About CGR

Our roots run deep:

The CGR Timeline

Community Garden Roots is committed to supporting communities across British Columbia to create inclusive and equitable food-growing spaces for all.

  • Can You Dig It (CYDI) was founded in 2009 by posAbilities,  a non-profit community living organization, as an innovative model to create opportunities for individuals with developmental disabilities.
  • CYDI gardens played a vital role in promoting social inclusion, skill development, intergenerational knowledge transfer, food security and fostering a sense of belonging.
  • In 2019, posAbilities turned the program over to the Public Health Association of BC (PHABC) to scale and iterate province-wide. Since then Can You Dig It has continued to build and coordinate garde, provide governance support, create resources and strengthen partnership across local and regional muncipalities.
  • In 2024, Can You Dig It underwent a branding process, growing into Community Garden Roots. While embracing this new direction, Community Garden Roots remains dedicated to upholding the original vision set forth by posAbilities.

Our Team

Richard Han (he/him)

Senior Director of Public Health and Community Engagement
Public Health Association of BC

Richard Han gratefully lives, works and raises his family on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the Semiahmoo, Katzie, Kwikwetlem, Kwantlen, Qayqayt, and Tsawwassen First Nations.

Richard is the Senior Director of Public and Planetary Health at the Public Health Association of BC (PHABC), where he leads strategic initiatives that advance equity, youth leadership, food systems transformation, and climate-resilient communities.

With over 15 years of experience across governments, philanthropy, and the nonprofit sector, he works at the intersection of policy, systems change, and community-rooted innovation. His approach centres relational leadership, lived experience, and shifting power toward communities most impacted by systemic inequities.

Richard holds a Master of Public Policy from Simon Fraser University and is also on the board of BC Poverty Reduction Coalition. As a husband and father, Richard has little spare time — but when he does, he dedicates it to making meaningful memories with his family, often centred around good food.

Angelina Sharma (she/her)

Project Lead
Community Garden Roots

Angelina Sharma is a second-generation immigrant who resides on the ancestral, traditional, and unceded territory of the Kwikwetlem Nation. She is grateful to have called this land home throughout her childhood, growing up connected to the waters of the Burrard Inlet and surrounded by the forests of Port Moody, Belcarra, and Anmore.

With a background in public health and experience in community engagement, Angelina is dedicated to creating equitable and sustainable built environments. Raised in a South Asian household, she appreciates the role of food in fostering cultural connections and building community relationships.

In her spare time, you can find Angelina practicing yoga, exploring local cafés and farmers’ markets, or dog-sitting her favourite four-legged friends

Jason O’Brien (he/him)

Project Lead
Community Garden Roots

Jason O’Brien lives in Burnaby on the ancestral and unceded homelands of the Hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ (Halkomelem) and Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) speaking peoples.

Jason is experienced in food security coordination and project management, with a background in establishing community gardens and designing community engagement strategies.

Jason believes in utilizing grassroots initiatives to influence municipal food policy development, ensuring equitable access to nutritious food and fostering resilient communities.

Jason’s spare time finds him hiking up or snowboarding down the local mountains, depending on the season.

Madison Pinder (she/her)

Communications Specialist
Public Health Association of BC

Madison Pinder was born and raised in The Bahamas and now lives, works, and plays on the ancestral, traditional, and unceded territories of the Halkomelem-speaking peoples in New Westminster, BC. She’s grateful to have found a home away from home that nurtures her connection to land, sea, and local food.

As a PHABC Communications Specialist, Madison supports food systems projects across the province. This role beautifully melds her passion for food and nutrition with nearly a decade of experience in communications and design.

She is a proud graduate of UBC, where she earned a BSc in Food, Nutrition and Health with a Minor in Sustainable Food Systems. Both her studies and time at PHABC have shaped her appreciation for collaborative work, systems thinking, and knowledge mobilization.

Outside of work, you’ll find her creating art, cooking fresh meals from locally rescued food, or embracing joyful forms of movement through dance.

Program Advisory

Shannon Turner

Executive Director
Public Health Association of BC

Selenna Ho

Communications Director
Public Health Association of BC

Gord Tulloch

Director of Innovation
posAbilities

Hemant Kulkarni

Manager of Quality Assurance and Training
posAbilities

Partners