard for me to leave them at the end of each shift but I know they're safer there than they would be in my house. I am also very impressed with the dedication and affection shown by the Directors and other volunteers towards the birds and feel very much part of the Greyhaven family.

Stan

Note from Greyhaven:
Stan is Melanie's Dad who loved working with different kinds of wood. He handcrafted macaws, lovebirds and conures and generously donated those to Greyhaven to help raise funds. These items are available for sale. Our sincere thanks to Stan for his beautiful craftsmanship! He will be missed.

Tammy

 

Hi, my name is Tammy and I am the proud owner of 2 lovebirds, Picasso and Luna. They are my pride and joy and because of them, I've discovered my passion for birds and found Greyhaven.

 

I look forward to being a part of Greyhaven and helping to assist other birds to find a warm and loving home so they will have the best life they deserve.

Teresa

 

This photo is me with Chirpy, who I rescued from a pet store in Ontario. I have lived with birds for almost 11 years now, since my Congo grey, Scully, "picked" me from a bird shop in Surrey. My flock of four also includes, Sydney, a chattering Lory, and Neo, a Sun Conure. I am also fostering two escape artist lovebirds, Jenny and Joey. Even though I just started volunteering with Greyhaven in April, 2007, I am loving it and all the wonderful people I meet.

Van Dijk Family
 

*Note from Greyhaven:

Since our inception in the Spring of 1998, many wonderful people have helped Greyhaven and our flock. We would like to take this opportunity to say a heartfelt THANK YOU! We could not be where we are today without your help.