Board Members
Barbara Joe, CAFM
President
Barbara began her career as a Registered Social Worker in the 1980’s, then started a computer consulting business. Recognizing the need for technology and finance she began Certified General Accounting courses leading to a Certified Aboriginal Financial Manager designation.
Barbara began working for the Sechelt Band in the 1990’s as a coordinator for an employment program while studying accounting and was soon promoted to the full time position of Chief Financial Officer, a role she filled until 2005. In 2006 ready for a new challenge, Barbara agreed to return as the Chief Administrative Officer and continued in that capacity up to 2014.
Currently Barbara is now delivering training and consulting services in Financial Management and Governance, sharing her experience from working for a self-governing First Nation for many years and building management capacity with staff and elected officials.
Barbara is of Kaska Dena heritage, daughter of Martha Shorty, granddaughter of Yanima from Lower Post, BC. She has 3 grown children, Ashley, Sarah and Lakota.
Carol Reimer, CPA, CAFM
Vice President
Carol Reimer served as the Chief Financial Officer for Carrier Sekani Family Services for 23 years before retiring in 2023. She continues to be active with First Nation Communities providing Accounting services. She is Chartered Professional Accountant and has held a Certified Aboriginal Financial Management Certificate since 2003. She joined the board of AFOA BC in 2013 and currently hold the role of Vice President. She is also the BC representative to the board of AFOA Canada and sits on the education committee.
Carol believes in life-long learning and is proud to bring that passion to the boards at AFOA. Carol is an active person outside of work enjoying skiing, running with friends, hiking and biking in the mountains nearby and spending time with her family.
Sukhi Chouhan, CPA, CA, CAFM
Vice President
Sukhi Chouhan is President of Chouhan Accounting Ltd.; with an office in Kamloops, BC. He was designated a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CA) in 2008 while working at KPMG. In 2015, he became a Certified Aboriginal Financial Manager (CAFM) while working as a consultant with Skeetchestn Indian Band and Upper Nicola Indian Band. Mr Chouhan is a member of AFOA. Currently he provides services as Financial Controller – Consultant with Skeetchestn Indian Band and Chief Financial Officer – Consultant with Knucwentwecw Development Corporation in Skeetchestn, BC.
Sukhi assists Chief and Council with strategic planning and setting up for-profit partnerships in a tax effective manner. Sukhi is determined to make a difference by building trust and strong relations through educating his clients by communicating complex matters effectively, helping them to be more confident and self-sufficient. In 2016, Sukhi was elected to the Aboriginal Financial Officers Association of British Columbia Board of Director and is the Treasurer for the Board. He chairs the Finance and Audit Committee with the AFOA BC Board of Directors and is dedicated to the betterment of the communities.
Gordon Holley, CPA, CA, FCPB
Treasurer
Gord joined the AFOA BC Board of Directors in December 2022 and brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to this role from his position as President and CEO of Humanity Financial Management Inc. His firm works exclusively with First Nations, social purpose, and Indigenous serving organizations to build internal financial capacity.
Humanity Financial is a proud sponsor of AFOA BC and AFOA Canada; team members have facilitated several accounting workshops at AFOA BC conferences. Gordon also leads the Certified Non-profit Accounting Professional Program in Canada. And Humanity Financial is currently working on its Progressive Aboriginal Relations Certification through the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business.
Teri Muldon, CAFM, Business Administration
Secretary
Teri Muldon is the Director of Finance at the Gitanmaax Band Council in Hazelton, B.C. Teri has spent her entire career in the finance industry, including 20 years of experience providing full cycle accounting, human resources, and administrative services in a First Nations environment. While employed with the Kitselas and Sts’ailes First Nations, Teri was an active member of the Finance and Audit Committees for nine years. Teri is a Certified Aboriginal Financial Manager (CAFM) and her post-secondary education includes a diploma in Business Administration. Currently Teri is completing the Certified Indigenous Human Resources Professional designation (CIHRP) through AFOA Canada. She has sat on the board of directors for AFOA BC for 3 terms and is currently a member in good standing.
