Vision Vancouver Executive

The Vision Vancouver Executive is comprised of members who come from across Vancouver's cultural, social, and political landscape.

Carolyn Askew

Working on the Downtown Eastside for the last five plus years has shown Carolyn how much we need to do as a City government to make this community a part of the larger vibrant whole.  The Four Pillars strategy remains the best forward thinking plan for addressing the most serious issues in the neighbourhood.  As a practicing lawyer with more than thirty years experience, Carolyn understands how the system works and what is required to make changes. As an executive member of Vision Vancouver, Carolyn believe she can bring her knowledge to the decision making process and try to ensure that as a civic party we remain committed to resolving the basic issues that affect the quality of life of many residents of Vancouver.

Denise Taschereau 

Denise is the Co-Founder of Fairware Promotional Products Ltd, a Vancouver based company specializing in ethically sourced, sustainable custom branded promotional products. Previous to launching Fairware, Denise was the Director of Sustainability and Community for Mountain Equipment Co-op for seven years. At MEC she was responsible for overseeing MEC’s national efforts to be a leader in social and environmental responsibility. Denise is currently the internal co-chair of Vision.

Denise was on the board of BEST for over 3 years, including one year as the Chair of the Board and Chair of the Board Development Committee. She was an inaugural Fellow of Action Canada, a national public policy leadership program and sat on the City of Vancouver’s Ethical Sourcing Policy Task Force. Prior to MEC, Denise spent two years as the Director of Policy and Communications for the Recycling Council of BC. She has a Masters in Resource and Environmental Management from SFU and lives in East Van with her partner, their two children, and lots of bicycles.

Martha Burton

Martha is currently the Senior Vice President of Renewal Partners - a collection of Vancouver based organizations providing investments, grants and collaborations for long term solutions, and brings 20+ years of experience overseeing financial administration of assets for individuals and companies.  She also has an active role in Renewal2, a new fund providing the opportunity for investors to participate in the development of business at the forefront of social and environmental innovation. 

Martha previously served as Assistant Treasurer for Tides Canada Foundation and Treasurer of the Sage Foundation (now known as Tides Initiatives).  She is a member of the faculty for Play BIG, a series of invitational workshops for those with significant resources and is a director of Renewal Land Company, which promotes conservation-based land use while working to create viable models of forest conservation on private land.  Martha was a founding member of Commercial Real Estate Women of Nashville and a multi-year volunteer for Artrageous and Historic Nashville (in Tennessee where she lived until moving to Vancouver in 1999).  

She lives in a historic house close to City Hall; and is a long time member~volunteer for Vision Vancouver.

Vardip Dhaliwal

Vardip was born and raised in Vancouver. He is a realtor practicing throughout the Lower Mainland, with a focus in the City of Vancouver. Vardip has over ten years of active involvement in the Khalsa Diwan Society, assisting in the development and implementation of programs to provide betterment for its youth and seniors.

Vardip has been active with Vision Vancouver since its inception, and has years of experience volunteering in various political campaigns at the civic, provincial, and federal levels. He lives in South Vancouver, and believes that Vision Vancouver should continue to work towards helping people with mental and/or addiction issues, as well as making Vancouver a leading global example for sustainable development.

David Eaves

 
An expert in negotiating and public policy, David publishes regularly on public policy in the Toronto Star, Globe and Mail and Embassy Magazine. As a negotiation consultant, David works with leading companies across North America, helping them develop and implement strategies for maximizing value from partnerships, alliances, customers, and suppliers. In addition, David works with non-profits and government agencies, consulting on public policy and strategy. In the past he volunteered extensively with Canada25, a non-profit think-tank that engages Canadians aged 20-35 around the world in public policy debates. In this capacity he served as Canada25's lead author of "Charting a New Path: A Compass for Canada's Future,” written at the request of the Privy Council Office. In 2004 was lead author of "From Middle to Model Power: Recharging Canada's Role in the World.” David was an Action Canada Fellow and held a Sauvé Scholar Fellowship at McGill University in Montreal. Born and raised in Vancouver, David is a graduate of Queen's and Oxford University. David is currently currently the Policy Committee Chair of Vision.

An expert in negotiating and public policy, David publishes regularly on public policy in the Toronto Star, Globe and Mail and Embassy Magazine. As a negotiation consultant, David works with leading companies across North America, helping them develop and implement strategies for maximizing value from partnerships, alliances, customers, and suppliers.  In addition, David works with non-profits and government agencies, consulting on public policy and strategy. In the past he volunteered extensively with Canada25, a non-profit think-tank that engages Canadians aged 20-35 around the world in public policy debates. In this capacity he served as Canada25's lead author of "Charting a New Path: A Compass for Canada's Future,” written at the request of the Privy Council Office. In 2004 was lead author of "From Middle to Model Power: Recharging Canada's Role in the World.” David was an Action Canada Fellow and held a Sauvé Scholar Fellowship at McGill University in Montreal. Born and raised in Vancouver, David is a graduate of Queen's and Oxford University.

Shauna Sylvester

Shauna Sylvester is a Fellow at the Simon Fraser University Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue and the Director of Canada’s World - a national citizens’ dialogue on Canadian international policy. Prior to developing Canada’s World, Shauna co-founded and served as the first Executive Director of IMPACS – the Institute for Media, Policy and Civil Society, a charitable organization devoted to strengthening democracy by increasing the voice and profile of civil society and advancing media freedom internationally. Prior to founding IMPACS in 1997, Shauna worked for fifteen years with a wide range of non-profit organizations, businesses, and educational institutions in Canada and abroad. She organized the Canadian preparatory meeting for the UN Conference on Women in Beijing and served on the Canadian delegation to the Prepcom IV of the Rio Summit on environment and development.

