Delanie prides herself on being professional, nimble, creative, and diligent. She’s known for her commitment to, and passion for, creating innovative ways to share yoga and mindfulness-based practices with folks facing barriers.  Always looking for ways to deepen impact and support sustainability, Delanie enjoys the challenges of working in the non-profit world. She is always striving to make Yoga Outreach an organization with a social justice focus that can thrive in the world, be great to partner with, work for, and volunteer with. In her personal life she’s a bit of a renaissance woman with a passion for projects, whether in the garden, kitchen, construction, or craft, she has a deep love of creating things. She might seem tough, but once you get to know her, you’ll find her open and kind-hearted.

• Cats (she has 3 orange ones)
• Leonard Cohen (sigh)
• Kitchen witching (you can often find her making a good potion)
• Good fiction (if she’s not kitchen witching she’s reading)
• Fresh sheets dried on the line (is there any greater luxury?)

Director of Training & Mentorship
She / Her

Since 2004, Nicole has taught therapeutic yoga classes and offered individual sessions to trauma survivors, teaching them healthy self-regulation strategies to empower them to live connected and embodied lives. Nicole also trains yoga and healthcare professionals in the trauma-informed yoga theory and techniques. In 2009, she was awarded a master’s degree with a specialization in yoga therapy from Lesley University in Boston, MA. From 2008 – 2017 Nicole served as Director of Therapeutic Yoga Programming for the Provincial Health Services Authority at their Burnaby Centre for Mental Health and Addictions and at Riverview Hospital, where she developed and delivered a comprehensive yoga therapy program for in-patient clients in various stages of recovery from mental health and addiction issues. From 2009 – 2018 she taught at Onsite, the rehab arm of North Americas first safe injection site in Vancouver’s downtown east side.

At present, in addition to maintaining a private practice working with public safety personnel at Boreal Wellness, Nicole is a program director and teacher trainer with Yoga Outreach. She provides trauma informed yoga programming to the residents at Deborah’s Gate, a program serving women who have been trafficked into situations of sexual and/or labor exploitation and Tupper Nova, a day treatment program for youth who have serious mental health concerns. She is a Certified Yoga Therapist (C-IAYT) and a member of Bridge for Health and the Breathe Network which connects survivors of sexual violence with healing arts practitioners.

Nicole loves:

• Weslowski
• Riding my bike
• Swimming & hiking
• Hosting dinner parties for friends

Volunteer Coordinator | Core Training Registrar | YOCP-200 Facilitator
She / Her

Born and raised in White Rock, BC Ariel has been smashing the patriarchy ever since raising her hand in her Catholic elementary school to question the priest on why he said only the girls were supposed to bake pies while the boys were being encouraged to shovel the driveway when it snowed. Ariel has been shoveling her own snow ever since. Ariel has been teaching hatha yoga asana and movement education since 2002 and was a Labor and Birth support Doula. As a passionate community volunteer, she has contributed her energy to Pregnancy Outreach programs, Planned Parenthood, Parkcrest Children’s Centre, Girl Guides of Canada, Burnaby Horseman’s Association, Burnaby Lake Pony Club, Burnaby Association for Community Inclusion. Ariel spent close to 5 years as the Coordinator for BC People First, a society run by and for people who are labelled with a developmental disability. When not working, parenting a teenager, volunteering, householding and being a wife she can be found riding her new forest pony, Piper or walking her rescue dog, Thomas.

Ariel loves:

• food, especially the kind she doesn’t have to cook herself
• thrift store “start the car” finds
• matcha tea lattes extra foamy
• any & all things horsey

Marketing & Communications Coordinator
She / Her

The right words can welcome people into a special world where you feel included and understood. Since first learning to read, Wendy was convinced that words could unlock literal magic; to that end, Wendy logged 10,000 hours journaling and writing poetry, at first from a farm in Alberta, and then recording the cultural differences she discovered while building a communications skill set in jobs around the world. She learned clarity teaching English in Taiwan, commitment to brand at a Scottish pensions company, user experience from an international web design studio, factual accuracy from editing magazines, and interview skills from writing articles about credit union visionaries. Her constant is a commitment to vulnerable, beautiful authenticity. You’ll find her at events connecting with interesting people, and worrying about whether attendees feel welcome and comfortable, particularly when she’s supposed to be organizing the technology. During office hours, she’s a passionate writer and communication strategist. Away from the desk, it’s her pleasure to spend time helping newcomers navigate Canadian culture, teaching yoga for mental health at a Neighbourhood House and at the Down Syndrome Resource Foundation, and joining climate-centred political movements. She’s delighted to bring her passion for truth-telling to a non-profit that believes in the empowering magic of language.

