Meet Our Team

The Vancouver Fruit Tree Project is run by a small but passionate group of individuals that make up the board, and employs a Coordinator — handling all logistics, inquiries, and daily operations — as well as a Fruit Rescue Team Lead.

Board meetings are held on the third Wednesday of each month and are open to the public; contact us for time and location details if you’d like to attend next month’s meeting.

Marie Labitté
President

Hi VFTP friends, I'm Marie! Raised on a farm in France, fresh and local food is in my DNA. From sharing the space and knowledge to grow and harvest food, to cooking and enjoying homemade meals, I believe food is one of the best tools to build and foster caring communities.

Fundraising has been my bread and butter for the past years. Since 2019, I have worked as a Development Officer for UBC's Faculty of Forestry. I cut my teeth on fundraising at Vancouver-based environmental nonprofit Canopy. In a past life, I worked in finance. When I'm not advocating and fundraising for Mother Earth, you can find me hiking and photographing our beautiful B.C, gardening on my tiny balcony, and cooking.

I look forward to hearing your ideas to advance food security and community building in Vancouver.

Alba Zhou
Vice President

Hi, I’m Alba! I love how food tells the story of a community, from the faithful daily efforts of the producers to the joint effort of gathering a crop and connecting with the people who get to eat it. Food is a central part of the human story. I’m honoured to serve on a team that strives to create a story of care and unity by making bridges between Vancouver fruit tree owners, superb volunteers, and local organizations to address food insecurity in our own backyard. 

I’m from Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan and my family origins are from China. Coming from the neighbourly prairies and a community-focused culture, I became passionate about food as an expression of care and connection. After moving out to Vancouver to complete my degree at UBC, I began learning more about food security and how necessary our active engagement with each other is.

In my downtime, I love hanging out with my loved ones, gardening, cooking, and adventuring with Tenzi, my fluffy Tibetan spaniel.

Farah Motani
Coordinator

If there’s one thing Farah loves, it’s food! Whether growing, harvesting, cooking or educating, Farah loves to engage with food in all its stages. Growing up as a first generation Canadian in an area of Toronto with many food deserts, connecting people with the cultural and communal component of food, food security and social justice issues became prime interests of hers.

Prior to the VFTP, Farah completed her undergraduate degree in Environmental Studies and has spent the last eight years working in the food security, non-profit, and wellness sectors in Canada, Tanzania and Nicaragua.

Farah is also a Registered Holistic Nutritionist, and 500HR Yoga Teacher. When she’s not nerding out on nutrition and food, she also loves hiking, yoga, meditating and and of course, enjoying the beautiful sunsets, beaches, and mountain views BC has to offer!

Roxci Bevis
Treasurer

Roxci is a community engagement specialist and a tireless advocate for human rights in our society, such as food security, affordable housing, the right to repair, and access to plain language. She is the founder of the South Surrey White Rock Repair Café and her company, Thinktively Solutions.

Roxci writes community newsletters for multiple organizations across the province and is also the Provincial Coordinator for BC People First Society, a disability rights and advocacy organization.

Roxci is a forever-learner, her certificate studies span over a decade and include business administration, human resources, project management, and volunteer management; she is currently studying journalism at SFU. Roxci has been a part of the VFTP community since 2014 and at present is our Treasurer. She loves working with the team to propel our mission forward and help our community thrive!

Wendy Corneau
Secretary

Hi I’m Wendy! Having volunteered for this organization for over 17 years, I love what the VFTP is all about. My previous areas of study revolved around Natural Resource Management and Supply Chain.

Currently working with TransLink and having previously worked with other public sector agencies, I have a keen appreciation and interest in community well-being and connectedness.I’m happy to be able to support as Board Secretary and should you ever need anything please just reach out!

Sara Mimick
Member at Large

Hi everyone, I'm Sara. I love everything nature, from bugs and slugs to delicious and nutritious fruits! I also love sharing information and connecting people to nature and the outdoors.

For the past seven years, I have worked as a Parks Interpreter for Metro Vancouver Regional Parks. My background is in ecology, interpretation and informal environmental education. Other places I have worked include the Beaty Biodiversity Museum, a salmon fish hatchery, the HR MacMillan Space Centre and the BC Ferries Coastal Naturalist Program.

I am super excited to be involved with the Vancouver Fruit Tree Project and to participate in harvesting fruit, meet volunteers, minimizing food waste and distributing local and healthy fruits to partners and organizations throughout the community.

Manon Balard
Member at Large

Hi, I’m Manon, board member at large!

I’m a zero-waste and sustainability enthusiast from France with a passion for food, whether it is cooking or growing veggies. I recently moved to Vancouver to get closer to nature and feel extremely privileged to live in a city surrounded by snow-capped mountains and deep blue sea!

I currently work for two start-ups in the artificial intelligence and game industries as a Finance officer and would love to use my strong finance background to help to fight climate change.

Chantel Twynstra
Member at Large

Hi! I am Chantelle and I’m one of the board members at large. I have recently graduated from UBC with my undergraduate degree in Biology and I am going to attend Northwest Culinary Academy this fall to learn more about baking, pastries and culinary arts. I am interested in how to create local, sustainable food systems as well as how to turn that food into delicious dishes!

I am super excited to be a part of this organization and to work with all of the lovely people at the VTFP!

When I’m not in school I love camping and hiking in the beautiful BC forests. I also love cooking and experimenting with new vegetarian recipes!

Kasha Foster
Member at Large

Hi, I’m Kasha! I was born and raised in North Vancouver and have always had a passion for growing and eating food. I studied sustainable agriculture during my undergraduate degree at UBC and found as many opportunities as I could to work or volunteer for local non-profit gardens and farms. I also lived in Cuba for a month to study their food system, where I learned a lot about food security and sustainable food systems.

I love growing food in my parent’s large backyard garden, testing out new food and recipes, and learning how to preserve a harvest. Last summer, I successfully canned applesauce from my neighbour’s apple tree, and learned how to make homemade wine!

I am so excited to be joining the VFTP to increase food security, prevent food waste, and build community around locally grown produce!