Women4Climate Mentorship Program

About the project

Mahdis works as an EV Advisor with Plug In BC, where she helps to address barriers to bringing Electric Vehicle charging infrastructure to multi-unit residential buildings (MURBs), and workplaces. MURBs face many barriers to electrification: Equity and access for all residents, future-proofing, working with the existing electrical capacity, getting a majority yes vote for making structural changes to a building, the upfront cost of implementation, and addressing misconceptions to electrification and EV adoption.

In addition to above barriers, marginalized communities face further challenges when it comes to EV adoption. This is the focus of the Barriers to Electrification in Indigenous and Community Housing Research Project. Though there are hypotheses to what these barriers may be, Mahdis and her team want to hear what these barriers are directly from residents of marginalized communities, as well as organizations that work within these communities.

The research data, as well as possible solutions to barriers will be published and available to governments and other organizations working within these communities to bring equity and adequate support for widespread EV adoption.

About the project

Lean Green Region is an initiative to facilitate the application of Systems Thinking and Lean methodology in two local government bodies to help them reach higher levels of sustainability.

As the supervisor of Continuous Improvement, I will be working with teams across Water Services Utility in Metro Vancouver to find improvement opportunities and to continuously reach higher levels of sustainability, safety, quality, service delivery, equity, and fiscal efficiency. I will be helping the department identify tangible means to measure GHG emissions, energy consumption and environmental impact in managing its water infrastructure.

This data-driven approach will help teams navigate the complexity of aiming at multiple, sometimes competing, objectives and find opportunities to apply innovation to their processes. As a member of the Environment and Climate Advisory Committee to the City of New Westminster, I will be working with other committee members to consider a systemic response to climate change.

In advising the City's Environment and Climate Task Force on Bold actions related to climate change, addressing interdependencies and ensuring equity will increase our chances of success.

About the project

"We Are One" Project will provide Indigenous Youth (ages 18-30) a foundation in high-performance building science principles. A combination of hands-on deep energy retrofit of a cabin with interactive online and in-class leadership and skill training. Students will also build soft skills in communication, leadership, and teamwork with a focus on Indigenous perspectives.

At such a critical time, it will empower Indigenous participants to pursue in-demand careers in the sustainable construction industry, and ultimately help to improve Indigenous housing. This project is the continued collaboration of a passionate and proven team to create Indigenous career pathways in the high-performance buildings sector to support transition to a net-zero economy.

Building capacity within Indigenous Nations, communities, and housing providers to construct climate change-resilient, high-performance buildings contributes to sustainable development, reconciliation, and enhanced self-governance.

About the project

My projects focus on Net Zero (Energy and Carbon) design and construction training for designers, builders, contractors, and policymakers. Some projects include partnering with Indigenous communities on Net Zero training, integrated solar electrical design, and embodied carbon courses.

About the project

Vancity credit union uses the tools of finance and our community relationships to expand economic opportunity, improve the well-being of our members, and make our communities better. We are committed to building a clean and fair world, and one way we are delivering on that is by working to reach net-zero emissions in our lending portfolio by 2040.

With residential and commercial mortgages making up a significant portion of our lending, decarbonizing new and existing buildings will be key to reaching this goal. Public policy plays a critical role in advancing building decarbonization at the scale and pace required, and in the face of the climate emergency, we believe it is our responsibility as a financial institution to support government actions that reduce emissions while protecting the physical and economic well-being of people. To do this, Vancity is implementing a climate advocacy strategy and will also support other organizations in the private sector to use their voice and power in support of policies that create an equitable net-zero future.

About the project

Aubree's work locally takes place in collaboration with VCH and the UBC Planetary Healthcare Lab. As part of CASCADES, she is supporting efforts to transform systems and practices to move toward climate resilience, low-carbon and sustainable health systems.

One of the projects that she is supporting and has recently been launched is the Planetary Health Capital Projects working group at VCH. This work is committed to bringing a planetary health lens to the capital projects across the health authority. This work is connected to two core actions with the Climate Adaptation Strategy, core actions 1 and 2–climate robust infrastructure and climate resilient buildings.

Her role in this climate initiative will be to support the spread and scale of these efforts, through the development of a playbook that will document their learning process and strategies. This will then be adapted for other health authorities across the Lower Mainland, BC and other provinces.

About the project

People with disabilities, specifically spinary cord injuries (SCI) are disproportionally affected by climate change, including heatwaves locally, resulting in dangerous impacts on health due to body over-heating and difficulty in evacuating buildings. This project will identify the best solutions internationally that are scalable, affordable and meet people with disabilities' needs, with wider applicability to the city. The potential reduction on GHGs by putting place sustainable cooling technology alone would be significant internationally, while also saving lives.