Shauna holds a Masters in Management from McGill University, and a Bachelor of Arts from Simon Fraser University. In 2005, she was honoured with an Outstanding Alumni Award from SFU for her community service work. In 2003, Shauna was also recognized as one of Canada’s Top 40 Under 40 in the Globe and Mail after receiving a similar award in 2000 by Business in Vancouver Magazine.

Ron Laufer

As a consultant in electoral practices, Ron has extensive experience administering electoral events in Vancouver as well as abroad. Working with organizations such as the United Nations, his beliefs in strengthening democracy have taken him to places such as Afghanistan and Kosovo as well as others like Ukraine and Austria. His extensive experience abroad has highlighted the many strengths of Vancouver, but has also provided ideas on how to further strengthen the city for the many newcomers and longtime residents alike. Ron is a firm believer in Vision Vancouver’s progressive values and has been active with the party for the past several years, including the last exhilarating municipal elections. Ron is determined to for the needy.

Ron was born and raised in Vancouver and serves on a variety of non-profit boards and committees. He holds a MSc. in International Relations from the University of Edinburgh and a Bachelors of Commerce from the University of Victoria. Ron enjoys biking and walking the streets of Vancouver which allows for greater interaction with the community and its surroundings. Ron is currently a member of the Governance Committee of Vision Vancouver.

Caroline Neufeld

Caroline Neufeld is a Community and Development Consultant with Jim Green and Associates. She has worked on many election campaigns and for Vision Vancouver on the 2008 civic election.

Prior to coming to Vancouver in 2008, she worked as a political advisor to former Winnipeg MP Lloyd Axworthy, and former Winnipeg Mayor Glen Murray. She worked closely with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and the Big City Mayors Caucus on a nation wide campaign to raise awareness of Cities and how they are funded; she was the Winnipeg representative on the Winnipeg Partnership Agreement , a tri-level agreement, and was very active in the arts community in Winnipeg where she was a Board Member of Jazz Winnipeg, the Winnipeg Arts Council, and the West End Cultural Centre among others.

A strong supporter of the arts in Vancouver, Caroline has worked with the Arts Alliance, the Contemporary Art Gallery, and is a volunteer for and supporter of the Vancouver East Cultural Centre.  

Tiffany Kalanj

As the spokesperson for the OnePassNow Coalition, Tiffany Kalanj has been at the forefront of Vancouver students' call for access to fair priced Universal Transit Passes (U-Pass). Tiffany organised the largest student transit rally in BC history, the U-Pass Bash, and is at the forefront of a growing youth movement to bring real change to our underfunded transit system.

A proud member of CUPE 15, Tiffany has served on both the CUPEBC Women's Committee as well as a director on the CUPE 15 executive committee from 2005 - 2009.

Tiffany was elected as the Women's Representative on the New Democratic Youth Committee and served on the Federal Council of the New Democratic Party from 2005-2007.

Tiffany has a degree in Political Science from Simon Fraser University and has been an Organiser for the Students' Union of Vancouver Community College since 2004. She was a very active volunteer during both Vision civic campaigns and can be found running with friends on any given Sunday.

Sage Aaron

Sage Aaron is a Communications Officer and the new media specialist at the Canadian Office and Professional Employees union, local 378.  Sage is responsible for internal communications for the busy 14,000 member union and staffs high-profile activities including recent province-wide issue campaigns, Chinese communities outreach and the work of the organizing department. She is an accomplished campaigner with a successful track record as an organizer or volunteer during every election – civic, provincial or federal – since 2001.

Sage’s formal training in journalism has helped her develop a keen, strategic approach to all her professional activities from the challenging and complex world of membership based organizations and grassroots public outreach, to the trenches of election campaigns and the demanding work of provincial and federal constituency executives.

Sage joined Vision Vancouver in 2005 and was a staff member on the first Vision election campaign. She is committed to the goal of ensuring a compassionate, progressive and pragmatic civic government. She has lived in Vancouver for over ten years and currently resides in the Commercial Drive neighbourhood with her partner, James. 

Stepan Vdovine

Stepan Vdovine (24) first became involved with Vision Vancouver in 2007 as a member of the Vision Education Committee – a group charged with the task of writing party’s education policy platform for the 2008 civic election. After unsuccessfully standing for the party’s 2008 school board slate, Stepan has worked on the Vision Vancouver’s landslide campaign as a school board candidates’ co-ordinator. Stepan grew up in the FraserValley and has lived in Vancouver's West End since 2006. First elected in 2005 and re-elected in 2008 to the Maple Ridge - Pitt Meadows Board of Education Stepan brings experience of a two term school trustee. Stepan considers involvement in the political process as the most effective way to achieve social change. Stepan’s academic interests are public policy and labour relations. He speaks three languages. Stepan is an avid hiker and cyclist.

George Jung

George is a civil servant who has been working with Canadian companies to develop global business and export trade opportunities. He has served as a volunteer director for various Asia-Pacific trade and business associations and also for community groups. George is a native Vancouverite and is a graduate of Britannia Secondary and the University of British Columbia. He has gained extensive volunteer experience with various candidates in Metro Vancouver. George enjoys gardening and writing stories about early Canadian settlers from Asia. He resides in South Vancouver.

Jeremy Osborn

Biography  Coming Soon.

Fred Mah

Biography  Coming Soon.