Today's Vancouver Woman -

On the Money

admin — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 13:02:06 -0600

Sub-Title

Kerry Ho, CEO Inhance Investment Management, inhance.ca

Author

by Marlane Press

Sub-Title2

Content

Photo by: Jenny Chen
Jennychen.ca

Imagine the concept of using money to create a more sustainable and just world—instead of just more money. That’s what clinched the deal for Kerry Ho when he decided to join Inhance Investment Management. Inhance is the first Canadian mutual fund company to build a portfolio that integrates company financial performance with its ability to address risks from climate change.

“When the opportunity arose, I saw it as a chance to do things in an extraordinary way,” Kerry explains. “It is possible to invest money in a way that creates the wealth we need for schools or retirement, et cetera, and leave a world that’s worth living in for future generations.”

Becoming Inhance’s CEO, Kerry had reached the point where he wanted to bring socially responsible investing into the mainstream. He was drawn by the prospect of using his expertise in business and finance to create a more Earthfriendly investment model.“I saw a lot of people volunteering and doing other good work, but not consciously thinking about how their money could make a difference.” Inhance evaluates companies in five key areas: involvement in emissions trading, low-carbon fuel production, risk management, meaningful emission reduction targets, and investment in research and development. It’s all part of what Inhance calls a“Return on Responsibility.”

In future, Kerry believes that socially responsible investment will be part and parcel of all investing. In order for corporations to survive, he asserts, they must become more sustainable and transparent, and ultimately must manage and meet the expectations of all stakeholders, employees, shareholders, customers, and the community.“It’s just the right way to do things,” he says.

next visionary

Previous Visionary

To Our (Planet’s) Health

admin — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 13:05:48 -0600

Sub-Title

Christina Olsen, Co-founder & Coordinator, Green Drinks Vancouver, greendrinks.org

Author

by Stephanie MacDonald

Sub-Title2

Content

Photo by: Jenny Chen
jennychen.ca

Over the last three years, Green Drinks has become an integral part of the sustainability culture in Vancouver. It’s a place where everyone is welcome and where everyone shares a common bond: a commitment to our planet.

And Christina Olsen is an integral part of Green Drinks’ success. The only founder currently in Vancouver, Christina organizes the monthly gatherings and keeps people up-to-date on Green Drinks activities.

Years ago, environmentalist socializing usually involved flannel, handmade signs, and hirsute individuals chained to trees (hey, we were there!)—a far cry from this civilized soiree of welldressed people chatting over bevvies at Gastown’s Steamworks Pub.

“I had been to the original Green Drinks events when I lived in the U.K.,” says Christina, “so when Rika [Saha] and Lyda [Salatian] asked me if I
was interested in helping start one in Vancouver, I said I would do anything I can do.” At her day job with non-profit corporation EcoSmart, Christina
helps big construction companies lower their carbon output.

Though it’s difficult to measure exactly how many alliances have been formed through Green Drinks, Christina can personally attest to the success
of its networking power. “When I was going through the final interview for my current job, another partner was brought in to meet me, and it was actually someone I knew from Green Drinks!”

Job opportunities aside, the planet benefits from this meeting of minds, says Christina. “When you get smart people together they become more than the sum of their parts. Change really happens when you get people who care together, supporting and inspiring each other.”

Cheers to that.

next visionary

Previous Visionary

Paper Pusher

admin — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 13:07:15 -0600

Sub-Title

Nicole Rycroft, Executive Director, Markets Initiative marketsinitiative.org

Author

by Jennifer Croll

Sub-Title2

Content

Photo by: Jenny Chen
jennychen.ca

Nicole Rycroft has a knack for making headlines. The much-vaunted executive director of Markets Initiative is not only considered one of the
30 most influential people in Canadian publishing, she’s also the 2008 winner of the Canadian Boreal Award for Outstanding Contribution by an
Individual.

Oh, and you may have read about her arrest in China. “I was hanging from a banner in downtown Beijing and taking media calls from the back
of the police van,” she recalls. Nicole was there advocating for Tibetan freedom, one of her many causes. But she’s best known for saving trees.

