Seth Klein, Director
Seth was hired to open the CCPA’s BC Office in 1996. Under his direction it has become a prominent and widely respected source of public policy research and commentary.
Seth’s research deals primarily with welfare policy, poverty, inequality and economic security. His most recent publications are A Poverty Reduction Plan for BC (with Marjorie Griffin Cohen, T Garner, Iglika Ivanova, Marc Lee, Bruce Wallace and Margot Young) and Working for a Living Wage (with Tim Richards, Marcy Cohen and Deborah Littman).
A social activist for over 20 years and a former teacher, Seth holds a BA in international relations, a BEd from the University of Toronto and an MA in political science from Simon Fraser University.
Seth is co-chair of the BC Poverty Reduction Coalition, an advisory board member for the Columbia Institute’s Centre for Civic Governance, a board member of the Canada Without Poverty Advocacy Network, and an advisor and instructor for Next Up, a leadership program for young people committed to social and environmental justice.
Seth has been listed by Vancouver Magazine as one of the 50 most powerful people in the city, and by Homemakers Magazine among the “60 men we love.” He does not know how he ended up on either list, but he humbly accepts the latter.
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Shannon Daub, Communications Director
Shannon oversees CCPA–BC’s extensive communications activities, which range from media strategy to online and offline public engagement efforts.
Shannon also undertakes and coordinates communications-related research, and leads the "communication and social change" stream of the Climate Justice Project. Her research interests include social movements, framing and environmental communication.
Outside her day-to-day work life at CCPA, Shannon teaches in the School of Communication and Culture at Royal Roads University, is a trainer for Next Up (a leadership program for young people committed to social and environmental justice), and provides pro bono communications advice to other social change groups.
Iglika Ivanova, Public Interest Researcher
Iglika’s work investigates issues and trends in health care, education and social programs, and examines the impact of public services on quality of
life. She also looks into issues of government finance, taxation and privatization and how they relate to the accessibility and quality of public services. Iglika’s other research interests focus on the Canadian labour market and in particular trends in income inequality, low wage work and the integration of immigrants.
Iglika holds an MA in Economics from the University of British Columbia and a BA in Economics from Simon Fraser University. When she is not in the office, she can often be found swing dancing or sailing the coastal waters of BC.
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Sarah Leavitt, Communications Officer
Sarah has been involved in feminist and social change work for 20 years as an advocate, educator and writer. She has provided communications services to social service agencies, arts organizations, publishers and educational institutions. At the CCPA, she works with staff and researchers to ensure that our publications, website and other communications materials are as accessible and user-friendly as possible, as well as planning and implementing media and distribution strategies. Sarah is also a writer and cartoonist.
Marc Lee, Senior Economist
Marc Lee researches and writes on a variety of economic and social policy issues for the CCPA’s BC and National Offices. In addition to tracking federal and provincial budgets and economic trends, Marc has published on a wide range of topics from poverty and inequality to globalization and international trade to public services and regulation. Marc is the Co-Director of the Climate Justice Project, a five-year research partnership with the University of British Columbia, funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, examining the links between climate change policies and social justice.
Marc was "classically trained," with an MA in Economics from Simon Fraser University and a BA in Economics from the University of Western Ontario. But most of the time he argues against the conventional wisdom in economics and policy debates. Marc chairs the Progressive Economics Forum, a national network of heterodox economists, and contributes regularly to Relentlessly Progressive Economics, a blog of the PEF (progressive-economics.ca/relentless). He is a past Vice Chair of the Vancouver City Planning Commission. Prior to joining the CCPA, Marc was engaged in popular economics education through RAIN, a partnership with his spouse. Marc also worked for the federal government in the mid-1990s as an economist in the Information and Communications Technology branch of Industry Canada.
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Dianne Novlan, Member Services & Administration
Dianne Novlan provides invaluable support to staff, CCPA members, and people who contact the office looking for information, publications, speakers or other resources.
Ben Parfitt, Resource Policy Analyst
Ben joined the BC Office staff team four years ago as its resource policy analyst. As a long-time writer on BC’s bountiful natural resources and the huge challenges involved in managing them in environmentally and socially responsible ways, he jumped at the opportunity to broaden his research ‘and to spread some innovative ideas around’ with the CCPA. He values being part of a great team at the CCPA as well as the opportunities provided to meet regularly with environmental activists and the many people who work in the province’s resource industries and who are committed to progressive change.
Ben lives in Victoria with his wife of nearly 20 years, daughter entering her last year of high school, an active (hyperactive) cat and a chocolate lab that doesn’t like the water. In his spare time, he enjoys biking, competitive running and listening to music – the good old fashioned way – on vinyl.
Pai Ping Chew, Bookkeeper
Pai tracks and manages CCPA-BC’s finances, working regularly with staff at our national office, and helps keep the office running smoothly.
Pai brings many years of experience in the non-profit sector, having worked for over 13 years with the Social Planning and Research Council of BC. She holds a degree in Administrative Studies from York University.
Terra Poirier, Communications Officer
Terra coordinates print and web production of CCPA-BC research publications, and works with authors and partners to implement media strategies and ensure studies reach as wide an audience as possible. She is also responsible for in-house multimedia design, including projects such as Transportation Transformation and Imagine… A Working Carbon Tax for BC.
To both her CCPA and freelance graphic design work, Terra brings her combined preoccupation with creating engaging, accessible media, working for social justice and catching typos. She is a long-time organizer on anti-poverty and prisoner justice issues, a photographer and an independent filmmaker. Terra has mentored youth and adults through the Vancouver Queer Film Festival, the Gulf Islands Film and Television School and the Access to Media Education Society. Proud mom of two grown kids, she lives with her partner in East Vancouver.
Amanda Reaume, Fundraising and Donor Development Officer
Amanda develops projects and initiatives to engage CCPA-BC members in supporting our office and promoting the CCPA to others, and works to ensure that all members and donors understand how appreciated they are. A former teenage social activist, Amanda has been fundraising and organizing for social change for the last 15 years. In that time, she founded Antigone Magazine, a zine written by young women that encourages their peers to get involved in leadership, politics, activism, and feminism, and The Antigone Foundation, an organization that provides leadership training to young women and girls. Amanda has also served as a Board Member of the Canadian Women Voters Congress and taken part in a delegation to the UN Commission on the Status of Women’s 52nd meeting. For her work, she was awarded the YWCA’s 2008 Young Woman of Distinction award. Amanda spends her free time reading literary fiction, working on a novel, going for long walks, and encouraging young women to take on the worlds of business, politics, social activism and union activism.
Thi Vu, Project Manager and Academic Liaison
Thi manages the Climate Justice Project (CJP) -- a partnership between CCPA-BC and the University of BC, bringing together over 20 researchers and 40 community organizations. She coordinates well over a dozen research projects, hires and places student interns, tracks project finances, organizes conferences and large meetings, helps research teams set up focus groups and interviews, writes grant proposals and reports to funders. Thi also works with the BC Director to help manage other research projects, develop funding proposals and coordinate internal office communication. Thi has a BA in political science and economics from McGill University. Over the years, she’s been involved in a number of social justice activism groups, particularly around women’s and immigrants’ rights. She’s currently involved with her East Vancouver housing co-op, where she lives with her partner. She’s been particularly enjoying learning how to play acoustic guitar.
Photography: Joshua Berson and Terra Poirier
