Baylie created the first BPD peer support group in 2010 and co-founded the BPD Society of BC in 2012 after recognizing the huge gaps in service and stigma surrounding BPD in our community. Not only does she have lived experience but she has her Masters in Clinical Social Work from UBC-O and is comprehensively trained in Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (including DBT-SUD, DBT-A, and RO-DBT).

Baylie has over 15 years of experience working in the human services field. She has worked in various organizations in different capacities, including outreach, non profits, and health authorities. She brings passion, dedication, and drive to supporting folks living with BPD and Complex PTSD, and various mental health, substance use and trauma concerns.

Baylie has facilitated our weekly, volunteer driven drop in group for over a decade. She has trained countless peer facilitators and presented at numerous educational workshops to health professionals to raise awareness on BPD. Baylie is currently the Clinical Lead for the DBT Consultation Team and is a group leader for the DBT Multi-Skills Group for Adults.

She offers a wealth of knowledge in counselling skills and has a radical genuineness for everyone she encounters. Baylie can often be found spending time with her cat, dancing and singing, on set as a background actress, and traveling the world.

Bryan recently completed 22 and half years of service with the Canadian Armed Forces, retiring as a Petty Officer 1st class. In that span he also completed a Bachelor of Military Arts and Sciences at the Royal Military College of Canada. With a strong background in leadership and shared experiences, Bryan has been co-facilitating the Society's weekly peer support group since 2021. He also is a volunteer coordinator training new facilitators for our peer support groups, is an exceptional speaker for our awareness presentations, and is a committee member helping secure funding for our programs and services.

Deborah brings to the Board of Directors her many years of experience as a business analyst, financial analyst, and project manager. Deborah has been a passionate supporter of the BPD Society since the beginning discussions of its creation and has been a facilitator with the Society’s support group since its very 1st session.

As the mother of someone with the diagnosis of BPD, Deborah is eager to share what she’s learned over the years with families and medical professionals particularly around effective ways to support a loved one with BPD and reduce stigma. Her favourite topic is validation! Deb enjoys gardening, genealogy, and riding her motorcycle.

Jay Cavanagh, BA (Hons.), MA, is a self-identifying gay and first-generation doctoral candidate and Killam Laureate at the University of Calgary. His thesis research lies at the intersections of the sociologies of mental health and knowledge. Through an ethnography of experience and care in the work of Nise da Silveira, his research works to put southern epistemologies and intersectionality in conversation with critical phenomenology. This work is supported by a number of competitive scholarships, including the Izaak Walton Killam Memorial Scholarship as well as the Michael & Michelle Williams Award in Science, Technology, Environment, and Medicine Studies. The latter recently facilitated a 6-month period of fieldwork in Rio de Janeiro, where Jay studied the life and work of Brazilian psychiatrist Dra. Nise da Silveira. A self-identifying member of mad and psychiatric survivor communities, Jay's work takes up the task of reorienting understandings of mental illness through lived-experience lenses. Jay divides his time between his academic work and community projects, serving not just as a Director and Volunteer Manager but also as a peer support facilitator and a co-host of The BPD Bunch, a video podcast by and for people living with BPD.

Laurie Edmundson, MHA, CHE, is a passionate and award-winning advocate for individuals living with borderline personality disorder (BPD). Her work draws from her own lived experience with the disorder. For nearly a decade, Laurie has worked to reduce stigma, improve services, and elevate the voices of people with BPD across healthcare, policy, and community spaces. She has been with the BPD Society of BC Board of Directors since 2022 and is a member of the International Society for the Study of Personality Disorders (ISSPD) Lived Experience Committee.

Laurie brings a wealth of professional experience to her advocacy, with a background in mental health and substance use systems, peer support, and community engagement. She has led many projects across healthcare, often working at the intersection of lived and professional expertise to influence policy and practice as well as the importance of Indigenous cultural safety and humility. She is currently a Senior Leader with the BC Mental Health and Substance Use Services.

Laurie is the creator and host of The Super Feeler Podcast, a BPD-focused show that highlights the strength, complexity, and insights of those living with the diagnosis and showcases DBT skills from a lived experience perspective. She was previously the co-host of the Bold Beautiful Borderline podcast from 2020-2024. Laurie is the creator and facilitator of The Super Feelers Club, a virtual peer support group for people living with BPD.

