Meet our Table Captains
Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada | Table Captain: Erin Williams (Senior Program Manager)
Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada
Visit Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada
Erin Williams
Senior Program Manager
Profile TBU
Canadian Red Cross | Table Captain: Maram Suleiman (Emergency Management Coordinator)
Canadian Red Cross
The mission of the Canadian Red Cross is to help people and communities in Canada and around the world in times of need and support them in strengthening their resilience. The Canadian Red Cross Society is part of the largest humanitarian network in the world. This network includes the International Committee of the Red Cross, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and 191 National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
Visit Canadian Red Cross
Maram Suleiman
Emergency Management Coordinator
Maram Suleiman, a dedicated Emergency Management Coordinator with the Canadian Red Cross, brings a wealth of expertise and passion to her role in disaster response and community resilience. Maram has built a distinguished career in emergency management, leveraging her background in economics and her higher degree in Emergency and Disaster Management from the Justice Institute of British Columbia.
With over ten years of experience in humanitarian work, Maram has worked with international organizations such as Oxfam GB, Human Relief Foundation, and IREX International, addressing critical issues like human rights, refugees, gender equality, and youth development.
At the Canadian Red Cross, Maram is committed to strengthening disaster response systems, focusing on innovative solutions for volunteer coordination and community preparedness. Her dedication to collaboration and partnership-building has made her a trusted professional in the field.
Global Shapers Community – Vancouver | Table Captain: TBC
Habitat for Humanity | Table Captain: Persis Ahrestani (Interim Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer)
Habitat for Humanity
Visit Habitat for Humanity
Persis Ahrestani
Interim Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer
Profile TBU
Immigrant Services Society of BC (ISSofBC) | Table Captain: Jonathan Oldman (Chief Executive Officer)
Immigrant Services Society of BC (ISSofBC)
Since 1968, ISSofBC has worked to provide a welcoming and empowering environment for all newcomers to British Columbia. Our services support settlement and English language needs, as well as employment and career ambitions. We are driven by core values and principles that put inclusivity, compassion and innovation at the centre of our work. We serve over 25,000 newcomers to BC each year. You can learn more about ISSofBC at www.issbc.org.
Visit ISSofBC
Jonathan Oldman
Chief Executive Officer
Jonathan has over 20-years leadership experience in BC’s social impact sector, working with a range of organizations serving the homeless, individuals with mental health and addiction challenges, seniors, and those with cancer and at end-of-life. Jonathan also serves on the Boards of Catalyst Community Developments Society, a NFP real estate developer, and NewTrack Solutions Inc., a for-profit company owned by ISSofBC.
OceanWise | Table Captain: Scott Bohachyk (Director, Seaforestation)
Ocean Wise
Ocean Wise’s Youth programs inspire and empower youth to take actions that will help protect and restore our oceans. Leading the Ocean Wise Youth team since 2019, Scott has spent his career seeking solutions to the complex environmental challenges of our present and future and believes empowering young people is one of the most important pieces of the puzzle. Ocean Wise’s Youth initiative transforms the latest conservation research and solutions from Ocean Wise’s other initiatives (Fisheries and Seafood, Ocean Free Plastics, Whales, Seaforestation and Changing Arctic), to create a wide range of student-centered and inquiry-based programs that allow young people to design their own solutions to the challenges we collectively face.
Ocean Wise Youth has grown to reach over 500,000 people per year, with approximately 75% of youth reporting an increase in awareness, and commitment to behaviour change, after their engagement with Ocean Wise. Scott and the team partner with like-minded organizations to reach new audiences and offer an “ocean lens” to other organizations’ work.
Visit Ocean Wise
Scott Bohachyk
Director, Seaforestation
Scott is driven by the significant potential of nature-based solutions to address the interconnected challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss. As Ocean Wise’s Director of Seaforestation, Scott’s focus is on the pivotal role kelp forests play in enhancing oceanic health worldwide. Approaching this work with an integrated and inclusive approach, Scott has developed numerous partnerships with Indigenous Peoples, coastal stakeholders, governments, and other partners to accelerate the protection and restoration of kelp forests around the world.