Wendy loves:

• Dystopian fiction
• Poetry prompts & open mics
• Viewing the sky through a canopy of leaves
• Shady forest walks

Project Lead/Partner – First Nations Women’s Yoga Initiative
She / Her

Jessica is Kwakwaka’wakw from the ‘Namgis First Nation in Alert Bay, BC. She is a proud mother of two daughters, wife, Sundancer, Indigenous health advocate, doctoral student, and yoga teacher. Jessica received a Master’s in Applied Science in Physical Therapy from McGill University and an Undergraduate Degree in Human Kinetics from the University of British Columbia. Currently, Jessica is a doctoral student at Concordia University. Her research project aims to co-create a culturally-responsive, trauma-informed yoga program led by Kwakwaka’wakw womxn and girls. The focus is empowerment through movement, ceremony, women’s teachings, and language revitalization. She is passionate about teaching yoga to Indigenous womxn and youth and supporting them to feel connected and empowered in their bodies. Additionally, Jessica is a member of the Kwakwaka’wakw Doula Collective and working with the First Nations Health Authority as the Traditional Wellness Specialist for the Vancouver Island region. Jessica lives with her family on Namgis territory in Alert Bay, British Columbia.

Jessica loves:

• coffee in the mornings (nectar of the gods)
• forest walks and hikes with her fam
• late night beading
• curating playlists for yoga classes
• stand up comedy and old comedy movies

Director of Programs
She / Her

Sarah was born and raised in the UK where she lived until 2003, and now lives on the ancestral, traditional, and unceded Indigenous territories of the Lekwungen-speaking Coast Salish People. Embodiment has always been her jam, from early days in grad school exploring feminist collaborative art-making and the body, through til now. Her work as the Director of Programs at Yoga Outreach, as a trauma-informed yoga therapist at Fine Balance Yoga, and as a facilitator and trainer in TCTSY (Trauma Center Trauma Sensitive Yoga) with the Center for Trauma & Embodiment is all about creating opportunities for people to discover and cultivate embodied resilience in a way that works for them. She’s a firm believer that any conversations about ‘self-care’ need to take place within a context of community care and with a focus on equity.

Sarah loves:

• Bug-hunting & geocaching with her kids
• Splashing/swimming/surfing in saltwater
• Hot cups of tea on a cold day
• Socializing & solitude, in equal measure

Training Facilitator Level II, YOCP-200, & UYiYW
She / Her

Avis O’Brien (Nalaga), a Haida/Kwakwa̱ka̱’wakw artist, was born in Alert Bay, British Columbia. She belongs to the Kaa’was Staa’stas Eagle Clan from Kiusta Village in Haida Gwaii and the Geegilgum Clam of the Lig̱wiłda’x̱w people of Cape Mudge.

She is a weaver, teacher, designer and cultural empowerment facilitator. She started her company, Nalaga Designs in 2013 as a way to share the cultural knowledge and beauty of cedar bark weaving with the world. Cedar bark weaving has been her connection to the rich culture of the Haida and Kwakwa̱ka̱’wakw, and has also been a doorway for her into cultural empowerment facilitation. Cedar bark weaving has been part of the culture of the peoples of the Northwest Coast for thousands of years; it was and continues to be an integral part of the culture. Her jewelry, baskets and hats represent an important continuation of the ancient legacy of Northwest Coast woven adornment. Avis fuses age-old techniques with modern style to create products that can be shared with the world.

Avis also offers community engagement presentations on decolonization, where she speaks to the Intergenerational impacts of colonization, gendered colonial policies against women, residential schools and the impact of trauma these things can have on Indigenous people as a whole. These presentations aim to assist participants in having an understanding of historical trauma and it’s impact as a way forward to healing and wellness.

The name Nalaga comes from the Kwakwak’wakw peoples of the North West Coast. Nalaga means “bringer of daylight” or “woman of light” in Kwakwala. This name has been passed down in her family for generations. Avis has an important responsibility when carrying this name; to carry herself in a way in which reflects sharing her light with the world. She is preserving her culture and traditions as a way to fulfill her social and cultural responsibilities of her traditional name.

Avis loves:

• her children
• the land
• her Haida / Kwakwaka’wakw culture
• paddle boarding
• rollerskating

Training Facilitator Level I BIPOC ONLY
She/Her

Gagan is a first generation settler with family roots in India. Born and raised on the northwest coast of BC, Gagan met her first yoga teacher there by accident in 1998 right before moving to Lekwungen Territory (Victoria).