Michelle VanderEnde is a board member of the BPD Society, a lived experience advocate, and the founder of The Mindful Wildflower, a mental health brand focused on helping people feel seen and supported. Living with borderline personality disorder, she brings both personal insight and professional expertise to her advocacy work.

Michelle volunteers as a lived experience speaker and works as a marketing manager, using storytelling and strategy to reduce stigma and amplify compassionate mental health conversations.

Natalie Sparling has been a member of the board of the Borderline Personality Disorder Society of British Columbia since 2013. She is a lawyer practicing primarily in the areas of corporate and commercial law and also advises other non-profit and charitable organizations in various matters. She lives in Victoria with her husband and two children and spends her free time exploring the outdoors with her family or reading a book.

Katie Stirrat is a new and eager addition to the Borderline Personality Disorder Society of British Columbia. With a personal connection to this work as a loved one of someone living with BPD, she is deeply committed to advancing awareness, promoting education, and reducing barriers to care for individuals living with BPD and those who support them. She believes in centering the voices of those with lived experience and working collaboratively to foster a more empathetic, informed, and inclusive mental health landscape.

Professionally, Katie holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of British Columbia and currently works as a Project Coordinator at BC Mental Health and Substance Use Services. She brings experience in system navigation, community engagement, and project management within the mental health sector. Katie looks forward to contributing her skills and passion to advance the Society’s mission and support its programs and outreach efforts.

Ann Nienaber, M.A., is a nonprofit leader and advocate for mental health, community wellbeing, access and inclusion. With more than 13 years of experience in executive and progressively senior leadership roles, she has guided organizations through strategic direction and growth, program development, and systems change to better support the wellness and mental health needs of diverse communities. Ann's career reflects a deep commitment to fostering connection, compassion, and resilience, both within organizations and across the communities they serve. Through her work, Ann continues to champion inclusive and collaborative leadership and sustainable wellness initiatives that empower individuals and systems of care.

“I'm excited to be joining Borderline Personality Disorder Society of BC as I’m passionate about helping people in their wellness journey, strengthening awareness and understanding, and providing accessible programs that empower those in their healing journey and strengthening systems of care. This position enables me to bring my leadership experience to an organization that shares my values of empathy, collaboration, and most of all hope, as well as help build a more supportive and person-centered mental health system in British Columbia and beyond.”

Caitlyn is a Criminal Justice student at Camosun College with an interest in mental health and human rights. Born and raised in Victoria, she grew up a dancer with a special interest in choreography. She feels like dance was the easiest way to express emotion, and she put her heart and soul into her pieces. Caitlyn was diagnosed with BPD a few years ago and has since spent time promoting awareness and educating those around her. She is passionate about helping others, de-stigmatizing mental health, and ensuring everyone has a voice. Community is important to her, and she deeply values all of the support and love she shares with those close to her. Friends and family would describe her as kind, driven, and empathetic. She is excited to build a new community within the BPD society and hear others' stories. As the social media assistant, Caitlyn is determined to create a warm and welcoming online environment for anyone who is impacted by BPD.

Avery is a dedicated mental health advocate within the BPD community, and facilitator for the BPD Society of BC’s virtual peer support group. Diagnosed with BPD in 2019, Avery has been practicing Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) since then and has been working as a DBT Skills Coach since March 2024. They identify as queer and nonbinary.

Avery is passionate about helping others affected by BPD understand that functional recovery is possible. As a facilitator, they take on a compassionate approach and aim to create a supportive space for people navigating BPD. They are currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in psychology and plan to obtain a master’s degree to further support those on their healing journeys.

Fiona is a Psychology BA student, minoring in Health and Society at the University of British Columbia (UBC). Her lifelong passion for mental health advocacy is deeply shaped by her own experiences with mental illness and the stigma surrounding it. As someone in functional recovery from borderline personality disorder (BPD), she understands firsthand the difficulties of navigating mental health challenges.

Fiona is particularly passionate about examining and dismantling systemic barriers that prevent people from accessing the support they deserve. Through peer support, shared experience, and empathy, Fiona hopes that the BPD Society of BC can act as a safe haven for others on their recovery journey as it does for her. In addition to her involvement with the BPD Society, Fiona is involved in research examining culturally sensitive mental health resources, is a sexual health educator, and a crisis line respondent. In her free time, she enjoys playing video games, crafting, and fostering cats!

