Our Leadership Team
Marcia Yale (Huntsville, ON) - President
Marcia Yale was born totally blind and attended elementary school at the Ontario School for the Blind, where she learned to read and write Braille. She was then lucky enough to be able to return to her own neighbourhood, where she attended the remainder of elementary school, junior high and high school. Marcia has always loved technology. She started working with computers in 1987 and has no fear--there's always the cancel button, alt-F4 or the power button if all goes truly wrong! In 2016, Marcia received her first refreshable Braille display-now she pairs it with her iPhone and is so happy to be able to truly read.
Marcia has served as AEBC’s National President since 2020, and has been volunteering with our organization since 2001. She also represents AEBC in the leadership group of the National Disability Network and chairs the Broadcasting Accessibility Fund.
Marcia's saddest moment was when her husband, Mike, died in 2015. Her proudest moment since then was graduation day at Guide Dogs for the Blind in July of 2017. After a life of cane travel in the big city, she brought a precious guide dog back to her adopted small town.
Chantal Oakes (Kelowna, BC) - 1st Vice-President
Chantal Oakes is originally from St. Jerome, Quebec and moved to British Columbia in the 70s. She was born with congenital cataracts and has little sight, but that has never stopped her from achieving her goals. She attended Jericho Hill School for the Deaf and Blind as a French speaking student in an English environment—travelling home only on weekends. She views this as a confidence building time which strengthened her belief that one can overcome many hurdles with perseverance.
Fluent in both official languages, Chantal built a career with the Federal Government spanning over 20 years. Chantal also holds a certificate in Community Social Work and while she was never employed in that capacity, she found many ways to use her skills in the volunteer sector and throughout her tenure as a public servant. She has many years of volunteer experience in advocacy as a long-standing AEBC member, having served on the national board multiple times and supported disabled student organizing groups.
Chantal’s involvement with volunteering started in her early 20s as she was introduced to the world of becoming an advocate on behalf of persons who are blind. She recalls her work with the BC Educational Association of Disabled Students which was a take on the National organization (NEADS.) A memorable event was when she and a colleague successfully applied for a grant to create a Provincial Association to assist Disabled Students in British Columbia.
A member of AEBC since the 90s, Chantal’s late husband Rick was a big influence for her and together they gave much of their time to the organization while raising two daughters. Now a grandmother of two, Chantal enjoys spending time with her family while fitting in the work of AEBC and other volunteer opportunities as time permits. In her spare time, Chantal enjoys Kelowna’s dinner theatre, exploring her love of cooking and baking, knitting, and other craft projects.
Ryan Fleury (Vancouver, BC) - 2nd Vice-President
Ryan is totally blind and lost his sight due to a car accident back in 1995. Five years later he began working in the assistive technology field providing sales, support and training to customers across Canada which he continues to do today.
Ryan Fleury is a communications professional with over 25 years of experience advancing accessibility for the blind and low vision community. He specializes in creating inclusive digital content, producing accessible media, and engaging diverse audiences through storytelling and public communication. He is the co-creator and co-host of the AT Banter podcast, delivering weekly programming focused on disability and accessibility to a global audience.
Ryan has extensive experience in accessibility evaluation and developing accessible resources for individuals and organizations. He is also an active leader and advocate, contributing to national initiatives, strategic planning, and community engagement to promote inclusion and equitable access. He is a singer-songwriter who plays guitar and bass, and shares his music at www.whitecanerecords.com.
In 2022, Ryan became a Director on the national board of AEBC and currently sits as the 2nd Vice President. He is also on a number of committees working with others to help position the organization to move forward. In 2023, Ryan also became the Vice President of the BC Affiliate to focus his efforts locally as well as nationally.
"I encourage everyone to think about advocacy, inclusivity as they go about their daily lives, The disability community is the only minority group anyone can become a part of at any time so the work we do now will benefit everyone."
Diana Brent (Calgary, AB) - Secretary
Diana says that her rush to come into the world two-and-a-half months early must have been because she was meant to be a Gemini, rather than a Leo. Her early education began at Jericho Hill School for the Blind in Vancouver, but after two years of consistent advocating by her family, she left there and remained in her hometown from grades 4 through graduation where she was the Valedictorian. A love of music has always been Diana's passion, though it never became a vocation – her mother always said she could sing before she could talk.