About the project

My project idea has grown out of the strata energy advisor pilot program. The objective is to support strata-owned multi-family residential buildings in decarbonizing their buildings at the time of end-of-life renewals. This audience group falls between commercial and single-family residential incentive programs and have been under-supported in traditional energy efficiency programs.

Making up 24% of our provincial housing stock, they represent a potential Provincial GHG reduction of 3 to 11% from the building sector. However, the complex ownership and decision-making structure make it a difficult audience to reach. My hope is to build support for a constellation of programs that could assist strata buildings in the low-carbon transition. Including:

1. Information and resources to make informed decisions and capital planning using a low-carbon roadmap that integrates adaptation strategies
2. Incentive programs for studies and low-carbon technologies
3. Access to financing programs that can reduce the financial burden. This last item is particularly important as for maintaining affordable housing in our region and preventing renovictions from huge levies or sky-high maintenance payments.

About the project

Green roofs (GRs) are multi-functional technologies offering social, economic, and environmental benefits, all at the same time. GRs provide significant thermal insulation in summer months, reducing the need for air conditioning, thus reducing emissions and alleviating the Urban Heat Island. When integrated with solar panels, GRs enhance energy production and efficiency. This is a crucial time for decisions on Vancouver's development, with huge implications for climate, society, and economy.

As a spokesperson for GRiTT, I have been participating and contributing to the City's current stakeholder workshop series, "Green Rainwater Infrastructure Pathways Study", which explores how GRs will be integrated into the residential realm under Rain City Strategy. With the goal of ensuring green roof technology is considered in all development projects – here and across the region – I aspire to advance lasting and meaningful progress: in the widespread implementation of vegetated rooftops.

About the project

As the cost of housing rises, Canadians are struggling to find affordable housing throughout the country. The new supply of housing has not kept up with the demand, and as non-profit housing providers struggle to navigate the complexities of new developments, many projects are cancelled before they can even start.

The Affordable Housing Navigator (AHN) is a software tool in development that aims to help non-profit housing developers to identify viable, sustainable design options to create comfortable and efficient housing, early in the planning process. This tool will allow non-profit housing providers and developers to quickly find the right balance between construction costs, energy performance, and climate resilience.

By making this type of analysis available and highly visible for decision-makers, the project aims to help more affordable housing projects to get approved and to ultimately meet their affordability objectives.

About the project

The objective of the BGC Sustainability Committee is to advise BGC on becoming an environmentally sustainable organization. The committee will have three main areas of focus: carbon footprint reduction, employee engagement/education and sustainability accountability. The committee will work to understand what the company's emissions are, and where improvements can be made.

Greenhouse gas accounting will be completed internally; once emissions sources are understood, actions will be prioritized based on their impact and a plan will be developed to implement them. Employee engagement and education will be initiated through employee-facing events. The purpose of these events is to implement system changes that make it easy for employees to make sustainable choices, as well as to empower employees to carry the changes into their lives outside of work. Examples of employee-facing events include recycling drives, community clean-ups, or green commuting weeks.

Sustainability accountability will be achieved by publishing annual sustainability reports detailing progress towards sustainability goals, and areas that need to be improved. The committee will also be advising on accreditations that BGC can pursue.

Gaby Baasch

• Gabby is developing Vancouver CityPlan GIS support: walkability, access, and growth modelling.
• Mentored by Josephine Clark, Park Planner II, Planning and Resource Management, Regional Parks Parks and Environment - Metro Vancouver.

Renee Proulx

• Renee is developing Vancouver CityPlan GIS support: walkability, access, and growth modelling.
• Mentored by Josephine Clark, Park Planner II, Planning and Resource Management, Regional Parks Parks and Environment - Metro Vancouver.

Anna Bohn

• Anna is developing the Lighter Footprint App.
• Mentored by Sandra Phillips, Shared Mobility Architect, CEO and Founder - movmi.

Nidah Dara

• Nidah is developing Gender Inclusions in Rapid Transit Facility Design.
• Mentored by Michelle Babiuk, Senior Manager of Transit Planning, TransLink.

Sarah Drewery

• Sarah is working with The Sharing Farm.
• Mentored by Shauna MacKinnon, Coordinator, Farm Adaptation Innovator Program - Climate & Agriculture BC (CAI).

Isabel Garcia

• Isabel is developing Living Streets.
• Mentored by Marion Town, Director, Climate and Environment - Vancouver Airport Authority.

Kate Hosford

• Kate is connecting transport and climate justice.
• Mentored by Cara Pike, Executive Director - Climate Access and Amber Bennett, Canadian Associate - Climate Outreach.

