Board of Directors

Collectively, GRIN’s founding directors have over 160 years’ experience working with green roofs. In fact, most of GRIN’s board members taught the green roof and living wall courses at BCIT, and were motivated to establish GRIN when BCIT discontinued its green roof programming in 2022. Get in touch if you’d like to get involved and check out our volunteer roles here

Collectively, GRIN’s founding directors have over 160 years’ experience working with green roofs. In fact, most of GRIN’s board members taught the green roof and living wall courses at BCIT, and were motivated to establish GRIN’ when BCIT discontinued its green roof programming in 2022. Get in touch if you’d like to get involved and check out our volunteer roles here

Christine’s Favourite: Zurich Water Filtration Plant (Seewasserwerk Moos)
Christine’s Favourite: Zurich Water Filtration Plant (Seewasserwerk Moos)

Christine Thuring, Executive Director

Christine is an inter-disciplinary ecologist who has worked with green roofs since 2001. In 2002, she took a pause from career in applied plant ecology and did a 3-month internship installing and maintaining green roofs in Germany. Since then, she has worked with green roofs via design, advocacy, education and research.

Christine first came to Vancouver in 2006 to join the BCIT Centre for the Advancement of Green Roof Ecology.

Christine holds an MSc from the Penn State Centre for Green Roof Research (2005), and a PhD from the Department of Landscape at University of Sheffield (2016). Under the supervisorship of Nigel Dunnett, Christine conducted vegetation and soil surveys of some of the oldest extensive green roofs in the world (in Germany). She has published in peer-reviewed journals and is a frequent speaker.

As a consultant with Ecotone, Christine develops content for municipalities to make informed decisions on resilience and biodiversity. She has consulted on some large green roofs in Vancouver, including the Convention Centre and the 3 acre pollinator meadow at Oak Ridge. 

Kathy’s Favourite: KPU Langley (blue-green roof with Castilleja spp)

Kathy Dunster, President/ Co-Chair

Kathy is a registered landscape architect (MBCSLA) and a registered member of the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects. Since 1987 her professional practice has focused on numerous projects that address the inventory, planning, conservation, and management of natural and cultural landscapes, ecosystem restoration, and integrated ecological landscape design at many different scales. 

Kathy created the Urban Ecosystems program at Kwantlen Polytechnic University. On Langley campus, she has built a dynamic green roof above the KPU library, growing Chinese microgreens and vegetables, as well as a wildlife pond.  Kathy has extensive experience working with grassroots groups using community mapping as a technique for participatory action research in exploration of local community distinctiveness (what makes a place special) and local planning. 

Ryan’s Favourite Green Roof: Vancouver House
Ryan’s Favourite: Vancouver House

Ryan Vasseur, Vice President/ Co-Chair

Ryan is the Manager of Living Architecture Ecosystems for the Architek Group of Companies. He arrived to the green roof realm by chance after several years living in the tropical jungles of Brazil. Upon returning to Canada, he was looking for a way to further his knowledge of plants and soil and. By great fortune, he connected with Ron Schwenger, owner of Architek and went full time with the company in 2017.

Over his career, he has cared for dozens of green roofs and successfully remediated several green roofs back to good health using principles that consider the microbiome of the roof ecosystem. Ryan is constantly working, studying and training to improve his knowledge of soil and plant health and the ways that they intersect on green roofs. He believes that green roofs must be designed and cared for to maximize diversity. In his ideal world, green roofs make space for pollinators, beneficial insects, birds, human beings, and more.

Josh Stewart
Josh’ Favourite: Vancouver Convention Centre living roof

Josh Stewart, Secretary

“The moment I knew I wanted to work with green roofs was on a soccer pitch, on a roof, in Tokyo Japan.”

Josh has a background of Environmental Studies and Urban Planning, is a registered Environmental Professional in training, and is currently pursuing his MBA in Sustainable Innovation. While he hails from Alberta, he is now based in Vancouver, BC and has been providing technical support for Soprema’s green roofing and stormwater management line for the past 3 years.

