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.
2023 Program Applications Now Open
Please click the button below to submit an application and register your interest for our 2023 program.
2023 Mentorship Program Timeline:
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January/February 2023: Program Kick-Off Event
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February - June 2023: Mentorship program runs with meetings scheduled at least once per month (self-directed)
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June 2023: End of Program Event
2023 Mentorship Program Cost:
The cost to participate is $75 CAD. Payment will be collected after your application is accepted.
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.
2023 Program Mentors
Chadd Bauman
Co-Founder at Circular Harvest
Area of Expertise: Agriculture
Chad has experience in all aspects of running a business, with a passion for product design & innovation, market research and finding opportunities for collaborate between industries.
Veronika Bylicki
Co-founder at CityHive
Area of Expertise: Engagement & Education
Veronika is passionate about creating more sustainable, resilient, just cities and amplifying the meaningful engagement of citizens, particularly youth, in addressing urban challenges.
Sara-Katherine Coxon
Climate One
Area of Expertise: Natural Resources/Conservation, Strategic Engagement & Communications
Sara-Katherine has spent the last decade engaging diverse audiences in climate change as a content producer, communications manager, and strategy lead.
Robert Fisher
Scale Collaborative
Area of Expertise: Government Consulting & Non Profit
Rob is the Founder of the BC Impact and Sustainability Collective and also volunteers his time to mentor for CEP Vancouver, Spring Activator, Futurpreneur and CityHive.
Ian Hanington
David Suzuki Foundation
Area of Expertise: Non Profit & Climate Change
Ian is Senior Editor and Writer at the David Suzuki Foundation and is
co-author with David Suzuki of Just Cool It! and Everything Under the Sun.
Doran Hoge
University of Fraser Valley
Area of Expertise: Climate Adaptation/Mitigation, CSR, Policy & Planning
Doran has over 10 years of experience designing and implementing environmental and strategic programming for businesses and non-profits.
Michelle Laurie
Michelle Laurie Consulting
Area of Expertise: Health & the Environment, Sustainable Development, Poverty & Environment
For more than twenty years Michelle Laurie has worked with leading agencies around the world to achieve their sustainability goals.
Klaryssa Lawrie
Dillon Consulting Ltd.
Area of Expertise: Circular Economy, Zero Waste & Waste Diversion
Klaryssa Lawrie is a waste management specialist with over eight years of broad technical experience. She is currently an associate with Dillon Consulting Limited in Richmond, BC.
Nelson Lee, P.Eng.
Green Sky Sustainability Inc
Area of Expertise: Climate Adaptation/Mitigation & Management Systems
Nelson has advised corporations and governments on strategies for improving their sustainability for over 30 years in a variety of industry sectors across the globe.
Lina Londono
DeBrand
Area of Expertise: Circular Economy, Zero Waste, Textiles & Alternative Circular Business Models
Lina is the Director of Sustainability & Solutions at Debrand Services. Lina works closely with brands to develop value recovery strategies tailored to their sustainability goals.
Brenda Martens, B.Sc.
TRUE Advisor
Area of Expertise: Green Buildings, Infrastructure, Circular Economy & Zero Waste
Brenda has worked on commercial, residential, industrial and institutional projects throughout the province, including the design and construction of many signature green projects.
Alastair MacCallum
QuadReal Property Group
Area of Expertise: Circular Economy & Zero Waste
Alastair is Waste Program Manager at QuadReal Property Group, where he is expanding the use of smart waste technology to increase waste diversion across the portfolio.
Michelle Reid
B-Lab US & Canada
Area of Expertise: Impact Assessment
Michelle supports the growth and nurturing of the B Corp movement for B Lab US/Canada, which is supported by the Business Development Bank of Canada.
Connie Norton
Lush North America
Area of Expertise: Corporate Social Responsibility
Connie (she/her) focuses on climate impact in the Regeneration & Sustainability team at Lush. Regeneration and ethics are core to Lush’s identity, products and operations.
