Kirby Lees has a decade of experience in the insurance industry. She began her insurance journey with HUB International where she developed experience in home and auto policies. Her hunger for knowledge regarding the different types of insurance helped her develop a passion for protecting people’s homes and she’s become the widely recognized, leading expert in the Fraser Valley for all leased land residences.

 

Jackie Sargeant started her career in insurance 10 years ago at the reception desk at Northbridge Insurance and then continued to advance into Underwriting. Her passion for helping people pulled her into the client service side of our industry and she became a broker. She moved into a servicing role for BrokerLink where she quickly learned that leadership was her path. With her sights set on being a leader, she joined HUB International in 2021 and worked her way up from a Personal Insurance Broker to a Team Lead. She is now a Branch Manager growing and developing a team of brokers in Abbotsford.

Cameron James is an Environmental Studies student at the University of the Fraser Valley. Throughout her studies, she has focused on learning about sustainability from a holistic approach, looking at the interconnections between our environment and society. One of her passions that sprouted from her studies was learning about the fashion industry, and the impact it is having on people, and the planet.

Alongside her studies, she has been working in the Office of Sustainability at the University of the Fraser Valley, which has allowed her see how sustainability can be incorporated throughout her own university and community.

As she prepares to graduate this June, she hopes to continue her studies in Sustainable Business Leadership, with a goal of becoming a Sustainability Consultant.

 

Allison Colthorp is the Executive Director of Tourism Ch’illiwack.  She leads her team in the implementation of destination management and reconciliation plans.   This includes operating Chilliwack Heritage Park, the Visitor Centre, the Chilliwack Merch Shop and the Flag Shop.  She has over 25 years of experience working within the tourism industry with a strong focus on forming partnerships with all levels of government and stakeholders to ensure initiatives are inclusive.

Allison also sits on the Board for Stó:lō Community Futures, an organization that provides support to Indigenous businesses and fosters entrepreneurial growth.

In her spare time, you can regularly find her in her backyard BBQing! She also has a deep passion for animals, and to date she has rescued 2 seagulls, 16 ducks, 5 dogs, 2 raccoons, 1 deer, 2 quails, and numerous ants.

Robyn Curtis has a degree in Biology from UVic and a Commercial Pilots License. She has worked in the aviation industry for the past twenty-three years, in various roles, and now works as a consultant, primarily for airports.

She joined Rotary in 2018. While enjoying the projects at Rotary, she was hoping to find a way to help in the fight against climate change.

In 2021, when Rotary International announced the addition of a new seventh area of focus, "The Environment", Robyn and several other similarly passionate Rotarians formed the Climate Change Action Group (CCAG).

As Chair of the CCAG, Robyn is constantly looking for people willing to join in the effort to shift our communities away from fossil fuels and support all who are working on this effort.

Originally from California (born on the lands of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe), Stefania Pizzirani has known since high school that she wanted to spend her life progressing environmentalism. She has lived, worked, and studied in California, Italy, Wales, Scotland, New Zealand, and now Canada – learning about ecosystems, perspectives, and culture around the world. Stefania is a multidisciplinary researcher in environmental sustainability initiatives with a passion for working towards social and Indigenous justice. She has nearly 20 years’ experience in environmental management, with a specific focus on life cycle assessment, forest stewardship, and sustainable agricultural futures. She now lives in Abbotsford – as a grateful but uninvited guest on Sto:lo Temexw – and teaches at UFV where she is an Associate Professor and runs the Environmental Studies program. She is also Associate Director of UFV’s Food and Agriculture Institute.

Rod Nadeau of Innovation Building Group has over three decades of award-winning building service in British Columbia, focused on energy efficient design and building practices.

The Innovation Team has developed award-winning multi-family projects in Whistler, Pemberton, Golden, and the Sunshine Coast.

At Innovation, we continuously refine and replicate our designs to enhance performance without increasing costs, or even achieve cost reductions, while maintaining or improving performance. This approach has allowed us to achieve net-zero-ready levels of energy performance, superior indoor air quality, and unmatched comfort---all at a cost below standard construction. Our goal is to continue developing high-performance homes at reasonable cost, while sharing our knowledge with those who can benefit.

Vesanto Melina is a Vancouver-based Dietitian and consultant whose presentations have inspired audiences in 10 countries. She has taught nutrition at UBC and at Seattle’s Bastyr University. She is co-author of 13 bestselling books on plant-based nutrition and foods with almost a million copies in print in English and now in 9 other languages. She is the author (with Brenda Davis) of the new-- this spring! Plant-Powered Protein, and of the award-winning Becoming Vegan: Comprehensive Edition and Becoming Vegan: Express Edition, and the Kick Diabetes Cookbook. Vesanto is the lead author of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics’ current position paper on vegetarian diets. After the presentation, you can chat with her at her booth.