He is also a living architecture SME for public, educational, and private organizations.

Having been a board member since the inception of GRIN, Josh is excited to see how living architecture is playing a larger role in our urban environments. He is  hopeful this will accelerate to meet the urgent needs of climate change and restorative justice. He is also excited to see progress in how designers, contractors, and developers are collaborating through integrated delivery to ensure green roof success.

While the troubles ahead may seem overwhelming, so too is an abundance of opportunity and solutions. Josh is inspired to share one of his favourite quotes, and yet another reason to love green roofs. “To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow” -Audrey Hepburn.

Holly’s Favourite Green Roof
Holly’s Favourite

Holly Horne, Treasurer

Holly discovered her passion for green roofs during her final year as a Landscape Architecture student, focusing her thesis on rooftop agriculture. This was in the early 2000’s, when green roofs were still emerging in North America. After her studies she gained international experience working in Tawian and the UK before returning to Toronto to amass over 15 years of commercial landscape experience.

Now a licensed Landscape Architect and Green Roof Professional, Holly has spent the last 6 years working with the amazing team at Ginkgo Sustainability, collaborating on many green roof installation and maintenance projects in Ontario and British Columbia.

Despite the advancements in green roof technology, the pace is slow. She advocates for the widespread adoption of green roofs on all available roof spaces, both new and existing, to fully realize their environmental benefits.

Karen’s favourite green roof: Shewary Gardens, Toronto, ON
Karen’s Favourite: Shewary Gardens, Toronto, ON

Karen Liu, Member-at-Large

Karen has been changing the “nature” of roofing for over 20 years. Graduating with a Ph.D. in engineering from the University of Toronto, Karen started her green roof journey as a Research Office at the National Research Council in Ottawa where she established the first field research facility in Canada to study engineering performance of green roofs.  

After moving to Vancouver, she continued her research at British Columbia Institute of Technology, developed and taught green roof courses in its Building Science program. She also helped Green Roofs for Healthy Cities to develop and teach Green Roof Installation and Maintenance Professional (GRIMP) certification program that was launched in 2023.

As standardization is key to raise the bar of the industry, Karen serves on the Canadian Standards Association A123 Technical Committee responsible for numerous roofing standards and was a key participant in the research consortium that developed the national wind test standard for vegetated roofing CSA A123.24, the first of its kind in the world.

Karen believes giving back to the community. In addition to her role on GRIN’s board of directors, Karen volunteers as the Lay Councillor for the Ontario Association of Landscape Architect and serves on the Justice Equality Diversity and Inclusion Committee of the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects.

Karen is the Green Roof Specialist at Next Level Stormwater Management, a women-owned Canadian SME that specializes in applying green roof technology to manage rainwater and mitigate climate change. She applies her engineering knowledge and her passion for the environment everyday to make our cities greener and more sustainable.

Geneviève's Favourite Green Wall
Geneviève's Favourite

Geneviève Noël, Member-at-Large

Geneviève Noël is a visionary entrepreneur dedicated to fostering a symbiotic relationship between our built environments and our planet. She holds a Bachelor of Design from Emily Carr University, where she honed her skills in crafting nature-based solutions to enhance building performance, reintegrate biodiversity, and transform waste streams into life-affirming products.

Geneviève’s innovative approach led to the design of a patented, Cradle to Cradle Certified living wall system, which has been commercialized globally by Sempergreen BV. She has a Permaculture Design Certification from Geoff Lawton and is currently pursuing a Regenerative Soil Science Diploma with Matt Powers to deepen her understanding of living harmoniously with our Earth.

Her company, MINDFUL INNOVATIONS, was honoured with the Small Business BC Sustainable Leadership Award in 2009 and was recognized among the leading companies in Natural Product Innovation by Game Changers in 2023. MINDFUL ARCHITECTURE, another company she co-founded with Maginnis Cocivera, won the International Larson Architecture Awards for the McMurray Métis Cultural Centre, which is an incubator for the revitalization of Nature & Indigenous Culture.