Teri was born and raised in Hazelton, BC and is a member of the Anspayaxw Band. After living away for 33 years, she has returned home to the Gitxsan territories to be close to family and friends. Family is extremely important to her, and she takes every opportunity to spend time with them. During her personal time, you will find Teri sewing, quilting, or creating some sort of craft. Teri has a great sense of humour and gets along well with her peers.
Rayna Barter, B.Comm, CAFM, CAPA
Director
Rayna Barter is currently the Finance Manager for BC Assembly of First Nations. She lives and works on the unceded territory of the Lheidli T’enneh First Nation. She has worked in First Nations Finance, in varying capacities, since 1999.
Rayna has a Bachelor of Commerce from UNBC and holds the Certified Aboriginal Financial Manager (CAFM) Designation since 2015 and the Certified Aboriginal Professional Administrator (CAPA) Designation since 2019. Rayna has been a member of AFOA since 2006
During her career Rayna has worked for Carrier Sekani Family Services (CSFS), Carrier Sekani Tribal Council (CSTC) and Burns Lake (T’sil Kaz Koh) Band prior to accepting her current position at BCAFN.
During her 10-year tenure at CSTC she spent over half of her time providing Finance Advisory Services to the 8 communities that make up CSTC. Her work in the communities allowed her to understand some of the struggles that many communities face. Not just around sub-par funding and overly onerous reporting, but with capacity development and retention of qualified employees.
Rayna’s passion is education, as she is a lifelong learner. She has spent many years volunteering in her community as a ringette coach and a learn to run leader. When not working, Rayna loves spending time with her family and friends, camping, running/weight lifting and being outdoors.
William (Joe) Derrick, MBA
Director
Having enjoyed the learning provided by attending AFOA conferences and workshops over a number of years, William (Joe) Derrick ran for, and was elected to, the Board of AFOA BC in December 2024. Joe comes from the village of Gitanyow of the Gitxsan Nation and belongs to the House of Gwaas Hla’am of the Lax Gibuu (wolf) clan.
With his post-secondary education taking him away from territory and garnering work experience elsewhere, Joe was able to return to his home territory where he now resides. Having provided services to other organizations in his early career, Joe has now worked for Indigenous organizations exclusively for over fifteen years. The time in his home area has allowed him to have diverse experience in assisting bands, education, health, and social entities in areas of financial and human resource management, in addition to advising with governance.
When not working, Joe spends his time with family as well as travelling near and far.
Our Staff
Wendy Ham, CPA, CGA, CAFM
Executive Director
Wendy Ham joined AFOA BC as their Executive Director in 2019. Wendy is a Chartered Professional Accountant and a Certified Aboriginal Finance Manager. She also holds a certificate in First Nation Tax Administration through the TULO Centre of Indigenous Economics and Thompson River University. Prior to her role at AFOA BC, Wendy was the Finance Manager and Tax Administrator for Sumas First Nation for 7 years. She has been a member of AFOA BC since 2014 and was part of the team at Sumas First Nation who received a Best Practices Award from AFOA BC in 2017.
Wendy’s experience in finance and administration is long and varied as she has worked in the post-secondary education and not-for-profit sectors. She is a firm believer in life-long learning and is happy to bring her experience, knowledge and curiosity to her current role and is honoured to work with all the First Nations in BC.
Candise Johnston
Program Coordinator
Candise was born and raised in Richmond, BC, and is Wilp Ganada Nisga’a from Ging̱olx on her mother’s side, and of German/English descent on her father’s.
Candise became familiar with AFOA BC through her mother, Margaret Alexander, providing help at conferences over the years. Candise is a dedicated and loyal employee spending over 20 years in her previous two places of employment. She looks forward to this change with the familiarity of the AFOA BC team. Candise would also like to add the CAFM designation to her list of accomplishments.
Candise is a Canucks fan and loves supporting the team at home games. Family is very important to Candise, she loves her family fiercely, particularly her late mother who passed in 2018.
Candise can recite just about every line from Jurassic Park and is a big fan of the Harry Potter and Marvel movies.