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Board of Directors

The VULS' volunteer Board of Directors is elected by the Vancouver Ultimate League Society membership at the Annual General Meeting. The Directors are assigned to various standing committees, with one Board liaison assigned to each operational committee. Board of Directors meetings are held approximately every eight weeks.

Some of the key responsibilities of the Board of Directors include the following:

  • Ensuring the mission, vision, values, and strategic planning are the focus and direction of the organization;
  • Providing effective oversight on the sound and ethical management of the Society and, more specifically, on the key components of Finance, Risk and Governance;
  • Providing support to our membership generally and, more specifically, through our committees and programs.
  • Working closely with the Executive Director to deliver against approved planning as well as objectives and overall direction;
  • Developing, maintaining and approving governance policies;
  • Ensuring that continual improvement is an ongoing practice and
  • Most importantly, being advocates for the sport of Ultimate.

Do not hesitate to contact our current board members at board@vul.ca if you have questions or feedback you would like to share.  You can also consult the Board FAQ page for more information about the role of our Directors.

 

2024 Board of Directors

Ari Metzger

Ari Metzger

Ari has been playing Ultimate since 2008 and with the VUL since moving to Vancouver in 2018. Always looking for more ways to contribute to the growth of the community that he loves, he's happy and grateful to be a member of the VUL board. In his time as a director, he has served as board secretary, chaired the strategic planning committee, and sat on the HR and governance committees. He has a great appreciation for the sport that has given him a strong sense of community and many good friends (even helping him meet his wife) during his time playing in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Louisiana, and Vancouver. He has also done a bit of coaching and is always excited to find ways to pitch in as a coach.

Professionally, Ari is a consultant in the healthcare industry with experience in organizational change, project management, and organizational leadership. He has a sincere dedication to bringing all parties to the table to ensure that every voice is fairly heard and all perspectives are represented and considered. In his ongoing tenure on the VUL board, he hopes to help maintain and build the vibrant, diverse, and welcoming community that he has found with the VUL, ensuring a long and robust future.

Term ends: 2024 AGM

Roles: President

Teams: Dragon Sound, Game of Throws (and he loves hat leagues!)

Kelly Wunderlich

Kelly Wunderlich

Kelly is a big fan of the Vancouver Ultimate community. She has spent the last decade being a VUL player, captain, instructor, mentor, and more. Most recently she has been coordinating the women-matching leagues and mentors, and working on creating more opportunities for women-matching players to develop, compete, and find community. When she's not working behind the scenes Kelly enjoys representing Vancouver while touring in Canada and the USA. Kelly is excited to bring her experiences and perspectives to the Board.

Outside of Ultimate she works as a research manager, enjoys baking, and dabbles in disc golf.

Term ends: 2024 AGM

Roles: Vice-President

Teams: Drift, Marauders, Significant Otters, Sneaky House Hippos, UBC, Zephyr, Wendigo

Anamaria Morris

Anamaria Morris

Anamaria has been playing ultimate with the VUL off and on since 2001. Having experienced playing ultimate in other leagues around the world, she eagerly returned to the VUL a few years ago with a greater appreciation for its sense of community.  After so many years as a player and captain of various teams, she’s excited about contributing to the community by serving on the board.  In her professional capacity, Anamaria works as an accountant and will be leveraging her financial expertise to enhance the board’s financial stewardship.

Term ends: 2024 AGM

Roles:  Treasurer

Teams: Marauders, Significant Otters, Hammertime, The Brave Potatoes, Strangers with Candy, Big Kids Playing

Noah Berson

Noah Berson

Noah is an experienced leader and advocate with a passion for member engagement and community building. He simultaneously served as the Chair of the Alliance of BC Members and the Vice President External at the Capilano Students Union, he brings deep leadership skills to the table, fostering collaboration and fighting for member rights. A graduate in Labour Studies from Simon Fraser University, Noah combines his academic knowledge with practical experience, advocating for fair labour practices. Beyond his academic and advocacy pursuits, Noah's love for Ultimate Frisbee spans over a decade. Having captained more than five teams, he brings teamwork, strategic thinking, and a spirit of the game to every endeavor. Notably, Noah has played a pivotal role in welcoming a multitude of new individuals, showcasing his strength in community building and expanding engagement within Vancouver Ultimate. 
 

Term ends: 2025 AGM

Roles: Director

Derek Knoechel

Derek has been playing in the VUL since 1999, and has played ultimate at the recreational, competitive and touring levels, both nationally and internationally, most recently at the 2022 WMUCC in Limerick, Ireland.  He has served as a captain/co-captain of numerous teams, and was previously a member of the VUL Skills Clinic Team.  He served as a member of the VULS Governance Committee in 2023.

In his professional capacity, Derek is a lawyer, practicing primarily in the areas of labour, employment and human rights.  He has experience in providing advice to organizations on human resources, governance and disciplinary matters, as well the development and implementation of codes of conduct.

Derek and his wife continue to play ultimate recreationally, and have two school-aged boys who are just starting their own ultimate journeys.  In his free time, he also regularly plays goaltimate and coaches his boys’ soccer teams. 

Term ends: 2024 AGM

Roles: Director

Joshua Tan

Joshua Tan

Josh has been playing Ultimate with the VUL since 2011. He first found the sport through the SFU Ultimate Frisbee Club and has been playing ever since. He has had the opportunity to play on various touring teams (Furious,Blackfish) and the Vancouver Riptide while the city still had an AUDL team. He has also had many years contributing as a coach to juniors in the Misfit program and has recently returned to co-coaching the Blackfish Open team alongside long time coach Derek Cheng.

Having met his wife and many lifelong friends through Ultimate, Josh is excited for an opportunity to give back to the league and community.

With his passion for the sport, Josh has played in every iteration of the VUL league that has been around:

Term ends: 2025 AGM

Roles: Director

Teams: Summer VUL (G-raff A-ttack, ClamWoW, Stranger Danger, 90’s Throwback) | Fall Grass (SSB, Fruit Ninjas | Fall Turf Hat | Winter VUL (Gxcci Gxng, Winter Coat, B-I-N-G-O)
Tournaments: Turkey Tourney, Life’s a Beach, Indoor Beach 4v4, Elimination 8’s and Shade’s n’ Hat’s

 

MM Tuazon

Maria "MM" Tuazon

Maria “MM” Tuazon’s ultimate career started when she was 13 in 2015. For 5 years of her high school career and summers, she spent months on and off season training in competitive junior divisions before finding passion in coaching and teaching ultimate after graduating. Her coaching/instructing resume spans from high school teams to helping coach her university’s recreational and competitive teams at SFU and soon at the BC summer games for the ultimate division in the Fraser Valley zone.

She believes she can bring a sense of unity and voice to the Board as a youth representative since she’s found that the spirit of the game has been lost in translation over the recent years and the lines between competition and for fun have been blurred in the junior divisions. As a player who went through the devastations of covid for both her high school and junior club years, she has first hand experience seeing what the effects have in the youth scene now. Her goal as not only a leader but as a friend to her players, is to make a safe space for everyone and bring back the friendly competition that ultimate embodied before covid.

In her free time, she loves being with friends and family. She often hikes, works out and cooks with her brothers. On her own, she writes music and likes to practise photography.

Term ends: 2025 AGM

Roles: Director

Teams:  Mildly Threatening, E.Z. Clap | Coach for Reign, Vortex and SFU

John Zhou

John Zhou

John has more than 20 years of experience in project and team management in human resources, finance and public transit systems for multiple global companies.

He loves working with youth and has coached Ultimate, Soccer and Baseball teams in the last few years.

Term ends: 2024 AGM

Roles: Director