Daniel Schneider
Horizon Environmental Inc.
Area of Expertise: Engineering, Mining Closure & Natural Resources/Conservation
Daniel's career focus for 16 years has been on planning and implementing mine closure projects in Western Canada and Western Australia.
Alan Shapiro
Shapiro & Company
Area of Expertise: Water, Cleantech & Sustainable Businesss
Alan is a water and sustainability consultant. His work is focused on addressing complex water challenges, advancing clean technology solutions, and supporting sustainable businesses.
Sabrina Guzman Skotnitsky
Youth Consultant & Researcher
Area of Expertise: Climate Adaptation, Policy & Planning
Sabrina Guzman Skotnitsky (she/her) is a climate justice advocate, artist, and researcher residing on the ancestral and unceded territories of the lək̓ʷəŋən and W̱SÁNEĆ peoples.
Laura Swaffield
MEC
Area of Expertise: GHG Accounting & CSR
Laura’s role at MEC focuses on ways to measure and reduce the environmental impact of the company across waste and climate issues.
Sydney Wanchulak
NorLand Ltd.
Area of Expertise: CSR, Impact Assessment & Change Management
Working as a sustainability professional, Sydney has developed skills in strategy planning, ESG materiality assessments, B Corp certification, and creating sustainable organizational practices.
Lisa Westerhoff
Integral Group
Area of Expertise: Green Buildings, Infrastructure, Policy & Climate Adaptation/Mitigation
With over 10 years of industry experience, Lisa brings her expertise in climate change, sustainability, and resilience planning to a range of public and private clients.
Nishadi Liyanage, MSust
lululemon
Area of Expertise: Human Rights, Non-Financial Risk Management, Policy & Planning
Nishadi has over 12 years experience in corporate sustainability and non-financial risk management in Sri Lanka, Australia and Canada. This includes sustainability strategy development, ESG reporting and measuring impact in leisure, apparel, and mining and metals industries.
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Nicky Arthur
Lush North America
Area of Expertise: Energy Management
Working as the Energy Management and Sustainability Specialist at Lush Fresh Handmade Cosmetics, Nicky works within the North American Regeneration & Sustainability Team also collaborating on Global initiatives relating to the Lush Climate and Nature plan.
Anuja Sawant
Independent Sustainability Consultant
Area of Expertise: Corporate Social Responsibility
Anuja is a sustainability consultant based in Vancouver with happy clients in 5 countries since 2014. Her expertise includes business development, research and writing, education, capacity building and coaching.
Mentors continued....
Brianna Brown
Co-Founder, Decade Impact
Area of Expertise: CSR & Impact Assessment
Lana Gonoratsky
Senior Program Manager, ESG, Generac Power Systems
Area of Expertise: Clean Tech & Energy Transition
Katrina Shum
Head of Sustainability, North America, LUSH
Area of Expertise: Corporate Social Responsibility
Elyse Henderson
Program Manager, LCE, BC Hydro
Area of Expertise: Green Buildings, Infrastructure, Research & Utilities
Laura Heintzman
Impact Reporting & Integration Senior Manager, Aritzia
Area of Expertise: CSR, Circular Economy, Zero Waste, ESG Reporting & Disclosure
Nisha Agrawal
Director, Sustainability, QuadReal Property Group
Area of Expertise: Real Estate
Hilary Kilgour
Director, Female Funders
Area of Expertise: CSR & Impact Investing
Miguel Santos
Sustainability Innovation & Public Affairs Specialist , Save On Foods
Area of Expertise: CSR, Circular Economy, Zero Waste & Circular/Regenerative Product Design
Carly Weston
Senior Environmental Advisor, Pembina - Vancouver Wharves
Area of Expertise: Water & CSR
Daanvir Dhir
Senior Director, Engineering & Sustainability, Pela
Area of Expertise: Engineering, Circular Economy, Zero Waste
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.