Bob Bolitho
Class of ’71

Bob Bolitho, an Olympic and Professional Soccer Player is regarded as one of Victoria’s finest soccer players. He joined the Canadian National Team and played for Canada in the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal. Bob started with the Vancouver Whitecaps and a number of other NASAL teams before retiring from the sport.

Frank Leonard
Class of ’72

Frank Leonard was the Mayor of Saanich and Chair of the Police Board from 1996-2014
after serving as a Councillor from 1986. While in public office, Frank chaired the
Municipal Finance Authority of BC, was President of the Union of BC Municipalities and
a Director of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. He has also served as Chair of
the Capital Regional District, the Hospital District and the region’s Housing Corporation.

Carole James
Class of ’75

Carole James was a proud member of the first graduating class of Spectrum Community School, although the new building was not ready and the graduates spent Grade 12 at Mt. View!  Since that time, Carole has been actively engaged in her community, building strong relationships and policies in her varied capacities within the fields of social work, public education, and provincial politics where she is the former Minister of Finance and Deputy Premier for British Columbia.

Alissa York
Class of ’87

Since her graduation in 1987, Alissa has lived all over Canada and now makes her home in Toronto where she is a full professor, teaching creative writing at The Humber School For Writers. Alissa’s internationally acclaimed novels have been shortlisted for the prestigious Scotiabank Giller Prize. She is also the author of the short fiction collection Any Given Power, which won the Journey Prize and the Bronwen Wallace Award. Alissa’s new novel was released in March 2023.

Mena Ruffolo-Westhaver
Class of ’89

Mena Westhaver is a community builder and fundraising organizer in Victoria. Mena tirelessly organizes fundraisers to help families and children and has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for various causes, including being a guest rider for the Tour de Rock in 2016. She operates PowerWest Athletics and Sole Sisters women’s running groups. In 2022, Mena was elected to Saanich Council.

Joe Bekkers
Teacher ’69 – ’00

Joe Bekkers was a builder of the unique culture that characterized the schools from the last years of Mt. View through the first 25 years of Spectrum. Joe espoused excellence in academics through his teaching and was instrumental in developing partnerships with work-study and post-secondary programs. As a soccer coach, Joe’s success is legendary, with his teams winning many championships, including 8 Colonist Cups.

Joe was an inspirational educator and the perfect choice to be our first teacher honouree.

Scott Jasechko
Class of ’05

Scott Jasechko is an internationally recognized assistant professor of water resources. Scott has received numerous career awards, including those from the American Geophysical Union, Canadian Geophysical Union and the Geological Society of America, for his global research in water resources. He currently teaches at UC Santa Barbara.