You can contact the Board of Directors at [email protected]
Christopher Gallardo-Ganaban, Chair
Chris is a lawyer practicing insurance law, and has a keen interest in corporate and nonprofit governance. Since 2010, he has been an active volunteer in various health organizations, such as Health Initiative for Men, Edmonton Men's Health Collective, and now CBRC. Chris has also been involved in organizations providing legal assistance to marginalized populations, including Pro Bono Law Alberta, Pro Bono Students Canada, and Access Pro Bono BC.
Andrew Barker, Vice-Chair
Andrew has been involved in various fields of gay men’s health and community-based research since 1996. He coordinated the Gay Men’s Health Program at AIDS Vancouver from 1996-2001 where he helped launch the Boys R Us program for male sex trade workers. Andrew is a past board member of YouthCO AIDS Society and worked on several community-based research projects including the Gay Men’s Action Plan (GMAP), the Three Cities Project, the Sex Now Survey, and Totally Outright. He has also worked as a facilitator and strategic planner for non-profit organizations. Andrew currently runs an interior and landscape design studio where he works with a mix of non-profit, residential and commercial clients.
Carl Bognar
Carl has a doctorate in applied psychology from OISE at the University of Toronto, and his career has been devoted to bridging the gap between theory and practice in health policy and programming. Carl worked in various capacities on the policy lead-up to Vancouver’s Four Pillars Approach to the epidemics of HIV and injection drug use. He also served as the founding Chair of the Board of Directors for the Health Initiative for Men (HIM), and as the first prevention coordinator for Positive Living BC. Carl has experience in health policy analysis, as well as program design, implementation and evaluation.
Tara Chanady
Tara is the executive director of the Quebec Lesbian Network. She also teaches queer approaches to media studies at Université de Montréals' communication department. She was previously a research advisor at Université de Montreal’s Centre for Public Health Research. Throughout her PhD in communication and her postdoctoral fellowship in public health, she specialized in social and health issues for lesbian, bisexual and queer women, including media representation, mental health, and substance use. As a lesbian concerned with visibility and equity, her lectures, publications, and university classes aim to critically examine discourses and norms around gender and sexuality.
Ben Chen
Ben Chen is a medical student at UBC. He has worked extensively in gay men's health through various projects with HIM and YouthCO. He's also involved in community projects dedicated to empowering elderly populations living in poverty and at-risk youth.
Alex Dow
Alex Dow is the current Director of Community Connections at United Way Greater Toronto, the largest funder of community services after government. He oversees investments and a number of special projects supporting communities to thrive in Toronto, York and Peel Regions. Alex graduated from McGill University and over his career worked in a number of non-profits before joining United Way. Alex was previously on the Board of Director for Unison Health & Community Services in north-west Toronto and earlier in his career worked with LGBTQ+ youth to create positive space and foster social belonging in Toronto's inner suburbs.
Mirrick Koh
Mirrick is a Human Resources professional who has worked for a range of organizations in the UK and Canada. His experience includes serving on the Board of Directors for a UK charity and helping organizations operate efficiently and with good governance. Mirrick has been a qualified lawyer (England and Wales) since 2009 and practiced employment and labour law for several years before moving into Human Resources.
Peter Hoong
Peter’s research interests include HIV, mental health, and substance use. His work has examined the interaction between social determinants of health and vulnerable populations, with particular attention to applying conflict theory. Peter is also an experienced facilitator who has conducted over 250 hrs of workshops around HIV and mental illness stigma.
Kimberley Paradis
Kimberley is a law student at the University of Ottawa. Her background includes work in policy analysis, most recently assessing how legislation can affect the 2S/LGBTQ+ community. As a queer woman with a disability who grew up in a rural community in Quebec, she is passionate about increasing access to healthcare for equity-seeking groups. Kimberley is actively involved in a variety of advocacy efforts aimed at empowering members of the 2S/LGBTQ+ and disability communities.
Dr. Todd Sakakibara
Dr. Todd Sakakibara is a family physician working at Three Bridges Community Health Centre in Vancouver. He provides care to vulnerable populations including those dealing with poverty, mental health, addictions, HIV, and the LGTB communities. Prior to medicine he was involved with YouthCO AIDS Society where the importance of ties to the community was ingrained. He also is a Clinical Assistant Professor at UBC where he teaches medical undergraduate and resident students in the areas of health equity.