Sophie Brigel

Pierre Chauvin

Originally from France, Pierre moved to BC in 2017 and got involved in the local francophone community. In 2019 he moved to Victoria to work as Radio Victoria’s executive director, B.C.’s only French-language radio station. As a member of the Victoria Bike Cult™, Pierre enjoys avocado toasts, advocating for people’s access to accessible trails and paths, and community-led initiatives. After a couple of incredible seasons volunteering as a harvest leader for Lifecycles, Pierre decided to get involved behind the scenes and join the board of directors.

Orvis Starkweather

Orvis Starkweather joined the LifeCycles board after volunteering as a Harvest Leader with the Fruit Tree Project. Orvis has been a grateful guest on the territories of the Esquimalt, Songhees and WSÁNEĆ peoples for the last 4 years. Orvis is descended from Irish, English, Scottish and German people that settled around the Great Lakes. Orvis is committed to food sustainability as a way of ensuring healthy communities and environment. Orvis comes to the board with a background in queer and trans organizing, including successfully advocating for the creation of gender neutral bathrooms, community building, and resource development. Orvis works as the People and Equity Analytics Advisor with the Human Resources Department at UVic. Orvis likes to sew, preserve food, cycle, visit art galleries, and do jigsaw puzzles.

Addtthya Verma

From a young age, Addtthya was drawn to the principles of agroecology—the idea that growing food should work in harmony with nature. Discovering the joy and power of self-sustaining agriculture early on, Addtthya developed a deep passion for clean, organic food and the belief that it can nourish not just individuals but entire communities. Blending this passion with a strong background in technology and hands-on community work, Addtthya brings unique perspective for growing food. Focused on using tech to support organic farming, reduce food waste, and grow resilient urban food systems, Addtthya is committed to making a meaningful and lasting impact.

Apollin Lu

Apollin has been passionate about food my whole life. Her dad is a farmer, and she spends most of her weekends helping out on his farm. She understand how difficult it is to grow food, which is why food waste is an issue that is close to her heart. At Lifecycles, she offers a unique perspective, as someone who is engaged in the food security community and also youth. She is a member of the Urban Food Table, and there she learned a lot of different perspectives on food production. She is always interested in hearing what others think about the food system here in BC, and she thinks Lifecycles is a great opportunity to engage further. At the Food Recovery Alliance, she helps recruit new members and host events. She feels that this experience will allow her to get more youth engaged with the events that Lifecycles has. In addition, she is a member of the Young BC Greens, and she could introduce the work that Lifecycles does to that organization. She is really excited for the opportunity to bring her passion, lived experience, and community connections to the Youth Board at Lifecycles, and the opportunity to contribute meaningfully to a more just and sustainable food system.

Yashita Kaku

Over the past year, Yashita has been really interested in farming and has been especially interested in engaging with the farming community by increasing youth interest and awareness about food insecurity. By contributing, she hopes to offer a youth perspective in board meetings and connect school students with organizations like Lifecycles. She thinks that youth voices are what shape the future of sustainable farming, and she hopes to bring that mindset to the board meetings!

Sophie Buckley

Before joining the Food Recovery Alliance (FRA) as a communications director last summer, Sophie didn’t know much about food systems, food waste, or food insecurity in Victoria. Over the past year, she has learned so much about the farming and agriculture community on the island and how they can contribute positively towards a better, more food-secure future. Through the FRA organization, Sophie has gotten the chance to speak directly with farmers, fundraise for their cause, and meet other like-minded organizations. She hopes to bring this same curiosity and desire to learn to LifeCycles, where she believes she can provide an important youth perspective and help shape the future of Victoria’s food systems. Speaking from her own experiences, she knows that farm volunteering, and sustainability volunteering in general, can seem intimidating to high-schoolers, who may not know where to start or who to volunteer with. As a student, Sophie believes she will be able to empower other students to try something new and become leaders in food system change. As well, she hopes to contribute to group discussions (like at board meetings!) and hear from a variety of different perspectives to learn more about this important issue.

Vivian Walsh

With a deep commitment to environmental sustainability and community health, Vivian (she/her) is driven by a vision of establishing reciprocity between people, food systems, and the land. Vivian has extensive experience in policy, communications, and grassroots initiatives, leading strategic cross-sector projects to advance health equity across the country. Her dedication to sustainable food systems and environmental stewardship was fostered through her early experiences supporting local organic farmers on the traditional and unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabeg people. Vivian strongly believes in the transformative potential of education and holistic community engagement, qualities she enthusiastically brings to her role with the LifeCycles Project.

Raheal Ghirmay

Raheal brings a background in healthcare and consulting, with a deep commitment to fostering healthy communities and environments. Since relocating from Ontario in 2021, she has been grateful to live and work on the traditional territories of the lək̓ʷəŋən and W̱SÁNEĆ peoples. Passionate about local food systems, environmental sustainability, and community well-being, she enjoys exploring the outdoors, experimenting with seasonal recipes, and creating space for meaningful connection through food and conversation. Joining Lifecycles is a natural extension of her desire to support community resilience while sharing experience and feeding a lifelong passion for health and sustainability.

Mika Choudhary

Mika Choudhary is a Board Member at Lifecycles Project, bringing over a decade of marketing and business development experience from the startup ecosystem across North America. She has worked with companies spanning healthtech, fintech, and SaaS industries, and earned her Bachelor of Commerce from Queen's University. In addition to her role at Lifecycles, Mika serves as Fundraising & Marketing Committee Chair at Terra Elysium Foundation, a nonprofit focused on environmental conservation and sustainable development. Her perspective has been shaped by living across three provinces and five cities in Canada, along with travels to more than 25 countries. This experience informs her passion for equity, sustainability, and community empowerment. When she's not advising organizations, Mika can be found cycling waterfront trails, hosting potlucks, or immersed in works by authors like bell hooks, Ocean Vuong, and Khaled Hosseini.

Kara Mullin

Kara (she/her) is incredibly excited to have joined the LifeCycles Board to help support sustainable food systems in the region. Kara is incredibly passionate about urban food systems and has vast experience in the environmental and restoration field working with both non-profit and government organizations. She is excited to be able to bring her knowledge and background forward to the Board to help support the hard work being done at LifeCycles. She grew up on the land of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation and is incredibly grateful to be living on W̱SÁNEĆ and lək̓ʷəŋən territories.