Access Oceanside Association
Meet our Access Oceanside Association
Board of Directors
Kathy Coburn
Kathy was in a serious car accident as a young adult that left her with mobility issues. She retired to the Island in 2020 after working as a Human Resources Director for a large manufacturing company in BC.
Knowing first hand some of the accessibility challenges disabled people face, Kathy is happy to be a part of AOA - working towards making Oceanside more accessible for everyone.
Chairperson
Ralph Tietjen
Secretary/Treasurer
A resident of Parksville since 2017, the challenges faced by disabled persons became clear when his wife became an amputee in 2019.
He has since learned much about navigating the resources available to disabled persons and became interested in lobbying local governments and businesses to make their services and physical premises more accessible for all to enjoy.
Ralph also sits on Parksville’s Accessibility Advisory Committee.
Maureen Pilcher
Vice Chairperson
Maureen's 35 years of municipal government planning experience, and a subsequent land use consulting business, gives her a unique perspective when working towards greater accessibility in Oceanside's commercial and residential buildings. Her appointment to the City of Parksville Advisory Design Panel allows Maureen the opportunity to advocate for barrier-free access for everyone.
A member of Access Oceanside since 2015, Maureen has utilized an electric wheelchair since surviving a brain aneurysm. Recently moving from Coombs to Parksville, she is enthusiastically working to improve the built environment for those with mobility challenges.
Maggie Tietjen
Director Communications
Maggie became an above-knee amputee in 2019 and soon learned much about the challenges faced by disabled persons.
Her pet peeve as an amputee was not being able to walk on Parksville's world-class beach and so began her quest to remove that barrier. She joined Access Oceanside in order to add her voice in raising accessibility issues in the Oceanside region.
Maggie is very involved with Mid-Island Amputee Support Groups, is a Certified Peer Visitor for the Amputee Coalition of Canada and formed the
"Legless Ladies That Lunch" group.
Maggie is a member of the Oceanside Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign, lending her knitting skills in support of a good cause.
Sandra Hobson
Director at Large
Sandra is Professor Emerita in the School of Occupational Therapy at Western University (London, Ontario). She also held an Adjunct Faculty appointment at Pacific Coast University, where she taught workplace health and disability management.
She was the first woman to receive an honorary doctorate from the Belarusian State Medical University for her work there.
Sandra is a life member of the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists and has both a personal and professional interest in accessibility issues.
Sandra chaired Access Oceanside for10 years and sits on Parksville’s Accessibility Advisory Committee.
Karen Smith
Director at Large
Prior to her retirement, Karen held a variety of roles in the fields of social work, human resources and administrative management. She has worked for municipal, provincial and federal governments as well as not-for-profit agencies and has learned to wade through the many levels of bureaucracy. She has a Bachelor's degree in Administration and a college diploma in Social Work.
Through employment and volunteer commitments, she enjoyed working with clients and advocating for housing, income support, food security and medical services.
While seeking out resources to help her strata become more physically accessible for the residents, Karen connected with Access Oceanside. It was through this interaction and meeting with other members of AOA that convinced her to become a member and continue to advocate for accessibility.
Rebecca Fenton
Director at Large
Rebecca became a resident of Qualicum Beach in 2021 after moving from Whitehorse YT where she lived for 31 years. She works remotely as the Executive Director of Autism Yukon, and the Co-Executive Director of the Network for Healthy Early Human development Yukon.
Rebecca has spent her career in the fields of disability, early learning and child care and has had a variety of roles including instructor at Yukon University for 27 years. She also runs her own consulting business specializing in program and agency evaluations, strategic planning, research and feasibility studies.
She has just started her Master of Science in Disability Studies, Rights and Inclusion at the University of Leeds and is hoping to bring her experience and new learning to her role as a Director on the Access Oceanside Association.
Rebecca is a member of the Qualicum Beach Advisory Committee, Chair of the QB Family Day Committee and Co-Chair of the Parent Child Mother Goose Program National Council.