For more than 30 years I worked at BC Children's Hospital in Cytogenetics and Pathology, in a career grounded in science and public service. I was also raising two children and we were always appreciative of the sports fields, pools, arenas, and community centres that we used heavily. I am heart broken at the current state of our recreation facilities which have been neglected for years and are crumbling before our eyes. It is why I agreed to run for Park Board this year.

Outside of work and family life, I organized fundraisers, educational events, and campaigns supporting Indigenous land defenders, environmental organizations, and social justice initiatives.

My parents and grandparents were born in Vancouver before being forcibly uprooted and interned during WWII.. Their history reminds me that justice, human rights, and environmental protection are all connected. We cannot separate the health of our communities from the health of the environment.

It reminds me of standing arm in arm with Indigenous matriarchs and young climate activists on Burnaby Mountain protesting the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion. We were arrested together because we believed some things are worth standing up for. Fighting for the future has become even more personal as I now have a baby grandchild, so have even more skin in the game.

Recently, I became a certified Forest Therapy guide because I've seen how spending time in nature profoundly improves our sense of well-being and it is my hope that the more time we spend out there, the more we will want to protect it.

Like COPE, I believe our city belongs to the people who live here—not to corporations and those seeking to profit from the sale of public land.

Our parks, beaches, community centres, and rec facilities are not luxuries–we need them both for our physical and mental health, to combat the loneliness epidemic by creating a sense of community, and to help protect us as climate change transforms our city.