Former ESL educator turned sales manager and business coach to run for Chilliwack school board

CHILLIWACK – A former ESL educator who now works as a regional sales manager and business coach will run for a seat on the Chilliwack Board of Education in this fall’s municipal election.

According to the Trustees for Change website, Hugh Hamilton is a third-generation British Columbian who grew up in Greater Vancouver. After graduating from Burnaby Central Senior Secondary, Hamilton worked in corporate sales for Hume Travel Agency before obtaining a certificate in ESL education from the University of Saskatchewan. As an ESL educator and travel professional, he lived and worked in East Asia, primarily Taiwan, for seven years.

After returning to Canada from Asia, he began a career with the Vancouver Whitecaps as a soccer ambassador and rose through the ranks to become the organization’s senior manager of ticketing and service.

In 2017, he launched his career as a life and business coach, working first as White Caps’ FC “inside coach” before being formally accredited in 2020 with 250 coaching hours. Since moving to Chilliwack in 2022, Hamilton has shared his expertise as a problem-solving business coach to local companies like Hofstedes. He has also taken on short-term general manager contracts with Chilliwack FC and Controlled Bolting to help resolve specific operational issues. While maintaining his career as a business coach, Hamilton has also worked as regional sales manager for Pacbrake since 2025, covering business in British Columbia, Alberta and Texas.