Best Practices in Non-Market Rental Housing in Metro Vancouver
Land – Policies – Resiliency – Advocacy
On September 22, 2022, a Zoom panel discussion was hosted by RPRC for interested individuals. The discussion was moderated by Jean Swanson, Vancouver anti-poverty activist.
Bio: Jean Swanson has been an anti-poverty and social justice activist for over 40 years in Vancouver and across the country. She was elected to Vancouver City Council in 2018, where she has introduced motions for tenant protections, rent control, social housing, free transit, workers’ rights, anti-racism, safe supply, decriminalizing poverty, and more.
In 2016 she was awarded the Order of Canada, the country’s highest civilian honour, for “her long-standing devotion to social justice, notably for her work with the residents of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.”
Please see below for more information on the speakers, as well as their presentations:
Tiffany Duzita
Executive Director of The Community Land Trust
- Bio: Tiffany Duzita is the Executive Director for the Community Land Trust. She is responsible for operations and execution on the strategic direction and growth plans of the organization. Tiffany also represents Community Land Trust to build and support the Community Housing Sector, influence government policy and regulations, maintain and develop new strategic partnerships, and be an advocate for community land trusts as a model for developing and managing non-profit real estate.As an accomplished real estate professional, she brings substantial experience and leadership to Community Land Trust to build upon its purpose to create, preserve and steward permanently affordable homes in diverse and mixed-income communities.
- Presentation
Kari Michaels
Vice President of BCGEU on their Palm Street Project
- Bio: Kari Michaels is an Executive Vice- President of the BC General Employees Union or BCGEU. Kari is a passionate advocate for social justice and believes in building workers’ capacity to take action to improve their working and living conditions.This work has most recently extended to her community outreach and advocacy work concerning the role of labour in addressing BC’s housing crisis through the Affordable BC campaign. She had the honour of representing BCGEU members on the Burnaby Mayor’s Task Force on Community Housing which resulted in implementing the strongest tenant protections in Canada.
- Presentation
William Azaroff
CEO of Brightside Community Homes Foundation
- Bio: William is the CEO of Brightside Community Homes Foundation, an organization dedicated to making housing accessible for those who struggle to meet the demands of market housing in Vancouver. His book, Everything I Learned About Leadership I Learned From Filmmaking, focuses on leadership lessons gained from the dozen years he spent as an independent filmmaker.William was a long-time executive at Vancity, performing many senior leadership roles at the credit union. He is currently Vice-Chair on the board of the BC Non-Profit Housing Association and is former chair of Modo and the Vancity Community Foundation.
- Presentation
Marika Albert
Policy Director of BC Non-Profit Housing Association
- Bio: Marika leads BC Non-Profit Housing Association’s research and policy efforts as well as BCNPHA’s professional development and educations programs. She tackles large scale issues affecting the non-profit housing sector and advocates for tangible solutions through legislative, policy, and funding changes.Marika holds a Master of Arts Degree in Sociology from Simon Fraser University and in 2018 was recognized with an Honourary Citizen’s Award from the City of Victoria for her work on housing and homelessness research.
- Presentation