CEP Vancouver | Mentorship Program

CEP Vancouver Mentorship Program

CEP Vancouver's Mentorship Program matches new and experienced sustainability professionals. It is a six-month collaborative and cooperative opportunity to share skills, knowledge, build capacity and provide career advice specifically for sustainability-oriented professionals. While not a job matching program or paid internship, CEP's Mentorship Program provides a valuable opportunity to connect learn from other sustainability professionals and expand your network.

Interested in broadening your sustainability network in Vancouver? Need career-related guidance from seasoned sustainability professionals? The CEP Mentorship Program may be the right fit for you.

2024 Mentorship Program

Applications to join us as a mentor and/or mentee this year have closed. We appreciate your interest in participating in our programs. Please sign up for our email newsletter for future opportunities.

2024 Mentorship Program

CEP’s Mentorship program is excited to embark on yet another year of matching emerging sustainability professionals with mentors from Vancouver’s sustainability network.

This is not a job search or an internship, but rather a five-month collaborative and cooperative opportunity to share skills, knowledge, and career advice, specifically for sustainability-oriented careers. Our mentorship network has grown to include over 100+ past participants, and we hope to continue expanding this fantastic program in the years to come.

Mentees

Interested in broadening your sustainability network in Vancouver? Need guidance from seasoned sustainability professionals? The CEP Mentorship Program may be the right fit for you!

Mentors

The Mentorship Program would not be possible without amazing mentors from a whole range of sectors.

If you or someone you know is a sustainability professional looking for a rewarding experience, please join us! Throughout the course of the program, Mentors have the amazing opportunity to interact with bright emerging individuals and other seasoned professionals.

2024 Preliminary Program Timeline:

February 2024: Kick Off Event
February - June 2024: Mentorship meetings at least once per month (self-directed)
February - June 2024: CEP Events focused on building capacity (open for Mentors & Mentees to attend)
June 2024: Year-End Celebration Event

For questions and inquiries about the CEP Mentorship program, please contact mentor@cepvancouver.org.

If you’ve submitted an application to participate this year, our team will be reaching out to you with updates in the upcoming weeks!

Please note: Completing an application does not guarantee a place in the program. Although we aim to accept as many people as possible each year, we are limited by the number of mentors available.

2024 Program Mentors

Ece Dusunme

Ece is a Sustainability Advisor for the Climate Smart program at BMO, and in her role, she helps organizations measure, manage, and reduce their carbon footprint. This involves working with clients to identify and quantify their greenhouse gas emissions, as well as developing strategies to reduce those emissions and improve overall sustainability performance. Ece previously worked in the apparel industry where she was exposed to the immense impact it had on the environment and society.

Shruchi Bhargava

Shruchi has a wide breadth of experiences and roles and considers herself a sustainability generalist. Currently she does work in the areas of carbon reporting, staff engagement and environmental risk management.

Jeróme Ambrozy

Jerome has been focusing on the impact sector for the last six years. In particular, he’s worked for BIGH, which aims to build urban farms on existing buildings to reduce their carbon footprint. He‘s also worked for an Environmental Agency, aiding with environmental compliance for a climate-neutral EU by 2050. Recently, Jerome joined a Global Finance team of a SaaS company based.

Sam Carey

Sam currently works as a Senior Consultant in Sustainability Reporting at Vancity. He first came into the organization as an Intern in Community Business Operations five years ago. Prior to Vancity, Sam completed the University of Vermont’s Sustainable Innovation MBA program (2018 cohort). Before pivoting into sustainability, Sam was an accomplished high school Phys-ed and Social Studies teacher in the Sea to Sky corridor. Sam is an outdoor enthusiast who loves surfing, snowboarding and climbing.

Namrita Lamba

Namrita is a Sustainable Supply Chain Consultant at Reeve Consulting. She has a creative and organized approach to problem solving and is passionate about waste management and circularity, particularly in the realm of consumer goods. Prior to Reeve, Namrita worked in apparel and textile supply chain management in India for a decade and she was also part of the corporate impact team at Herschel Supply. Recently, Namrita has completed her MBA from UBC’s Sauder School of Business. She is also an advocate for sustainable fashion and is an active volunteer with three non-profits – Fashion Revolution, Threading Change, and Remake.