Markets Initiative, the influential forest conservation organization, began in Nicole’s Tofino kitchen in 1999 with a monthly budget of $600. From the start, Nicole had big ideas. “We wanted to help safeguard ancient and endangered forests around the world. We also wanted to contribute to a paradigm shift in how we as a society value our forest ecosystems.” Nicole chose to do that by changing consumption patterns of one of the biggest draws on old-growth forests: paper.

Markets Initiative has since changed the face of Canadian publishing. It was behind Raincoast Books’ decision to print the Harry Potter series
on ancient forest-friendly paper, as well as the adoption of environmental paper policies by most major Canadian magazine conglomerates. Nicole’s freshest triumph has been with the newspaper industry, which recently began printing on recycled paper.

In the end, Nicole’s news-making moves are all about practicality. “I think a very important part of our work is putting tangible environmental solutions into the hands of people,” she says. Fitting, since you’re holding one of her legacies in your hands this very minute.

next visionary

Previous Visionary

Earth Angels

admin — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 13:25:40 -0600

Sub-Title

Jesse Lemieux and Tanya Booth, co-founders of Pacific Permaculture, a company spreading the permaculture movement through education and community building [pacificpermaculture.ca]

Author

Sub-Title2

Content

Photo by: Angela Fama
famaphotography.com

How they met: Learning to run a marathon. “We finished the clinic and did the actual marathon, and we went our separate ways,” Jesse recalls. “But I gave her a phone call later that summer and it kind of went from there.”

Jesse on Tanya: “She does everything! She has this thirst to help and be of use to people. Just having her around [at Pacific Permaculture], she’s already put herself into a position where she’s not thinking of herself first; she’s thinking of what other people need.”

Bragging rights: “She’s got this ability to be strong no matter what. There’s this strong, quiet confidence that she has.”

If you could change one thing about Tanya, it would be… “That’s a tough one. That’s not even fair! But she’s a little too critical of herself. She needs to lighten up on herself a bit.”

Tanya on Jesse: “He’s done a lot of hands-on things all across the world, so he’s not just talking from something that he’s read. We think it’s important because of the way the world is changing. People feel negative about the future and they don’t feel that they have the capacity to change or do the things that are necessary to help the environment. Jesse gives people that encouragement, that knowledge, so they know they understand that they’re completely capable of making the changes that are necessary.”

Bragging rights: “He’s just so kind to other people. I feel good about being with him because he’s so good to others.”

If you could change one thing about jesse, it would be… “He does so much for everybody. Just taking more time for himself, maybe.”

—Jennifer Croll

next visionary

Previous Visionary

Wonder Workers

admin — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 14:52:12 -0600

Sub-Title

Marnie Goldenberg, organizational consultant to the non-profit and charitable sector, and denise taschereau, co-founder of Fairware Promotional Products, a company whose products meet social, environmental, and labour standards, and the needs of businesses [marniegoldenberg.ca , fairware.ca ]

Author

Sub-Title2

Content

Photo by: Angela Fama
famaphotography.com

How they met: At Trent University in Peterborough, Ont., in 1991. “I would say that we fell for each other at that point, but the timing wasn’t quite right,” Marnie (pictured right) says. “It was right in 2001 and continues to be.”

Marnie on Denise: “What Fairware, and Denise, does is… offer choices that don’t compromise factory workers around the corner and halfway around the world; choices that minimize our impact on the Earth. She understands very deeply that changing ethical practices of business is a key component of effecting change."

Bragging rights: “I have a bit of a laundry list. I love her mind. I love her values; she’s extraordinarily principled. I love how she parents; I love her because, more than any other person, she makes me want to be a better person. I love her cheeks.”

If you could change one thing about denise, it would be… “I wouldn’t change a thing. Rather, being better at appreciating and tolerating the differences we have is something I wish I could change about me.”

Denise on Marnie: “She may not be out there campaigning, but she’s one of those people working in the background to ensure [organizations] have the best structures to succeed. It’s not the sexy work; it’s the important work.”

Bragging rights: “She has a wicked sense of humour, she’s an exquisite parent, and she is great at reminding me to lighten up.”

If you could change one thing about Marnie, it would be… “Nothing. When you’re in for the long haul, it’s less about expecting one person to change, and more about how you face your challenges together.”

