Leadership & Board of Directors

Our volunteer board and leadership team provide strategic direction, governance and support for a stronger, more professional pawnbroking industry across Canada.

CPA Directors

Our directors represent pawnbrokers from across Canada, guiding the association’s strategy and working to advance a fair, professional and sustainable industry.

Martin Strasser

Premier Jewellery and Loans, BC

President
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Tanya Graver

Hock Stars, ON

Vice-President
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Diana Machado

Co-Founder, Pawn Princess Solutions™

Secretary
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Trevor Rivett

Evergreen Traders, NB

Treasurer
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Leadership Support

Our leadership support team plays an important role in advancing CPA’s initiatives, communications and member engagement across the country.

Ben Foster

Cash Canada

Past-President
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Lauren LaBossiere

Social Media Director
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Graeme Anderson

Beats & Bytes

Membership Director
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The Founders Club

The following individuals and companies participated in the founding of the C.P.A. Each of these made a significant financial investment to seed a fledgling association. We would like to thank their vision and leadership without which this association would not exist.

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Rob Boucher

Hock Exchange

Ben Foster

Cash Canada

Tanya Graver

Hock Stars

Jeff Hockley

Hock Shop

Jeff Maguire

Hock Shop

Ken Roath

Roath’s Pawn

Dean Robins

Swap N Shop

Shawn Stinson

Howard’s Pawn Shop

Martin Strasser

Premier Jewellery and Loans

Graeme Anderson

Beats & Bytes

Arley Perdomo

Arley’s Pawn Shop

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Ben Foster

Ben has been involved in the pawn industry for over 20 years as an operator, advisor and owner.

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Martin Strasser

Martin joined the pawn industry in 1995 as a founding partner in Premier Jewellery and Loans.

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Tanya Graver

Tanya brings over 13 years of experience in the buy, sell, trade and pawn industry.

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Claire Dubois

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Jordan McLeod

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Priya Nair

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Ethan Carver

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Martin Strasser

Martin Strasser joined the pawn industry in 1995 as a founding partner in Premier Pawn and Jewellery Ltd., located in Kelowna, B.C.

He is a 20+ year member of the U.S. National Pawn Association and was committee chair of the 2020 N.P.A. Pawn Industry Operating Survey. This was a financial, operational, and demographic analysis of the US pawn sector designed to provide stakeholders with clear, robust, and definitive data regarding a misunderstood industry. Martin brings this experience to Canada as a founding member of the Canadian Pawn Association.

He has presented at many pawn industry conventions including the Midwest Pawn Convention, the Pacific Northwest Pawn Convention, and the U.S. National Pawn Expo in Las Vegas. His presentations typically focus on pawn industry metrics with an emphasis on improving individual store operations. 

Tanya Graver

Hock Stars started with one location in 2019 and now has three Buy, Sell, Buyback and Loan stores located in Ontario. She brings over 13 years of experience in the Buy, Sell, Trade and Pawn Industry. Hock Stars is customer forward and holds strong core values of Community, Experience and Innovation with a mission statement of “Changing the Negative, One customer at a time! Prior to opening Hock Stars Tanya worked extensively in the hospitality industry as well as being a certified Bookkeeper with an Accounting certificate by trade.

In addition to her professional achievements, Tanya is a mother of four children who she attributes being her driving force. Tanya is a committed member of the Wasaga Beach International Lions and the Lost Boys Hope Foster Group. She believes in giving back to the community.

Diana Machado

Diana Machado, CPP, D.G. (GIA), AJP (GIA) Certified Pawn Professional | HR Strategist

Diana Machado has been part of the pawn industry for nearly 26 years and has built her career around helping pawn businesses strengthen their people, operations, and impact. Today, she works as a consultant with pawn and jewelry companies across Canada and the United States and is a partner in Pawn Princess Solutions, a growing Alberta-based pawn company with four locations.

Diana is passionate about changing the way people see the pawn industry. Her goal is to educate as many people as possible about the important role pawnshops play in their communities—providing accessible financial solutions to the left out, left behind, and working poor who may not be well served by traditional financial institutions.

Outside of the pawn world, Diana is engaged to Jason and is part of a blended family with four daughters. When she isn’t working, you’ll usually find her glamping, travelling, or spending time with family and friends.

Trevor Rivett

Trevor Rivett has been in the pawn industry since 1994 and currently operates four Evergreen Traders stores in New Brunswick. He enjoys sharing his experiences with—and learning from—other pawnbrokers and has presented educational sessions at the Midwest Pawn Convention, the U.S. National Pawnbrokers Expo, and the Canadian Pawnbrokers Expo.

Interestingly, Trevor never actually set out to become a pawnbroker. His introduction to retail came while working at his father’s Radio Shack store in the late 1980s, where he discovered a love of sales and business. After university, he opened a store focused primarily on buying and selling used digital media. Customers soon began bringing in other merchandise, and the business expanded.

Because Trevor had computerized the store from the beginning using pawn-industry point-of-sale software, the next step happened almost by accident. One day, a customer said he didn’t want to sell his item—he just wanted to borrow money against it. The software could handle the transaction, so Trevor wrote his first pawn and unexpectedly became a pawnbroker.

More than 30 years later, Trevor remains passionate about the numbers, systems, and people behind a successful business. He believes the key to long-term success is building a team of happy, engaged people and supporting them with clear, well-documented systems and standard operating procedures.

Ben Foster

Ben has been involved in the pawn industry for over 20 years as an operator, advisor and owner. Ben is the President of Cash Canada Pawn, a leading chain of pawnshops in Western Canada. Ben has been highly involved in the evolution of the pawn industry in North America, having previously served on the Government Relations Committee of the National Pawnbrokers Association, and as a founding member of the Canadian Pawnbrokers Association. Earlier in his career, Ben advised on many mergers and acquisitions across the North American pawn industry with an aggregate transaction value of over $1 billion.

Graeme Anderson

Graeme Anderson began working part time at Beats & Bytes in 1995 for his aunt and uncle, who founded the business. After university, he held corporate roles in oil and gas and healthcare and completed an MBA. He returned to Beats & Bytes full time in 2011 and now operates its two buy, sell and pawn stores in Saint John, New Brunswick.

A founding member of the Canadian Pawn Association, Graeme serves as Director of Member Relations. He is interested in reverse logistics and the circular economy: creating an efficient market for items people no longer need and others can put to use. He also values helping customers access cash for everyday needs.