Current Board of Directors

Amber Esovoloff: Board Chair

The City of Grand Forks

Amber and her husband Chris are raising their two daughters in Grand Forks surrounded by a large extended family. In keeping with her entrepreneurial spirit, Amber grew up loving to sew and after high school, she purchased a sewing machine and began doing basic embroidery jobs for extra cash. After they started their family, Amber wanted her to be at home with their kids and so she started a home-based imprinting business after purchasing a commercial embroidery machine. That business grew to include a wide format print cut machine. When both the clothing stores in Grand Forks (Work n’ Play Clothing and His n Hers Fashions) closed Amber saw an opportunity and moved her imprinting business downtown and opened the current Work n’ Play Clothing. Five years later, with the support of her family and awesome staff, Amber is opening a second store downtown, Boundary Board Co.

Kevin Maffioli: Vice Chair

The City of Grand Forks

Kevin is the Manager of the Christina Lake Golf Club and has been a member of the PGA of Canada since 1990. He was born and raised in Fernie. Kevin moved to the Boundary Region in 1997 and raised three children, Lisa, Peyton and Sam here. When he’s not running the Golf Club, he enjoys curling, fishing and hiking. He loves living in the Boundary Region because he loves how connected he feels to the community. Prior to joining the Board of Directors at Community Futures Boundary, Kevin worked with the organization and always appreciated the positive impact they had on small business. He looks forward to continuing this good work as a Director.

Jeanne Campbell

Rock Creek, Electoral Area E

For the past 15 years, Jeanne has been the stylist and salon owner of Shear Jeanneous, Professional Hair services. She holds a CCP with level 1&2 Beauty Safe Certification and in the past, has worked with AG Hair out of Vancouver, educating other hairstylists and students on products. Jeanne was born and raised in Midway, and she and her husband, Woody, raised two children in the beautiful Kettle Valley. They now have four grandchildren. Jeanne, enjoys “yardening” (what it is called when you have acres to groom), cooking, motorbiking and camping/quading adventures. She values her association with Community Futures Boundary because she, herself, was a Self-Employment Client, and understands the challenges of building and maintaining a small business here. She knows that the funds and support distributed by Community Futures Boundary stay local, and that everyone, from Staff to Board, are dedicated to helping grow a healthy economy.

Keely Devries

Grand Forks, Electoral Area D

Keely and her husband Jeremy own Jerseyland Organics, a certified organic dairy farm in rural Grand Forks. Their products are made from 100% certified organic jersey milk from their own herd of dairy cows. The farm is family-run and aside from their amazing milk, also offers a wide range of cheeses, yogurt, ice cream and even an animal petting zoo. Keely understands what it takes to be a farmer in the Boundary and knows, firsthand, what it takes to succeed as a small business owner in rural BC. She has three daughters who also help on the farm and if she isn’t working hard on the farm, can be found helping in the community in whatever way she can. She appreciates CF Boundary’s support of small business and the opportunity to bring the voice of local food to the CF table.

Rick Hanson

Village of Midway

Rick graduated from UBC with a Bachelor of Science in Forestry and has worked for both the Government and private sector as a Professional Forester for 45 years. Even now, semi-retired, Rick acts as an Investigator for the Association of British Columbia Forest Professionals and sits on a Provincial committee which reviews all applications to export raw logs. Rick and his wife Marilyn moved to Midway in 1992, where they raised their daughter and two sons. Rick coached minor hockey and baseball and enjoyed most outdoor activities with his family, but fishing the Kettle River is his all-time favorite pastime. Rick looks forward to working with Community Futures Boundary in promoting economic growth in the Boundary Region.

Lisa Houston

Christina Lake

Lisa was born and raised in the Lower Mainland of BC where she enjoyed a very fulfilling 32 year career in Finance and Banking. In 2021, Lisa and her husband Byron made a significant life shift when they retired from their respective careers and moved to the Kootenay area following the purchase of Christina Pines Campground in Christina Lake. This new venture offered a rewarding change of pace and allowed them to allocate more of their time on the outdoors and with each other. Lisa holds her CPA designation and a Bachelor of Business degree, which serve well in supporting the business side of their new small business. Coming from a larger city, she immediately felt the support and strong sense of community from both a personal and business perspective to be refreshing and a very welcome change that she was eager to embrace. After launching into a small business for the first time she was able to see first-hand the unique challenges that such an endeavor presents, even for the most prepared. Lisa is keen to be part of an organization such as Community Futures that embodies community and small business support in the most tangible way and looks forward to participating in a positive way to the support of this incredible community.

Kayla Sebastian

The City of Grand Forks

Kayla Sebastian joins the team with a young, fresh business perspective in the hospitality/food service industry. Kayla grew up in Grand Forks and decided to move back after being away for a decade travelling the world, gaining culinary experience, and wanting to start a family. As an entrepreneur, she dedicates her time, passion, and experience in her two downtown flagship restaurants The Wooden Spoon Bistro and The Bar + Kitchen where you’ll find her creating menus, building strong relationships and work foundations with her 40+ staff. Kayla and her husband TJ, who is a public physiotherapist at our local Boundary Hospital, are raising their two young children Avery and Silas. When she isn’t at The Spoon she can be found enjoying the outdoors, camping and travelling. Kayla is excited to be apart of the Community Futures family and looks forward to helping bring future establishments to life in our community.

Joe Sioga

Christina Lake

Joe and his wife, Dawn, are the owners of D&D Service Centre and Storage in Christina Lake, which provides a range of services including RV Holiday Rentals, 24-hour towing service, mobile forklifts, and mini storage. Joe and Dawn landed in Christina Lake in 2005 with their two sons, after seeking out a business that would allow them to enjoy the slower pace and friendly atmosphere of a small town. In his spare time, Joe likes to stay active, enjoying all four seasons while skiing, boating, and biking as well as volunteering with the Fire Department, Recreation Commission and Snowmobile Club. Joe values the local approach that Community Futures Boundary brings to economic development and employment services. In his words, “the organization is operated by the same people you meet walking down the street or at the grocery store.”

Leigh Starchuk

Grand Forks, Electoral Area D

Leigh has been a resident of the Boundary Region since 1989. She and her husband, Greg, have been the owners of Tool Time for 28 years. Leigh has been active in the community for many years, especially with the local curling club where she coached youth and sat on the board. A former client of Community Futures, she understands the importance of having access to business funding and professional guidance. Leigh strongly believes in the entrepreneurial dream and helping people achieve their goals, which makes her role as Treasurer on the board rewarding.

Joan Thomas

Grand Forks, Electoral Area D

Joan’s highly varied career includes years as a forestry professional, manager of an organic fertilizer plant, and management of a large, local, tree farm. Joan and her husband, Erik, who have 2 sons and 2 grandchildren, bought land in Grand Forks in the 90’s and moved in 2007. Joan is very active and, in her spare time, golfs, gardens, rides her bike, hikes, and loves to travel. She is a committed volunteer and has helped many organizations and events across this region succeed. She enjoys her time at Community Futures as she values the volunteers, dedicated staff, and the services and projects, which she feels are “first class”!