—Lindsey Lewis

next visionary

Previous Visionary

Honest to Goodness

admin — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 14:51:16 -0600

Sub-Title

Midori Oba and Peter Wohlwend, community organizers who have received the 2006 Lower Mainland Good Neighbour Award, the Mayor’s 2005 Environmental Achievement Award, and (Midori) the Vancouver School Board Recognition Award

Author

Sub-Title2

Content

Photo by: Angela Fama
famaphotography.com

How they met:“We met in the apartment building where I used to live with my boyfriend in the ’70s,” says Midori. “I lived on the third floor, and he was on the main floor.” “We knew each other for a long time as friends,” Peter adds. “It took over 20 years until we got together.”

Peter on Midori: “Midori is an honest straight shooter, giving and loving. She’s an early childhood and parenting educator, musician, fabulous cook, soap maker, seamstress, and above all a community builder. She has a tremendous appetite to learn and educate herself—whether it’s a new musical instrument, the latest in infant brain development research, a new ethnic recipe, or community building.”

Bragging rights: “At her work they call her the ‘handy chick’! She means what she says and is totally honest.”

If you could change one thing about midori it would be… “Not a thing!”

Midori on Peter: “A big project of Peter’s that is still growing is the Dickens Community Group in Cedar Cottage. He connects our neighbours through e-mail service, organizes activities and events in our community. He strives to achieve what he believes in. In a sense, we all do what we like to do, but he does it without selfish reasons.”

Bragging rights: “He is honest and sincere. He does not have any hidden agenda.”

If you could change one thing about peter it would be… “If I change anything about him, he would not be him. Well, I guess I like him the way he is!”

—Stephanie MacDonald

next visionary

Previous Visionary

Hello Dolly!

admin — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 15:09:24 -0600

Sub-Title

Dolly Hopkins - Creative Architect & Celebrations Facilitator; Co-founder, Public Dreams Society publicdreams.org , 2010legaciesnow.com

Author

by Stephanie MacDonald

Sub-Title2

Content

Photo by: Phoenix Olivia

It seems fitting that the woman best known for inspiring thousands of Vancouverites to parade around Trout Lake in the dark with homemade lanterns recently found herself in China. But while lanterns are emblematic of the People’s Republic, far-out parties… not so much.

Nevertheless, Dolly Hopkins, whose legacies with Public Dreams include both the Illuminares Lantern Procession and the Parade of the Lost Souls, was conscripted as a keynote speaker on celebration facilitation by the United Nations last November in Nanjing.

The UN event was a few firewalking steps removed from a lantern festival featuring elaborately attired jesters and fairies on stilts, or a menagerie of lost souls wafting down Commercial Drive toward a spooky musical rendezvous. But Public Dreams was just the starting point for Dolly’s creative aspirations.

“We created Public Dreams because we felt that many people had lost their opportunity to see themselves as creative individuals,” she explains. “We started to outsource entertainment, instead of creating it. Our events invited people to see themselves as creative beings again.”

Since leaving Public Dreams in 2007, Dolly’s taken on international challenges, including acting as creative director behind Canada’s cultural contribution to the Summer Olympics in Athens—a wildly popular performance involving firewalkers and stilt dancers—and working with 2010 Legacies Now and Spirit B.C. to inspire communities to creatively celebrate the province during the Winter Olympics here next year.

In addition to literally writing the book on community event production (her “Celebrations Tool Kit” is available on the 2010 Legacies Now website), she’s eager to spread her festive know-how to communities all over the globe. But despite all this adventure, Dolly has a simple view of her career. “I see myself as a catalyst for people to express themselves. Creativity is the soul that makes us human.”

next visionary

Previous Visionary

Building Futures

admin — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 13:12:21 -0600

Sub-Title

Loghman Azar - Partner, LINE (Living in Natural Environments) Architect Inc. - linearchitect.com

Author

by Marlane Press

Sub-Title2

Content

Photo by: Randall Cosco

When award-winning architect Loghman Azar looks for inspiration, he eschews new, radical technologies and the triumph of form over function. Instead, he opts to take things back to nature.

The Harvard graduate and partner at LINE Architect, a firm specializing in the design of environmentally sustainable, energy-efficient buildings, believes that using natural technologies is still very much relevant to modern architecture. He argues that the use of fewer mechanical systems and more naturally occurring phenomena are better for the sustainability of architecture—not to mention the obvious environmental benefits.

