Who we are
Helping strata owners for over 50 years! We are strata owners, just like you. The Vancouver Island Strata Owners Association (VISOA) is an independent, non-profit society supported by membership fees. Formed in 1973, is the longest-running organization of its kind in Canada. Membership is open to strata corporations or any resident of British Columbia. Ownership of a strata lot (condo, townhouse, bare land or commercial strata lot) is not required. Voting members have a voice in the operation of the society and are encouraged to attend the Annual General Meeting in February. Membership is also available for businesses that provide goods and services to strata corporations and owners.
Our organization was founded in 1973 under the name of The Greater Victoria Association of Strata Owners with a mission of helping owners understand this new form of property ownership and manage their properties. We became a registered society on February 27, 1976 under the name The Greater Victoria Strata Corporations Association. The first president was L.W. Jones. Various name changes over the years culminated with the present name in 1998. In the 2000s, we expanded our services to assist strata owners across British Columbia through digital communication.
VISOA is unique in that our board members are volunteers. In fact, the society was run entirely by volunteers until 2013. That year we opened a modest office in the Volunteer Victoria suite of offices on View Street in Victoria, and hired part-time staff for administrative duties.
Commitment to equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility
Equity and inclusion are core values at VISOA, fundamental to all levels of the organization and essential in the planning and implementation of programs. We take concrete action to serve diverse populations and seek board members, volunteers, students, and staff who reflect the diversity of society. Each VISOA committee has a responsibility to reinforce our commitment to provide all participants with inclusive and equitable experiences in our work and programs through a welcoming and culturally relevant experience.
VISOA Constitution and Statement of Purpose (2023)
VISOA Bylaws 2024
What we do
We assist strata corporations and strata lot owners by providing information, education, training, and support. Our Strata Support Team fields over 1,000 questions from VISOA members each year. We present educational webinars and workshops on aspects of strata living and the management of strata corporations.
As part of our mandate, we meet with local and provincial governments and industry associations, and sit on advisory panels to advocate for the issues and concerns of BC strata owners and strata corporations. We understand strata owners because we are strata owners too.
Board of Directors
Our board members receive no remuneration. We are volunteers, passionate about helping others and have the knowledge, experience, and expertise to do so. We manage the society based on a strategic plan that includes committees for Human Resources, Finances, Advocacy, Marketing, and VISOA’s Suite of Services.
Wendy Wall
Wendy has served on VISOA‘s board of directors since 2013, and as president since 2020 furthering VISOA’s mandate of advocacy by meeting with government, industry, and community associations. She also presents webinars and workshops to assist strata owners with the management of their strata corporations. As a graphic designer and communications specialist, she enjoys working on VISOA’s Bulletin magazine, communications strategy, and digital media marketing. She often refers to herself as a strata geek, and enjoys her free moments reading CRT decisions.
John Grubb
John joined VISOA as a business member in 2004, and as a corporate member in 2009 when he became a strata owner. He served as vice president on his strata council from 2009 to 2022, and as VISOA’s vice president for the past four years. As a Strata Maintenance Consultant, his knowledge of strata operations and depreciation reports provides a depth of knowledge and experience that benefits VISOA’s board and members.
André de Leebeeck
André has been a strata owner since 2001 and serves as president of his strata council. He has also served on VISOA’s board of directors for four years, two as treasurer. André and his wife enjoy hiking, dancing and travelling. They are active with the Saanich Pulling Together programs. André is an engineer and holds an ICD.D designation, from the Institute of Corporate Directors.
Susan Ferster
Susan has lived in Victoria for a little over 10 years and has been an owner in 15-unit strata on Bear Mountain since 2014 where she is currently serving on the council. She is originally from Ontario where she was an owner in a 247-unit low-rise condominium for 20 years. Susan was on the condominium association’s board for 12 years - 10 of those as president. She is a retired civil servant - working for CRA as a plain language editor for 20 years. With all the recent legislative changes to the Strata Property Act, she is hoping to use her experience to help herself and other strata owners understand and navigate these changes.
George Fisk
George is a retired lawyer and a former adjunct professor in the Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa. He has been a Lecturer in Law for several other universities and for the World Intellectual Property Organization. George has been a strata owner for 37 years in three provinces and has served on council numerous times. He has also served on many boards over the years. He is a former president of the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada, and is currently president of the Probus Club of Oak Bay. George was elected to VISOA’s board of directors in 2022.
Jamie Stevens
Born and raised in Nova Scotia, Jamie was a real estate agent for most of his early career. As a volunteer at his children’s school, he became interested in the school board and served as a trustee for 10 years. During the latter part of that time, he served as president of the Nova Scotia School Boards Association. A move to Toronto in 2014 brought him back to real estate and then retirement in 2022 saw him move to Victoria. Jamie lives in a strata, serves on council, and is chair the building committee. He and his wife Cindy have two grown children.
David Stinson
David has been a member of VISOA since 2010 and a regular attendee at seminars and workshops ever since. For nearly a decade, he served as a strata council member in positions including secretary and president. David joined VISOA‘s board of directors in 2020 to give back to VISOA members from his council experience. David is a member of VISOA’s Strata Support Team.
Office Staff
Our staff process memberships, manage the database, and answer members’ queries regarding membership benefits, renewals, and payments. Staff also coordinate advertising for our quarterly VISOA Bulletin magazine, email newsletter, website updates, publications sales, and preparations for webinars and workshops.
Cindy Young
Cindy (she/her) joined VISOA as Office Administrator in November of 2018. She has over 30 years of professional customer service experience and is dedicated to client satisfaction. She has resided in Victoria with a series of delightful and interesting cats for over 20 years and respectfully acknowledges she is an uninvited guest in the territory of the Songhees, Esquimalt, and W̱sáneć Nations. She has a somewhat jackdaw curiosity about human behaviour and the world around her and is always interested in what is going to happen next.
Volunteer with us!
If you are interested in volunteering, please complete our secure online volunteer application form to tell us about your interests and experience.
Here are a few examples of volunteer positions and tasks:
- Board member
- Volunteer coordinator
- Writing articles for the Bulletin magazine and blog posts
- Editing and updating publications
- Updating website
- Organizing webinars and workshops
- Editing videos
- Office support, assisting the office administrator
- Strata Support Team (requires a high level of knowledge about the Strata Property Act and other legislation)
- Or pitch your idea of how your skills can help VISOA
Interested in working with volunteers?
We are seeking a volunteer coordinator to organize, recruit, and support a small group of volunteers. The ideal candidate will be friendly with great communication skills and committed to inclusive and equitable experiences.
We are looking for an individual with computer skills and the ability to work independently and remotely. The volunteer coordinator works closely with office staff, volunteer board members, the marketing and social media committees to coordinate recruiting new volunteers, and the presentations committee to coordinate volunteers for webinars and workshops.
If you’re interested in learning more about our non-profit society and the education and support that we provide to strata owners, we’d love to meet you for a virtual coffee! Please apply online. Thank you.
Honorary Life Members
Honorary Life Member is an honorific title awarded by the Board for strength of commitment to VISOA members and evidence of long-term volunteer service and/or length of service as a board member.
These incredible volunteers were named as Honorary Life Members at VISOA’s annual general meeting in the following years. Thank you!
- 2015: Tony Davis, Cleve Patterson, Elsie Lockert, and Harvey Williams
- 2016: Linda Thompson and Claudio Procopio
- 2020: Sandy Wagner
- 2022: David Grubb and John Webb
