Our Team

Katie McCallum

Manager
katie.mccallum@ubc.ca

I joined the Community Engagement office as an Advisor in 2013, and have been managing the team since 2017. As Manager, I set direction and support a team of engagement professionals who put equity and justice at the core of their work. In my role, I collaborate with on and off-campus partners to develop strategies and execute programming that makes reciprocal community-university engagement across UBC easier and better supported. I also coordinate administrative leads across the institution around a central engagement table.

Before joining UBC, I did proposal writing, community-based research, user-focused evaluation, and strategic planning with communities and non-profit organizations in Metro Vancouver, Central and Northern BC and national NGOs based in Toronto and Montreal. I feel honoured to have worked with many different communities on issues of pressing regional importance, including immigration and settlement, housing and homelessness, Indigenous community planning, food security, climate action and the opioid overdose crisis.

I holds a Bachelor and Master of Arts in Geography from UBC, with supervision from Dr. Daniel Hiebert, Dr. David Ley and Dr. Elvin Wyly.

Kat Cureton

Advisor
kat.cureton@ubc.ca

I joined the CE team in 2016. I am an advisor on community-university partnerships. My role is to help community partners navigate UBC and find helpful people, programs, and resources. I also co-lead the Community Engagement Network. Before joining the CE office, I was a sessional instructor in the School of Kinesiology where I taught a community-engaged learning course for three years. I spent a number of years working in non-profit organizations in Vancouver, like AMSSA, Red Fox Healthy Living Society, and Collingwood Neighbourhood House, which is where I built my knowledge of community engagement. I have a M.A. from UBC and a B.A. from Western University, both in kinesiology.

Ask me about: If you are a community partner interested in exploring partnership opportunities with the university and don’t know where to start, let’s chat!

Ryan Brown

Advisor
ryan.brown@ubc.ca

I joined the Community Engagement team in 2017 with the aim of supporting innovative and progressive community-university engagement at UBC. My focus is on creating infrastructure, programs, tools and other resources that can drive mutually beneficial and reciprocal collaborations with community partners.

Prior to joining Community Engagement I was a research analyst with the Ministry of Children and Youth Services in Ontario, helping to co-develop an Indigenous Children and Youth Strategy. I was privileged to work closely with First Nations, Métis, and Inuit partners to co-create a culturally appropriate outcomes framework that acknowledges, respects and empowers Indigenous ways of knowing in telling a story of wellness with Indigenous children, families and communities.

I hold a Masters in Sociology and Anthropology and a Post-Baccalaureate in Social Policy Analysis from Simon Fraser University, where I explored the interplay of biopolitics and affect in childbirth experiences in British Columbia.

Ask me about: community-university engagement programs, policies, and planning at UBC.

Shayla Walker

CUES Fund Program Manager
shayla.walker@ubc.ca

I joined the Community Engagement Office in August 2022. I am the Program Manager of the Community University Engagement Support (CUES) Fund.

Before coming to UBC, I worked at Watershed Watch Salmon Society as their Operations Director, managing day-to-day operations as well fundraising and budgeting for the organization. Prior to that, I worked at MakeWay Foundation as a Senior Program Associate as part of their Strategic Programs team. In this role, I focused on grant-making that supported Indigenous, environmental and social equity issues.

I received my Bachelor of Arts majoring in Sociology with a minor in Anthropology from the University of British Columbia.

Ask me about: CUES and PRE funding programs.

Holly Kim

Operations and Program Manager
holly.kim@ubc.ca

I joined the Community Engagement team in 2017, and my role is to manage the day-to-day functioning of the unit and the administration of the funding programs (CUES and PRF). I support other areas of the operations including finance and budgeting, project management and human resources. When I am not in the Community Engagement office, I am a Registered Clinical Counsellor with my private practice. Before joining UBC, I worked for a large bank and managed branches.

I have a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from UBC and a Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology from Adler University.

Ask me about: CUES and PRF funding programs, finance, budgeting and HR

Oliver Mann

Communications Strategist
oliver.mann@ubc.ca

I joined in February 2022 and support the team with communications and the promotion of our various initiatives. I also create stories that demonstrate the value of reciprocal community-university engagement at UBC and beyond.

I have a decade of experience working in communications at the university and creating digital content for clients and projects. I am a generalist. I can develop communications plans and social media campaigns, write stories and film videos, build websites and analytics reports, and more.

Ask me about: Communications and creating stories about community-university engagement.