For instance, he asserts that African termite mounds are one of the best structures designed for natural ventilation: “A simple phenomenon using basic laws of physics that we can use in our modern buildings.”

His beliefs originated during his formative years in Iran. “I was raised learning about things like solar energy because my father was an engineer,” he explains. “The home he designed and built for our family had a solar shower—an innovation anywhere in the world 40 years ago.”

Loghman says his goal is to bring nature into cities and cities into nature. “The convention has been to establish a fair distance between nature and cities. We need a different paradigm. We must build in a way that nature is protected and can survive.”

Recently transplanted after 20 years of living in Toronto, Loghman plans to start offering his successful Friends of Sustainable Architecture seminars to Vancouver audiences.

And if designers and architects like Loghman control the future of building, perhaps nature does indeed have a fighting chance.

next visionary

Previous Visionary

Hail, Blythe Spirit

admin — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 14:42:23 -0600

Sub-Title

Lyren Chiu - Founder & President, Canadian Research - Institute of Spirituality and Healing - crish.org

Author

by Jennifer Croll

Sub-Title2

Content

Photo by: Phoenix Olivia

For Lyren Chiu, spirituality has been a lifelong pursuit. “I was born and raised in Taiwan, and Confucianism and Taoism were very widespread, as was Buddhism,” she explains. “And my mom was said to be a bodhisattva. In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is one who changes the world and helps with those who suffer.”

As leader of the Canadian Research Institute of Spirituality and Healing (CRISH), Lyren wants to change the world through spirituality. She created CRISH in 2006 to unite scientists, scholars, and students in order to research integrated health models and to shine a light on the widely unrecognized (at least in Western medicine) role of spirituality in healing. Lyren argues that many of the attempts to borrow from other healing modalities (such as Chinese medicine) ignore the complexity of such approaches.

“People think they can just add herbs and call that integrated medicine,” she laments. “You can better integrate areas of healthcare modalities if you honour their traditions instead of picking away at their essence.”

Lyren also has plans for a for-profit organization called the Beautiful Mind Health and Wellness Society. It will work alongside CRISH to extend its reach beyond academia. “This society will generate profit, create jobs, provide training, respect the planet, and improve the community,” she enthuses.

Lyren’s plans are ambitious, but she has a solid foundation to keep her steady. “If I want to do something, the first person I need to deal with is myself,” she says. “As long as I am at peace with my spirituality, everything will come very smoothly. That is what I have discovered.”

next visionary

Previous Visionary

Work - Play Ethic

admin — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 13:30:30 -0600

Sub-Title

Shelley Penner, Director of Practice, Penner and Associates - pafurniture.ca

Author

by Jennifer Croll

Sub-Title2

Content

Shelley Penner believes sustainable interior design should be kept behind closed doors—in a sense. “People spend the majority of their time indoors, [so] I think it’s really important to have a healthy environment,” she explains. “It extends to the natural environment, and how we’re protecting that.”

Shelley’s been pushing the green envelope for years. In 1992 she formed the EcoDesign Resource Society, a non-profit organization that provided sustainable design resources to professionals and the general public. The society lasted until 1997. “I think to some degree it was before its time,” she says, laughing.

After EcoDesign, Shelley launched her own design firm. Today, Penner and Associates leads the way in sustainable interior design for primarily commercial and institutional projects, most of which seek LEED certification. Current projects of note include the Tides Renewal Centre in the Flack Block at the corner of Cambie and Hastings, a duplex on Kits Point, and a Westside organic food store. “We’re very fortunate because I think you attract the clients that you are [similar to],” Shelley comments. “And so we’re just able to work with some really amazing people.”

A fitting extension to Shelley’s interior design is the firm’s new furniture line, p+a furniture. Manufactured in Calgary and composed of non-toxic and sustainable materials, the furnishings are available online and will soon be sold in a new storefront-slash-design studio in the Flack Block.

Sure she works hard, but for Shelley, success is pure fun. “The environment that we’re creating in our storefront and our design studio is really a place to just create and play and experiment,” she says. “For me, work is play and play is work.”