Public Health Association of BC
Our Team
We are a small team of dedicated individuals tasked with keeping the organization running smoothly while ensuring our programs have significant impact on the communities they work with across this province and beyond.
If you would like to know more about a particular program and it’s team, click on the projects tab on the main menu for a full listing of current PHABC supported programs.
Shannon Turner, PhD
Executive Director
Shannon Turner took on the role of executive director of the Public Health Association of BC at the beginning of 2017 and comes to the association with over thirty years of experience in public health practice, healthy public policy, health promotion, program and project management, strategic planning, health informatics, quality assurance, risk management, logistics and accounting as well as conducting research on digital communication and citizen engagement.
Aside from her extensive academic credentials Shannon brings a wide range of experience from both the public and private sector. Prior to undertaking doctoral studies, Shannon served as Director of Public Health for Vancouver Island Health Authority. She has worked across the continuum of health services in acute, long term and primary care organizations.
In 1994 and 1996, Shannon served as a keynote in an international Speaking Tour in Sweden and Latvia and in 2008, she facilitated a thirteen country meeting in Uganda on behalf of the East, Central and South African Public Health Associations.
Shannon has been named to the Delta Omega Society for outstanding contribution to public health by the University of Hawaii. In 2008, she was awarded the James M. Robinson Award (UBC Public Health) for her significant contributions to public health and in 2017 she was awarded the honorary life membership award from the Canadian Public Health Association. She has served the World Health Organization Global Violence Prevention Alliance for the past decade as National Co-chair of Prevention of Violence Canada. She also served as the Chair of the Vaccine Safety Net for the World Health Organization for the last five years.
Richard Han
Director of Community Engagement and Food Systems
Richard is passionate about equity, capacity building and program development and has worked with the Public Health Association of BC for six years.
Overseeing the Food Systems division within PHABC, Richard has provided supported the development of different programs and networks including Farm to School BC, Can You Dig It and the BC Chapter of the Coalition for Healthy School Food.
In his spare time, Richard likes to go hiking, traveling and trying different cultural foods.
Selenna Ho, BA
Communications Director
Selenna has over eight years of experience in media and communications. She is the first person to have won both the prestigious Jack Webster Award and the Ruth Hancock Scholarship, among many other awards.
She has had poetry published in both national and international anthologies and is a gold medal recipient of the World Poetry Movement.
Selenna has led brand workshops and development; managed and written for magazines; and coordinated events and promotions for radio, before finding her niche in nonprofit communications.
She believes that the best way to truly communicate is to value human space, language, and imagination through listening. This means listening to our body language, the ways in which we choose to form our speech, and how our experiences affect our thoughts. Only through real human connection can we effectively collaborate and create powerful communications materials.
Design development, report writing, social media campaigns and podcast production are some of her favorite aspects of nonprofit communications.
Selenna is thrilled to continue working within the public health sector as the Communications Director for PHABC.
Her education background includes journalism, marketing and sociology, with a specialization in health and society.
When not working, Selenna enjoys ballet, volleyball, tennis and yoga.
Rebekah Erickson, MPH, MSc
Project Management Office and Quality Assurance Manager
Rebekah has over seven years of experience working in project and program management, research and knowledge mobilization in various areas of public health including food access, mental health, substance use, homelessness, violence prevention and global health.
She was the recipient of several awards throughout her education in public health (MPH, MSc) and psychology (BA Hons.), including the European Union’s prestigious Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters Scholarship.
Rebekah has a passion for travel and learning about different cultures. She has worked and studied public health in several countries, including Nigeria, the Netherlands, England, Wales and Canada.
Rebekah is also a yoga and meditation teacher, with a focus on the intersection between spirituality and well-being on both the individual and community level.
With a deep love for the mountains, rainforest and ocean, Rebekah is grateful to call Vancouver Island home, which resides on the unceded territory of the Lekwungen peoples, known today as the Songhees and Esquimalt Nations.
Ginelle Smith
Operations Manager
Ginelle comes to the association with considerable leadership experience with a proven track record in team development, strategic planning, managing and supporting operations in large-scale, extremely complex and challenging contexts. Her diverse background includes luxury hospitality, communications, veterinary medicine and nonprofit sectors.
Ginelle has worked and volunteered for many years to help establish a collaborative effort to generate positive change and grow the good for all. With a great passion for people, animals, and the health of our planet, she feels that it is crucial to make a difference for everyone through various advocacy, educational, and leadership initiatives. Ginelle is excited to be working with PHABC towards their mission of promoting social equity, health and well being for communities.
An avid rescue scuba diver and kayaker with a love for the outdoors, Ginelle resides in Victoria, British Columbia with her family. She savors living on the coast, hiking with her dogs, exploring beautiful Vancouver Island and spending quality time with her large group of friends.
Kelsey Sanford
Financial Officer
Kelsey was born and raised on beautiful Vancouver Island and lives, works and plays on the unceded, traditional and ancestral territory of the Quw’utsun (Cowichan Tribes).
In 2014, Kelsey began her administrative career as a Legal Assistant at a busy downtown Victoria personal injury law firm. After 6 years, with a two-month intermission in 2016 to volunteer on a remote island in Indonesia, she felt called to do something more, and joined PHABC in September of 2021. She is thrilled to be able to use her administrative skills and education to support PHABC in achieving it’s mission and vision.
On weekends, you can find Kelsey hiking with her partner, Marcus, and her dog, Faela, tending to her veggie garden, or cozying up with a historical fiction novel.