Our Team

Carmen is mixed European and Secwépemc from High Bar First Nation on their mother’s side, and Chinese and Japanese on their father’s side. They grew up in the agricultural flats of Burnaby on the traditional, ancestral, unceded territory of the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ and Sḵwx̱wú7mesh speaking peoples. Carmen is a farmer by training and cooperatively cultivates and stewards a half-acre of land with a small group of friends. They enjoy building greenhouses, making dumplings, and befriending cats. Carmen lives in Mount Pleasant, and can be spotted riding a motorcycle along the coastline or playing softball in the summertime.

carmen@eya.ca
 236-334-0587

Erica is 2nd generation Japanese on her mother’s side and 6th generation mixed European on her father’s side. She grew up as an uninvited guest on the traditional lands of the Skwxwú7mesh Peoples in North Vancouver where she fell in love with nature. An upbringing on these lands inspired Erica to pursue a degree in Natural Resource Conservation, then a Master’s in Education for Sustainability at UBC. Erica can now be found in Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) with her partner Brennan and dog Valley, where she spends her time cooking Japanese food, spending time outside with family, and tending to her garden.

erica@eya.ca
604-318-1272

Koy is of mixed European settler and Metis lineage. She grew up as an uninvited guest across kʷikʷəƛ̓əm, səlilwətaɬ, xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, and Sḵwx̱wú7mesh territories. Koy has a Bachelor of Environment with a major in Global Environmental Systems along with a Broadcast and Media Communications Diploma. She is passionate about land stewardship and climate resilience, particularly fostering youth engagement in these areas. Koy can often be found running and spending quality time with her dog on ​​Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw and shíshálh territories.

koy@eya.ca
604-689-4446

Deandra is a settler from Indonesia with mixed Chinese and Southeast Asian ancestry from both parents. She grew up in a small town called Malang in East Java and moved to the Coast Salish territories in 2015 to pursue a degree in Natural Resources Conservation at UBC. Deandra is a passionate educator and a life-long learner who enjoys gaining knowledge on horticulture and Indigenous medicinal plants. In her spare time she likes to hike, do plant walks with her friends, or bury her head in a book.

deandra@eya.ca
604-689-4446

Jess is a second generation settler who’s ancestors come from England, Scotland, and Trinidad. She grew up on traditional unceded lək̓ʷəŋən and W̱SÁNEĆ territory and studied Biology and Environmental Studies at the University of Victoria, where she found a love for talking to people about plants and a passion for creating accessible spaces for people to create personal connections with nature. When she isn’t talking about plants, you can find her practicing yoga, reading, riding her bike, knitting, or hiking, snowboarding, and exploring the natural areas of xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, and səl̓ílwətaʔɬ territory.

jess@eya.ca
604-689-4446

phin grew up as a settler with Lebanese, Scottish, and Irish ancestry within unceded land of the q̓ə́yc̓əy (Katzie) and qʼʷa:n̓ƛʼən̓ (Kwantlen) peoples. Over the past three years, phin has been engaged in land-based and frontline work in the DTES, and appreciates the generosity of relationships, teachings, and skills gained through this work. Drawing from both personal & professional experience, phin integrates trauma-informed practice, harm reduction, and land-based learning into his work. During his free time, you can find phin tending to tiny meadows, munching on clovers before his partner, Tanner, can intervene, and making medicine for his mobile herbal library. phin is grateful to be here, living on shared and unceded territory of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) peoples.

Aril is first-generation Chinese Malaysian, with parents being born close to Kuala Lumpur. They love to connect to their cultural roots through food, community, and conversations. Aril comes from a culinary background and is a recent UBC graduate from the faculty of Forestry. Aril was born and Raised on traditional, unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), and Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) first nations. Their focus in this role is to show a fun approach to ecology in a low barrier and trauma informed setting. Aril specializes in fungi and plant ID so if you see them around they would love to chat about it! Outside of work, Aril loves cooking Malaysian food and organising mushroom events around the city.

aril@eya.ca
604-689-4446

Cy is second generation Taiwanese, born and raised in BC on the unceded territories of the Semiahmoo, Katzie, Kwikwetlem, Kwantlen, Qayqayt, and Tsawwassen First Nations. With a deep passion for creative arts and nature & wildlife, Cy pursued a Graphic Design degree in Toronto before moving back to BC and completing a Fish, Wildlife & Recreation program. Cy’s mission is to synthesize the fields of art and science and to use the power of storytelling to make a meaningful difference. In his spare time, Cy is usually playing video games, drawing, walking his dog (Somi), or cuddling with his cats (Lily & Boki).

cy@eya.ca

Keenan Marchand is of Syilx, Secwepemc and Mixed European heritage and grew up on traditional, ancestral and unceded land of the q’ʷa:n̓ƛ̓’ən̓, q̓ic̓əy̓ and səmyámə peoples as well as summers on Nkmapelqs, Head of the Lake in Syilx territory in the Interior. They are currently living on səl̓ilwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (Kwikwetlem), xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) and Stó:lō land. They are a multidisciplinary artist with a deep love of nature and revitalizing Salishan cultures and languages and can often be found compulsively making art, music and writing. They are grateful to be able to learn, create and work on traditional, ancestral and unceded land of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səl̓ilwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) nations.

keenan@eya.ca
604-689-4446

Mahki is Indigenous and mixed-settler: Métis and Cree descent with roots in the Qu’Appelle valley on their father’s side as well as Romanian and Irish descent through their mother. Born and raised primarily on Stó:lō territory, their love for trees and native plants led Mahki to pursue a degree in Environmental Sciences at SFU. Nowadays Mahki lives with family on Katzie, and Qayqayt territory in Surrey where they volunteer with the Surrey Indigenous Youth Advisory Council. An artist by blood, Mahki spends freetime beading, crocheting… and jigging – so don’t be alarmed if you hear sudden horse gallops!

mahki@eya.ca
604-689-4446

Trisha is a non-binary immigrant settler from the Philippines. They settled on Musqueam territory (Richmond) in June 2010 and have since called these territories home. Their pedagogy is to have the land and water as our teacher and to always centre community, decolonial practices and Indigenous ways of knowing and being. Their knowledge and experience lies in native plant horticulture, agriculture, food systems and child and youth education. When not working, Trisha takes nature walks with their dog, Tanya, cuddling their cat, Momo, and fiddling about in their balcony garden like a garden fairy.

Niki is a 3rd/4th generation settler of western European ancestry. She spent her childhood on unceded Anishinaabe Algonquin territory. Before becoming a Chartered Professional Accountant, Niki wrote a Master’s thesis in English Literature on the pedagogy of Indigenous ecological principles in fiction by First Nations’ authors. Inspired by the teachings of northwest coast Indigenous voices, Niki transplanted herself to Coast Salish territory in 1997 where she enjoys growing beans in the community garden that she founded, as much as she loves counting beans for EYA.

niki@eya.ca
604-872-7745