Our Governing Board

The Board of Directors:

Noble Kelly, BEd (President):

Noble Kelly has been a High School Educator since 1991. Mr. Kelly has a Post Baccalaureate in Educational Technology. He has worked as a teacher mentor and trainer for the Simon Fraser University Educational Technology Post Baccalaureate program and facilitated workshops to teachers as part of his role as a member of the Peace and Global Education action group for the British Columbia Teachers’ Federation. He has done development work in South Africa, Ethiopia, Guyana, Tanzania and Kenya, mainly with education reform and teacher professional development. Mr. Kelly founded Education Beyond Borders in 2007 and is presently devoting his time to its continued growth and developing and implementing systemic strategies to foster quality education globally.

Courtney Doldron OCT: BA (Hon.) BEd, MA (Vice President):

Courtney Doldron is a retired High School Teacher in the Province of Ontario, and a member of the Provincial Executive of the Retired Teachers of Ontario (RTO/ERO). Moreover, he is a mediator, facilitator/life coach and circle keeper using the restorative justice model. He has worked in Guyana, South Africa, Trinidad and Tobago, and Uganda training teachers and providing Professional Development to teachers and school administration. He has a background in Special Education. His work has included literacy, mentoring, skills training, strategic planning and capacity building. Working with schools and community organisations over the years, enabled him to develop sound knowledge of business and financial practices, and a keen sense of leadership, integrity, transparency and accountability in all facets of governance for not-for-profit organisations.

Kin Lo, PhD, CA (Treasurer):

Dr. Lo is the Senior Associate Dean—Students at UBC’s Sauder School of Business. He holds the CA Professorship in Accounting established by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of British Columbia (ICABC). After receiving a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Calgary, he articled at PwC and subsequently earned his doctorate from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in Chicago in 1999. His research has been published widely and he has served as an Associate Editor at the Journal of Accounting and Economics from 2003-2011. Aside from research and teaching, Kin is also active in the professional accounting community serving on provincial and national committees and contributing as a columnist to the ICABC’s magazine Beyond Numbers. Professor Lo is currently a member of the Academic Advisory Council for the Accounting Standards Board of Canada.

Eileen Hood,  BEd, MEd (Secretary):

A retired elementary School Principal, Eileen taught grades 1-7 for 16 years before becoming an administrator.  She received her BEd and MEd in Curriculum Development at Simon Fraser University.  Always interested in teacher professional development, throughout her career she served on many committees that developed curriculum and designed workshops for teachers in her school district and around the province of British Columbia.  Eileen took a leave of absence in 2007 and 2008 in order to pursue a longtime desire to volunteer overseas.  As a volunteer for Volunteer Services Overseas (VSO, currently CUSO International) she served in a school district in Northern Ghana.  There she saw, first hand, the state of education that exists in many underdeveloped countries and the deleterious effect it has on children's life chances.  That experience solidified her commitment to a world where quality education is available to all children. She is delighted to be working with EBB to further that cause.

Dawn Popatia, PhD, MEd:

Dawn has an academic background in sociology/anthroplogy multicultural/indigenous and international education (and some recent focus on learning differences/disabilities). She has worked as a learning support/consultant with the Vancouver school board adult education program, worked in the K-12 system, and has taught courses in UBC educational studies and the Native Indian Teacher Education Program at UBC. Dawn has been a teacher, educational researcher, a multicultural and race relations consultant and has also worked on one trip in Afica and for more extended time in Asia and the South Pacific in development education. She is interested in educational equity and social inclusion, and innovative educational programs that promote social justice and community development.

Kate Sutton Jones, MAEd:

Following a career as teacher and administrator on three continents, Kate Sutton Jones is currently engaged as an international education consultant specializing in strategic planning, program development, and implementation. Working collaboratively with partners worldwide, she provides leadership in developing authentic global mindedness, intercultural understanding and the perspective of world community alongside technological infusion.  Ms. Sutton Jones received her Bachelor degree in Education from McGill University and a Master of Education degree from the University of British Columbia. She is a certified presenter and trainer. Kate is currently completing her doctoral work in Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment.  

Scott Hughes, PhD:

Scott teaches Grades 1/2 in a community school in Vancouver and holds a PhD in Curriculum Studies from Queen’s University. As both a teacher and scholar, Scott’s aim is the promotion of student flourishing in all aspects of their development and learning. He has taught at multiple levels of schooling, including early primary, elementary, secondary, pre- and in-service teacher education. His research explores the pedagogical conditions that promote children’s happiness, and highlights hands-on methodologies (e.g., play, the outdoors, the arts) and community-centered experiences as a means to engaged, lively learning. In the Canadian and global contexts, Scott is interested in the broadening of pedagogical horizons—both his own and others. He believes that quality teaching is deeply entwined with a curiosity about the lives of others and an abiding interest in shared learning.