Naomi Leung

• Naomi is working with Climate Education Reform BC.
• Mentored by Irene Lanzinger, Secretary Treasurer - BC Federation of Labour.

Inger Miller

• Inger is developing the CleanBC Go Electric EV Charger Rebate Programme.
• Mentored by Megan Lohmann, Director of Strategic Initiatives - Community Energy Association.

Kate Shen

• Kate is working on Bike to Work Week.
• Mentored by Selena McLachlan, Director, Marketing and Communications - Modo.

Rita Steele

• Rita is working with The BIPOC Sustainability Collective.
• Mentored by Anthonia Ogundele, Founder - Ethos Lab and Meaghan Beck, Director of Corporate Social Responsibility – Sysco Canada.

Sara Turner

• Sara is developing Destruct the City.
• Mentored by Robyn Wark, Team Lead - BC Hydro Sustainable Community Program.

Coral Buitenhuis

• Coral is developing a climate mitigation and adaptation plan. 
• Mentored by Sarah Buckle, Director, Enterprise Risk and Sustainability at Translink.

Holly Alyea

• Holly works to engage, educate, and empower citizens on climate action through community centre associations.  
• Mentored by Christianne Wilhelmson, Executive Director at Georgia Strait Alliance.

Jenna McNeil

• Jenna is developing a tool to help visualize the demand for high performance building products and technologies.
• Mentored by Sue Paish, CEO at Canada's Digital Technology Supercluster.

Julie Strilesky

• Julie is working to convert plastic waste from Canada's shorelines to energy.
• Mentored by Susan Koch, COO and VP of Accounting at Carbon Engineering.

Laurel Hart

• Laurel supports young families as they advocate for collective climate action.
• Mentored by Sherry Yano, Manager, Community Renewable Energy at David Suzuki Foundation.

Marina Timmins

• Marina is working on building energy benchmarking.
• Mentored by Sophie Mercier, Vice President, Building Science West at Morrison Hershfield.

Michelle Austin

• Michelle is developing a sustainable school lunch program. 
• Mentored by Brianne Miller, CEO and Founder at Nada Grocery.

Rowena Farr

• Rowena is working to expand various workplaces’ cycle to work initiatives. 
• Mentored by Marion Town, Director, Environment at Vancouver Airport Authority.

Sara Blenkhorn

• Sara is addressing the issue of apparel waste.
• Mentored by Jeanette Jackson, CEO at Foresight Cleantech Accelerator Centre.

Sarah Lusina

• Sarah works to engage, educate, and empower citizens on climate action through community centre associations.  
• Mentored by Christianne Wilhelmson, Executive Director at Georgia Strait Alliance.

Yasmin Abraham

• Yasmin is working to ensure energy initiatives are accessible to newcomers, immigrants, lower income, and indigenous families.
• Mentored by Karen Tam Wu, Managing Director, British Columbia at Pembina Institute.

Dawn-Marie Barreira

• Dawn-Marie is running a capturing carbon pilot project at LUSH External website, opens in new tab. 
• Mentored by Karen Tam Wu, Regional Director of BC for Pembina Institute.

Sylvia Grace Borda 

• Sylvia wants to use climate arts to build resilient environments External website, opens in new tab.
• Mentored by Andrea Curtis, Director of Operations, Vancouver Mural Festival.

Uli Chorny

• Uli is working on a low income passive house pilot External website, opens in new tab.
• Mentored by Jill Atkey, Chief Executive Officer, BC Non-Profit Housing Association.

Clara George

• Clara wants to bring sustainability to Hollywood North External website, opens in new tab.
• Mentored by Adriane Carr, City Councillor, City of Vancouver.

Deepti Mathew Iype

• Deepti is working on mobilizing youth and residents on climate action External website, opens in new tab.
• Mentored by Joanna Ashworth, Teaching Fellow, Faculty of Environment at SFU.

Jennifer Johnson

• Jennifer is growing her solar energy business External website, opens in new tab.
• Mentored by Meera Dhalwala, Chef and Co-Owner, Vij’s Restaurant.

Sophie MacNeill

• Sophie is working to manage the climate impacts from landscape architecture External website, opens in new tab. 
• Mentored by Kathy Wardle, Associate Principal and Director of Research at Perkins and Will.

Anitra Paris

• Anitra is advancing progress on electric heat pumps External website, opens in new tab.
• Mentored by Robyn Wark, Team Lead, Sustainable Communities Program, BC Hydro.

Maia Tarassoff

• Maia educates kids on Passive House External website, opens in new tab.
• Mentored by Wilma Leung, Senior Manager, Technical Research and Education, BC Housing