Courtney Louftus

Courtney brings a decade of experience working with global companies, NGOs and governments to address cross-cutting social and environmental topics through impact performance measurement and reporting.

Emma Sweby

Over her 14 year career, Emma has worked internationally with some of the world's largest organizations to drive transformational change. During her time as a consultant at PwC she established herself as a trusted corporate sustainability advisor before transitioning to a role in climate technology, at Persefoni, building software to help companies measure and manage their carbon emissions. She is energised by engaged and passionate people, who are excited to make a real difference in the world.

Patrick Nangle

Patrick Nangle is CEO of Modo, a member-owned carsharing co-op active in 25 BC municipalities with

more than 1,000 shared vehicles. He is a strong believer in community and sustainability and is an advocate for the role of member-owned co-operatives and social purpose enterprises in strengthening community resilience. He serves on the boards of Vancity Credit Union, Vancity Community Investment Bank (VCIB) and the BC Co-op Association (BCCA).

Mark Rabin

Mark Rabin is the Founder and Board Member of Portable Electric, which he founded in

2015 when he saw a market opportunity to develop and provide portable, industrial

renewable power systems for market applications traditionally powered by gas and

diesel generators. Mark has been in the energy industry for over 22 years and his first venture, the precursor to PE, was an off-grid power solutions company aimed at tackling energy access in the Global South. Mr. Rabin is deeply passionate about applying new energy technologies, resilient

mobile power infrastructure, and hybrid power systems in helping guide our energy

transition to solve our world’s climate challenges.

Klaryssa Lawrie

Klaryssa Lawrie is an Associate and Environmental Professional with more than nine years of experience in waste management. Her recent experience includes providing project assistance through roles such as project manager, project coordinator, and project supervisor for a variety of different waste diversion projects such as waste composition studies, stakeholder engagement and education, program planning, zero waste plans, and development of waste reduction and diversion strategies.

Sophia Yang

Sophia is the Founder & Executive Director of Threading Change, an ethical fashion organization working at the intersections of climate, gender, and racial justice in alignment with the necessary transition to a circular economy. Sophia is the recipient of the City of Vancouver's Greenest City Leadership Award in 2022, Corporate Knights’ Top 30 Under 30 Sustainability Leaders in Canada list in 2021, recipient of the No.9 Contemporary Art & The Environment and Harrowsmith Magazine's inaugural Youth Changemaker Award in 2023, Starfish Canada’s Top 25 Under 25 Environmentalists award in 2017 and 2018, and has attended the United Nations Climate Change Conference 4 times representing various delegations

Nishadi Liyanage, MSust

Nishadi has over 13 years' experience in corporate sustainability and ESG risk management, including strategy development, human rights and social impact program development, and sustainability/ESG reporting in leisure, apparel, and mining and metals industries.

Brenda Martens

O.B.C., B.Sc., CSBA, LEED AP BD+C, LEED Fellow, TRUE Advisor

In over 30 years as a practitioner, educator and advocate in the field of regenerative building, Brenda has worked on commercial, residential, industrial and institutional projects throughout the province and was involved in the design and construction of many signature green projects, including the Vancouver Olympic Village (LEED Gold/Platinum certified), the Whistler Athletes’ Village, Okanagan College Centre of Excellence (Living Building Petal Candidate, LEED Platinum certified), and over 20 affordable housing projects in various communities across BC.

The Mentorship Program would not be possible without the kind contributions of our amazing mentors. If you or someone you know is a sustainability professional looking for a rewarding way to share your knowledge with others, please consider joining the program as a mentor. Throughout the course of the program, mentors have the opportunity to interact with bright emerging individuals, as well as other seasoned professionals.

If you would like to register your interest in becoming a mentor please reach out to us at mentor@cepvancouver.org to learn more.

Testimonials

The program was highly beneficial for both of us: the mentee was able to get practical advice and support pertaining to day-to-day, insights into career advancement, and broader career issues; the opportunity to gain early-career guidance was extremely valued, while the mentor learned a great deal about early-career motivations and aspirations; the opportunity to share learnings from their career to empower an early-career professional was extremely rewarding.

The program was well-structured with realistic objectives and corresponding timelines. The two-way dialogue allowed me to share my experience and expertise with my mentor, who valued my input during our regular meetings. We discussed various topics, including our experience in Canada as immigrants, opportunities for career growth, continuing education options, and dealing with conflict.