Staff

Paige Leslie – Community Programs Manager

Paige has her BA in Creative Advertising from Humber College in Toronto. She worked in advertising for 4 years before moving to BC looking to do more meaningful, nature and community based work. Her passion for environmental sustainability, farming, gardening and herbal plant medicines brought her to work in regenerative farming and local food systems. She is currently working part time for Urban Bounty. She also works full time for the Vancouver Farmers Markets and is in a Herbal Apprenticeship Program with Ravensong Herbals. If she has some free time she enjoys working in her garden, swimming, camping, photography and traveling.

Kat Seow – Events and Volunteer Coordinator

Kat recently graduated with a BSc in Sustainable Agriculture and Environment and is excited to put her studies to work as Urban Bounty’s Events and Volunteer Coordinator. As the former manager of her university’s small, volunteer-run community garden, she is very passionate about building community around a pile of compost. She is also very interested in edible and medicinal plants, and can be found wandering the forests of British Columbia in search of tasty forgables and pretty views.

Callum McCaffrey – Land Stewardship Coordinator

Callum recently graduated with a BSc in Global Resource Systems, focusing on Environment and Sustainability. As a systems-based thinker, he is passionate about fostering inclusive and engaged communities that build sustainable and reciprocal relationships with the land. In his role as Urban Bounty’s Land Stewardship Coordinator, Callum serves as the primary point of contact for gardeners and can be found wandering through the community gardens and various Urban Bounty events. He is always happy to answer questions, discuss garden-related concerns or have a chat. If you see him, don’t hesitate to say hello!

Tova Gaster – Community Engagement and Program Coordinator

Tova recently graduated with a BA in geography and history from UBC, where she worked as an environmental politics researcher at the UBC Centre for Climate Justice. She has a background in journalism, editing, and youth programs. She loves writing, gardening, and connecting with people, and at Urban Bounty, she’s excited to facilitate all of the above. She was born and raised in Seattle (Duwamish land) and currently lives in Vancouver (unceded Musqueam Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh territory). Outside work, you can find her playing soccer, going to concerts, and making sandwiches.

Laurel McBride – Office Coordinator

Laurel originally hails from Saskatchewan from a farming family. She has been honing her administrative skills for 14 years and has a background in nonprofit management. Laurel’s interest in small-scale, local and sustainable agriculture led her to complete KPU’s Richmond Farm School in 2022 and volunteer on a number of local farms. She is currently pursuing a graduate certificate in Sustainable Food Systems and Security at KPU and working as an event coordinator with an organic agriculture nonprofit. 

Loki Wallace – Seed Security Coordinator

Loki is driven by their passion for community-building, the intersections of marginalized peoples and climate justice, and co-creating local food and seed security. They are always awed by the potential of just one seed, and firmly believe that the life cycle of a plant is where magic and science peacefully coexist.
After a decade of converting lawns into food gardens, building guerilla food gardens, seed library stewardship and participatory seed-breeding projects, they took the leap to formal education and completed the KPU Farm School program in 2021. Now in their third year as an incubator farmer within the KPU extension program, they have a small seed farm on unceded Musqueam land, along the banks of the Fraser River (Steveston). They sell their seeds primarily through the BC Eco Seed Co-op where they are also the Operations Manager.

Cat Hung – Community Engagement Assistant

Hi, I’m Cat, and I’m so excited to be reconnecting with the Urban Bounty team for the summer! I’m studying sustainable agriculture and Asian Canadian history, and am passionate about food (growing, cooking, eating, all of the above!) and community wellbeing through culture, identity, and connection. Last year, through my work with UBC INSTRCC, I collaborated with the folks at Urban Bounty to gather community members to share their stories of food, family, and culture, in a workshop series called “Coming Home”. This year, I’ll be continuing that project with more programming, and also helping out Paige with other community engagement and social media work, so I’m very grateful for the opportunity to connect with more folks over food and gardening!

Geethu Kurian – Bookkeeper

Geethu was born in Kochi, a small and very beautiful seaside city of Kerala which is the southernmost state of India. She is a Graduate of Commerce and Tourism and holds a Master’s in International Business from Leeds Metropolitan University, UK. She has a passion for numbers, which is why she chose accounting as her career.

She has worked with Ernst & Young in the UK. She was also a TV host for a popular Indian Channel, Kairali and a Weddings and Events Planner. Geethu’s professional background is a mix of accounting, guest relations, and hospitality and thus she has developed a diverse skill set. Her other interests include cooking, driving, and painting. She is now a proud member of Urban Bounty.