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Natasha Pei
Natasha brings online content to life and engages our members in the Vibrant Communities learning centre for poverty reduction. Natasha's involvement with Tamarack began in 2013 through the Communities First: Impacts of Community Engagement (CFICE) project, where she worked as a Research Assistant in the Poverty Reduction Hub, studying effective ways that community-campus engagement can result in real benefits for the community.
Natasha holds a Bachelor of Social Work and Master of Social Work from Carleton University. Her background, education and experience is in social work, with community capacity building and community engagement lying at an intersection of the structural perspective and strengths-based practice. Natasha's previous role as a Project Coordinator with Beijing and Shanghai Roots & Shoots introduced her to coordinating place-based community strategies, responding to the unique needs of different groups, and taught her about the impact of collective efforts.
Natasha is based in Ottawa, Ontario, and spends her free time rock climbing, practicing yoga, and running.
Alison Homer
Alison joined the Tamarack team in 2016 as Manager of Learning, Evaluation and Policy. In 2020, she stepped into a Team Lead role with Vibrant Communities – Cities Reducing (VC–CRP), now Communities Ending Poverty. Here, she provides leadership and drives excellence within the network, a national movement and learning community comprised of 80+ members representing more than 300 communities across Canada and in the USA. CRP's team of Managers of Cities provides intensive support to members, with a focus on supporting them to progress through four stages of development, track and report on outcomes, and achieve financial and leadership sustainability.
Alison holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of British Columbia, a Master's degree in International Community Health from the University of Oslo, a Project Management Certification through the Project Management Institute, and a Graduate Diploma in Public Policy and Program Evaluation through Carleton University.
Based in beautiful British Columbia, Alison spends her free time mountain biking, whitewater kayaking, splitboarding, and practicing aerial silks.
Jill Zacharias
Jill has recently joined the Vibrant Communities team as the BC Manager of Growth and Impact, Cities Reducing Poverty. Jill brings extensive experience in municipal government, social planning and poverty reduction, and has worked closely with Tamarack as a CRP member and as chair of the BC Community of Practice on Poverty Reduction.
Jill became interested in social sustainability while completing her Post-Baccalaureate Diploma in Community Economic Development (CED) from Simon Fraser University (2006). For over a decade, Jill worked for the City of Revelstoke CED Department as social development coordinator. This involved working with community partners and all levels of government to build community capacity to address a broad range of community-wide social issues, from supporting youth to addressing poverty. Poverty reduction became a primary focus in 2012, and in 2019 the Revelstoke poverty reduction working group transitioned to Collective Impact.
Jill views social sustainability as both the most complex and least-understood aspect of society, yet most critical to the overall health and well-being of communities. Jill has presented on a variety of social planning topics at regional, provincial and national venues. Living in Revelstoke, Jill retains a passion for the outdoors and mountain lifestyle, balancing work with skiing, hiking, camping and playing music.
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