Trisha Cull has been a co-facilitator for the Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) Society of B.C. weekly drop in support group for the past eight years. This experience has been among the most meaningful and rewarding of her life. She has been humbled to know individuals struggling with BPD whose resilience, bravery, creativity and kindness have helped her to become a better person. She is likewise grateful to the BPD Society for helping her to navigate her own struggles with BPD.

In 2015, her lifelong dream of publishing her first book came true. Nightwood Editions published her memoir, “The Death of Small Creatures.”.

She has been publishing in Canadian literary journals for the past twenty-five years. Her poetry and nonfiction have appeared in Geist, Prism international, Grain, Room, Event, Prairie Fire, Descant, The Dalhousie Review, The New Quarterly, This Magazine, and sub Terrain. In 2007, she was humbled to win both the Prairie Fire Bliss Carman Award for Poetry, as well as the Prism international award for literary nonfiction. In 2023, Prairie Fire Magazine once more awarded her a standing in their Creative Nonfiction contest in which she placed 3rd.

She has undergraduate degrees in Creative Writing and English Literature from the University of Victoria. In 2005, she earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing from the University of British Columbia. More recently, she completed the Interprofessional Mental Health and Addictions post-graduate program through Camosun College.

Josh Escobar (he/him) was born in Montreal and has lived in Victoria for the past six years with his wife and two amazing children. Josh is a person living with BPD and has been a facilitator with the Victoria peer support group and a speaker for awareness presentations since 2024. At first Josh felt confused about his diagnosis, as he didn’t know what it was, but ultimately, it was a relief—he finally had answers and a better understanding of himself. Growing up, he lacked the love and safety he needed, and for a long time, had to navigate the pain of his past alone. With the support of his wife and community, he has learned to face life’s challenges. Through peer support and DBT, he gained the tools to regulate his emotions, express himself in healthy ways, and stand up for himself. Josh's journey isn’t over, but feels empowered and equipped to become the best version of himself.

Ravenne Castle-Griffey has been involved with the BPD society since 2019 and took on a co-facilitator role in early 2025. She is a settler on the traditional territories of the Lekwungen peoples (Greater Victoria) and grew up on these lands. She spends much of her free time hiking, jumping into cold bodies of water, and learning about native plants. Ravenne is passionate about holding space for individuals and their experiences with borderline personality disorder. Her deep value of reciprocity is what motivates her to give back to the organization and community that played an important role in her own life. As a co-facilitator, she practices creating a validating environment, and brings insights through lived experience and Dialectical Behavioural Therapy.

Katie is one of the facilitators for the peer support group in New Westminster. She also helps with organizing two social events a year, information booths, and is working on fundraising. She is also on the Accessibility Advisory Committee for the City of New Westminster, advocating for mental health. Katie identifies as someone with lived experience with BPD, and other mental health challenges. She is very passionate about mental health advocacy. Her hobbies are music, art, and poetry. 

Cynthia is a BPD survivor, educator, writer, and mental health advocate. Having struggled to find appropriate support for her BPD in the early 2000s, she is now passionate about reducing stigma.

After earning her PhD in Comparative Literature from the University of California, Berkeley, she has spent the past fifteen years teaching literature, creative writing, and academic writing at universities. She has published two books, and her writing about BPD has been featured in Best Canadian Essays 2026 and other publications. She also produces the interview podcast, ‘A Real Affliction: BPD, Culture, and Stigma’. Recently, she completed a course in narrative-based medicine, which teaches health care practitioners to better understand their patients’ stories, through the University of Toronto. Drawing on her belief in the power of storytelling, she brings empathy, radical acceptance, and close listening skills to the peer support group.

Cynthia loves reading, dancing Argentine tango, playing with her cat, cooking, baking, watching films, and walking in nature. After growing up in Boston and Florida, conducting research in Poland, and living in Japan for five years, she now resides in Victoria with her husband. She draws on her experiences with intercultural communication to help support group attendees from around the world feel heard.

Percy is a Psychology BA student at UBC, minoring in creative writing. Being someone who’s in functional recovery from BPD, Percy brings a nuanced understanding of the unique challenges associated with navigating mental illness, and the stigma involved. Their passion for mental health advocacy stems from their difficult experiences within systems of care, which has led them to want to pursue a career in counselling in the future to help support others.

Through their lived experience as a multi-marginalized individual, Percy approaches peer support through an intersectional lens, hoping to always make people feel comfortable expressing themselves authentically. They have experience as a crisis line responder, supporting queer youth as well as youth at risk. These experiences have shaped Percy’s commitment to creating spaces that prioritize empathy, safety, and mutual respect for all identities and backgrounds.

