Christopher (Topher) Vollan

Christopher (Topher) Vollan

Chair

Pronouns: He/Him/His

chris.vollan@gmail.com

Growing up in the hospitality industry in the Okanagan Valley and trained as a structural engineer, Topher’s paid work is in the world of multi-use and commercial real estate development and construction across Metro-Vancouver with experience in Alberta, California, Nevada and Arizona.

An avid urbanist and committed agent of positive change, Toph also volunteers on the board of The Urbanarium, an organization committed to advancing Vancouver’s city living conversation.

As an intellectual idealist, hopeful humanitarian and avid amateur photographer, Topher brings creativity, insight and compassion to each undertaking; working collaboratively with stakeholders and teams to evolve deeply considered projects with meaningful purpose for the people and communities they serve.

Topher has served on the QMUNITY Board since the fall of 2018.

 

Anthony Azar

Anthony Azar

Secretary

Pronouns: He/ Him/ His

anthonyazar1@gmail.com

Anthony works at the intersection of people, process and technology. He is BC born and raised and is fortunate to live and work on the traditional and unceded lands of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh people. He is a life-long learner and recently graduated with master’s in management analytics and is excited to be driving the evolution of HR into a more numbers/analytics-based practice. Volunteering in the not-for-profit sector is a part of his calling and he has served on other LGBTQ boards and as a facilitator at the Vantage Point for topics in board governance, management and human resources.

Astha Dalakoti

Astha Dalakoti

Director

Pronouns: She/ Her/ Hers

astha.dalakoti@gmail.com

Astha is an international development professional, a queer feminist, an immigrant of colour, and a person with cultural roots in India, China and Canada. She holds a MA in Public Policy from the University of British Columbia, and a BA in Psychology from McGill University.

With 10+ years of global experience (in India, China, Thailand, Ethiopia and Kenya), Astha specializes in strategic planning and monitoring, donor relations, communication and advocacy, and program management. She is a collaborator at heart, and enjoys working with people from all walks of life to uphold a shared vision of social justice and human rights. Fluent in English and Mandarin, Astha also provides translation and interpretation services.

Astha has volunteered with various 2SLGBTQIA+ organizations, and supported queer movements around the globe. She joined the Board of Directors in July 2021, and strives to support QMUNITY to improve the lives of queer, trans and Two-Spirited folks across BC.

Living on the unceded and ancestral lands of the Coast Salish People, Astha continuously endeavors to (re)learn and celebrate Indigenous histories and cultures. In her free time, Astha loves exploring the great outdoors with her spouse Meredith and their dog Elfi.

Evie Mandel

Evie Mandel

Director, Vice-Chair

Pronouns: She/They

evie.yvr@gmail.com

Evie Mandel loves green spaces, ancient trees and ocean shores. She started coming out over 50 years ago, and is a queer, non-binary, Jewish feminist, and an old dyke who was once a baby butch. Her grandparents came to the Canadian prairies from Eastern Europe over a century ago, leaving her with a sense of history and the movement of peoples. She grew up in Edmonton on Treaty 6 territory, a gathering place for many nations including Cree, Blackfoot, Métis, Dene, Anishinaabe, and Inuit peoples. After many years travelling and working internationally, she is now grateful to live in Vancouver, on the traditional and stolen lands of the Coast Salish peoples. In the 70s and 80s, Evie organized Take Back the Night marches, edited a lesbian magazine called Diversity and worked as a bookseller. She has worked internationally for the World Health Organization and other parts of the United Nations, as well as locally for UBC, managing budgets, developing policy, and implementing new systems. She still thinks a good spreadsheet is a thing of beauty.

In the 70s and 80s, Evie organized Take Back the Night marches, edited a lesbian magazine
called Diversity and worked as a bookseller. She later became a CPA and management
consultant. She has worked internationally for the World Health Organization and other parts
of the UN, and locally for UBC, managing budgets, developing policy, and implementing new
systems. She still thinks a good spreadsheet is a thing of beauty. These days Evie enjoys
spending more time at home with her wife.

