Alison Bodine

Director

Originally from the U.S., I have lived in Vancouver for a majority of the last 15 years after graduating from the University of British Columbia. Since high school I have been an environmental, antiwar, and social justice activist dedicated to the fight for a better, sustainable, and just world.

For the past five years, I have been a central organizer with the grassroots climate justice coalition, Climate Convergence Metro Vancouver. With Climate Convergence I have been part of building the growing movement in Metro Vancouver against the disastrous environmental policies of the government of Canada, including the Site C Dam, the Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion, and the Coastal GasLink Pipeline.

I am also a journalist, author, and researcher with a focus on environmental, Latin American and immigration issues. Most recently, my articles have been published internationally by Venezuelanalysis, Global Research, Council on Hemispheric Affairs (COHA), Common Dreams, Orinoco Tribune, Monthly Review and Counterpunch.

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Casey Stein

Director

I am a student at UBCO studying Philosophy, Politics, Economics. I come from Texas and came to BC with a burning passion for our species to treat our planet better. I have extensive political experience, including working for an elected representative, running in and assisting others in successful campaigns, researching, developing, and implementing policy, and lobbying elected officials. I am also a passionate writer and public speaker and believe effective policy is what will help us overcome the climate emergency. Currently, I am assisting an Okanagan political operative with developing a cross-partisan climate scorecard for municipal and provincial candidates and am beginning work with Impact Arts to work on everything from impact assessment development to communications. In my spare time, I enjoy going on hikes, reading, and interacting with as many dogs as possible. I am also an ardent mental health advocate and a sports fan in my free time. 

Growing up in Texas, while I learned about the existential crisis that is climate change, I watched policymakers at all levels give special privileges to the fossil fuel industry and completely disregard science and the environment. I’ve translated my frustration into an intense drive to pass effective climate policy across the board. Specifically, I believe we need to reform the policy and practices of four areas to overcome the worst effects of climate change: manufacturing, transportation, building codes, and energy generation. Combined, these sectors cause over 80% of emissions and can be effectively reformed with specific, fundamental policy changes. From my time as a mental health advocate, I have learned the value of inclusion and come to appreciate that everybody has a story which can help us understand them as a human being.

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Erik Minty

Director

Erik brings 25 years experience as a computer systems engineer, project manager, and consultant focused on Quality Management and Agile team practices. He is currently engaged in his small tech startup serving mental health professionals. In 2017 he established the Tri-Cities Regional Association of the BC Green Party, and served as a candidate for Port Coquitlam in the 2020 election. Current climate initiatives include leading a Cycling Highway campaign with Force of Nature and HUB; and he is an active member of WE-CAN’s Local Government Team. He will be seeking election in 2022 to serve on City Council for Port Coquitlam.

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Guy Dauncey

Director

I am a self-employed organizer and author who works to develop a positive vision of a sustainable future, and to translate that vision into action. I am founder of the BC Sustainable Energy Association, co-founder of the Victoria Car-Share Cooperative, President of the Yellow Point Ecological Society, and co-founder and Interim Coordinator of the West Coast Climate Action Network. I am the author or co-author of ten books, including The Climate Challenge: 101 Solutions to Global Warming and Journey to the Future: A Better World is Possible. I am currently completing my 11th book, The Economics of Kindness: A Ten-Year Transition to a Green Cooperative Economy.

I believe that the 2020s are the most critical decade in the history of our civilization. I am a climate alarmist, but not a doomer:  I share the view of Paul Hawken that if we put our minds to it, we can end the climate crisis within one generation. If we all work together, we can exert an incredible influence.

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Jessica Jack

Outreach DEVA for the BC First Nations Climate Action Data Quilt Project

I am a member of the Okanagan Indian band (OKIB). Within the syilx territories, I am working with Sharon Marshall as a virtual assistant and have been working with WE-CAN for the past 6 months. I have been really enjoying my work on this project and learning things about the environment and ways to help. I am a mother of two, a 15-year-old son and 4-year-old daughter, and have been with my partner for 5 yrs. I live out in the OKIB community.

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Jordan Brubacher

Data Scientist for BC First Nations Climate Action Data Quilt Project

Jordan is an interdisciplinary scientist with a background in health sciences, GIS, physical geography and ecological restoration. He is passionate about the environment and has focussed his career around studying issues at the intersection of the environment and human health. He embraces the understanding that humans are not separate from the environment, but rather that we are a part of it and that as humans impact the health of the environment, the health of the environment in turn impacts the health of humans, and so on. His research centres around climate change, resource development and human health, while being grounded in ecological knowledge and relying heavily on spatial data and statistics. Although much of his work has focussed on the negative aspects of this cycle, he is looking forward to the opportunity to study the positive aspects as our society moves towards embracing a sustainable future.