After practicing for almost 20 years and not seeing much of herself reflected in studios or western yoga culture, Gagan began her teacher training in 2017 with a vision to take yoga out of studios to where people already gather, and to help make yoga more accessible to all bodies. Gagan is a big fan of the work of Yoga Outreach and has been involved as a volunteer yoga instructor since 2018. She is also the co-founder of Sweet Refuge, a peer-led BIPOC meditation group.

Gagan loves:

• sunsets, sunrises (and the sky in general)
• bringing people together
• poetry (the kind that makes ones heart swell)
• being part of a large extended family

Training Facilitator Level II & YOCP-200
She / Her

Helen has been teaching yoga since 2014 and has trained in Hatha, Flow, Prenatal and Kundalini yoga. In the last few years she has turned her attention to teaching a series of classes dedicated to students working in bigger bodies called Full Bodied Yoga. These classes invite people to a comfortable space where they explore joy in movement while learning adjustments specific to their own unique bodies.

Helen loves:

• High tea
• Performing comedy
• a rainy day Netflix binge

YOCP-200 Facilitator
He/Him

James has practiced yoga for over forty years, rebirthing for over 30 years and Insight meditation since 1984. He currently has a private practice as a therapist, and is the Clinical Manager at the largest public addiction treatment centre in the province.

Training Facilitator Level II & YOCP-200
They/Them

Jessie is founder of KITH+common|community consulting. KITH+common is a pillar for all things community specializing in training, business development strategies and community engagement approaches, all from an overarching lens of diversity and inclusion planning and integration.

KITH+common was born from and inspired by Jessie’s purpose; to live vulnerably in order to create space for others to come as they are, without shame.

Jessie’s lived experience as a person who identifies as gender fluid has provided them a platform to bring important conversations to their community that impact insight, growth, inclusivity, empathy, and ultimately space for all people.

They believe that all people deserve to be seen, valued and heard in their fullest expression. In order to create space Jessie knows that we need to be curious, explore the human experience in all of its forms and create safe and open spaces through conversation and connection.

KITH is the family you choose, and this house is built of KITH.

Jessie loves:

• Their dog Kin
• Coffee
• Community
• Moving their body through run, group fitness, hockey, & being outside

Training Facilitator Level I, Level II, YOCP-200, & UYiYW

She / Her

Leslie loves:

• Growing her own food & flowers
• Canning & pickling
• Training for triathlons
• Running through the woods
• 90s Riot Girl music

Training Facilitator Level II

She / Her

Maitreyi loves:

• Nature
• Ayurvedic food

Rishima loves the magical moments of connection that come through music

Training Facilitator YOCP-200

She / Her

Rishima loves:

• Singing, dancing, and making music
• Seeing children’s (and adult’s) eyes grow wide when they are learning something new
• Cats
•  Nature

She / Her

Sashah has practiced yoga since she was a teen and found a connection to her own culture and heritage through it. Sashah is deeply committed to social justice and has worked as a Social Worker, Counsellor, and Gender Equality Advisor. Sashah loves to travel and has lived abroad in Indonesia, South Korea, and Tanzania which has taught her a lot about how to appreciate culture. Currently, she loves having conversations about yoga can be a part of activism and how to appreciate the practice rather than appropriate it.

Sashah loves:

• Talking about social justice
• Walking by the ocean
• Travel
• Interior decorating

Training Facilitator Level I BIPOC ONLY
She / Her

Tahia is a facilitator and community organizer. Her dive into yoga philosophy and practice is driven by her ancestral connection to the spiritual traditions of South Asia. She is passionate about uplifting and cultivating spiritually grounded and culturally relevant approaches to building resilience. Tahia is also a birth doula and co-founder of the Nesting Doula Collective supporting Indigenous and POC communities on the Island. She trusts in the words of Arundhati Roy, “another world is not only possible, she is on her way.  On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing”.

Tahia loves:

• Camping
• Reading
• Cooking her mom’s recipes
• Birth work

Chair
She / Her

Laura Track is a human rights lawyer, step-mom, and movement enthusiast, whether on two wheels, two legs, or two hands. She currently serves as Yoga Outreach’s Board Chair, and teaches yoga classes to folks in addictions recovery at Pacifica Treatment Center. Laura has lived her whole life on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil Waututh nations, and reflects often on her responsibilities for promoting truth and supporting reconciliation as a white, settler woman living on stolen Indigenous lands.