Rowan Meredith

Rowan Meredith

Director

Pronouns: She/ Her/ Hers

rowanasm@gmail.com

Rowan is a lawyer with a JD in Entertainment, Media, and Intellectual Property Law from UCLA and an LLM in Media Law from Queen Mary, University of London.  Rowan has a long history of volunteer work with non-profits, including Random Acts, the Continuing Legal Education Society of BC, CoRe Conflict Resolution Society, Atira Women’s Resource Society, and the International OCD Foundation. Rowan lives and works on the traditional and ancestral lands of the sc̓əwaθən məsteyəxʷ (Tsawwassen First Nation).

Stephen Menon

Stephen Menon

Treasurer

Pronouns: He/ Him/ His

stephen.menon@thetrevorproject.org

Stephen currently is the Chief Clinical operations officer at the Trevor Project, responsible for leading our Crisis Service programs (Lifeline, Digital and 988), internal learning and development, volunteer recruitment and experience, and continuous improvement. The team consists of over 500 employees and contractors. Stephen joined The Trevor project in August 2022.

Stephen is a seasoned product professional in the  conversational AI, FinTech and financial services industry. Stephen was the SVP of Product and Design at Finn AI where he led Product management, Product marketing  and product design functions, Stephen joined Finn AI in Late 2017, as a sole contributor in product and lead building out both the product function and helped in the creation of Finn AI’s two core SaaS product offerings. Stephen also worked at Thinkific, a leading provider of digital course and community learning products, where he was a  product leader 

Previous to Finn AI Stephen spent over 12 years of working experience in various lines of business within banking, Stephen formerly served as VP of Operations at MBNA (acquired by Bank of America) and SVP of Marketing and Product. He later moved to TD Bank as AVP responsible for consumer card products, including the launch of Aeroplan.

Stephen currently serves on the board of Qmunity – British Columbia’s Queer, Trans and Two spirit resource center, he previously served on the board of The 519, Toronto’s queer community center and Raincity housing, one of the largest providers of shelter, temporary and permanent housing in British Columbia.

While at both Bank of America and TD Stephen served on both organizations executive LGBTQ2+ employee affinity groups helping promote a more incline workplace for queer employees.

Born and raised in Nova Scotia, Stephen received his Bachelor of Commerce (honours) from Queens school of business Stephen has been active in LGBTQ2+ organizations across Canada, including being a former board member and treasurer at The 519 in Toronto, creating and organizing human right panel conversations in conjunction with Vancouver pride society from 2017-2019 and also currently sits on the board of Raincity Housing.

Nicola Spurling

Nicola Spurling

Director

Pronouns: She/ Her/ Hers

Nicola spent her youth feeling disconnected, because she was never taught what it meant to be trans. As an adult, she discovered who she was by attending, and volunteering at Vancouver Pride events. She spent six years on the Board of Directors at Vancouver Pride, giving back to an organization that helped her find the freedom to live authentically. Today, she is heavily involved in social justice advocacy work, driven by the motto’s “be the change you want to see in the world,” and “be the person you needed when you were younger.” With that in mind, she is thrilled to be a Board Director for QMUNITY, an organization that provides the kinds of support she needed. She is a Social Justice Ambassador, runs a construction company, creates art, volunteers for a variety of organizations, and loves outdoor activities. She hopes to use her wide range of interests, knowledge, and skills to provide value, and unique perspectives, to QMUNITY.

Kevin Lowe

Kevin Lowe

Director

Pronouns: He/ Him/ His

Kevin lives and works on the unceded, traditional and present land of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), and Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation) and səlil̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh Nation). Currently, he is the Senior Director, Indigenous Health at the Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA). Prior to this role, Kevin supported pandemic response efforts with the Public Health Agency of Canada and led public health policy analysis and development as the Director, Strategic Policy with the First Nations Health Authority. He has also held senior policy positions with the federal government in areas such as regional economic development and community infrastructure. Kevin holds a master of public administration from the University of Victoria and a bachelor of arts from Simon Fraser University. He also sits on the Board of the Vancouver Public Library.