Speaker
Arzeena Hamir is an agronomist and farmer in the Comox Valley. She obtained her BSc in Crop Science from the University of Guelph and her Master’s Degree in Sustainable Agriculture from the University of London, England. She helped to launch the Richmond Farm School, Mid Island Farmer’s Institute, and is currently launching a new farmers co-operative to support new organic growers in her community. From 2018-2021 was Area B Director with the Comox Valley Regional District.
Nadine Nakagawa is a community organizer and local activist. Prior to and during her time on council, Nadine has focused on issues relating to housing, public spaces, Reconciliation, and public engagement. She was first elected in 2018 and re-elected in 2022.
For her work in the community, Nadine was named the 2017 Citizen of the Year at the Chamber of Commerce Platinum Awards. She works as an Equity and Inclusion Strategist, runs a campaign school for underrepresented people, is a researcher on representation in local government, and has a Master’s Degree in Interdisciplinary Studies. When not working on community projects, Nadine is a creative writer, gardener, and avid reader. She is a renter in the Brow of the Hill neighbourhood.
Jennifer is working towards an inclusive community where people are engaged as valuable and deserving individuals, who can use their agency to lead the changes they wish to see. Jennifer holds a Masters in Social Policy and Development, a Bachelors in Development Studies, and a Certificate in Curriculum Development and Instructional Design. From SFU, EdMeCo, and the VSB to Kuru Kuru Training Centre in Guyana, Jennifer has been inspired by global leadership in education and social change.
Sharon is the provincial spokesperson for the successful $10aDay Child Care campaign in BC, building a public system of quality, affordable child care. She works with the Coalition of Child Care Advocates of BC and travels extensively speaking with local governments, school boards, communities, labour, and businesses about current child care chaos and the solution – the $10aDay plan. She was twice elected as a Trustee to the Vancouver Board of Education and is well-known to be a feminist and relentless advocate, skilled in campaign strategy and campaigning, government, and stakeholder relations.
Amy is a second term City Councillor in Port Moody and brings a focus on health and social/ environmental justice to her work. She helped found the Tri-Cities Food Council and Property Tax Assisted Clean Energy (PACE) BC, and lead the Port Moody Affordable Housing Task Force. She currently serves on the Tri-Cities Homelessness and Housing Task Force and the Port Moody Library Board. As a climate activist, she volunteers as a member of the Climate Caucus. She is also a member of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, and the Public Health Association of BC.
In her day job, Amy is a Health Equity Policy Analyst, specializing in healthy environments and climate change adaptation, at Fraser Health Authority. She has previously worked at the BCCDC on the impact of the built environment on mental well-being. Amy received her Ph.D. in Prostate Cancer Research from Queensland University of Technology.
Christine Boyle is a second term Vancouver City Councillor with OneCity Vancouver. She has been a leading voice at the Council table on climate action, rental and non-market housing, reconciliation, active and public transportation, tackling inequality and the drug poisoning crisis, and more. Christine is a community organizer, an ordained United Church Minister, and a parent of a kid and a teen. She has a BSc in Urban Agriculture and First Nations Studies from UBC, and an MA in Religious Leadership for Social Change from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California.
Sussanne chairs the Columbia Institute’s board of directors and is a well-known social justice advocate and queer-and-human-rights activist. She was elected BCFED president in 2022 after being elected as the federation’s secretary-treasurer in 2018 and 2020. She served as executive vice-president of BCGEU for 5 years. She has co-chaired the BCFED’s Human Rights Committee and is active in the federation’s Women and Gender Rights Committee. Skidmore is the national treasurer for the New Democratic Party of Canada and a vice president of the BC NDP.
Cheeying is the Executive Director of the Whistler Centre for Sustainability, and has over 25 years of experience in community planning, engagement, and sustainability. She provides strategy, creative process design, facilitation, and engagement for local and band governments, and non-profit organizations. She created and launched the Social Venture Challenge program, and the Indigenous Tourism Startup Program, designed to inspire and support entrepreneurs with the development of new social enterprises. Prior to her role at the Centre, Cheeying was the Executive Director of Smart Growth BC.
Nikki Hill is a public policy and campaign expert with over 20 years of experience in politics, strategic communications and government relations. As a Principal and Partner at Earnscliffe Strategies, a national public affairs firm, Nikki works with a diverse portfolio of clients in the business, labour and non-profit sectors. Having worked to address period poverty policy issues in BC since 2016 through United Way Period Promise, Nikki is now the Chair of the Government of BC Period Poverty Task Force.