SD23 School Board Candidate
Rooted in community. Proven in governance. Deeply invested in our children.
Saturday, October 17th — Municipal Election. Please VOTE! Well-read, well-educated kids need strong public schools, and strong schools need engaged voters.
I care deeply about public education, and I share what most parents and grandparents want: to see our children flourish into kind, thoughtful, engaged and skillful citizens. SD23's motto of "Together We Learn" needs to reach from the Board table to the classroom and beyond. I'm a team player, and I want to help the board pursue that kind of learning environment.
Having served as an SD23 trustee from 2011 to 2014, I understand how board policy, budgets, and district planning work. I sat on every Board committee, plus Harmony Day, Veendam, and CATCH. As a retired ESL teacher and former business owner, I weigh both the skills students need in the classroom and what it takes to run our district responsibly. I'm married to Dr. John Brinkerhoff, a retired family physician, and I'm mother to three living adult children and grandmother to thirteen, twelve of them local.
Family on the lake, summer 2026
Every student deserves welcoming classrooms, strong mental health supports, solid academics, financial literacy, and more accountable screen-time. These are needed to thrive, not just survive. I'll advocate for practical career pathways using local post-secondary and business partnerships, so graduating students have a clear and hopeful path forward.
"Together We Learn" means real collaboration. I'll work diligently and respectfully with fellow trustees, and together we'll push for early, authentic and ongoing engagement with parents, teachers, support staff, and Indigenous leadership.
Budgets should put frontline learning first: teachers, education assistants, and direct student supports. Alongside fellow board members, I'll advocate to the province for fair per-pupil funding, and as our region grows, I'll encourage creative approaches to funding the schools our district needs to build and/or replace.
Central Okanagan Public Schools have reached real milestones: strong graduation rates, rising Indigenous student graduation, and programs of choice like French Immersion and vocational partnerships with the College and BCIT. I believe that with greater diligence to academic achievement, excellence in life skills, and to safe environments, we will have schools that we can be proud of.
The video cuts off before Joyce finishes her thought. Here's the full line:
Sometimes by preferring or by giving opportunities to one group, it can result in pulling somebody else down. How do we give opportunity to everyone to be the best that we can be?
In the news · KelownaNow · October 12, 2026
Coverage of Joyce at the KelownaNow All Candidate Forum on measuring where students stand, raising expectations, working together from the board to the classroom, and finding creative funding for what's good for kids.
I'm co-founder and president of Global Citizen Events, leading Taste of Home, The Global Schoolhouse, the Sustainable Development Challenge, Arts for Social Change, and Reconcili-Action, building a more welcoming Okanagan.
Board & advisory roles:
General voting day is Saturday, October 17, 2026, with most locations open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Advance voting days are October 7, 10, 14, 15, and 16. For the current list of voting locations, see kelowna.ca/election.
Yes. Residents who can't vote in person during advance voting or on general voting day can request a mail ballot. The deadline to request one for delivery by Canada Post is Tuesday, September 29, and for in-person pickup, Tuesday, October 13. Completed ballots must be received by the Chief Election Officer by 8 p.m. on Saturday, October 17 to be counted. Apply early to allow time for delivery, since Canada Post operates on weekdays only.
Request a mail ballot
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Completed ballots must be received by 8 p.m. on October 17 to be counted. You can return your ballot:
Want to help, ask a question, or share your ideas for SD23 schools? Send me a message. I'd love to hear from you.