“That’s why I think Gemini fits, because shortly after graduation from the University of British Columbia with my music performance degree, I moved with my newly minted English professor husband who was one of my university readers, to Calgary, where we raised two girls and have lived ever since. My career in all thing’s technology, though without the same emotional highs as singing, has been equally as challenging and rewarding,” she says. It has taken her to schools, colleges, and into private contract settings. Diana Brent has a strong background in assistive technology, education, and disability board service, including running a national telecommunications network that accommodated a wide range of assistive technologies.
In the early ‘80’s, Diana's volunteer job teaching living skills at the CNIB turned into employment with a rehabilitation certificate and sneaking bits of assistive technology home on weekends to master its wiles. Eventually Diana ended up teaching other staff and clients to use it too. In the ‘90’s before the Internet was a thing except for academic or military settings, she ran a national telecommunications network that was able to accommodate a wide variety of assistive technologies used by a diverse population within the disability community, giving them a space for virtual meetings or chats. When the Internet made that network superfluous, Diana worked as an Education Assistant, and once her girls went off to university, she returned there too, for a second degree in teaching, retiring from the Calgary Board of Education in 2013.
Slipped in between work and family responsibilities, volunteering on local, provincial and national boards of disability organizations consumed any vacant hours left in her day. These included HandiBus, the local accessible transportation service, ACCD, now the Voice of Albertans with Disabilities, and CCD, consumed any vacant hours left in her day.
Since retirement, Diana and her husband have been enjoying their adult children’s families including 4 grandchildren, taking cruises, and snow birding in their winter home in Arizona. The infamous pandemic, with its variety of virtual zoom opportunities, has returned Diana to volunteering where she currently enjoys her Secretary role on AEBC’s national board. “It’s a fantastic advocacy organization that is very welcoming and friendly,” Diana says, “and I encourage everyone, young and old, regardless of skill level, to get involved. you can learn a lot putting your creative energy to good use, and more important, it’s helping others and is fun!”
Richard Marion (Richmond, BC) - Treasurer
Bio coming soon.
Wayne Antle (Ottawa, ON) - Director-at-Large
Bio coming soon.
Louise Johnson (Surrey, BC) - Director-at-Large
Louise Johnson was born blind and has gone through a number of changes throughout her life, including detached retinas in both eyes. Louise has had five different guide dogs over the years—all from Guide Dogs for the Blind—and recently came home with her sixth one.
Louise’s first job was with the BC Coalition of People with Disabilities. The project dealt with accessibility for persons with disabilities, creating materials that provided details of places in Vancouver that are accessible. She brings grassroots accessibility and community project experience, including work through the BC Coalition of People with Disabilities and years of chapter and affiliate leadership within AEBC.
Louise is married to Dave Johnson and recently celebrated thirty-three wonderful years of marriage. Together, they have three amazing sons. When her sons were in elementary school, Louise was active on the Parents’ Advisory Committee helping to fundraise for an accessible playground which was the very first accessible playground of its kind in the Surrey school district. Louise worked from start to finish on the project, and was extremely proud when her youngest son, Dylan, was one of the children to cut the ribbon on opening day. She also participated on a committee of the school board that put lunches into inner city schools in Surrey.
Louise joined AEBC in 2009 and in 2012, was elected as Vice President of the Vancouver Chapter and subsequently became Chapter President—a position she held until the chapter closed in 2021. She continues to sit on the BC Affiliate Executive.
Over the years as an AEBC member, Louise has participated on many different committees, helping to make changes for persons with disabilities. She looks forward over the years ahead to continue to play an important role for our community.
In 2016, Louise received the AEBC Volunteer of the Year Award.
Lee Pigeau (Ottawa, ON) - Ex Officio, Executive Director
Lee has more than 30 years of experience in Canada's non-profit sector, in senior leadership roles in national, hospital, and community-based organizations. These include National Executive Director for the Canadian Hard of Hearing Association, CEO at Habitat for Humanity Huronia, Executive Director of Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital Foundation, and consulting work supporting strategy, governance, and organizational development.
Lee’s background includes executive leadership, management, implementation experience, fundraising, governance, strategy, and research-adjacent work, as well as teaching. He spent six years as an adjunct faculty member at Georgian College, shaping the Fundraising and Resource Development post-graduate program and authoring sections of the book The Vigilant Fundraiser. He has also taught fundraising and resource development at Georgian College and continues to draw on this experience in his leadership roles.
Engaged in community service, Lee participated in the Resilience 2020 project, aiding charities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, Lee has served on the Board of Directors for Obesity Canada and volunteers in marketing for the CHITF Taekwondo Associations in Canada and the Dominican Republic.