Nicole Benson for Councillor
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Nicole Benson was born and raised in Vancouver but has also spent time living in Ontario, Mexico, and Spain. She has a Masters of Arts in Education and is currently operating a small language teaching business called Esperanza Education. She also volunteers at Windsor House School, the only democratic school in Metro Vancouver.
Nicole has always been politically engaged and has been involved in a number of non-profit organizations doing work in human rights, social justice, and education. She is currently sitting her second term on the Board of Directors for CoDevelopment Canada and volunteers with CIPO-VAN. Both of these organizations work in solidarity with groups in Latin America who are struggling for human rights, labour rights, women’s rights, and other important matters of justice. Nicole also organizes the “Spanish for Social Justice” teacher network here in Vancouver, an initiative to engage high school Spanish teachers in social justice education.
Through her work as a teacher and with the organizations mentioned above, Nicole has experienced working with a diverse range of people with diverse needs. She has gained experience in programming, coordination, and governance. She is strongly dedicated to the democratic process and believes that it is all of our right (and our duty) as citizens to participate in the decision-making processes in our city, province, country, and world. That is why Nicole is running with Neighbourhoods for a Sustainable Vancouver (NSV). NSV calls for community voice and participation in the political process.
Nicole is concerned with the lack of transparency at City Hall and the amount of influence the development industry has there. Community plans have been ignored in favour of unsustainable, large developments. While Nicole recognizes that development and densification are needed, she believes that the citizens of Vancouver should be involved in deciding how that happens. Nicole is particularly concerned about the Regional Growth Strategy (RGS) recently approved by Metro Vancouver. Each municipality currently has two years to submit its Regional Context Statement to go along with the RGS which will determine how the city is developed over the next 30 years. Nicole does not want big development companies making those decisions. She wants to work together with the people of Vancouver to ensure a sustainable future for our city!
Press
Running Against Developers in Condolandia
November 9, 2011
Interview with Nicole Benson, The Tyee
Nicole Benson: Tackling the powerlessness of Vancouver residents
November 11, 2011
NSV candidate Nicole Benson speaks about Tackling the powerlessness of Vancouver residents in the Straight.
http://www.straight.com/article-537906/vancouver/nicole-benson-tacklking-powerlessness-vancouver-residents
