The Board of Directors provides strategic leadership and oversight, ensuring the organization serves the best interests of the Town of Creston and its residents. The Board is responsible for setting the overall strategy and vision, delegating day-to-day operations to management, and maintaining accountability to the community. The Board is made up of a diverse group, including three members of Council, one senior staff member, and seven Directors appointed by Council.
Monique Arès
Monique Arès has lived in Creston for over twenty years and was elected to Town Council in 2022. Monique completed a Bachelor of Justice Studies and worked for several years at a local social service organization. Two years ago, she obtained a Master of Social Work and now works as a Registered Social Worker in Creston. Monique is grateful to be a director for the CVHC and is honored to be part of a team that is working together to bring attainable housing to the Creston Valley. She understands that the housing crisis is complex, and requires creativity, innovation, and collaboration to find local solutions. Monique has two wonderful and busy young daughters whom she raises with her partner Jacob Ewashen.
John Atkins
John Atkins has only recently moved to the Creston Valley with his family, before that he and his family lived in the lower mainland, Asia and Africa . He is a lawyer by profession and currently teaches law to students online. John enjoys cross-country skiing in the winter and canoeing and fishing in the summer. Creston provides limitless outdoor opportunities for him and his young family to explore. For John, Creston represents the perfect town—a place with a strong sense of community, that is small enough to know many of the inhabitants but big enough to have all the right facilities.
Penelope Cavanagh
Penny moved to Creston in 2024. Over the years, she has travelled in Canada, lived in different countries and has seen some wonderful places.
As a life-long learner, Penny likes to learn new things beginning with a degree in Psychology and continuing with classes in singing, accounting, ESL, Montessori education, adult learning and maybe more in the future.
Penny’s employment has evolved from working in the retail sector as a customer service employee and into management in Alberta and British Columbia. In 2004, she chose to change professions and moved to Asia to teach English as a Second Language. After a brief return to Canada, she and her husband taught again in Asia before finally returning to Canada where Penny continued to work in ESL, NPO project coordination and also Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC). Between working in Calgary and moving to Creston, she and her husband built a house in the Okanagan in 2015/16. Now in Creston, she is enjoying volunteering in the community and working at Columbia Basin Alliance for Literacy.
Dina Bambrick
I am enthused about this municipal corporation. I was a member of the Affordable Housing Development Committee that documented the housing crisis in the valley and inspired this corporation. It is a forward thinking, proven concept that enables creativity and flexibility while ensuring swift action to maximize opportunity and guide fiscal sustainability. I have a strong commitment to working collaboratively in and between business and social sectors. I value strategic, fiscally responsible decisions and innovative problem solving.
My life and career experience of over 40 years in this community, creating and operating large and small businesses and working in public and not for profit agencies, informs a diverse base for decision making. I was a small business owner serving the construction industry, a past member of local business organizations and the Creston Valley Housing Society. I served two terms as a School Trustee, and am founding member of the Creston Valley Economic Action Plan. I am a trained advocate in the health and legal systems and the Landlord/Tenant Act.
It is an honour to give back to this community to ensure we continue to grow and provide a high quality of life for everyone.
Joel Comer
Joel Comer is the Director of Community Services for the Town of Creston, where he serves as Council’s appointed Town Staff Director on the Creston Valley Housing Corporation (CVHC) Board. Raised in the Kootenays, Joel has proudly called Creston home for the past 25 years.
He holds a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Geography from the University of Victoria, specializing in geographic information systems (GIS), mapping, and community planning. Since joining the Town in 2017, Joel has led several key initiatives to support housing development in the region, including the 2023 Housing Action Plan, Official Community Plan and Zoning updates in 2022 and 2025, and the 2024 Housing Needs Report, among others.
Joel leads a team that works closely with local and external developers, building professionals, homeowners, and other levels of government. He brings an in-depth understanding of the regulatory framework, unique opportunities and challenges involved with developing housing in Creston.
Outside of work, Joel enjoys spending time with his family hiking, paddling, piloting drones, playing disc golf, and exploring the natural beauty of the Creston Valley and the Kootenays. He and his partner Jen are grateful to be able to raise their children on the unceded traditional territory of the yaqan nukiy within the Ktunaxa nations.
Arnold DeBoon
Mayor DeBoon, who is currently serving his first term as Mayor, and second term on Council, transferred to Creston with his family in 1990 and for 23 years served the Creston area as a Conservation Officer. Arnie noted that he was fortunate to be promoted during his time here without having to transfer to a new community or area, and that he retired as a Sergeant, in charge of field operations for the entire West Kootenay region.
Arnie has always had an interest in community, and has served as the Chair of the Creston Trinity Housing Society for more than 28 years and on the Board of Directors for the Valley Community Services Board for the past 8 years. In his career, Arnie also served as President of the Society of BC Conservation Officers.
Arnie's wife, Wendy, is a retired Community nurse. They fill their time with camping and related outdoor pursuits, traveling, scouring the hills for huckleberries, and providing community service. Their two sons, Steve and Matt, grew up in Creston. Steve now lives in Calgary, employed by the Alberta Energy Regulator as part of a team that monitors carbon emissions from the oil industry, fighting climate change. Matt and his wife Jessica returned to Creston in 2015, where Matt teaches grade five/six at Erickson Elementary School, and Jessica teaches at Canyon-Lister School. They are parents to Oliver, currently Arnie and Wendy’s one and only grandchild.
Denise Dumas
Denise was born and raised in Cranbrook, BC and has lived in Creston since 2009. She feels privileged to be the third generation in her family to serve on Council for the Town of Creston.
Denise has been a contract painter and has owned her own business since 2006. She currently volunteers as Vice-President on the Cresteramics board, and is a director on the Trails for Creston Valley Society and Valley Community Services boards. She volunteered coaching basketball when her kids were in school.
Larry Fisher
Larry and his wife moved to Creston in 2021. A Journeyman Carpenter with over 40 years of experience in the construction industry and project management, Larry is passionate about building and creating. He is actively involved in both playing and coaching youth sports, and is an avid fisherman who loves spending time outdoors.
Family is important to him, and he enjoys time with his two sons and grandchildren. Larry is eager to apply his decades of knowledge to help bring much-needed housing solutions to the Creston area. He looks forward to working alongside the CVHA Board Members, community government, and local citizens to develop sensible and practical housing projects.
Anne Jackson
Born in the Kootenays, Anne grew up on Vancouver Island and attended the University of Victoria but spent most of her adult life in Alberta. She returned to BC in 2010, moving to Creston to help care for her mother. Always an active volunteer, Anne quickly became busy working for her church, the local Bridge Club and the Creston Trinity Housing Society, which runs the Catalpa Apartments. Working with the tenants of the Catalpa Apartments made her realize how desperately Creston needs more housing and, when the Town asked for volunteers to work on the Board of the Creston Valley Housing Corporation, Anne was happy to apply.
Zina Kwan
Originally from Calgary, Zina Kwan lived in Victoria for several years before settling in Creston with her family in 2019. Zina is a CPA currently working for a BC-based family office. Her previous experience includes serving as the Director of Finance for Yaqan Nukiy (Lower Kootenay First Nation) and working as an auditor for the Office of the Auditor General of BC.
In addition to her professional work, she recently joined the Creston Valley Blossom Festival Association as their Treasurer. Zina is grateful for the opportunity to join the CVHC Board and looks forward to contributing her financial skills to help address local housing challenges so that the Creston Valley is a place where all residents can thrive.
