Our Volunteers
Interested in volunteering with EcoCooks?
Please visit our Volunteer Application page here.
Sophia Bakayoko
Sophia is a creative soul in so many ways and cooking is one of them. She enjoys trying new recipes and exploring new food. Sophia also loves playing soccer, skiing, and travelling.
Her go to eco recipe is the Rainbow Tofu Stir Fry we make at EcoCooks!
Jiawan Chen
Jiawen is an undergraduate student studying a dual-degree program in Food Nutrition and Health as well as Education. She enjoys drawing, watching movies, and, of course, food! Jiawen is excited to join EcoCooks to learn more about plant-based cooking and to implement this knowledge in her future classroom.
Brennen Gilbert
Brennen is a recent graduate of Land and Food Systems at UBC, and loves how Ecocooks joins two of his favourite topics: food and the environment. When not volunteering with Ecocooks, Brennen enjoys biking, curating new recipes, and travelling.
Olivia Hall
Olivia has grown up in Kelowna, enjoying many activities such as downhill skiing, cross country skiing, biathlon, track and field, mountain biking, choir, swimming and roller blading. Olivia has been in the kitchen from a young age and especially enjoys cooking Italian foods. Olivia is excited to be helping out with Ecocooks as a youth volunteer, having enjoyed completing the program herself.
Candace Huffman
Candace is studying microbiology as an undergraduate student at UBC Okanagan. She strives to lower her eco-footprint and enjoys learning new ways to do so. She hopes that her prior experience in restaurant kitchens will add to her involvement as an EcoCooks volunteer. In her spare time, Candace enjoys activities such as hiking, biathlon, reading, knitting, and of course, cooking!
Morgan Johnson
Morgan is the Lead Zero Waste Educator at Chickpeace Zero Waste in Kelowna and is passionate about sustainable living (and eating!) and food security for all. She has a history of volunteering with various food security initiatives within the Okanagan and is always looking for ways to reduce her footprint on our home planet. She is excited to be volunteering with EcoCooks to teach and learn from future generations about how our diet can play a huge role in the footprint we leave.
Kyra Lowe
Kyra is an undergraduate student studying Food, Nutrition, and Health. They love to be active whether it's playing ringette, rock climbing, or simply being outdoors! As someone who is passionate about nutrition and the earth, they're excited to continue exploring the role food plays in our day-to-day life.
Teresa Nam
Teresa enjoys baking and going on walks with her dog. She is an undergraduate student at UBC studying Food, Nutrition, and Health. She loves learning about new and fun ways to be eco-friendly and healthy, especially through our food choices. Some of her hobbies include thrifting, hiking, and discovering new desserts!
Tyler Overholt
Tyler moved to Kelowna 3 years ago and can often be seen at the Harvest Golf Course. Along with golf, Tyler enjoys hockey, basketball, pickleball, skiing and anything outdoors. Tyler was introduced to cooking through EcoCooks and has not looked back since. He loves getting his hands dirty in the kitchen and is excited to be a youth volunteer helping other EcoCooks!
Sheila Pack
Sheila's favourite place to be is at the beach and in the water. She loves to hit the gym or run outside daily and is passionate about health and wellness. Sheila has been a nurse for 20 plus years and feels passionate about learning and creating healthy lifestyle patterns and passing on her knowledge and insight.
Sivan Saar
Sivan loves volunteering because it helps the planet and helps teach kids how to cook and make different recipes. Some of her favorite foods to make are smoothies, salads and stir-frys. She loves the Eco Cooks program because of how welcoming and inclusive it is. Sivan has learned cooking skills and about the environment during each of the classes . In her spare time Sivan loves doing gymnastics, making art projects and hanging out with her dog, Asher.
Elisabeth Sahlmueller
Elisabeth is passionate about plant-based cooking, baking, health and nutrition. She is working towards a certification in Plant-Based Holistic Nutrition to combine her passion with her skills to make a meaningful impact in the world. One of her favourite things to make are smoothies because they are easy to make, always different, and a great way to use up any leftover fruits (especially bananas and avocados!), or leafy greens. When Elisabeth is not in the kitchen she loves being outdoors, exploring new trails and parks, and reading.
Yuki Strachan
Yuki is a CEA with an MA in English Literature and Cultural Studies. She is passionate about creating inclusive environments where all cultures, exceptionalities and diversities are embraced and celebrated. She owns her own food business, has a FoodSafe certificate and has studied Food Therapy to cook an anti-inflammatory diet. She is a mother of two and enjoys plant-based cooking and exploring food from various cultures.
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Audrey Su
Audrey is a Dietetics student from UBC. She loves everything food-related. In her spare time, she enjoys baking, trying different cultural foods, doing yoga and has recently started tennis as a new hobby. She is thrilled about working with youth and exploring the interconnectedness between food, health, and the environment with them.
Christina Watkinson
Having recently moved back to Kelowna, I enjoy spending time with family and friends, hiking, skiing and pickle ball. Being vegetarian most of my life and plant based for the past 8 years, I was very excited to learn about the Eco Cooks program and became a volunteer about 2 years ago. I love to try new plant based dishes and learning new eco friendly tips that I can implement into my lifestyle.
My favourite eco recipe is the EcoCooks Squash-tastic Soup!
"Papa" George Webster
George loves volunteering with EcoCooks. He has been a vegetarian for nearly a quarter of a century and loves cooking. George believes that EcoCooks makes important educational links between our food choices and climate change, he especially loves the 'hands on' food preparation each week with awesome EcoCooks' leaders, other volunteers and young people participating in the program.
Happily retired from his work in bioethics and ethics consultation, George enjoys spending much of his free time with his wife Judith, and his grown children and wonderful grandchildren. He also volunteers with two other organizations in the local community.
Solara Wirischagin
Solara is one of our first EcoCooks youth volunteers. After completing our EcoCooks Club program Solars was inspired to return to empower other youth. She loves to cook and try new food. She has many interests which include singing, animals, and drawing. She cares about the planet, enjoys learning cool enviro facts and about how our choices and actions impact the earth. Solara plans to continue to do her part and share what she has learned with her family and friends!
Tracy Withers
Tracy worked with the school district in both Kamloops and Kelowna since September 2011. First as a CEA in the classrooms and then more recently as a library and office assistant, before retiring in May 2022. Tracy has been a passionate, plant-based, vegan for 6 years. Tracy also volunteers for the program "Chefs In The Classroom" here in the Okanagan, in the school district. When not volunteering Tracy loves to; hike paddleboard, kayak, bike, snowshoe, cross country ski, swim, and loves living in the Okanagan where local fruit and veggies are abundant!
Olivia Wu
Olivia is a registered dietitian and master's student in human nutrition at UBC. Her research explores how nutrition therapy for treating disease can also consider environmental sustainability. She is excited to be a part of EcoCooks to share her passion for food and how food can help protect the earth. In her spare time, she enjoys being in nature (identifying wild plants, fungi, and birds), cycling, and painting.