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 Manuel is the Executive Director of BC Healthy Communities (BCHC), bringing a strong commitment to health promotion, healthy public policy, and community development. She holds a master’s degree from the University of Victoria and brings extensive experience in strategic leadership, policy development, project management, and partnership building across the non-profit and provincial public sectors.
Prior to joining BCHC, Vanessa spent several years in a leadership role with the BC Ministry of Health, working within the Allied Health Policy Secretariat. In this role, she led policy development initiatives to support the recruitment and retention of allied health professionals across British Columbia, including the Internationally Educated Allied Health Professional Bursary Program. She also supported COVID-19 response programs focused primarily on allied health professionals in diagnostics and other critical response roles.
Vanessa’s leadership philosophy is grounded in trust, collaboration, and open communication. She believes in empowering people to pursue the work they are passionate about, creating supportive and meaningful environments where individuals can thrive and contribute their best to shared goals. She values understanding the needs of individuals, teams, and organizations, recognizing that strong relationships and collaborative leadership are essential to achieving meaningful outcomes.
Vanessa believes that healthy communities are the foundation of individual health and well-being. She is passionate about creating the conditions that enable people to live healthy, fulfilling lives and to become the fullest versions of themselves. Recognizing that many factors influencing health extend beyond individual control, she champions health promotion, upstream prevention, and healthy public policy as essential to addressing the root causes of health inequities, strengthening communities, and reducing avoidable pressures on the healthcare system.
Vanessa was born and raised on Vancouver Island. She spends her free time with her family and enjoys hiking, camping and being active as well as attending local events, travelling and entertaining friends and family!
As Executive Director of BCHC, Vanessa is committed to advancing community-led approaches, fostering cross-sector partnerships, and supporting policies and practices that create healthier, more equitable, and thriving communities across British Columbia.
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.
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.
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, PlanH Program Lead
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.
Susie Paul, Age-friendly Communities Program Lead
susan@bchealthycommunities.ca
Susie is excited to be joining the BC Healthy Communities team as the Age-Friendly Lead. She brings a background in seniors’ health, public health policy, and research, with experience working as a Rehab Assistant across the continuum of care, as well as with the BC Government’s Ministry of Health and Ministry of Education and Child Care. She also has a background in policy research and evidence reviews through her consulting work.
Susie holds a Master of Public Health and Social Policy and a Bachelor of Recreation and Health Education from the University of Victoria. She is passionate about supporting healthy, inclusive communities and turning evidence into meaningful action. She is looking forward to learning from communities across BC and supporting the important work of making communities more age-friendly.
Outside of work, Susie enjoys reading, gardening, running, and being at the beach with her husband, two kids, and dog, Shadow.
Sanjit Roy, Research and Program Analyst
sanjit@bchealthycommunities.ca
Sanjit Roy is committed to advancing health equity, informing healthy public policy and strengthening community well-being through research and collaboration. He holds a PhD in Social Dimensions of Health from the University of Victoria and a Master’s in Applied Statistics from the University of Dhaka.
His work is grounded in the social determinants of health and an equity lens, with interests in population health, community well-being, healthy aging, elder mistreatment and the use of real-world data to inform policy and practice. Sanjit brings experience in mixed-methods research, program evaluation, data analysis and post-secondary teaching. He is passionate about translating research into action and is excited to contribute to healthier, more equitable communities across British Columbia. Outside of work, he enjoys spending time with his family.