We’re lucky to have fabulous mentors for the RADIUS Fellows program and are excited to introduce you to them! Each mentor is matched with a Fellow and is connected to Fellows programming. We’re excited to bring together so many diverse and innovative minds. Read on to meet the mentors!
David Adams
David Adams is Director of Mobility BC, a research-based healthcare start up. Mobility BC is dedicated to the design and implementation of low-tech, high impact, solutions to the challenges of healthcare service delivery. Adams believes the key to a vibrant healthcare system is through “activated” individuals and a focus on wellness and prevention.
Prior to Mobility BC, Adams worked as Director of Operations for InspireHealth, Canada’s first and foremost integrated cancer centre. While at InspireHealth, he oversaw the day-to-day operations of seven diverse departments, including Development, Communications & Marketing, and HR. He also led his colleagues through a provincial expansion that saw the organization triple in size.
Adams has a passion for social marketing, communications, and branding, seeing them as a means by which to integrated his varied interests and expertise. His passions are broad: from marketing and communication to the Arts to yoga, wellness and physical activity promotion to social entrepreneurship. Adams has also worked in a spectrum of organizations and businesses, including research, non-profits, the corporate sector, healthcare, the Arts, and “service” industries. He has an appreciation for community, a draw towards building a “better world”, and an understanding that we as individuals don’t live in a vacuum -rather an interdependent world. For Adams, social marketing is the marriage of a social consciousness with the innovation and efficacy, the tools, of entrepreneurship. In essence, social marketing connects the public with healthier, more conscious, ways of being.
Adams lives on Bowen Island and loves it (ask him why)! He and his wife, Vaune Kolber, also run a B&B on the island (http://tinyurl.com/kljyano) –a dream of theirs for the longest time. When not working Adams is writing kids books (Good Night Vancouver, Good Night Canada) and starting Büch, an organic kombucha business.
Mathew Bond
Mathew Bond is a professional engineer with the BC Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure and a Councillor for the District of North Vancouver. He is passionate about next-generation solutions for transportation and cities. Through his five year presidency and ongoing work with the North Shore Mountain Bike Association, he has fostered important relationships and partnerships to help build the community around him.
Aaron Cruikshank
Aaron is a Management Consultant and Speaker/Mentor based in Surrey, BC. He specializes in market research, business development, coworking spaces, technology commercialization, social enterprises, energy projects and public policy. He has a passion for helping people and loves children. He also acts like a giant child sometimes.
Kira Gerwing
Kira is a Manager of Community Investment for Vancity Credit Union. Her work focusses on enabling the development positive and high impact real estate projects that result in community owned, affordable, and green buildings. Kira’s work at Vancity stems from eight years of urban planning in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside neighbourhoods with the City of Vancouver. She has a passion for finding creative and engaging ways to ensure everyone’s fundamental right to flourish. As such, her efforts have centred on local economic development: crafting deals that create high-value, positive impact in communities and that leverage emerging opportunities in sustainability sectors of the economy.
She’s worked on projects and policies for affordable housing and social purpose real estate development, as well as local food, materials diversion, the creative economy, community-based forestry, sustainable fisheries, and eco-tourism. She’s married to an entrepreneur who works with her to parent two fine young children and she loves riding her bike in heels to get around the city.
Michelle Hoar
Michelle is the Co-Founder and Director of Publishing & Advertising for The Tyee, a multiple award-winning independent online news source based in Vancouver. She oversees business development, advertising, sponsorships, and works with the rest of the fabulously talented team on strategic initiatives and ongoing site improvements. In 2005, Michelle also co-founded Tyee Solutions Society, a sister non-profit society that produces larger-scale public interest journalism projects and publishes with a variety of media partners.
Aki Kaltenbach
Aki Kaltenbach leads HootGiving, Hootsuite’s Corporate Social Responsibility program, leveraging Hootsuite’s software, expertise and influence to make a positive impact. She joined the company in 2012 when they were less than 100 people and has a hyper passion for growth, product and empowering people to be a force for good.
Aki also sits on the board of Acumen Fund Canada, a non-profit global venture fund that uses entrepreneurial approaches to solve the problems of poverty.
Joe Kelly
Dr. Joe Kelly is an educator, entrepreneur, writer and change-maker with a focus on the environment, community and lifestyle habits. He teaches university courses on sustainability and policy, has authored numerous articles in mainstream media and academic journals, and has presented to audiences around the globe.
Since 2009, Joe has served on the Faculty of Global and Community Studies at Capilano University in Vancouver, Canada. He is also an Adjunct Professor at Simon Fraser University. He holds a doctoral degree in resource and environmental management, and bachelor and master’s degrees in statistics.
