A Step Beyond Business

Kiri Bird (she/her) is a strategic social impact leader, living with her family on the unceded and traditional territories of Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations in Vancouver, Canada. Kiri contributes to advancing a more just, sustainable and resilient economy as Senior Manager at TELUS Environmental Solutions, where she leads the company's carbon offset investment strategy. Prior to joining TELUS, Kiri spent 15 years driving innovation and partnerships in service of systemic change from non-profit, academic and philanthropic vantage points. She was Director of Strategic Initiatives at the First Nations Technology Council, an Indigenous-led non-profit advancing digital equity on behalf of First Nations in BC. At Vancouver Foundation, she oversaw the inaugural investment readiness funding call for Canada's social finance fund. At RADIUS, Simon Fraser University, she led the organization's social innovation lab and systems change portfolio. Kiri is adept at relational leadership, collaborative networks, coaching and mentorship. She brings to her work an entrepreneurial approach, rooted in accountability to colleagues, partners, and communities. She sits on the board of the global organization Social Innovation Exchange and local economic development organization Exchange Inner City.

“Ayden is currently a Sustainability Coordinator at Bosa Properties, one of Vancouver’s most predominant residential and commercial real estate developers in the Lower Mainland. She recently graduated from the University of Toronto, garnering the skills and passion for generating corporate sustainability strategies across industries like real estate, fashion and product development.”

Nick is a Consultant within KPMG’s Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) practice, with an educational background in mechatronic systems engineering and business administration. He supports clients in a variety of industries along their ESG journeys, from sustainability reporting to ESG assurance and advisory, and he is passionate about enabling a just transition to Net Zero.

An advocate for ESG, Nisha Agrawal is QuadReal’s Director, Sustainability, joining the company in 2017. Her expertise includes promoting green building certifications across the Canadian portfolio and supporting development of environmental, social and governance practices at QuadReal properties internationally. Nisha brings 15+ years of experience in the commercial real estate industry, beginning her career in Finance at Bentall Kennedy. She then moved into Sustainability and for the past 7 years has been developing programs to effectively streamline and integrate sustainability initiatives with operations. Nisha is inspired by the progress companies have made to improve tenant health and well-being, reduce resource depletion, and innovate to create solutions in building operations. Nisha holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of BC and is a member of the Chartered Professional Accountants of BC. She is on the Board of Directors at the Canadian Green Building Council and also part of the ESG Committee at the European Association for Investors in Non-Listed Real Estate Vehicles (INREV)

Michelle currently serves as Director, Indigenous Banking Strategy at Vancity, Canada’s largest credit union. Prior to entering this role in 2022, she previously held several management roles with the Vancity Group including in business development, broker services and as a branch manager. In her current role at Vancity, Michelle advances Reconciliation at the organizational level. Michelle oversees a strategy to deliver on Vancity’s commitment to Reconciliation and its goal to become a valued financial partner to Indigenous members, organizations, and communities. Michelle’s achievements in building strong relationships with Indigenous communities include her leadership in opening a remote community branch in Alert Bay, in partnership with the ‘Namgis First Nation and the Village of Alert Bay. With some Métis-Ojibway ancestry and married to a member of the Northwest Territory Métis Nation, Michelle is passionate about advancing Vancity’s work to uphold Reconciliation as a core value.

Karen is the co-founder and CEO of Blume, a superfood-latte brand located in Vancouver, BC. Prior to founding Blume, she graduated with a business degree from UBC and started a career in commercial real estate. While working in real estate, she identified the need for healthier versions of her favourite coffee shop drinks to fit her fitness needs and was motivated to create her own solution: superfood lattes. She is an active member of the entrepreneurship community, supporting initiatives such as Rally Together, a campaign featuring 12 women-owned local companies supporting the Food Bank of Canada