Board Members Margaret Corbett President Ian Aikenhead Secretary Taj Haer Treasurer Celeste Burgoyne Helen J. Burnham OBC Co-Founder Jessie Carlson Paul Farnan Beverlie Jansen Hilary Kerr Mary Molson Karen Nordahl Virginia Giles OBC Co-Founder and Director Emeritus

Staff Vancouver Centre Coordinator Michelle MacQuarrie North Shore Centre Coordinator Heide Mayne Administrative Support Valleri Murphy

About Our Founders

Helen Burnham and Virginia Giles know too well the unique challenges women face when battling drug and alcohol addiction. As recovering alcoholics, they decided to share their stories and hard-earned knowledge by helping as many addicted women as they could. They opened the Avalon Women's Centre in Vancouver, BC in 1989 and a second centre on the North Shore of Vancouver in 1998. These drop-in centres help hundreds of women each month on the road to recovery while smashing the skid row stigma. In addition to self-help meetings and workshops, Helen and Virginia have provided what is probably the most important service of all: a compassionate, caring, safe environment in which women can heal themselves and one another.

Helen and Virginia's pioneering work in providing street-level care for women who need it most, earned the pair the Order of British Columbia in 2000 and the Avon Women of Inspiration Award in 2001.