BUILD
Meet the Pod Members of BUILD: Growing Initiatives for Impact & Solidarity!
鈥淲hat shape is your body making right now, and how has that been influenced by choices that are made for you?鈥�
鈥淗ow might we nurture a community of belonging for folks arriving as refugee claimants to Canada?鈥�
鈥淲ouldn鈥檛 it be cool to hear the stories of some of the people who also walk down this park pathway?鈥�
鈥淗ow do you walk the talk of 鈥渃reating trauma-informed, equitable, inclusive group cultures鈥�?鈥�
鈥淗ow might we effectively use creative services like videography, photography, and motion graphics to showcase and highlight Black excellence?鈥�
These are some of the questions that the pod members of this first-ever iteration of the BUILD Program are asking and answering in their work.
Over six months in 2023, the people of BUILD* have been expanding our strategic and tactical emotional, intellectual, and relational capacities while prioritizing rest and imagination in the process.
Along with invited knowledge keepers and subject-matter experts, we engage in learning guided by S岣祑x瘫w煤7mesh (Squamish) Indigenous worldview** and consider concepts including economic reconciliation, financial foundations, strategic frameworks, and values-based storytelling and marketing.
Meet the thirteen incredible people who have chosen to trust the program team in co-creating this emerging and imaginative program at RADIUS. We celebrate them all as they deepen their learning and expand their skills in service of their systems-shifting work.
*Inclusive of the BUILD Pod members and program team as a deliberate choice to blur the lines between 鈥渟ervice provider/expert鈥� and 鈥減articipant/learner.鈥� This gestures toward dismantling supremacist notions and stepping into shared power, mutual support, and collective action.
** Raised hands in gratitude particularly to Sxwpilema谩t Siy谩m (Chief Leanne Joe) for starting our program in a good way, and to Charlene Williams for generously sharing presence and teachings from S岣祑x瘫w煤7mesh 脷xwumixw (Squamish Nation).
Program note: The conventional professional and academic practice of introducing oneself and one鈥檚 work in the form of a written bio has its strengths and limitations. Many of us in the BUILD Program are trained in a variety of cultural contexts that typically practice different forms to foster connection. This is often in the oral tradition, highlighting relations, context, and inviting dialogue; the written form then serves as a supplement.
In our distributed and digital context, we lead with voice and keep the text intentionally brief. Please consider these as the mere glimpses that they are into thirteen multifaceted lives and bodies of work. We hope there is just enough here to spark genuine, respectful, reciprocal connections.
(Listed in alphabetical order by first name.)
Anati Manzoul
Daily Dose of Blackness Media
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51社区黑料 the Person:
she/her
Anati is a university student studying media and one of the co-founders of the multimedia company DDB Media. She is excited to learn more about elevating her brand.
51社区黑料 the Work:
A multimedia cooperative comprised of young Black creatives, working to highlight and showcase Black and BIPOC stories through videography, photography and motion graphics services. Currently focused in 鈥淪urrey, BC鈥�, this connects to the larger vision of inspiring other youth to foster a community of creatives.
Aslam Bulbulia
Waterline Co-op
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51社区黑料 the Person:
he/him
Aslam is a 4th-generation South African Indian living on unceded Coast Salish lands. In his words: 鈥淕rowing up Muslim in South Africa has brought me the gifts of an acute power awareness, spiritual grounding and a love for bringing people together.鈥�
51社区黑料 the Work:
Waterline Co-op is a group of experienced facilitators who hold space for teams in conflict, and train other facilitators and leaders to develop their conflict and leadership skills. Using tools and frameworks from Deep Democracy, Process Work and other modalities help to create trauma-informed, equitable, and inclusive group cultures. Is your group dealing with some challenging team dynamics? Our consulting services can help!
Carla Carvalho
Walk In My Shoes
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she/her
51社区黑料 the Person:
Carla is a feminist, proud mom, wife, and an activist. She is also a clinical counsellor and a member of the Immigrant Advisory Table of the Tri-cities Local Immigrant Partnership (TCLIP).
51社区黑料 the Work:
A unique place-based community storytelling experience that bridges analog relations through digitally mediated story-points, centred around the area known as Coquitlam (k史ik史蓹茮虛蓹m).
Husain Vahanvaty
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he/him
51社区黑料 the Person:
Husain is a mental health clinician that works in both private and public spaces. His public work involves therapy with comorbid addictions. Husain is privately Registered as a Clinical Counselor (RCC) and is a co-founder of .
51社区黑料 the Work:
Currently building an exploratory community initiative, in collaboration with , that seeks to explore the various gaps in adult mental health care through qualitative frameworks. Through data collection and program development, this project seeks to build better supports for long-term advocacy, outreach and adult mental health care.
By centering deep collaborative learning, this project aims to ultimately increase the overall available inventory of mental health services inside the Lower Mainland Region for both service providers and participants.
