06/16/2026
Humans Of The Y:
“When one isn’t dominated by feelings of separateness from what they are working on, then one can be said to ‘care’ about what they are doing.” This is Derek. He’s channeling a quote from Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance into his life on Vancouver Island and leading one of only two organizations remaining in Canada that is both a YMCA and a YWCA.
His official title is Chief Executive Officer, and he strives to balance caring, trust, diligence, and pragmatism - together with a touch of mysticism - while holding all simultaneously. His coffee is dark (adding a breath of cream, and now dialed back to mornings only), his road trip snack is beef jerky or cold KFC, and his family is the most important thing, with a clear division between birthday pie and cake in their household.
Derek returned to Victoria in the summer of 2019, after taking a year off to “figure out what he wanted to be when he grows up” and following a 20 year career working with money (and people) in cooperative banking and community foundations in BC. Moving across the funding table (and the water) to lead an operating charity here was a dream come true, presenting an opportunity to continue a 150 year legacy where healthy people build strong communities through your Island Y.
The team of volunteers and staff that inspire him every day offer housing supports through Y Young Moms and Pandora Youth Apartments, they deliver Child Care to hundreds of families through locations across the region, transform kids through outdoor experiences at Camp Thunderbird and create Centres of Community in membership based recreation facilities in Downtown Victoria and Westhills in Langford. “The Y is way cool...”