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Katherine Maas

Director

I am a retired educator, a mother and grandmother, a systems thinker, a passionate climate hawk, an experienced coach and facilitator, comfortable with technology, with strong writing and editing skills, a committed and collaborative team member.

Previous governance experience: 

• 7 years as a community organizer at Dogwood
• 10 years as manager of an international team of professionals responsible for developing and delivering interpersonal skills training to engineers in a multinational telecom
• 10 years as a strata council president including directing a successful and harmonious $1.5M envelope replacement
• 3 years as a founder and board member of a daycare start-up
• several years as a community association board member
• 3 years as a board member of a women’s collaborative investment club
• current board member of the First Unitarian Church of Victoria

As a mother and grandmother, I am determined to help drive the actions needed to ensure a livable planet for future generations – not only for humans, but for all lifeforms and the interconnected ecosystems we are dependent upon.

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Lily Mah-Sen

Director

My background: My family ran the Chinese restaurant in Brooks, Alta.  As the only Asian child in town, I often wished I was white.  My Mom referred to me as “bamboo”: yellow on the outside, hollow inside. Our Canadian roots date back to 1880, when my uncle arrived as an indentured railway worker. He died working in the coal mines in Cumberland. 

My father, after paying a head tax of $500, arrived in 1911. My Mom in 1950 after the Chinese Exclusion Act was lifted.  We spent summers searching the Chinese cemeteries for my uncle’s grave, to no avail.   Many graves were marked as “Chinaman” or “unknown”.  After graduation (U of A), I taught school in Papua New Guinea.  I worked for CUSO for 18 years: Regional Coordinator in Alta; Development Educator, Board Services Officer, and Policy Analyst in Ottawa and for Amnesty International Canada for 19 years. Before retiring, I was the National Activism Coordinator for Amnesty Canada. 

My skills include advocacy at federal, provincial, and municipal levels; facilitation and adult education, including workshops on sustainability in Thailand, Zimbabwe, and Botswana; and a recent 5-session Lifelong Learning Course for Seniors on Green Energy. I’ve helped boards function better (diversity training for Amnesty’s international board of directors; conflict resolution with the Ten Days Board in Alberta). I have a Master’s Degree in Management for Non-Profit Organizations from McGill. 

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Rene Dansereau

Director

I grew up in small town Manitoba playing high-level hockey and participated in most sports available in school.  I graduated from the University of Manitoba with a Bachelor of Arts my main focus being History and Macro-economics.

During a lengthy 13 years in the financial industry, I attained certificates offered by the Canadian Securities Institute at the time.  I have exercised my talent in such high profiles as: RBC, TD, and two private brokerage firms. I was also my pleasure to provide a weekly Commodities-focused radio commentary primary for farmers that ran for five years and aired across western Canada.

In 2006 I was the Conservative candidate for Member of Parliament for Winnipeg Centre, that is until they found out that I would not accept mind-less orders.  After which they realized I was not listening and kicked me out.

I worked with in the mining industry until 2015 when I left to be near my child. To make ends meet, I found a job concrete forming in the Vancouver lower mainland.  In 2019 my back had had enough so I started my current occupation of commercial electrician.

Upon my arrival in the lower mainland, I was prompted to action by the proposal to twin the Trans- Mountain pipeline; I helped organize the 2016 March that drove Kinder Morgan out of Canada, and I have been actively opposing our government’s energy policies ever since recognizing that “Business as Usual” no longer exists.

I have published a book on investing 319% and maintain an active blog at www.rened.co covering Canadian politics, economics, and energy policy.  It is my sincerest wish that we work together to move past the current problems (climate change, plastic, war, etc.) and focus on expanding our knowledge of the universe around us.

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Rieky Stuart

Director

I was born in the Netherlands and came to Canada as a child.  I’m a proud spouse, mother of two daughters, and grandmother, and am retired in Victoria B.C.  I’ve been active as a member of the steering committee of Climate Legacy, which aims to engage seniors in using their voice, their money and their time to act on climate change.

I try to practice my own values, living in a passive house, and using my electric bike as my main form of transport, as well as making sure my retirement income is as green as I can make it.  My working life was mainly in international development, with NGOs, governments, and the United Nations.  I worked as a program officer, teacher/trainer/professor, manager, CEO, volunteer Board member, evaluator and consultant over the years.  I have had the privilege of living and working in many countries in Asia and Africa.

