Our board is a team of passionate and committed humans who provide organizational leadership and oversight for JUMP! Canada Programs.
At their quarterly board meetings and in committee meetings, these fine folk engage in real dialogue, explore possibilities, and ask big questions. They provide direction to the leadership staff and reflect and advise on continual quality improvement of JUMP!’s work.
While this team aims to be proactive rather than reactive, they solve problems and respond supportively as needed. They value a diversity of viewpoints in their strategic leadership. The board works hard to promote organizational stability, continuity, consistency, and forward thinking.
Stuart Clark
Board Chair
Stu Clark was formally an Educo instructor, and proudly served as Educo’s Executive Director from 2006 to 2013. He supported the origins of the JUMP Foundation and joined the JUMP team in Bangkok as the Global Program Director from May 2016 to August 2017. Stu hopes to use his 17+ years in the nonprofit and public sector to support and help steward the transformational experiences that JUMP! programs create for youth from all walks of life. He is currently the Executive Director of an extensive community services organization and works with other organizational and civic leaders on several critical community development initiatives, including peacemaking and restorative justice, promoting diversity and eliminating hate, and ending poverty. Stu holds an MBA in Executive Management with a specialization in Leadership from Royal Roads University, and has been trained in risk management, strategic planning, board governance, peacemaking circles, and professional facilitation skills. Beyond his professional life, he volunteers with Powell River Search and Rescue; and during his free time he loves playing the piano, guitar and ukulele, mountain biking, skiing, kayaking, and learning to grow food. Stuart lives with his wife and two daughters in Powell River.
Deanna Duplessis
Board Member
Deanna Duplessis brings a deep passion for, and more than a decade of experience working on, issues related to gender equality, justice and inclusion, with a focus on children and youth. Throughout her career, she has had the privilege of collaboratively designing, implementing and evaluating programs, with and for young people around the world, that nurture empowerment through enhancing confidence, capabilities, access, and agency. Through her work, she also has extensive opportunity to explore what works to strengthen capacities, create robust policies/strategies and translate these into action and inspire transformative change at the individual, community, policy and organizational levels. Deanna has been a member of the dynamic JUMP! Board since 2017, and in her day-to-day work she is the Global Lead for Gender Equality for the world’s largest independent child rights organization, Save the Children. When not working, she can be found camping, kayaking, hiking and doing yoga, alongside her partner and their beloved pup.
Kris Archie
Board Member
Kris Archie is a proud Secwepemc from Tsqescen. She is the Executive Director with the Circle on Philanthropy, is happily married to Jr Olson and has an 18-year-old son, Shadowhawk. Kris attended Educo as an alternate school student when she was 17 years-old and a couple of years later became a home team and administrative staff member. She has spent her personal and professional years focused on increasing and actualizing child rights to be heard, be seen, be themselves and be safe. This focus has carried her from Educo to the provincial child advocates office, to the work of reclaiming Indigenous child welfare jurisdiction on Vancouver Island alongside 53 First Nations communities, to consulting with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. From her own consultancy to working in systems change at Vancouver Foundation she has worked to create space for the voices of those most impacted to have their say to influence and impact change at systems and community levels. Kris values transparency, communication and relationship, to Creator, self, family, community and land. In her spare time she’s always found with a book in her bag or at her bedside. She always has time for laughter, sharing a meal with friends and family, or watching live music and has never regretted jumping into a lake.
Stefanie Block
Board Member
Stefanie has been working with Educo since 2009. Working at Educo has led her on a path of education, traveling the world (Educo South Africa, JUMP Southeast Asia, and Mahinda United World College India) searching for ways to understand and better appreciate the complexities of working with systems and systemic oppression and violence. The learning she has received from these experiences has motivated her to be in Canada and respond to the challenges present here. Stefanie offers her experience both as a long time Educo staff member and as an educator, bringing her other work, in environmental and place based education, rites of passage and eco-research, to the team.