People Category: Staff

Julia has over 12 years of experience working in B.C.’s mental health and substance use sector.  Prior to joining CAI, Julia worked as the Executive Director at the Canadian Mental Health Association North Shore branch where she worked alongside the provincial office of CMHA to co-create the province’s Peer Assisted Care Team model. She also worked closely with partner communities and knowledge keepers across the province to build a curriculum for Indigenous peers. Her work with health authority partners led to the launch of Metro Vancouver’s first Recovery College. Before that role, Julia worked as the Director of Community Engagement at CMHA BC

She holds a Master of Arts degree in Conflict Analysis from Royal Roads University and a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from UBC.

Outside of work, Julia’s passions involve everything to do with food (including baking), being in the forest with her family, and travel.

Patrick is dedicated to advancing compassionate solutions to address structural inequities and improve health and social outcomes. Before joining CAI, Patrick led the creation of a national division at the Dr. Peter Centre, which provided mentorship, training, and microgrants to over 400 organizations. In this role, he facilitated a bilingual community of practice for supervised consumption site and overdose prevention site service providers. Prior to moving to Vancouver in 2010, Patrick worked at a men’s recovery house, a French-language communications company, and an independent bookstore.

Originally from Halifax, Patrick holds a Master’s in Public Administration from Dalhousie University and a Bachelor of Arts from McGill University. Patrick enjoys exploring nature year-round, from snowshoeing in the mountains during the winter to snorkeling in the summer.

Mira is responsible for supporting the coordination, management and implementation of CAI’s grant funding, training, and capacity building initiatives to ensure quality and efficiency in the granting process. Mira holds a Bachelor of Science and is currently pursuing her Master of Public Health degree at Simon Fraser University. She is keen on better understanding and reporting on the needs of individuals and families experiencing mental health and substance use challenges and is inspired by the innovative work happening in local communities across the province that address them. She believes continued support for community leadership is essential to building an equitable, community informed health system of care.

Zavi is responsible for a province-wide capacity-building grant program and other projects in the supportive recovery sector. He is a queer and trans community educator and a white settler living and working on the traditional, unceded and occupied lands of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh peoples. Zavi holds a Master of Arts degree from UBC in Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice. He has worked in community development for over 12 years in the non-profit and public sector and his own lived experience with mental health and disability informs his work in the community. In addition he loves connecting with people about gardening, pets, video games, cooking shows and other passions.

Noah holds a bachelor’s degree from Queen’s University in Human Geography. He is passionate about community development and has worked on a diversity of community health projects, including research, community programming, outreach and engagement activities with queer communities, Indigenous communities, and other oppressed groups.

He believes that change is a collective process and that it should be led by communities themselves. Grounded in queer ethics of solidarity, Noah is committed to supporting community-led harm reduction across BC. Outside of work, Noah enjoys hiking, camping and gardening.

Peter has a Master of Public Health from Simon Fraser University. His background in public health research has given him the opportunity to work with diverse stakeholders living with HIV, mental health issues, and/or substance use issues. He is especially passionate about LGBTQ/2S health and capacity building. Equity is the guiding principle behind his work, and he hopes to aid and facilitate communities in driving change.

Samantha Young is a freelance artist, grant writer, and former Project Coordinator at the UBC Transformative Health & Justice Research Cluster. Sam is a mixed race settler living and working on the traditional, unceded and occupied lands of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), Qiqéyt (Qayqayt) and kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (Kwikwetlem) Nations. She supports the coordination and implementation of community-driven arts and research initiatives that center equity, education, and social impact. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Drawing and Painting from OCADU and is currently pursuing a Master’s in Community Development at the University of Victoria.

With experience in arts programming, administration, project coordination, and grant writing, Sam has used her skillset to conduct participatory action research initiatives at UBC. She serves on the board of directors for Gallery Gachet and Unlocking the Gates Services Society, contributing to initiatives that advance health equity and justice. Samantha believes that creativity is a powerful tool for connection and change and is passionate about fostering spaces where art, education, and community care intersect. In her free time, Sam enjoys camping, going on travel adventures and board games.

Adrienne manages a portfolio that increases access to quality, publicly funded, community-based counselling across BC. They come to CAI with a MPH in Social Inequities and Health from SFU and a BSc. in Neuroscience from the University of Winnipeg. Their diverse background of experiences includes counselling, project management, qualitative research, workshop facilitation, education, entrepreneurship and the arts. Adrienne is excited to do work that highlights the importance of mental health and the inseparability of health equity and social justice.

Anna manages CAI initiatives that offer grant, training, and capacity-building opportunities to community-based organizations in BC. Her role is to support community-led interventions that protect and promote mental health and wellness. Anna’s Master of Public Health gave her an acute awareness of the important and often complex interactions between the social, biological, economic, and environmental determinants of health, and her studies also fostered an interest in community development. She appreciates having the opportunity in her work at CAI to address mental health and substance use challenges experienced by people across the province.

Dakota is responsible for CAI’s internal and external communications, including website and social media administration, identity systems and implementing administrative systems and policies. Born and raised in Saskatchewan, her home communities are Peepeekisis First Nation and the Qu’Appelle Métis community. Dakota holds Bachelor of Arts in Women and Gender Studies, and has over a decade of experience working and volunteering in community based non-profits across Canada.