Prior to his current role at Ocean Wise, Scott spent five years with the United Nations Association in Canada. There, he was instrumental in raising over $10 million to deliver national and international programs that accelerated Canada’s green economy and provided hundreds Canadian young professionals with international development sector experience. His contributions led to his election, on two occasions, to represent Canadian civil society at the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) in Nairobi.
Scott’s international experience has further informed his interest in global environmental issues. He collaborated with the United Nations Development Program in Bhutan to contribute to the country’s green jobs strategy and has worked in Botswana, Saudi Arabia, and Indonesia.
Scott’s educational background includes a Bachelor of Education from the University of Alberta, a Master of Development Practice from the University of Waterloo, and a Master of Business Administration from Queen’s University.
Qmunity | Table Captain: Anoop Gill (Executive Director, Programs & Services)
QMUNITY
QMUNITY is a non-profit organization based in Vancouver, BC that works to improve queer, trans, and Two-Spirit lives. We provide a safer space for 2SLGBTQIA+ people and their allies to fully self-express while feeling welcome and included. Our building serves as a catalyst for community initiatives and collective strength.
Visit Qmunity
Anoop Gill (She/Her/Hers)
Executive Director, Programs & Services
Profile TBC
United Nations Association in Canada – Vancouver | Table Captains: George Somerwill (UN Department of Peacekeeping / Former Director of Communications), Rosio Godomar (UNAC-Vancouver Treasurer)
United Nations Associations in Canada – Vancouver
UNAC-V aims to inform, inspire, and engage with people in Metro Vancouver through local partnerships, to accomplish the vital work of the UN. Some of the many issues UNAC-V addresses, include poverty, gender inequalities, human rights, cross-cultural understanding, environmental degradation and threats to peace and security. This is all brought together under the umbrella of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Our affairs are guided by our volunteer Board of Directors, who are responsible for advising local policy decisions, planning, and implementing activities, and the management of general branch operations.
Visit UNAC-V
George Somerwill
UN Department of Peacekeeping / Former Director of Communications
George is a Canadian former United Nations staff member who worked for the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) in a number of peacekeeping and other UN operational areas from 1996-2011. His work took him to Angola, Iraq (the Oil-for-Food Program), Pakistan (with UNICEF), Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, and Liberia. George has a MA in Post-conflict Reconstruction and Development in York U, UK. He started his career in the BBC Africa service and the CBC (As it Happens). As a journalist and producer, he travelled frequently to some of the world’s worst trouble spots, including Ethiopia and Somalia. He also worked for CIDA and CARE Canada in Ottawa and Africa (Kenya and Zimbabwe) in communications and fundraising programming. He is currently an honorary member and former President of the Vancouver Board of the UN Association in Canada (UNAC) and was on the board of MOSAIC, a Vancouver-based immigrant service organization, from 2015-2021.
Rosio Godomar
UNAC-Vancouver Treasurer
Profile TRosio was born in Peru and now, lives in Vancouver. She is a nutritionist and a keen amateur photographer; She has worked with the UN World Food Program (WFP) for more than 20 years in humanitarian and emergency programs in Africa (Equatorial Guinea, Angola, Sudan, Ethiopia and Liberia) and the Middle East (Iraq) as well as South Asia (Pakistan and Afghanistan). She has studied nutrition in Peru and Germany and has an MSc in Human Nutrition from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In 2013, Rosio started the “Educate Girls Network” (EGN) – initiative to sponsor girl students from underprivileged rural families in Liberia, West Africa to complete their higher education and become educators (www.educategirlsnetwork.org). This initiative was created based on the challenges facing African girls who want a higher education. From 2011 to 2017, she worked as a food service supervisor with Fraser Health. Currently she is doing a volunteer job as mentor with MOSAIC Workplace Connections Program in Vancouver, supporting new immigrants and refugees in BC,. Rosio also volunteers with the United Nations Association in Canada (UNAC), Vancouver branch.