saferhome-board-members | SAFERhome Standards Society

SAFERhome Standards Society Board Members

Chairperson: Larry Clay

Treasurer: Gord Porter

Executive Director: Patrick Simpson

Director: Al Hogarth

Director: Doug Gayton

Director: Rob Bernhardt

Director: Chris Hill

Director: Jan Polderman

Larry Clay, Chairperson

Larry Clay is married with 6 children. His first career was teaching, but he is now the President of Clay Construction Inc., a luxury custom home builder specializing in building single family residences for high-end clients. He is passionate about seeing the professionalism of builders and renovators improve in the construction industry. In addition, he loves building high performance buildings delivering efficient, healthy and comfortable homes. Larry specifically loves promoting the home building association as the most credible and trustworthy voice in the Metro Vancouver area, educating builders /renovators and protecting consumers. Larry's promotion of the Home Builders' Association continues nationally as he serves as National President of the Canadian Home Builders Association for 2021 / 2022.

Gordon Porter, Treasurer

Gordon is a lifelong resident in the lower mainland of Vancouver. He has been involved in sales, marketing and business development for nearly 40 years in a variety of industries. Currently, he is on the board of the Vancouver Resource Society (10+ yrs) and has been involved with SAFERhome since it began. As a true believer of the SAFERhome model, Gordon continues to advance the goal of expanding the model across B.C. and increasing awareness across the country.

Patrick Simpson, Executive Director
Patrick Simpson is an early adopter in smart concept housing and Universal Design. Patrick currently works as a consultant with Canadian Barrier Free Design as a Universal design and building specialist. He has been involved in the housing industry for more than 25 years through real estate and development, including market research, land assembly, project management, and design. Now semi-retired Patrick has sat on many boards and committees in the Vancouver area and continues to volunteer with his community.

Al Hogarth, Director

Al Hogarth is one of British Columbia’s leading voices for sustainable community design. A former Mayor of Maple Ridge, he has served as a chairperson and board member for various regional committees and task forces, including co-chairing the Greater Vancouver Regional District’s Sustainability Committee. Al is certified in site planning, has been a licensed real estate agent for 25 years, and has a private practice coordinating land use consultations.

Rob Bernhardt, Director

Rob works to advance building energy efficiency and reduce emissions from the operation and construction of buildings. He assisted with the development of the UN Framework Guidelines for Energy Efficiency in Buildings, The BC Energy Step Code, Canada's building strategy, provincial and municipal programs and the establishment of the Vancouver Zero Emissions Buildings Exchange. Working with industry professionals, he has been part of catalyzing change, providing valuable insight into the elements of successful market transformation. Through Rob's leadership as the founding CEO, Passive House Canada became a leading provider of education, industry capacity building, events and outreach, playing a key role in the development and delivery of such programs within Canada and Internationally and helping regulators improve building standards to meet cimate-change objectives.

In earlier years, Rob built the first Passive House on Vancouver Island, which he lives in, and as a developer, built and sold Canada's first Passive House condominium projects. He has a deep understanding of people and climate friendly buildings, including the economic and social advantages they bring. He works to make these high-performance buildings the norm.

Chris Hill, Director

Chris Hill, CPA, CMA, is President of BCollective Homes, Board Member of Passive House Canada and an extremely active member of the high-performance buildng community in Vancouver. Chris has over 15 years experience in supply chain management and the construction of homes. His professional accomplishments include: Certified Professional Accountant; Master Residential Builder - CHBA; Bachelor of Arts, Econimcs-UVIC; Certified Passive House Tradesperson; HAVAN - Trailblazer of the Year Award 2021, and a B.C. Housing Registered Builder. BCollective Homes is a Design Build Firm, based in North Vancouver, British Columbia, specializing in custom Passive House homes that are eco-friendly, net zero, and high performance.

Jan Polderman, Director

Jan Polderman is married, and has been a resident of Lytton for 35 years. He went to and graduated from Langara College and BCIT. During his working career, he was self-employed in the forestry industry. During his off time, he has done several home renovations, and became a Red Seal Electrician. During his time in Lytton, he has spent 11 years on the Village Council, with the last 4 years as Mayor of Village of Lytton. After the fire that destroyed Lytton, Jan saw a need for a better building bylaw and the SAFERhome Standards program as a core principle.