•  Submerging herself in an ocean, lake, or good book
• Coaxing nourishment from the earth as a (very) amateur gardener
• Hiking in the hills of this beautiful land with her family
• Getting upside down

Vice-Chair
She / Her

Vandana is a lawyer who works at a local community legal centre that provides services primarily in family law to self-identified women. Vandana has practised yoga for a long time and cannot imagine life without yoga. To her, it is much more than physical asana, it is a lifelong practice which can provide solace and an anchor, and which includes ahimsa (non-harming and compassion) and karma yoga (service to others). Vandana is a strong believer in the power of community and is very excited about how Yoga Outreach brings the social justice and yoga communities together.

• playing with yoga & movement
• forests, ocean & mountains
• her pile of books
• slow mornings

Secretary
She / Her

Raeesa holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, and has always been fascinated by how mental health intersects with issues of feminism, justice, race, and class. Having discovered her yoga practice while in university, Raeesa was overjoyed when she discovered an organization that bridges two of her passions – mental health and yoga. Raeesa believes that yoga is so much more than movement: it teaches us how to find strength and stillness in moments of challenge. She is thrilled to be part of an organization that provides people with the opportunity to find their own practice. On an average day Raeesa can be found working as part of a Business Operations team, drinking a lot of tea, and likely wearing stretchy pants.

Raeesa loves:

• Yoga, running, spinning, and hiking
• Spending time in nature
• Getting into a good book, podcast, or conversation
• Napping with her rescue dog, Ginger

Treasurer
She / Her

While Lisa began her career as a legacy CA in a conventional way, with a stint in public accounting in Toronto, she has taken a lot of unique twists and turns.  After completing her first yoga training in Victoria in 2011, Lisa launched an accounting practice to serve the wellness community whilst an active member of the teaching community herself.  A decade of yoga teaching brought Lisa to Vancouver Island, where she now practices yoga off the mat as an instructor UVic, member of non-profit boards, and manager of a small accounting team.

Lisa loves:

• Running in the sun (if only the race circuit would start again!)
• That ‘aha’ moment that happens when teaching and learning
• Subtly honing her (very amateur) photography skills
• Collecting sea glass by the seashore

Member at Large
She / Her

Farah loves:

• Forest gazing
• Ocean bathing

Member at Large | Events Advisor
She / Her

Jennifer is an event coordinator and clarity coach for aspiring entrepreneurs. She is driven by the vision of others and contributing to its fruition through her work both in event planning and as a coach.  A curious, creative, and multi-passionate entrepreneur, Jennifer strives to bring intention and meaningfulness into every facet of life.  After over 10 years in the event industry, she wanted to contribute her professional skills to an organization supporting individuals affected trauma.

Combined with her passion for yoga and its power to heal, she was inspired to work with Yoga Outreach.  Having travelled extensively and worked internationally, she draws on her lessons and values to connect with the community. She can often be found soaking in nature, connecting with like-minded souls, or seeking out a new adventure.

Member at Large
She / Her

Melanie has over 17 years’ experience working both formally and informally advocating the needs for at risk youth. In addition, travelling and working with various cultures have been a great interest of hers. In 2008 she completed her Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work within the 10 years of her practice she has worked both at the local and international level. In 2009 she volunteered as a social worker at a hospital in Ghana Africa. Her role included community capacity building where she collaborated with various governmental and non-governmental organizations as well as having the privilege to work with women and children affected by HIV. Melanie’s passions have always been focused on networking within the community, linking services to empower the lives of individuals and being an advocate for children in care. Yoga is a great passion of Melanie’s. It was introduced to her in 2009 and it has been the love of her life since. In 2017 Melanie lived in an ashram at the birthplace of yoga—Rishikesh India—to further her knowledge of yoga and Vedic philosophy. There she completed her 200 hour Yoga Teacher training to extend the therapeutic value of yoga to others. Combining her professional knowledge from social work and her yoga teacher training, Melanie aspires to create from the inside of each individual.

• Travelling
• Yoga
• Hiking & trail running
• Reading eastern philosophy
• Enjoying sunsets & beach life in her Kitsilano community

Member at Large
She / Her

Nina is a Registered Clinical Counsellor, currently working in private practice, as well as in the local health authority and in Victim Services in Vancouver. She completed a Bachelors Degree in Psychology and Women’s Studies at the University of Victoria and then a Masters of Counselling Psychology at Adler University. Bringing social justice and the lens of intersectionality into her work has always been foundational in her clinical practice and is reflected in her grassroots non-profit organization, The Street Feet Society. As a previous volunteer with Yoga Outreach in the Burnaby Youth Custody Centre, Nina is excited to support the organization as it continues to grow and engage with the community.

• Summers on Salt Spring Island

• Swimming in the ocean or lakes

• Travelling to new places with her partner

• Cuddling with her dog, Gunnar