Meet the Leaders Shaping Our Cities: YWCA City Shift Spotlight 

YWCA Metro Vancouver is committed to advocating for greater equity in our cities. That’s why we’ve been leading City Shift, a multi-year project that calls on local governments across the region to work towards becoming more equitable. We’ve all seen the impacts of planning without diverse input; whether it’s inaccessible public facilities, a lack of lighting on dark streets, or few spaces for cultural practices, our cities need to prioritize equitable decision-making and planning so they can serve everyone.  

Two volunteer advisory councils help guide City Shift – a Community Advisory Council and a Strategic Advisory Council. Inclusivity, innovation, and urban transformation take centre stage behind these inspiring minds. Members volunteer their time and expertise and share their perspectives on how cities can better serve all members of the community. 

Here’s a spotlight on a few of our amazing council members who are leading our cities towards a more equitable and vibrant future: 

 

Kimberley Wong

Kimberley Wong leads Hua Foundation’s Race and Equity portfolio. Kimberley’s work is rooted in transformational and systemic change. They draw their knowledge from over a decade of experience working with nonprofits in the arts, culture and equity sectors in a precarious work landscape, deepened by their experience living as a renter and of being a descendant whose ancestors have long histories organizing for marginalized populations on this land. Check out the anti-racism + solidarities resource collection Kimberley created. 

 

Rebekah Mahaffey

Rebekah Mahaffey is a Registered Professional Planner at the City of Burnaby working in the Social Planning department. She is also the Executive Director of the Civic Innovation Lab, a joint venture between the City of Burnaby and Simon Fraser University tasked with generating  new and innovative solutions to challenges affecting cities. Learn more about the Civic Innovation Lab here: https://civicinnovationlab.ca/ 

 

Prabha Khosla

Prabha Khosla has a Master’s in urban planning and over 20 years of experience working in cities. Within the overall framework of women’s rights, social justice, cross-cutting inequalities and urban sustainability, her work has been vast.  Focusing on multiple sectors, including pro-poor planning and governance; water and sanitation; participatory and environmentally-sensitive planning; gender mainstreaming; development of training materials on urban and gender equality issues; and capacity development of elected officials, municipal staff and civil society partners. Read Prabha’s recently published article on Bogota, Colombia’s innovative Care Blocks: https://www.urbanet.info/centering-womens-care-work-bogota/ 

 

Amina Yasin

Amina Yasin is a Canadian Institute of Planning award winning land-use and urban planner and Director of Public Hearings and Planning at SFU’s Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue, leading the Renovate the Public Hearing Initiative.  She serves on several boards and committees and is the co-chair of the Vancouver City Planning Commission and Urban Design Panel Commissioner and former co-chair of the Canadian Institute of Planning Social Equity Committee. She was also recently nominated for a 2023 YWCA Women of Distinction Award. Learn more about Renovate the Public Hearing here: https://www.renovatethepublichearing.ca/