Board Director
Biographies

Paula Lindner, President
Paula owns her own business in the Hastings-Sunrise area, a local wool and fibre store named Baaad Anna's Yarn Store. Previous to venturing into entrepreneurship, Paula worked for 15 years in non-profit management in organizations such as St. Paul’s Hospital Foundation, the Alzheimer’s Society of BC, BCIT Foundation and McGill University. Paula completed her Masters in Philanthropy and Development at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota and graduated with a BA in Psychology and Philosophy from SFU. Paula has also worked as a journalist for the English section of Radio Praha and the Prague Post. When she is not working, Paula chases after her two very active daughters who are no strangers to the Collingwood Early Learning and Care Centre. She also enjoys knitting and playing field hockey, albeit not at the same time.

Jenny Peng, 1st Vice-President
The Renfrew-Collingwood neighbourhood has been Jenny’s home since 2006 after moving home from Montreal to study at UBC. Throughout her undergraduate years and after, she volunteered at the CNH Youth Centre and Morning Star Breakfast Program where she made many friends over the years. She is a journalist at Star Vancouver, the western bureau of the Toronto Star.

Greg Allen, 2nd Vice-President
Greg is a lawyer with a broad-based practice at a litigation boutique in downtown Vancouver. He currently serves as the President of a small local non-profit which provides grants to organizations that research and combat childhood illnesses. Greg moved to Renfrew-Collingwood in 2012 with his family, from the wilds of Port Moody, and has enjoyed exploring the hidden charms of his new neighbourhood and its community. He and his partner have two young children who spend their weekdays learning and playing with the superheroes who work at CNH’s early learning and care centres.

Rafael (RJ) Aquino, Treasurer
RJ co-founded Tulayan, an organization that reintroduces young Filipino- Canadians to their culture, heritage and language. Wanting to plant firm roots in the city of Vancouver, he has become more involved in municipal matters. RJ also was one of the founders of OneCity, a progressive municipal political party. When he’s not managing projects for his day job or organizing workshops and conferences, he gets a workout trying to keep up with his three young children and his wife.

Daniel Louie, Secretary
Daniel Louie is a life-long Metro Vancouverite along with his wife Karen and their three children. He is the pastor of Urban Village Church, a diverse congregation that has been a part of the Collingwood neighbourhood since 2008. Before going into Christian ministry, Daniel was in the financial services field with the CIBC at Kingsway and Joyce. Daniel's ongoing hope is to see people of diverse backgrounds mobilize for the betterment of their neighbourhoods through their gifts and talents, whether as a resident, a volunteer, business, or community group. When not meeting people in the community, Daniel enjoys a variety of sports, playing music, and being the daddy cheerleader at his kids’ activities.

Patricio Ibarra, Past President
Patricio moved to Renfrew-Collingwood in 1998 and since then has participated in programs and services out of CNH. Patricio has extensive experience participating in Boards of non-profit societies and has volunteered with several community organizations. Patricio is a Program Advisor with the Economic Immigration Program of the BC government and has 24 years of experience in the provision of social and immigrant services, strategic planning, program design and evaluation and community development. Patricio has enjoyed his years of volunteer work in CNH's Board, helping to improve the quality of life for Renfrew-Collingwood residents.

Alexandra Gunn
Alexandra is a human resources manager at a post-secondary institution and has also worked in non-profit organizations and government. She has over nine years of experience serving on several boards. She has lived in this neighbourhood for almost all her life and wants to make the community a better place for everyone. Alexandra received Vantage Point’s Leaders of Tomorrow Award for her community leadership and service. She is educated in human resources management, project management, leadership, and teaching. In her spare time, she likes to hike, climb mountains, and volunteer.

(Muriel) Ann Rivard
Ann was born in Vancouver and never wanted to live anywhere else. She has lived in Collingwood Towers, five blocks from Collingwood Neighbourhood House (CNH), for the past 19 years. At the Towers, she met a volunteer from CNH and soon started to volunteer, too. She attended a literacy meeting and with the instructors helped the tenants to learn English. She also would bake muffins, banana loaves and tea and bring them each week. She attended the Walking Club for about three years and met many new friends. She enjoyed dancing, exercise, etc. As she isn’t as active right now she attends the Seniors Advisory and Literacy meetings plus other get-togethers at CNH. She represents seniors on the Board of Directors.

Davy Chiu
Davy created his first web page when dial-up was still cool. He has over a decade of experience developing web technologies for end-users and optimization of internal processes. His focus now is on applying the best technologies and practices available to streamline workflows and improve business web security. Davy graduated from the University of British Columbia with a Bachelor’s degree in Applied Science/Computer Engineering, and from the University of Waterloo with a Master’s degree in Business. He holds a PMI Professional Project Manager (PMP) designation. Davy works on applications as a project manager with the federal government and as a technology consultant privately. He also runs a homestay agency with his wife. He volunteers with Junior Achievement BC.

Jasbir K. Parmar
Jas Parmar and her family have resided in Vancouver for a long time. Jas is a Branch Manager for Vancity Savings Credit Union at the Collingwood location. Before joining the Board of Collingwood Neighbourhood House in 2016, Jas served on the Board of Burnaby Neighbourhood House. When not serving the Collingwood community, Jas enjoys spending time with her kids, hiking, and reading.

Jean Kavanagh
Jean has lived in Renfrew-Collingwood for 13 years and loves living across from the Renfrew Ravine and occasionally walking the labyrinth. She was delighted to have the opportunity to join the CNH Board and learn more about the community. Jean works in communications, and has held senior positions in the government and non-profit sectors. She was a reporter, and worked in Vancouver, Toronto and Central America.

Manoranjan (Mano) Rasiah
Mano has had a long career in the banking industry. He also brings a broad multicultural world view gained from his work experience spanning over banks in Sri Lanka, Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates and Canada. He has resided and raised his children in Renfrew-Collingwood. He has also actively volunteered in cultural, community and non-profit societies in BC. In 2018, he joined the CNH Board of Directors to contribute his skills and financial expertise. Along with English, Mano speaks fluent Tamil and basic Sinhalese.

Stephanie Baufeld
Stephanie moved into the Renfrew-Collingwood neighbourhood in 2013 and since had two children who both attend CNH child care programs. She was elected to the Board of Directors in Fall 2017 and has enjoyed becoming more involved with her community. Stephanie loves learning and education, holds an undergraduate degree in Archaeology and Economics from McGill University, and is always looking for opportunities to learn something new. Stephanie works at Haywood Securities, a Vancouver- based investment brokerage firm, in a financial advisory team. Her career path has included varied roles in the investment industry, many winters coaching alpine ski racing across Canada, as well as teaching athletics in Lower Mainland schools. Outside of work, Stephanie loves skiing, playing soccer, golfing, travelling to new places, and playing outside with her two boys.