As a facilitator for BPD Society for BC, Percy hopes to help foster a safe and compassionate environment for people to feel supported no matter where they are in their journeys towards recovery. In their free time, Percy enjoys making art, listening to music and playing video games!

Nitu is a facilitator at the Westshore Group and brings her lived experience. She was diagnosed with Borderline personality disorder (BPD) in 2016 and has been in full remission for the past five years. Drawing from her own recovery journey, she aims to offer hope, understanding, and reassurance, showing that healing and stability are truly possible.

By profession, Nitu is an accountant and a counsellor who works primarily with people living with BPD.

Nitu lives in Sidney with her husband. In her free time, she loves sewing, cooking, and taking much-needed naps.

She is passionate about de-stigmatizing BPD and ensuring others feel seen, supported, and hopeful.

Mariska became involved with the BPD Society of BC in late 2023 after being diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, starting first as a participant before becoming a facilitator for the New Westminster support group in early 2025. Mariska holds a Bachelor's degree in Political Science with a minor in Transitional Justice and Post-Conflict Reconstruction from Western University. Professionally, she works in the federal public service as an Access to Information and Privacy Analyst at Health Canada.

Through her mental health journey, Mariska has worked to hone her Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) skills and improve her coping mechanisms. She is now considered to be in functional recovery, in part, due to the compassion she received from attending the peer support group. Through sharing her lived experiences and holding space for others to do the same, Mariska hopes to empower others on their journey to recovery.

In her spare time, Mariska can be found reading, baking, learning new languages, and playing with her two bunnies, Boba and Mochi.

Christopher is a community-minded creative and advocate who volunteers with the BPD Society of British Columbia, bringing both lived experience and professional skills into their role. Their involvement with the BPD Society of BC is grounded in a strong commitment to peer support, compassion, and the creation of inclusive spaces where individuals feel seen, heard, and valued. Christopher believes that community connection and shared understanding play a vital role in reducing stigma and fostering resilience among people affected by Borderline Personality Disorder.

Outside of volunteering, Christopher works across digital media design and retail spaces, where they are recognized for their empathy, attention to detail, and ability to cultivate welcoming, accessible experiences. Through their volunteer involvement, Christopher hopes to continue supporting community-led initiatives that empower individuals living with BPD, promote mental health literacy, and strengthen support networks for individuals, families, and caregivers.

Clem is a Psychology BA student at the University of British Columbia, minoring in Health and Society. With her experience with mental health struggles, enriched both by her personal experience as a person with BPD and mood disorders and by her studies, she wants to provide support to people who are going through what she went through and provide with the Support Group a lifeline for those in need of community and support. Through her queer and neurodivergent lens, as well as her knowledge of societal issues and systemic discrimination, she wants to broaden the lens under which we consider BPD, its causes and impacts.

Having experiences with mood disorders and trauma-related disorders, she is also interested by the comorbidity of BPD and other disorders, as well as the treatment of people with borderline in the psychiatric system. She wants to advocate for these voices and participate to a better health for her community and every one who has encountered BPD.

Spriggan is a Radical Faerie at large (occupation) and published poet, playwright and fine artist. Ze volunteers with several pro-social, non-profit organizations including The Dance for All People, The Mankind Project, and The Legacy Center for Healing in Liberty, TN.

Christina is in the final year of her PhD in Clinical Psychology at the University of Victoria. She received her Bachelor of Science in Psychology (Honors) from McGill University in 2018 and her Master of Science in Clinical Psychology from the University of Victoria in 2020. Christina's research and clinical experience focuses on borderline personality disorder and self-damaging behaviors (e.g., suicidal thoughts and behaviors, nonsuicidal self-injury, disordered eating, substance misuse). She completed a two-year practicum placement at the Dialectical Behavior Therapy Centre of Vancouver, where she provided full program DBT services to adolescents and adults with borderline personality disorder symptoms, which was supervised by a registered psychologist. She is currently completing her pre-doctoral residency within the Fraser Health Authority, where she provides assessments and therapy to individuals with moderate-to-severe mental health challenges across outpatient and inpatient settings.