Renee Priya Prasad is an Associate Professor and Department Head in the Agriculture Technology Department at UFV. Renee’s teaching duties in the Agriculture Technology program includes pest management, agribusiness and agroecology courses.

She received her Ph.D. from Washington State University and her Master of Pest Management from SFU (Simon Fraser University).

She works closely with local consultants, BC Ministry of Agriculture, and Agriculture Canada experts and various grower groups. Almost all of her research is done in growers’ fields. Renee's favourite part of teaching at UFV is that she gets to help the next generation of farmers be future-ready, by focusing on evidence-based practices. 

Learn more about Renee's research work at UFV's Food and Agriculture Institute (FAI)

Peter McCartney is the Climate Campaigner at the Wilderness Committee where he mobilizes communities against fossil fuel export projects and in favour of real climate solutions. With a background in journalism and political science, he works through grassroots education and strategic research to generate public support for climate action. Currently his top priority is ending fracking in BC and preventing new liquefied natural gas plants from undermining the province's climate commitments.

Robert W. Gray is an AFE certified Wildland Fire Ecologist and the president of R.W. Gray Consulting Ltd. Robert has over 40 years experience in the research and application of many facets of fire science, including historical and cultural fire regime reconstruction, fire behavior and effects analysis, national and international fire management policy, and hazardous fuel management.

Most recently Robert has focused efforts on gaining a better understanding of the impact of past fires on future fire spread and severity, fuel treatment effectiveness, and promoting more good fire on the landscape.  R.W. Gray Consulting Ltd. clients include: US Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, Parks Canada, The World Bank, State of Oregon, State of Washington, ?aq’am and Ktunaxa First Nation, B.C. Ministry of Forests, B.C. Ministry of Environment, University of Washington, University of Idaho and University of British Columbia, several rural BC communities (Cranbrook, Kimberley, Vernon), the BC forest industry, and many others.

Eddie Gardner was born March 3rd, 1946 in Hope, BC and is a member of the Sqwá (Skwah) First Nation.  He moved to Sept-Iles, Quebec in 1956 with the rest of his family. He graduated from the University of Prince Edward Island in 1972 with a Bachelor of Arts in the Social Sciences.  Eddie worked for a variety of federal, provincial, First Nation and private sector employers in designing, coordinating, directing and delivering a broad range of programs and services from an Indigenous world view.  

Eddie returned to Stó:lõ territory in June of 1994.  Eddie achieved intermediate fluency and is actively involved in the revitalization of the Halq’eméylem language.  In November 2020, Eddie was elected as a Councillor serving the people of Sqwá First Nation.

He conducts Sweat Lodge purification ceremonies in his Sqwá community which is open to all who respect the protocols of this spiritual practice.

Eddie Gardner is President of the Wild Salmon Defenders Alliance, strongly advocating for the well-being of wild salmon and their habitat.  Eddie assists with the coordination of the annual Wild Salmon Caravan that travels between the ocean and the headwater spawning grounds using art and cultural expressions to honour wild salmon as a climate regulator, and to promote how essential they are to Indigenous people and to ecosystems upon which we all depend.

Mayor Ken Popove has been serving the Chilliwack community as a Councillor since 2011 and then as Mayor since 2018.

Mayor Popove is a long-time Chilliwack resident, a business owner, and represents his community as a member of:
• Chilliwack Healthier Community (Chair)
• Chilliwack Hospital Foundation Board (Ex-Officio)
• Fraser Valley Regional District Board
• Fraser Valley Regional Library Board (Alternate) • Fraser Valley Regional Hospital Board
• Chilliwack Economic Partners Corporation (Ex-Officio)

Dr. Barzelai is a long-term Vancouver family physician. He has recently closed his family practice and is working part-time to devote more energy to environmental health issues. He is the chair of the BC branch of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE).

CAPE is a physicians' organization that deals with the intersection of health and the environment CAPE's goal is to educate and even more importantly to advocate for better environmental protection.

Our main focus at the present time is climate change, a problem which dwarfs other environmental issues. The national office engages with politicians of all stripes in advocating for healthier environment. In BC, our main focus now is LNG/fracking which we view as the major environmental threat in BC.

April 12, 2025: 10AM to 5PM
April 13, 2025: 11AM to 4PM
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