SVP honours three Distinguished Partners: Nicole Geyer, Paul Geyer, and Greg Sullivan

During our Annual General Meeting and 25th Anniversary celebrations at the beautiful Stanley Park Rowing Club, SVP recognized three Partners for their extraordinary service and contributions to SVP over many years. Nicole Geyer, Paul Geyer, and Greg Sullivan were each honoured with the title of Distinguished Partner.

The criteria for this honour includes active service as a Partner over a continuous period of at least 10 years, service that involves varied contributions and multiple roles, and service that is exceptional in nature, contributing to significantly advancing the long-term goals of SVP. It was established by the Board of Directors in June 2014 and Norm Francis was named SVP’s first Distinguished Partner in September 2014.

All three of these amazing individuals are highly respected and influential amongst their peers at SVP. They were foundational contributors to our Game Changing Giving campaign in 2024 and 2025, making significant contributions to the growth that we have seen at SVP over the past two years. Each has donated exceptional amounts of time to supporting, building, and strengthening the work that we do.

Nicole Geyer

Nicole Geyer has been a Partner with SVP Vancouver since 2008. Over nearly two decades, she has stepped into almost every conceivable role within the organization. Nicole has been an active Lead Partner to numerous Investees, including Backpack Buddies, Treehouse, the Deaf Children’s Society, and the Red Fox Society. Notably, she served as the Board Chair for Take a Hike, helping support their scaling and growth into one of SVP’s major success stories.

Nicole served on the SVP Board for several years, including a vital term as Board Chair from 2020–2024. Her leadership extends deeply into SVP’s committee work; she has served on the governance committee, the first Pickleball committee, and the Opportunities Committee, which she continues to chair today. Nicole’s tireless commitment has left a profound impact on both SVP and the wider community.

Paul Geyer

Paul Geyer’s influence on SVP has been massive. He served as an integral Board member and held office as Board Chair from 2014–2017. For many years, Paul was a mainstay on the Development committee, where he became a key driver of corporate sponsorship efforts. His competitive fundraising spirit even earned him the “Big Dill” award at our Pickleball tournament for raising the highest amount of corporate sponsorship.

Paul is consistently the first to raise his hand when SVP looks for leadership on new initiatives, and he is always willing to provide wise counsel to leadership and fellow Partners. Most recently, Paul has shown his exceptional generosity by providing SVP with pro bono office space at Nimbus Synergies.

Greg Sullivan

Greg Sullivan is establishing himself as an innovative non-profit leader not just within SVP, but across our local community and British Columbia. Within the foundation, Greg has served as a Board member and as a valued member of the Opportunities committee. He has also served as a Lead Partner for both Baby Go Round and LDS (Learning Disabilities Society).

While Greg has been instrumental to the organizational health of both groups, his work with LDS has been particularly impactful. Working closely with LDS Executive Director Rachel Forbes, Greg helped grow the organization by a factor of 10—expanding the number of children in their programs from 100 to over a thousand. Under his guidance, LDS has become a shining light in the community, leading by example and showing peer organizations how to scale and grow responsibly.