Alayna has her Bachelor of Arts Degree with a major in Psychology from the University of Victoria and her undergrad thesis was on healthcare-seeking patterns among people with BPD. She loves working with the BPD population, and has come to know some of the most compassionate, insightful, and creative people over the 2 years that she co-facilitated the BPD Society’s support group.

Alayna is also comprehensively trained in Dialectical Behavior Therapy—an intervention specially curated towards BPD. Additionally, she has done trauma-informed work with survivors of sexual assault for several years, supported people with schizophrenia, and has volunteered abroad with a medical humanitarian organization.

All of these rewarding opportunities and the relationships Alayna has made through them have led her to appreciate the importance of ethical, evidence-based, validating, and compassionate mental healthcare to those with highly stigmatized disorders. She is a member of the DBT Consultation Team, and also a group leader for the DBT Multi-Skills Group for Adults.

Shay is a Registered Social Worker with a Master of Social Work from UBC Okanagan. They are passionate and committed to an anti-oppressive and trauma-informed approach to mental health care that is grounded in compassion, authentic connection, community care, and liberation. In addition to facilitating the DBT skills group for adolescents and their families, Shay has a private practice where they work with survivors of sexual violence and folks identifying as trans, non-binary, or queer. They strongly believe in the importance of addressing internalised shame through acknowledging the ways in which society has stigmatized folks with marginalized identities and diagnoses. In their spare time, you can find them reading science fiction, drinking copious amounts of tea, laughing with friends, dancing to deep, dark wubs, and snuggling their cats.

Lisa is a Registered Social Worker with both a Bachelor and Master Degree in Social Work. Since 2012, she has worked extensively in child welfare, with youth who have disabilities, and in the counselling field in the areas of mental health, substance use, and supporting women and children affected by violence. Lisa also holds an Associate Certificate in Trauma & Crisis Intervention from JIBC and is internationally certified as a Trauma Treatment Specialist.

In addition to her social work practice, Lisa serves as a rural Firefighter bringing valuable insights of the first responder culture to her practice. She also provides specialized Disaster Psychosocial Support province-wide to individuals and groups affected by disasters such as wildfires and floods.

Since founding her private practice in January 2023, Lisa has specialized in critical incident debriefing and counselling for trauma, mental health concerns (including BPD, anxiety, and depression), substance use, first responders, and crisis intervention. She is trained and experienced in Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT) and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), offering a down-to-earth, client-centred, anti-oppressive, and trauma-informed approach. Lisa has been a DBT Group Leader with the BPD Society of BC since May of 2024.

We were very sad to lose our own Elizabeth Charlotte Bogod in 2013.  Elizabeth was unique, and there are many in Victoria who will relate to the help she gave to them on their path to wellness.  Elizabeth was always at the ready for those experiencing difficulties, fighting with courage and conviction for their needs and rights. She was known throughout the Victoria Mental Health Community for her advocacy and for the inspiration she gave to so many in their own battles. At a time when she was, herself, in immense emotional pain, she went for help to Psychiatric Emergency Services at the Archie Courtnall Centre, Victoria, where she was greeted by a social worker, “So you are Elizabeth Bogod, I am proud to meet you”.

Elizabeth pioneered the frontiers of the mental health system in Victoria, challenging it to revisit itself.   She long maintained that those with the experience of mental illness were best equipped to help those in distress. She was a strong advocate for the Peer Support System, maintaining that those who have had personal experience of mental health issues are better able to support others. She researched the widely-accepted treatment for BPD, Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT) created by Marsha Linehan, a Professor at the University of Washington, and then created, built and facilitated the New Light Recovery Program, an 18 week skills-based training program based on the tools Ms Linehan had developed for those who have overwhelming emotions. 

Elizabeth hated the label “Borderline Personality Disorder”.  She felt the words in no way described the nature of the disorder. In her view, those with BPD are neither at the border nor do they have a personality disorder. She felt it was very discriminating and the public perception was that of a bad personality, even a bad person.  She wrote to the American Psychiatric Association, the professional body responsible for the DSM (the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Psychiatric Disorders) about changing the label to Emotional Dysregulation Disorder and also did an online petition.  To-date, the hated and non-descriptive label remains.

Elizabeth did so much for others in the short time she was here despite her own very serious challenges of innate neural deficits and trauma leading to mental illness. Her innovations to help others, her creativity, her writings, her poetry, her art work will live on. Her technical expertise, her ideology, her passions, the many peers she served so well, are here in positive and visible ways for all.  She left a legacy which will live on in many hearts and in many practical ways.