Also, in 2009, Joe co-founded a successful web-based software company, Gobi Carbon Management Solutions, which provides carbon accounting systems to businesses in North America. It was acquired in 2013.
Personally, Joe is actively involved in community service and has led several volunteer committees and initiatives. Of note, he is the founder of a province-wide competition that enables post-secondary students to become leaders and agents for positive environmental and social change. Determined to walk the talk, Joe recently completed a yearlong challenge to make a positive difference in the world, everyday for a year. On his popular blog, Joe shares his opinions and adventures in creating change.
Tom Kineshanko
Tom has been an entrepreneur focused on using technology to improve people’s lives problems since age 21. Previously he co-founded Habitat Enterprises.ca (carbon portfolio sold, partial acquisition of Habitat made by Canada’s first publicly traded greentech investment fund GAE), Gridbid.com (solar auction), Klinch.co (mobile fintech for emerging markets), Jumiya (alternative credit scoring, acquired by GTE Financial), and was a founding equity partner of North America’s first publicly traded angel investment fund TSX.V: GAE through its transaction with Habitat Enterprises. Tom graduated from Simon Fraser University, the National University of Singapore and Singularity University at NASA AMES.
Meriko Kubota
Meriko Kubota (@MerikoK) is the Director of Strategic Partnerships for Community Investment at Telus. She is an experienced professional in managing projects, establishing strategic partnerships and business opportunities, and conducting community engagement in Vancouver and internationally. Skilled at facilitation and building relationships of value and respect with leaders and stakeholders, Meriko is an innovative thinker who excels at providing solutions and delivering on metrics and targets to demonstrate ROI. She serves as a Board Director for Greenpeace and Options for Sexual Health.
Nathaniel Lowe
Nathanel Lowe is an urban planner, consultant, and community organizer working to empower marginalized communities and create progressive social change In Vancouver, BC. Lowe previously worked as the Community Engagement Coordinator at Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Los Angeles, the largest US civil rights organization serving Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, and spearheaded the most linguistically diverse Asian American voter contact operation in the country. Lowe is also a co-founder and member of Chinatown Community for Equitable Development (ccedla.org), an organization based in LA’s Chinatown that builds grassroots power with low-income and immigrant communities through organizing, education, and mutual help. Recognized by USC and the Interreligious Council’s Future50 project (crcc.usc.edu/initiatives/future50) as one of LA’s emerging leaders, Lowe is committed to the critical intersection of social justice, religious pluralism, and civic engagement. Lowe holds a Master of Urban and Regional Planning from UCLA and can be reached via Twitter at @natlowe.
Ajay Puri
Ajay is passionate about social change and community empowerment. Over the past several years he has co-founded and continues to co-lead many movement based organizations including: Changemakers Vancouver, EastVanLove, Bee Vancity, RangiChangi Roots. Ajay was acknowledged for his commitment and passion for engaging diverse communities as one of Canada’s top five volunteers in CBC’s Champions of Change contest, being one of Vancouver’s #30PeopleYouShouldKnow, and a featured TEDx speaker.
He sits on the Leadership Council of the David Suzuki Foundation and for the past two years lead and developed the digital media and engagement strategy for the BC Patient Safety & Quality Council. Ajay holds his Masters of Health Adminstration and BSc in Psychology / Commerce from UBC. He has published five peer-reviewed articles and presented his work on healthcare innovation at over 25 national and international conferences.
Steve Rio
Steve Rio is a digital visionary, entrepreneur and strategist, passionate about community and social change.
Steve’s a seasoned executive and leader, with over 10 years and well over 10,000 hours in the digital space. Steve possesses a diverse toolkit of digital strategy, brand strategy, business development and team leadership skills.
Steve is founder and CEO of Briteweb, a digital communications agency with offices in Vancouver and New York. Briteweb works with game-changing leaders and organizations helping them engage audiences, convert customers and build team culture. Steve is dedicated to Briteweb’s continued growth as an industry leader in the impact sector and as a leader in team culture.
Outside of the digital space, Steve is working to create programs that increase opportunity and capacity for men to have meaningful dialog around interpersonal issues. He is also focused on the exploration of how to fill the void of mentorship, role models and eldership for young men and women in a modern society.
When not in the matrix, you can find him in the woods running with his dog Bamboo, in a hot yoga class, swimming in the ocean or on the slopes with his wife and daughter.
Paola Qualizza
Paola leads Operations at Groundswell Grassroots Economic Alternatives. A strong believer in the power of relocalization to create a regenerative, people-first economy, Paola has co-founded a community currency and brought the second annual Living the New Economy Convergence to Vancouver in 2013.
