Leadership dedicated to ending Alzheimer’s disease

CLEAR is guided by a passionate and experienced leadership team dedicated to driving progress in dementia research.

With strategic vision and steadfast commitment, our executive team works closely with researchers, donors, and community partners to accelerate breakthrough and raise awareness.

Our Leadership Team

Dr. B Lynn Beattie

President Emerita

Bio

Dr. Beattie has been President of the Board of Directors since 2013, when she retired from medical practice and The University of British Columbia. At UBC, she was the Founding Head & now Professor Emerita for the Division of Geriatric Medicine, and the Founding Medical Director for the Clinic for Alzheimer Disease and Related Disorders.

In 2020, Dr. Beattie was awarded the Order of Canada for her pioneering contributions to the field of geriatric medicine in Canada and abroad. In addition to her medical expertise, Dr. Beattie has a meaningful family history with Alzheimer disease.

Robert Hastings

Board Chair

Bio

Bob is a retired financial analyst.

He is a past Chair of the Alzheimer Society of BC, and past director of the Alzheimer Society of Canada.

He has long been a champion for funding research towards a cure for Alzheimer disease. His father was diagnosed with Young Onset Alzheimer disease in the early 1980’s, and he also had to witness the impact on the health of his mother as caregiver.

Claire Lynch

Executive Director

Bio

Claire is an executive leader with over 23 years of experience in the non-profit and corporate sectors. She specializes in organizational leadership, strategic development, and community building. Claire has a proven track record of fostering growth through strong relationships and extensive experience working with diverse stakeholder groups.

Before joining CLEAR, Claire was the National Director of Advisor Programs at Family Enterprise Canada, responsible for the growth and expansion of advisor programs. She previously held several key positions, including Partner at Grayhawk Wealth, Vice President of Membership for TIGER 21 Canada, Director of Advancement at Mulgrave International School, and CEO of the Irish Hospice Foundation.

Claire’s strategic insight and ability to inspire engagement and collaboration have been key to her success. Her leadership style is marked by vision, tenacity, and resourcefulness. She is passionate about making an impact and delivering value-driven solutions.

Pam Prior

Treasurer & Secretary

Bio

Pam is a Tax Partner with KPMG in Vancouver, B.C. She joined KPMG in 1986 and transferred into tax in 1990.

Pam has focused on advising privately held businesses and their shareholders on a wide variety of issues including corporate and personal tax planning and compliance. She also has experience dealing with estate and will planning including the creation of family trusts and dealing with the 21-year deemed disposition rule.

Pam also assists charities and non-profit organizations with their income tax issues including compliance filings, receipting issues and tax-efficient charitable donations. She also has a family connection to dementia.

Jaime Stein

Vice Board Chair

Bio

Jaime brings an extensive background in social media and content marketing in finance, government, professional sports, and hyper-growth technology businesses.

A journalist by training, Jaime was the Head of Social Media at Tangerine, where he led the social media component of the bank's award-winning brand transition from ING DIRECT to Tangerine. He also curated Canada’s top Twitter trend in 2011 (#GreyCup) as Head of Digital Media at the Canadian Football League.

Passionate about building a better way, Jaime helped raise $12.5-million to establish Canada’s national public cord blood bank for the Canadian Blood Services campaign 'For All Canadians'.

Dr. Dean Foti

Board Director

Bio

Dr. Dean Foti is a neurologist who has been on staff at Vancouver General Hospital since 1996. His practice is in Behavioural and General Neurology, with a focus on dementia and traumatic brain injury.

Originally from Ontario, Dr. Foti completed medical school training at McGill University in 1989. Gradually migrating westwards, he completed his residency in Neurology at the University of British Columbia, moving south to complete two years of fellowship training in Behavioural Neurology at UCLA. He holds the title of Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of British Columbia (UBC).

He is active in the clinical trials program at The Clinic for Alzheimer Disease and Related Disorders at UBC Hospital.

Frank Schober

Board Director

Bio

Bruce Shepherd

Board Director

Bio

Bruce has spent his entire career in media sales and marketing, and has spent the last 9 years at Corus Entertainment, Canada's largest pure play media company.

He has had considerable history as a volunteer, including being the Retail Chair for BC Children's Hospital Foundation, a member of the Downtown Vancouver Business Association, and working with BC Parkinson's Society.

Bruce, like many on the CLEAR Board, has family connections to Alzheimer's making this such a passionate cause for both himself and his family.

Shiera Stuart

Board Director

Bio

Shiera is an experienced government relations professional with 15 years of advocacy development experience.

She is currently the Director of Government Relations with Gateway Casinos, and a former in-house lobbyist within the Pharmaceutical Industry. Shiera is also the current Chair of the BC Gaming Industry Association and was previously the Vice Chair of the Pharmaceutical Industry Association.

Una de Boer

Board Director

Bio

Una is a well-established marketing leader with a broad international B2B career ranging from professional services to energy management SaaS.

Her career started out by running advertising campaigns, then consulting on direct marketing best practices for the largest financial services providers in the UK. Since 2005, her roles have involved building marketing teams to help organizations put customer understanding at their centre while building meaningful brands.

Alongside being CLEAR's Marketing Committee Director, Una is now the Chief Marketing Officer for WhiteWater West Industries, the leading designer and manufacturer for the waterpark industry globally.

As a literature graduate and MBA, Una believes that Marketing merges storytelling, psychology, data analysis, and common commercial sense to simplify the "why?" for customers, or potential donors.

Dr. Kristoffer Palma

Board Director

Bio

Dr. Palma is a biotechnology industry professional and through his career has worked for global life sciences leaders such as Acuitas Therapeutics, STEMCELL Technologies, and New England Biolabs in various commercial roles. A scientist by training, he completed his PhD in Genetics at the University of British Columbia and postdoctoral research at the University of Copenhagen as a Marie Curie Fellow. While his field of expertise is not neurology, Kristoffer's molecular biology and cell physiology background, along with extensive industry experience, allow him to advocate for a focus on leading edge research to understand and conquer Alzheimer's disease.

Kristoffer, like others on the CLEAR Board, has close family members who have been affected by Alzheimer's disease. He passionately believes that we are on the cusp of a breakthrough, and that technology advances in the past decade have made a cure possible within our lifetime.

Andrea Parnell

Marketing Committee Chair

Bio

Andrea is a bilingual media and marketing executive based in Toronto, currently serving as Senior Director of the in-house media agency at Corus Entertainment.

With over 25 years of experience, she has held senior marketing and media roles at LensCrafters and M2 Universal/Initiative, as well as volunteering with nonprofits Indspire and Newcomer Kitchen. She now leads strategic media planning and execution across digital, TV, radio, OOH and experiential platforms at Corus.

Andrea leverages her marketing/media expertise to help nonprofits amplify their message and measure impact.

Neena Arora

Events Committee Chair

Bio

Neena is an innovative and results-driven Sales and Marketing leader, currently serving as Canada's Development Manager at The Starbucks Coffee Canada. Known for her ability to turn bold visions into impactful strategies, she brings a wealth of experience and energy to our growing community.

Neena also brings extensive volunteer experience with 20 years at BC Children’s Hospital & 25 years at ICSC.

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Leadership dedicated to ending Alzheimer’s disease

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