Sometimes I think I’ve been to more than enough meetings to last a lifetime, but I still feel that working together is the only way we can build a sustainable and just future.

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Sebastian Sajda

Director

I started my journey into climate activism at a young age, having won an Earth Day flag design contest in elementary school followed by a run in the 2005 BC election my first year out of high school. Over the years I’ve been involved in anti-war, anti-poverty, and housing activism. I’ve been president of Force of Nature for the last year and a half, having put in work to successfully transition the organization from staffed to 100% volunteer run.

My academic background is in political science, having done my undergrad at SFU and my graduate work at UVic. I focused primarily on global political economy, political theory, and ethics. I came to my position on climate through critique of “ecological modernization.” I still remember sitting in the Academic Quadrangle at SFU dumbfounded that seemingly serious people thought corporations and technology could solve our carbon woes on their own. 

I want to make sure that WE-CAN targets not only our provincial government, but also municipalities (which influence 44% of emissions). I also strongly believe in coalition and institution building. We need to have a structure like WE-CAN in place to make big moves as the climate emergency intensifies. 

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Sharon Marshall

Director & Project Lead for BC First Nations Climate Action Data Quilt Project

Sharon Marshall, Métis/Cree, is the CEO of Cree8iv Collaboration Inc. dba DEVA Training & Staffing Solutions, a company she founded to creatively collaborate with others to bring programs and services to remote communities. Sharon has three decades of experience in private and public administration, nine+ years working with First Nations organizations, and 15+ years providing global remote administrative, creative and technical support to individuals and organizations.

Sharon created Cree8iv’s first program, the DEVA Accelerator, a 20-week online training program for Indigenous women, providing digital literacy, entrepreneurship, and virtual administrative skills training. From their homes, the students will learn the digital skills needed to thrive in today’s Digital Age. Upon graduation, the DEVAs (Digital Executive Virtual Assistants) become Independent Contractors working from home for DEVA, providing short and long-term virtual support to Indigenous and non-Indigenous organizations.

Currently pursuing her MBA, when Sharon is not busy studying, training, facilitating, and creating, she enjoys reading, writing, strength training, meditation, learning new things, and spending time with her family and close friends. Sharon lives in Lantzville, BC., Canada. To learn more about DEVA, visit www.digitaldeva.org.

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Sunil Singal

Director

I was born in Montreal, Canada and moved to Burnaby in elementary school. I come from a mixed-race background and have enjoyed growing up in a multigenerational household. I graduated from Simon Fraser University with a Bachelors in geography and political science along with a certificate in urban studies. I have remained passionate about urban issues since graduating, and I am especially interested in the intersectionality of social issues and the environment at a municipal level.

Currently, I work for the səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nation. Outside of work, I am the president of Force of Nature Alliance, a grassroots environmental group in Metro Vancouver. This involves organizing with local citizens, community leaders, and elected officials to reduce carbon emissions and bring about positive environmental change. I also serve on the board of directors for KEATCA, a public post-secondary education endowment fund that supports individuals in Canada living below the poverty line through annual grant opportunities.

I approach organizing through networking and collaborating to find ways of supporting one another. I am passionate about building connections and strongly believe in finding common ground. If you ever want to connect and explore opportunities to collaborate, send me an email!

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Tara Shushtarian

Director

For the past twenty years I have been a strong advocate for climate and social justice and have been a core team member with the BC Poverty Reduction Coalition, Dogwood Initiative and Force Of Nature Alliance. I have worked on several campaigns like the BC Poverty Reduction Plan, which has been adopted into legislation; Climate Emergency Declaration in Municipalities; All On Board for accessible, affordable transit; and the referendum on electoral reform in BC. My recent involvement with Fair Vote Canada  has amplified the need for a citizen’s assembly and proportional representation  at the municipal level. I also did a two year stint with the BC Centre For Palliative Care as a South Asian advisor for their Advanced Care Plan. I am currently on the Environment Committee for Burnaby Council as a resident representative, and have been elected to the board of Fair Vote Canada. A cinema aficionado, I am on the board of the NewWest Film Society.

With the various crises the world faces, be it climate catastrophe, burgeoning inequalities and  the dire pandemic we are living through, we need urgent action and renewed  energetic trajectory changes. My canoe has left the bank on the river of reconciliation. I continue to grow and learn about indigenous rights. Along with my activism I have worked as a translator, teacher, mortgage consultant  which has always allowed me to bring different perspectives, skills and viewpoints to the table. I have good analytical skills and  am a team player fostering relationships through an alliance with environmental social  and racial justice.

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