Kevin Quinlan
Kevin is interested in all things cities. He works as the Deputy Chief of Staff for Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson, focusing on issues management and public policy development. He has a BA in political science from UBC and a Masters in Urban Studies from SFU, where he studied community economy development and social capital. He has large glasses and appreciates 90s pop culture.
Wes Regan
Wes has worked in sustainable community economic development, communications, and community engagement since 2009, primarily in East Vancouver where he is currently the Executive Director of the Hastings Crossing Business Improvement Association. HxBIA represents over 600 businesses and property owners and was founded with social innovation and social inclusion embedded into its constitution and programming. Wes also consults to non-profits and businesses on such things as social impact purchasing, social impact hiring, and communications/content development through his company Shape Content and regularly speaks at conferences in the United States and Canada about these and other urban development issues. He holds degrees in geography from both Langara College and Simon Fraser University, where he is currently completing his Masters in Urban Studies. Wes is also a Graduate of the Centre for Sustainable Community Economic Development at SFU.
Passionate about environmental and urban sustainability he is a founding Director of the Vancouver Urban Farming Society and a founding partner at Urban Stream Innovation, a food systems technology startup with operations in BC and Alberta. Wes currently serves on the advisory board for Conversations for Responsible Economic Development (CRED BC), is a member of the Board of Directors of LOCO BC and is a member of the BC Partners for Social Impact, a Provincial policy think tank examining ways to support and enable social innovation in communities and regions in British Columbia.
Shawn Smith
Shawn Smith is an Adjunct Professor and founding Director of RADIUS. He is also founder of several organizations including the Global Catalyst Initiative, Education Generation, the Equilibrium Partnership and Radiant Carbon, and speaks and consults regularly on social entrepreneurship, impact investing and international development. Shawn completed his MBA at the University of Oxford as a Skoll Scholar in Social Entrepreneurship.
Colin Stansfield
With a passion for social justice, resilient local economies and the hard-fought right to party, Colin is a charismatic champion of all things ‘social’. Currently serving as Executive Director of Potluck Café – a registered charity and award winning social enterprise located in Vancouver’s DTES – Colin is on a mission to demonstrate the competitive advantage of pursuing ethical practices.
Denise Taschereau
Denise Taschereau is the CEO + Co-Founder of Fairware, a Vancouver based B-Corporation that provides sustainable promotional merchandise to brands across North America. She was the Director of Sustainability and Community for Mountain Equipment Coop before launching Fairware and currently sits on the Responsible Manufacturing Advisory Board to ETSY.
Lisa Trick
I’m a designer working in the social sector. I work at BACI, a social services agency looking for new approaches that lead to better outcomes for people with developmental disabilities. At BACI I lead digital projects; innovate operations & work with our asset-based community development team. I bring a unique design thinking lens to the human services sector, participating in cross sector social innovation projects. More at lisajoytrick.com.
Nettie Wild
Nettie Wild is one of Canada’s leading documentary filmmakers. Her highly charged and critically acclaimed films have brought her audiences behind the frontlines and headlines of revolutions and social change around the world.
She is currently producing FAULTINES a feature documentary following the face of change as it moves across one of our last great expanses of wilderness in Tahltan Territory in the north west of British Columbia. Nettie is also creating UNINTERRUPTED, a cinematic spectacle which will project images of the Adams River Sockeye Run onto the Cambie Street Bridge in the summer of 2016.
Other recent projects have allowed her to explore new forms of storytelling: Deepha Mehta: In Profile uses multiple split screen images and three different frame ratios; INSIDE STORIES is a multi- platform interactive web experience launched with the community of South Hill in Vancouver. BEVEL UP: Drugs, Users and Outreach Nursing is a groundbreaking interactive DVD. During the current development of UNINTERRUPTED, test footage was developed into a multi screen rear screen projection for the Vancouver International Film Festival in 2012. Nettie is also writing her first screenplay, HUNGER which has been funded to first draft.
Nettie is best known for her award winning documentary features including FIX: The Story of an Addicted City (2002), A PLACE CALLED CHIAPAS (1998), BLOCKADE (1993) and A RUSTLING OF LEAVES: Inside the Philippine Revolution (1988).
Nettie Wild’s films have been distributed theatrically, and broadcast in Canada and internationally. She has been honored at film festivals around world including winning the Genie Award (twice) for Best Feature Documentary in Canada, Best Feature Documentary from the International Documentary Association as well as top honors from the Forum of New Cinema at the Berlin International Film Festival.
A book focusing on her work and career, WILD AT HEART was published in 2009 and there have been multiple retrospectives of her work. In 2010 she received the BC Film Critics Circle Award for her contribution to the film industry and the Vancouver Sun named her as one of British Columbia’s most influential women.