Ms. Alison Brewin graduated with a Law Degree from the University of Victoria in 1991 and was called to the Bar in 1992. Throughout the 1990s, she worked as political assistant to Margaret Mitchell (MP) and in non-profit management (East Side Family Place, West Coast Domestic Worker’s Association and West Coast LEAF). She also provided freelance community development, education and writing services and was an owner-operator of the Commercial Drive toy store “It’s All Fun and Games”.
Between 1999 and 2011, Alison worked with West Coast LEAF, first as their as Legal Director and then as their Executive Director. During this time she successfully multiplied the budget and staff by five and put the organization front and centre on gender issues in the province’s laws and public policy. She returned to West Coast LEAF as Interim ED 2015-2016, where she was instrumental in the founding of Rise Legal Clinic jointly with the Peter Allard School of Law at UBC.
Alison has worked as a full-time non-profit consultant since 2011. She has provided Interim Executive Director services to organizations such as BC Civil Liberties, Access Pro Bono and VAST. She has provided Strategic Planning facilitation to organizations such as the YVR Art Foundation, BC Non-Profit Housing and First United Church. She has also provided evaluation support to groups like the Canadian Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse, Options for Sexual Health and Check Your Head. She designed and teaches New Approaches to Non-Profit Management in Canada as part of SFU’s Non-profit management program. Alison served as Executive Director of Vantage point, successfully navigating it through the COVID pandemic. Vantage Point is a non-profit organization dedicated to building capacity in the not-for-profit sector through learning and services focused on governance, human resources, leadership and planning.
Alison is a lifelong learner and has completed the Canadian Evaluation Society’s Essential Skills Course at Royal Roads as well as facilitation training at the Grove Institute in San Francisco. She regularly attends conferences in evaluation and community development. Alison is a trained Gender Audit Facilitator with the International Labour Organization. She has taken training and workshops facilitation, editing, human resources, and conflict resolution. Alison is an alumnus of the SFU Writing Studio.
Alison and her wife live on Pender Island with their animals and occasionally resident adult children.
