Craig Knapton, a founding sponsor of A4K, joined the Board in 2003 and became President in 2005. Craig is the President of CanKen International Wood Products and has travelled the world extensively for both business and pleasure. He knows first hand the positive connection that sports can provide within many diverse cultures and countries. Craig participated in a variety of sports while growing up and was an accomplished long distance runner. He credits sports with helping to keep him grounded and as a great stress reliever. Having two active children who also played sports, Craig has been involved in many athletic associations and served at board level. He believes firmly that participation in sport gives kids positive direction, self-confidence and respect for others – it puts them in the game.

Ryan has been with Athletics 4 Kids for almost 6 years, and was elected Vice President in late 2013. Ryan is blessed to have three lovely daughters who keep him busy in activities like swimming, dancing, bike riding and occasional wrestling matches – teaming up on their poor Dad! Ryan participated in many different sports growing up, including soccer, lacrosse, football, hockey and baseball. He played Junior Baseball and Hockey locally in BC. Pursuing his hockey dreams, he played for the Wentworth Leopards in Boston, Mass – part of the NCAA. Ryan completed his University degree at UBC, specializing in Human Kinetics and has first hand knowledge of all of the qualities that come from a life enriched by sport. As a young father of three, Ryan is already looking forward to more coaching opportunities. He believes strongly in the values that sport teaches – good sportsmanship, respect, teamwork, social skills, the value of hard work and the benefits of a healthy lifestyle.

Director -- Scott Trotter has been a supporter of A4K since 2012, a member since 2013 and joined the Board of Directors in 2015. Through sports Scott has learned valuable life lessons such as teamwork, sportsmanship, perseverance, hard work and how to deal with success and failure. Through his involvement with A4K, Scott’s goal is to see young athletes achieve their dreams of playing sports and building important skills that will be the foundation for a healthy and successful life.   Scott is the President of Staub Electronics, a proud father of two and is active in a number of sports including golf, squash and snowboarding. When not travelling throughout North America for business, Scott is regularly involved with his boys athletic pursuits which include baseball, golf, skiing, swimming, BMX biking and skateboarding.

Mary McGivern has been a supporter of A4K for the past few years, and joined the Board of Directors in 2019. Mary holds an MBA and spent her 35-year career in business, including for-profit and government roles in business development and marketing, before bringing her business skills and experience to the non-profit sector for the last phase of her working life. She retired in 2017 as Executive Director of ONE TO ONE Literacy, another grassroots charity working with underprivileged children, and understands well the challenges (and opportunities) of the non-profit sector. Mary serves on the board of two other North Shore non-profits and is working with Big Sisters of the Lower Mainland to provide post-secondary bursaries for their Little Sisters. Growing up, her three now-adult daughters were all active in sports on the North Shore and Mary knows how important the role of sport is to youth development. Mary continues to pursue many sports herself, including running, squash, tennis and swimming. Mary is thrilled to join such a committed board as that of A4K, and to help all BC children benefit from participation in sports.

Cary Frank first joined A4K in 2015 as part of the finance committee, and became a member of the Board of Directors in 2016. In his professional life, Cary is a Chartered Professional Accountant currently employed at KPMG LLP as a Senior Manager. Cary is passionate about being involved in the community, and has volunteered with several non-for-profits providing consulting & accounting related services. Growing up, Cary was actively involved in the sporting community in his hometown of White Rock, BC. Cary was an avid basketball and rugby player, and also assisted in coaching elementary school basketball teams and youth camps. Cary recognizes the impact organized sports had on shaping him personally and professionally, and for this reason, Cary is honored to be a Director of A4K and help all children reach their full potential.

Upon graduating from UBC with a Bachelor of Commerce in Urban Land Economics, Ross entered the commercial real estate sales and leasing industry on the North shore where he has excelled in that field, winning multiple awards such as top 30 producers in Re/Max Western Canada, and top 30 worldwide (of over 40 countries). But along with his work achievements, Ross has always believed that giving back to his community is equally as important, and he has won the Realtors care Award and taken part in such initiatives as the Cinderella Project Ball (“helping encourage youth to stay in school and achieve the milestone of high school graduation, giving young people the opportunity to break the cycle of poverty for themselves and their families”) over the past few years. Ross joined Athletics 4 Kids in 2014, and became a Director in mid- 2015; he is an active member of the Gala committee and over the past year, has worked tirelessly to engage sponsors, prizing and donations in support of A4K initiatives. He is an avid believer that sports can play a vital positive role in the development of children and youth and has been passionately involved with the North shore sports community both through his own pursuits and those of his son and daughter, who are very active in a number of sporting pursuits.

