Karen Lai, She/Her – Co-Chair
Karen feels very grateful to play and live on the Unceded land of the Squamish, Musqueam, and Tsleil-Waututh Nation to an immigrant family from Mainland China/Hong Kong over 40 years ago. She enjoys working with communities to have conversations about inclusion and disability justice.
She works as an Accessibility Planner for the City of Vancouver where she wants to see change in how we build spaces, not just physical space, to welcome and value people with disabilities. She continually works to challenge others and the systems we live through brave conversations with one another as we move together on the inclusion journey. Karen lives with Cerebral Palsy and enjoys adventuring in the outdoors.
Nina Corissa Ortiz, She/Her – Treasurer
Nina is an uninvited guest on the unceded, ancestral and occupied territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, or Tsleil-Waututh peoples. She is a first generation immigrant from the Philippines, with all of her immediate family still in the homeland. For work, she is a community connector for young people with disabilities. In this work, they explore what it means to come into adulthood and future-making, be a self-advocate and find and create spaces of belonging. For leisure, she loves spending time aimlessly with her friends or volunteering in a community kitchen.
Rebecca Love, She/Her – Secretary
Rebecca is a white immigrant born and raised in Chahta Yakni (Choctaw) territory in the deep south of the US. Her day job is in marketing and communications, but her most important work has been in the housing justice sector helping to organize tenants across the city to fight for their right to safe and affordable housing. She believes that working together as a community and educating each other from our own experiences is the best way to make lasting change. Rebecca also has strong opinions on the Southern cuisine options available north of the border.