Our Board
Board of Directors - 2026-27
PRESIDENT - james rowley
James has lived in Maple Ridge about 20 years with his family of four. He is known for starting the first neighbourhood Facebook group in Maple Ridge — Hammond Neighbours — and sharing the story of the award-winning retrofit of Hammond Forever House, a 1923 heritage house that is now fossil fuel free and costs very little to heat and cool. James is also Vice-Chair of the City’s Climate & Environment Committee. He is a teacher of English to newcomers and has a passion for the performing arts.
Ask James about… home energy retrofits.
My family’s energy bill for 2025 was $636. Heating, cooling, hot water, cooking, lights, TVs, computers and two electric vehicles. We used to spend double that on gas for one car. We got here by setting a goal of getting off fossil fuels and steadily working toward that goal. It turns out that climate action is just common sense.
VICE-President - KAREN WRIGHT
Karen is a retired Naturopathic Physician and educator, dedicating the next phase of her life to healing the planet – and having fun doing it!
After teaching a class on planetary medicine, Karen was blown away by how the medical prescription of healthy diet to combat chronic degenerative disease, was also the most sustainable one for the planet. Her passion project currently is reclaiming wasted food and directing it to people who so badly need it!
Ask Karen about … reducing food waste.
Everything is connected. Food waste is a major contributor to greenhouse gases and there is such a need for food right now. Small changes can have a ripple effect of benefits.
PAST-PRESIDENT - HUDSON CAMPBELL
Hudson is a lifelong Ridge Meadows resident and community climate advocate. As a Community Planning student, he brings both academic insight and grassroots experience to local initiatives, working to ensure sustainability and inclusion remain priorities in decision-making. Hudson believes change can start in the classroom and continue through community action. He is actively involved in local efforts to keep sustainability at the heart of community priorities.
Ask Hudson about… liveable communities.
Climate solutions work best when they’re community solutions.
Executive Administrator - aphrodite Bouikidis
Aphrodite is an urban resilience specialist, with more than 15 years of experience managing programs and building partnerships and ecosystems around urban resilience, social innovation, civil society and youth programs in Canada, Europe, United States and the Middle East.
Since moving to Canada in 2019, Aphrodite has worked as a consultant on disaster and climate risk and resilience projects in the province of British Columbia and has completed a Master of Urban Studies at SFU, focusing on social infrastructure and community resilience.
When she’s not working or researching, she is enjoying the beautiful parks, lakes and beaches of this region, exploring neighbourhoods, bookstores and coffee shops, catching up with friends around the world, or writing a short story.
Ask Aphrodite about … resilient neighbourhoods, urban resilience planning, and youth climate action.
The social connections, activities and places that bring people together in our everyday lives also help us get through emergencies stronger and work together on climate action. I love talking about how City policies, plans and strategies can support this, and how more people can get involved in resilience planning..
TREASURER - KIRK GRAYSON
Kirk is a retired communications professional who has called Maple Ridge home for more than 30 years. She’s a passionate advocate for climate action, and was one of the original founders of the Maple Ridge Climate Hub. Kirk recently sat on the Mayor’s Task Force for Climate Action, and is a past board member of the Ridge Meadows Recycling Society.
Ask Kirk about… heat pumps.
We recently had a heat pump installed to replace our gas furnace. We love that it not only eliminates emissions from heating our home, but also cools the house on hot days. But the process was complicated. It needs to get easier so more people can make the switch.
Director at large - sunny schiller
Sunny has always loved the outdoors and nature, and her passion for environmental issues led to her run for City of Maple Ridge Council, where she is currently serving her first term as a Councillor. Other projects and roles in the community include being part of the creation of Maple Ridge Repair Cafe, the first one in the Fraser Valley; working with the Maple Ridge Pitt Meadows Katzie Community Network, and as a Constituency Advisor to MLA Bob D’Eith. Sunny enjoys spending time with her family in their Whonnock Lake neighbourhood.
Ask Sunny about … government climate change policy.
I love learning about the new approaches that are being taken to both adapt to climate change and reduce emissions going forward.
