- Photo by Sean Stiller
The organizing force behind RangiChangi Roots:
2. RangiChangi Founding Directors and Advisors
3. Communications & Engagement Team
4. Eco-detectives (Research & Development) Team
Paola Murillo: founded Latincouver to bring together Latin Americans and Latinophiles living in Vancouver to strengthen and celebrate the strength and diversity of our cultures. She is also the founder and director of Mirrai Internacional, specializing in bringing Canadian businesses into Latin America with a specialty in green technology. She immigrated from Colombia in 2005, and in July 2010 became a Canadian citizen.
Ajay Puri: is a movement builder and avid advocate for progressive, green & culturally inclusive groups. He has co-founded Canadians for Obama, East of Main, Bridge to a Cool Planet, the Vancouver People’s Summit, and the Ethno-cultural Health Research & Community Network. For the past eight years he’s worked in the health sector to bring about positive change for vulnerable populations. He is currently conducting his Doctoral work at the School of Population and Public Health at UBC. He is one of the nominees for CBC TV’s national initiative Champions of Change.
Bard Suen: Bard is in his fifth and final year at UBC, completing his Honours Degree in Sociology. Feeding into a research internship at RangiChangi Roots, he is conducting research and writing his thesis on how diversity affects mobilization within the ‘alternative food’ movement. Outside of his studies, he is the President of the UBC Asian Canadian Cultural Organization (ACCO). Bard is grateful to have had the opportunity to join the RangiChangi Roots Board, where he feels all of his passions and interests have had an opportunity to intersect. He sincerely believes that embracing diversity in opinions and values can lead to meaningful dialogue, ultimately allowing us to cultivate a more resilient and relevant environmental movement.
2. Founding Directors and Advisors
Kate Castelo: believes fiercely in our capacity to work together to create the change we want to see in the world. She has worked across the globe as a professional in the cross cultural communications, sustainability, education, and international development worlds for more than 15 years. Kate is dedicated to building healthy, vibrant and inclusive communities.
Lara Honrado: is the founder of a strategic communications firm that believes in the tremendous wisdom, creativity and experience of our diverse multicultural communities. Her career began as a journalist in Washington DC and she has worked in both nonprofit and corporate leadership roles. Her current work involves progressive politics at the municipal level.
Kevin Washbrook: is a Director with Voters Taking Action on Climate Change, a Vancouver-based group which encourages the public to get engaged politically and call on government to reduce the emissions that cause global warming. He is a co-founder of Bridge to a Cool Planet, and director of the Vancouver People’s Summit.
3. Communications & Engagement Team
Jess Van - Web Manager, Tweeter
A passion for ethical international development and ethnic conflict in a globalized world led Jess to pursue a degree in International Relations at the University of British Columbia. A budding activist, her other commitments include advocating for a more sustainable society and the push for research on cancer prevention. Her continual exploration of the concept of multiculturalism 2.0 and the role of youth as a bridge between generations and cultures has led her to her involvement in RangiChangi Roots. Jess is currently interning at Canopy as a social media strategist.
Sonya Reznitsky – Video Manager, Newsletter Editor, Tweeter
Wrapping up a degree in communications at SFU, Sonya is passionate about fresh, local food, gardening and celebration of the many cultures living in Vancouver. She has been working for Shark Truth since 2010, which works to educate the Chinese community about the detrimental consequences of consuming shark fin soup using a culturally-informed approach. She has also worked within her own Russian Jewish community as the communications assistant at Shalom BC, which focuses on helping Jewish immigrants new to Canada.
Shala Hay - Communications Strategy lead
Shala is an advocate for cultural diversity and building a sustainable environment for all. Her background is in marketing, event coordination and public administration.She has worked on large expositions and corporate sponsorship programs, and has years of experience in developing marketing and communication strategies and campaigns. Her passion lies in promoting cultural diversity which drew her to RangiChangi Roots. Shala also volunteers with YMCA as a member of their Social and Educational Events Committee and is part of the marketing team for the Caribbean Days Festival.
Amy Tran - Twitter Manager
Amy is an aspiring social change agent who firmly believes in the strength of collaboration – intergenerational, intercultural, and multidisciplinary. Since completing a BA in Human Geography and Psychology at the University of British Columbia, she has been exploring the intersection of these subject fields through urban agriculture, visual arts, writing and critical theory. A dedicated advocate of sustainable and inclusive communities, Amy contributes to the work of We Canada, the Environmental Youth Alliance, the Projecting Change Film Festival and Village Vancouver.
Sana Fakih – Member-at-large
Miraj Khaled – Web strategy
Ajay Puri – Digital Strategy lead
Minutes (coming soon)
Bard Suen + Ajay Puri (Co-Chairs)
Janine Pham
Sana Fakih
Learn about other RangiChangi contributors and some of our current research.
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