I have served on the Board since WE-CAN's inception and have seen it become a force to reckon with in the climate movement. I am proud of WE-CAN's trajectory with it's Strategic Plan and if re-elected and given the opportunity would be excited to roll up my sleeves and further it's goals.

What motivates you to apply, and what draws you to WE-CAN’s mission?
Having been on the Poverty Reduction Action Team of the BC PRC for about 10 yrs , i saw first hand what a coalition could do . There was such cohesion and fixed purpose that they were able to get the BC minority Government with the BC Greens and the NDP to adopt a Poverty Reduction Plan. All different member groups of the BCPRC worked co-jointly on the All On Board campaign to get 0-12 to ride for free on transit. Hence I firmly believe in amplifying and strengthening the voices of our member organizations so that we we reach our climate goals collaboratively and jointly.

Being an animal lover , i was always an activist. Whether it was freeing entrapped butterflies to slug rights as a child .Through life's journeys, watching the devastation of Monsoon floods in India to the ravaging intentional burning and forest fires in Indonesia for palm tree cultivation, one knew intrinsically that we had to dial back the clock on climate change. As a young student i was part of the "Chipko" or tree hugger movement of deforestation in the Himalayas . Until recently did not know that the Original tree huggers were the Bishnoi tribe in Rajasthan in the 1750s.. This has led to my deep interest in land conservation by Indigenous peoples, such as crop rotation , leaving the land fallow for rejuvenation of soil, cultural burns, terrace farming etc I hope to be learning much more for food sovereignty and security.
When i came to Canada we lived near the tank farms of TMX in Burnaby , got involved in the Anti -TMX movement and Indigenous rights and the rest is history. Joined many ENGOs like Force of Nature., Dogwood and did many campaigns such as made Burnaby Council adopt a climate emergency plan, the FFPT, Sue big oil. One of my pet areas of interest is transportation . I was part of the All on Board campaign where we got 0-12 to ride for free on Transit, but were not able to make Transit affordable and accessible for marginalised people. So a BC wide accessible , reliable , affordable bus service is very much a part of what i want to achieve collectively with our other member organizations. This is my 2nd term on the Burnaby Environment Committee and we have been able to influence the climate strategy to a reasonable degree. However it was the public that overturned the decision to not develope on and preserve the Fraser foreshore park.

At the Frack Free conference held in Vancouver, Anjali , Dinjot and myself, talked about the chipko movement and the farmer's protest movements in Canada as well as India to draw in the South Asian diaspora into the climate movement.

I think one of the biggest skills that i bring to the board is relationship building and my deep connections to certain communities. One of the compliments i receive from many communities is "You just get it." This is attributed to deep listening and understanding different intersectionalities. Now with running for office can be a bit of a decent public speaker. The other aspect is to make a continuous connection between climate justice and social justice. When people see that bridge and alliance you bring more people into the movement. I can facilitate meetings when push comes to shove. I am all for giving people a chance to be able to prove themselves in a different way or a different style. With the Urban resiliency Climate initiative, i was one of the cohort members who was able to gather community climate champions from the cohort and have collaborative events with the Suzuki foundation.

• Strategic Planning
• Networking/Community Engagement
• Environmental Expertise/Sustainability Practices
• Public Speaking
• Policy Analysis/Development
• Governance or Nonprofit Leadership

• Yes

• Yes

no

As the Co- Chair i sit on the executive team where we strategize which board decisions need to be prioritized and set for the agenda at board meetings including team reports and ratifying new members to the organization. Conducting one on one interviews with new volunteers and organizations. Deliberating on exit interviews so that it facilitates a learning curve for us to be able to function better not only as a board but as an organization. Being part of the various teams on WE-CAN, such as the membership team , the Capa team , we organise climate related webinars on transportation, building emissions, active transportation, multi modal transportation etc. which inform our membership. Last year I was involved in hiring our PICS intern Juliana who did a par excellence job of connecting with 80 of our member organizations. we have been working diligently to access their needs of media outreach, exchange of strategies and resources. We are endeavouring to make that connection with the remainder of our member groups. In the Indigenous engagement team we have been continously develoing a respectful relationship and allyship with UBCIC and BCAFN and collaboratively organizing webinars with Raven trust on heat pumps , housing , energy sovereignty for First Nations and land defenders rights when dealing with extractive projects. Initially identifying indigenous climate initiatives for the First Nations Data Quilt which was further developed by the Indigenous Deva consultancy. Organise speakers for the lunch and learns along with the Data Quilt lead Sharon Marshall. We are starting and are at the nascent stage of decolonizing our structure as is best possible being a settler organization under the guidance of the Jedi team that i am a part of. We have just concluded formulating a Board team agreement which we hopefully will incorporate towards setting a tone for how we function as an organization. I have just recently joined the governance team just to assist with the strategic planning.

As per our strategic plan , the areas that i will be focused on will be continuing with what has worked in the past as regards to the indigenous engagement team but also what other creative ideas we can develope to engage with First Nations and seek to become better allies. See that the Data Quilt is eventually managed by an indigenous entity as per OCAP (Ownership , Control, Access and Possession). Consider making our indigenous representation as part of an advisory Council. Try and develope a more creative and meaningful CAPA and try and reach out to Northern communities. Further strong bonds and relational avenues for member organizations apart from strategy and knowledge sharing sessions. Have more sharing of tables and resources at in person events with different member groups. without being prescriptive as a Governance team , suggest to teams to see how they are best able to materialize measurable goals. Last but not least. I am extremely passionate to work with my colleagues to see we get adequate funding for our ambitious projects.

Sometimes i don't give myself enough credit but i have run for office at 3 different levels of government. It is a feat, for as a Green candidate , you are assured defeat. Jokes apart just blessed with the love and support you get in spite of it all.

• Yes