Geneviève’s influence extends to academia and professional forums. She presented at the ECOCITY World Summit (2022), Metro Vancouver’s Zero Waste Conference and Greenbricks (2023). She has contributed to BCIT’s Green Roof Course and to Green Roofs for Healthy Cities’ Living Wall Course, alongside Randy Sharp.

Dedicated to environmental stewardship, Geneviève has planted over 1 million trees along the Coast of British Columbia. She embraces her French and Indigenous heritage, which influences her mission to valourize the sophistication of Indigenous cultures through sustainable practices.

Goya Ngan
Goya’s Favourite: Hornby Island home (photo taken 1976)

Goya Ngan

Goya Ngan’s passion for plants and design took root on Hornby Island, where she spent her childhood under a green roof. She holds a UBC degree in landscape architecture and has worked at firms in Vancouver, Surrey, Munich, Halle and Saskatoon. She maintains inactive status with the BC Society of Landscape Architects.

While designing green roofs in Germany, she noticed the industry’s sophistication and decided to gather as much information as possible before returning to Canada. She embarked on journeys to symposia, construction sites and nurseries, conducted interviews with experts and compiled case study data. She was an author of Metro Vancouver Stormwater Source Control Guidelines and wrote a report, Green Roof Policies: Tools for Encouraging Sustainable Design. More recently, she taught green roof courses at BCIT.

Goya has observed the evolution of green roofs in BC, from hippie homes to ritzy towers. Despite the enthusiasm, she notes a glaring lack of policy incentivizing the widespread adoption of green roofs. She envisions a future where every building, regardless of stature, integrates green roofs and green infrastructure for their myriad benefits.

Randy’s Favourite: Home garage with clematis
Randy’s Favourite: Home garage with clematis

Randy Sharp

Randy Sharp graduated from the University of Oregon in Landscape Architecture (BLA). Inspired by the Garry Oak ecosystem, his graduation thesis focused on restoring a former gravel pit to represent the diverse ­­­grassland ecosystems of the Willamette Valley. This included a design for a structure as a place to rest, reflect and gather, which was covered with a sloping green roof that mimicked the distant golden hills.

In 1977, Randy immigrated to Canada and joined the urban design team for the redevelopment of Granville Island for the Canada Housing and Mortgage Corporation (CMHC). In 1980, Randy established Sharp & Diamond Landscape Architecture Inc. Major achievements include the Vancouver International Airport (YVR), the Seymour Filtration Plant (Metro Vancouver), Broadway Tech Centre (Bentall Kennedy/Quad Real), the headquarters of Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC) and the Delbrook Community Recreation Centre in North Vancouver.

After being diagnosed with Parkinson’s, Randy retired from Sharp & Diamond Landscape Architecture to focus on writing about the ‘Healthy City,’ teaching green roof implementation and consulting in urban ecological design. Mr. Sharp is passionate about adopting Vancouver’s climate crisis policies for the Jericho Lands, the Rain City Strategy, mass timber and sustainable forestry products. 

Fai Favourite
Fai Favourite

Fai Hui

Awakened to the impacts of climate change, Fai left his career as a Business Transformation Manager at a private equity firm to begin his journey as an urban organic farmer. Shortly thereafter, he started designing, installing and maintaining rooftop farms at universities, schools and offices. To help students and staff understand the real world impact of climate change, he taught them how to grow their own food on rooftop farms.

In 2023, Fai joined Ginkgo Sustainability, Canada’s largest green roof installation and maintenance company. As BC densifies, he hopes to use green roofs to help address the environmental impacts.  

He has attained RHS Level 2 Horticulture, Organic Inspector and BC IPM Pesticide Applicator certifications. He is currently working towards his Green Roof Installers and Maintenance Professional (GRIMP) designation.  Fai holds a BA with distinction in economics and philosophy from UofT, and a LLB from UBC. After university, he spent a decade at Nortel working in Ottawa, Hong Kong and Beijing.