Our interdisciplinary team is made up of planning, evaluation, and public engagement specialists. Click on a team member to learn more about them and to get in touch, or email bchc@bchealthycommunities.ca and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.
Vanessa Manuel, Executive Director
vanessa@bchealthycommunities.ca
Vanessa is excited to be joining the BC Healthy Communities team as their new Executive Director. She has a passion for health promotion, advocacy, leadership, project management and policy development. She joins BCHC with a background in non-profits, provincial public sector leadership, recruitment, retention, partnerships and strategic orientation and planning. She has spent the last several years in a leadership role with the BC Ministry of Health and is excited to move back into the non-profit sector to support healthy public policy and community development.
Vanessa was born and raised on Vancouver Island. She completed both her Bachelors and Masters at the University of Victoria where she studied recreation and health education, public administration, health promotion, leadership and employee commitment.
Vanessa spends her free time with her family and pets. She enjoys hiking, camping and being active as well as attending local events, travelling and entertaining friends and family!
Gurmeet Sall, Operations, People and Culture Manager
gurmeet@bchealthycommunities.ca
As BCHC’s Operations, People and Culture Manager, Gurmeet brings extensive knowledge and human resource experience from her 20 plus years of working in the provincial government. Her passion and expertise in human resources translates to a strengthened organizational culture and a supported group of staff members. Working with the Executive Director on HR and operational requirements for the organization, Gurmeet aligns the organization’s HR functions and strategies to support BCHC’s business priorities, and plans. She has a steadfast commitment to shaping a more engaged and unified organizational culture.
In her spare time, Gurmeet enjoys walking and spending time with her family and friends.
Stephanie Neilson, Evaluation Lead
stephanie@bchealthycommunities.ca
Stephanie brings a passion for local knowledge, context and experience to her work in evaluation. She believes healthy communities begin with people’s relationship to their environment, and that intentional planning, design, strategies, monitoring and evaluation help foster the changes communities strive for.
Stephanie holds a Bachelor of Arts in International Development and a Masters in Rural Planning and Development from the University of Guelph. Stephanie has worked in both Canada and overseas and her over 10 years of evaluation and research experience includes projects that examine how research influences policy, capacity building, gender, health, and environment and resource management.
Alyssa Roehrich, Age-friendly Communities Program Lead
alyssa@bchealthycommunities.ca
Alyssa holds a Master’s of Science in Kinesiology and a Bachelor of Arts in Recreation and Health Education from the University of Victoria. Her research area encompasses adolescent smartphone addiction and its impacts on well-being. Alyssa is passionate about supporting others to make healthy lifestyle choices and bettering the community through working with BCHC. When she is not in the office, you will find her participating in various outdoor activities and attending concerts by her favourite artists.
Laura Chambers, Grant and Engagement Coordinator
laura@bchealthycommunities.ca
Laura holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Simon Fraser University, majoring in Archaeology with a minor in Humanities. Having lived and worked in the UK for five years, she gained extensive experience with the National Lottery Community Fund and Groundwork UK, where she worked on a range of grant programs focused on issues such as loneliness, community development, food insecurity, and programs for children and youth. Now back in her hometown of Victoria, Laura is excited to continue her work in grant funding as the Grant and Engagement Coordinator with BC Healthy Communities.
Patrick Dunne, Communications Lead
patrick@bchealthycommunities.ca
Patrick has over 20 years experience working in communications and media. Prior to joining BC Healthy Communities, Patrick was an editor at Postmedia Network where he edited and organized the production of national, international and business sections for the National Post, Ottawa Citizen and other leading daily newspapers across Canada. Before Postmedia, he was managing editor for Asia Times, a news and analysis website based in Bangkok.
Patrick has also worked as a marketing and communications advisor for the University of Calgary and spent six years producing annual reports and other marketing materials for Canadian and international companies in the mining and finance industries. Patrick started his career as a journalist and has worked for the South China Morning Post, Hong Kong Standard, Vancouver Sun and a variety of trade and business publications.
Erica McCollum
erica@bchealthycommunities.ca
Erica McCollum is guided by a commitment to building inclusive, connected communities that foster sustainability and well-being. She holds a PhD in Sociology from the University of British Columbia, a Master’s in Adult Education and Community Development from the University of Toronto, and a BSc in Psychology from the University of Victoria. Erica has years of experience researching the intersection of citizen engagement, culture and social institutions. She also has a background in program evaluation, and post-secondary teaching.
Growing up on Gabriola Island and raising her family in Victoria, BC, Erica is deeply thankful to live, learn and explore on the west coast and the traditional lands of the Coast Salish, Nuu-chah-nulth and Kwakwaka’wakw peoples. Outside of work, you will find Erica camping with her family, cross-country skiing, cycling, gardening, cooking, and learning from and contributing to the people and places around her.