Imrahn Mitha
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he/him
51社区黑料 the Person:
Imrahn is a Class Actions Lawyer, with a specialization in Indigenous Law. He co-founded a project which provides affordable, easily-understandable legal services to traditionally marginalized Canadians.
51社区黑料 the Work:
A digital legal service platform designed to increase access to vetted legal information for migrant communities, by translating dense English-based 鈥渓egalese鈥� procedures and jargon into user-serving tools and resources.
Kian Cham
Centre of Gravity Movement
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he/him
51社区黑料 the Person:
Kian Cham is a movement coach, martial artist and pole dancer who happens to be transgender. For him, movement is an opportunity to train a deeper internal self in alignment with our expanding capacity to externally express. Kian collaborates with clients to create holistic movement practices defined by their true values beyond mainstream 鈥榝itness鈥� standards.
51社区黑料 the Work:
Beginning by learning about our unique postures, Centre of Gravity creates holistic movement programs to enhance strength, mobility and responsiveness that is enduring. Centre of Gravity addresses whole body wellness to improve everyday mobility, relieve pain, and grow into physical fitness aspirations we truly value.
Lulu Hernandez
The Cleaning Co-op
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she/her
51社区黑料 the Person:
Lulu is one of the co-founders of The Cleaning Co-op. She is eager to expand her skills and apply the knowledge from the program to the growing success of the co-op and its members.
51社区黑料 the Work:
An uncompromising ethical cleaning company providing their worker-owners with equitable and empowering living-wage work opportunities. Founded from lived experiences of exploitation, discrimination, patriarchy, and capitalism, the co-founders decided to create better opportunities for themselves and their communities.
Mayra Gonzalez
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she/her
51社区黑料 the Person:
Mayra is a social entrepreneur, founder of Resilient Care & Student Counsellor. Her work supports BIPOC international students by inviting the exploration of their unique stories in a compassionate space.
51社区黑料 the Work:
A Group Narrative Therapy program that serves international students pursuing post-secondary education to transform survival stories into resilience narratives.
Mohammed Zaqout
LightWork Consulting Co-op
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he/him
51社区黑料 the Person:
鈥淚 am Palestinian as you can tell.鈥� Mohammed is a Co Founder and Director of LightWork JEDDI Consulting Cooperative. He is passionate about advocating for Refugee Claimants鈥� belonging and financial mobility.
51社区黑料 the Work:
A consulting cooperative that holds compassionate and competent un/learning spaces for people and organizations focused on fostering justice and belonging through safer, inclusive, and more diverse work environments.
Paulina Mendoza Cruz
The Cleaning Co-op
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she/her
51社区黑料 the Person:
Paulina is a Co-founder of The Cleaning Co-op. A nurse by profession, Paulina is passionate about learning and new projects.
51社区黑料 the Work:
An uncompromising ethical cleaning company providing their worker-owners with equitable and empowering living-wage work opportunities. Founded from lived experiences of exploitation, discrimination, patriarchy, and capitalism, the co-founders decided to create better opportunities for themselves and their communities.
Rubina Cokar
Massar
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she/her
51社区黑料 the Person:
Rubina has wide and varied career experience in film/television, ecommerce and HR operations. A seemingly odd mashup of skills and experience has led her to her true passion 鈥� building a social enterprise that creates a ripple effect of awareness, support and engagement for refugee women.
51社区黑料 the Work:
Project Massar is a social enterprise seeking to create equitable work opportunities for Muslim refugee women. Through the sale of handmade artisan products like prayer beads or tasbeehs made from semi-precious stones, Rubina hopes to destigmatize the refugee label while driving awareness to increase support.
Saliema Maki
Daily Dose of Blackness Media
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she/her
51社区黑料 the Person:
Saliema is a student majoring in communications at Douglas College. She is the co-founder of the multimedia company DDB Media. Saliema鈥檚 main role in DDB Media is photography and videography.
51社区黑料 the Work:
A multimedia cooperative comprised of young Black creatives, working to highlight and showcase Black and BIPOC stories through videography, photography and motion graphics services. Currently focused in 鈥淪urrey, BC鈥�, this connects to the larger vision of inspiring other youth to foster a community of creatives.
Siu Yin Cheung
Wellness for Migrants
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she/her
51社区黑料 the Person:
Siu Yin is an analytics-focused professional with a strong desire to promote wellness locally and internationally through physical education, sports, and physical recreation. With more than 20 years of professional experience in higher education, Siu Yin brings considerable skills and insights to this work.
51社区黑料 the Work:
Wellness for Migrants
A comprehensive holistic group wellness program that keeps recent migrants fit, relieves stress, and boosts confidence. Slogan: 鈥淢ove! Be Happy and Healthy.鈥�
SPONSORS AND PARTNERS
Making The BUILD Program Possible
BUILD is funded by the Government of Canada鈥檚 . Le projet BUILD est financ茅 par le Centre des Comp茅tences futures du gouvernement du Canada; ; ;; ; ; ;; and SFU鈥檚 Community Engagement Initiative.