Current members of the Skilled Trades BC Appeal Board are listed below, and are also listed on the website of the Crown Agencies and Boards Resourcing Office (CABRO).
The tribunal consists of members appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council for terms of up to five years. One member of the tribunal may also be designated as Chair and another as Vice Chair. Members may be recommended for reappointment after their initial term.
Members are appointed, after a merit-based process, from across the province based on their knowledge and experience in administrative law and the skilled trades sector. All members must meet a high standard of conduct consistent with the General Conduct Principles for Public Appointees.
To learn more about how members are recruited, please see the Career Opportunities page.
To learn about how members are paid, please see the page for Annual Reports and Board Remuneration.
Tribunal Member Biographies
Tribunal member biographies are updated annually, in conjunction with the publication of the tribunal’s annual report.
Richard Grounds (Chair)
Richard Grounds is an Adjudicator for the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service and an Adjudicator for the Indian Residential Schools Adjudication Secretariat. Mr. Grounds has also worked as an investigator on matters relating to oversight of the RCMP. He is active in his community as a member of the Industry Training Appeal Board and the Employment Standards Tribunal. He was previously a panel member of the Employment and Assistance Appeal Tribunal. Mr. Grounds holds a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Alberta.
Martha Dow
Dr. Martha Dow is an Associate Professor of Sociology in the School of Culture, Media, and Society at the University of Fraser Valley (UFV) in Abbotsford. There, she also serves as Director of the Community Health and Social Innovation (CHASI) Hub and Senior Advisor for Changemaking to the President of UFV.
Dr. Dow holds a PhD in Educational Studies from the University of British Columbia, and a Master’s and Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the University of Western Ontario. Her MA research on inter-provincial sentencing of violent young offenders, combined with frontline work with high-risk youth, inspired her commitment to bridging public policy and lived experience.
Before joining UFV, Dr. Dow worked as a government policy analyst on social assistance, employment readiness, and child development. She contributed to projects in public safety, health, education, and support for vulnerable populations, and has presented her work internationally.
Previously, Dr. Dow was appointed by the federal Minister of Public Safety to be an Independent Chairperson for the Correctional Service of Canada. In this role she was responsible for ensuring fair and impartial adjudication proceedings for inmates charged with serious disciplinary offences. She is also a past member of the Abbotsford Police Department’s Chief Constable’s Diversity Advisory Committee.
Joel Feenstra
Joel Feenstra is an Associate Professor at the University of the Fraser Valley teaching electrical apprentices. Previously he was the principal of Feenstra Electric Ltd. Mr. Feenstra has been active in his community serving as a Chair of the BC Electrical Instructors Provincial Curriculum committee, Director of the University of the Fraser Valley Alumni Association, and Member of the Canadian Standards Association. He holds a number of designations including a Red-Seal Endorsed electrical journeyman (RSE) and BC Master Electrician (TSBC). Mr. Feenstra also completed his training as a provincial instructor with the Vancouver Community College and as an electrician at the University of the Fraser Valley.
Gavin Hoekstra
Gavin Hoekstra works for the Law Society of British Columbia as a lawyer. Prior to joining the Law Society, he was the manager of litigation for the Workers’ Compensation Board of British Columbia (“WorkSafeBC”). Prior to WorkSafeBC, Gavin was a litigator in private practice for over three years. Gavin volunteered with Big Brothers of Greater Vancouver from 2012 to 2025 by spending time with youth who do not otherwise have male role models in their lives. He served as a moot court judge at the Peter A. Allard School of Law at UBC most years between 2013 and 2023.
Daniel Smythe
Daniel Smythe is an Associate Professor at University of the Fraser Valley. He instructs all levels of the electrical apprenticeship training program as well as the master electrician program. Daniel holds a Red Seal Endorsement and a BC Master Electrician certification. He has worked across the residential, commercial, and industrial sectors of the electrical trade and has owned and operated an electrical contracting company. Daniel holds a Bachelor of Integrated Studies from University of the Fraser Valley, and has completed the Governance Essentials Program through ICD-Rotman Business School. In addition he has completed governance related training in Enterprise Risk Management, Digital Transformation, and Financial Essentials through the Institute of Corporate Directors. Daniel presently serves as a member of the board of directors for Technical Safety BC, and is chair of the Governance and Human Resources Committee. Daniel volunteers within his community as a member of Mission Search and Rescue.