Ryan is excited to join the board in 2020 working along side a great team. Being able to continue to give back to kids sports is important to him. He played multiple sports growing up and believes the lessons learned from them have transferred to leading the team in the commercial property management business. While he’s still playing hockey, golf, softball and cycling, his greatest sports pleasures now are watching, supporting, and driving (coaching days are done) their two teenage kids who play soccer, volleyball and baseball. 4 years ago he put together a cycling team to participate in the Ride to Conquer Cancer, with hopes to make a difference in some small way with the funds raised. Ryan, his wife Jacqueline and their two kids live on the North Shore.

Christine is an engineer by profession but more recently has been volunteering her time to support youth sports through coaching, organizing events and joining A4K as an active member in 2019. Christine is currently sitting on both our match campaign committee, and our newly formed Marketing committee, and we are delighted to have her joining us in these capacities. Having played competitive soccer in her hometown of Montreal, Christine recognizes the many joys, challenges and life-long benefits that come with playing in organized sport. The importance of sport has been passed on to her two active teenagers who now themselves play competitive soccer and baseball in Vancouver. Having learned of the financial obstacles faced by many of the youth here in BC, she wanted to help support A4K's efforts to get as many kids as possible into sports and playing the games they love!

Having volunteered with A4K since 2019, Kelly is excited to continue her involvement by joining the Board of Directors. As the active parent of two sports-obsessed teens, Kelly has spent the past 12 years serving in various volunteer positions within local youth sports organizations. She has witnessed first- hand the positive impact that staying active and connecting to community via a sports team or shared athletic pursuit can make on a child, and has a keen interest in supporting those who may face barriers to participating. Kelly has seen that greater confidence, resilience and compassion for others can emerge for youth who join teams, get physically active and put themselves in novel situations, separate from school and family. Every child who wants to broaden their horizons through athletic pursuits should have the opportunity and Kelly is heartfelt in helping A4K make that happen. Kelly’s professional career began in youth education and now sees her leading a Business Development team for a professional association. Kelly brings to the A4K Board of Directors expertise in relationship building, stakeholder communications and event planning. She looks forward to working alongside this dedicated team of directors, volunteers, and partners.

Jeff joined Athletics for Kids in 2020 with the motivation of giving back to a cause and organization that really connected with him. Born and raised in Vancouver and growing up on the North Shore, sport has always been a big part of his life including snowboarding, golfing, and playing baseball and football. Now with a pair of daughters (7 and 9) involved in a multitude of sports and activities, Jeff knows the high cost of sport and the stresses and pressures this puts on families. Based in Port Moody, Jeff is a passionate and active runner and gets outside on the trails, field, water, or snow with his family as much as possible. In his professional life, Jeff is the Director of Marketing for RC Pets with past experience in consumer goods, tourism, and sports marketing. Jeff is excited to apply his brand and marketing strategy expertise to elevate the Athletic for Kids name and story to reach more donors and connect with more families that need our support.

Paul joined A4K in 2020 as part of the finance committee and joined the Board of Directors in 2022, hoping to use his knowledge of accounting and finance to benefit a cause about which he was passionate. He grew up in Adelaide, Australia where he played cricket, Australian rules football, soccer, golf and volleyball along with downhill mountain biking throughout his school and university years. He moved to Vancouver in 2018 and continues to play golf (poorly), along with making the most of living on the North Shore and its proximity to the abundance of mountain biking and snowboarding playfields. He truly values the friendships made, life lessons learnt, and support received through participating and volunteering in organized sports in his formative years. He strongly believes that removing barriers holding back kids from playing sports is a fantastic way to enrich communities, but more importantly, to enrich children’s lives as they grow up.

Matt became a member of A4K in 2021 and joined the board within 18 months as he saw the incredible impact A4K has on so many families in British Columbia. As a new board member, he is keen to jump in and contribute to A4K’s mission. He believes all kids deserve the opportunity to participate in organized sport and knows the leadership, communication and teamwork skills developed through sport are foundational to a successful future. Born and Raised in Richmond, BC, Matt has been active in sports all his life. An avid cyclist and golfer, as well as hockey and squash player, Matt considers some of his oldest friendships a result of his involvement in organized youth sports. In his professional career, Matt is the Vice President of Development for a BC based, multi-faceted real estate developer. He leads the group’s development activities which include commercial and multi-family residential projects on Vancouver Island, Squamish and the Sunshine Coast.