Christine Boyle

Christine is a born-and-raised Vancouverite, who has never stopped being awed by the geography of this place.

She has a BSc in Urban Agriculture and First Nations Studies from UBC, and an MA in Religious Leadership for Social Change from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. She is also a certified yoga instructor, and an enthusiastic NextUp alumni.

Over the years she’s worked for the Vancouver School Board, Vancouver Coastal Health, and the United Church of Canada, among others. She’s coordinated local community gardens, facilitated community kitchens, taught yoga, led youth retreats, ran workshops on environmental and social justice issues, spent lots of time chatting with people about their feelings, and fed hundreds of people at conferences, workshops, and in her home.

Chris is motivated by a belief in the inherent goodness of people, and a longing for social institutions that support our deep desire to care for one another. Right now she is most excited about doing faith-based community organizing, integrating progressive religious voices in our Canadian political discourse, and building justice-centered community for the 'spiritual but not religious'. Give her a chance, and she'll start talking about our need for new meta-narratives, new understandings of what good lives, lives of purpose and meaning, look like. She also habitually writes long sentences.

In her work life she coordinates the Interfaith Institute for Justice, Peace and Social Movements, and does strategic communications for the Columbia Institute and their Centre for Civic Governance. She also organizes and occasionally blogs via Spirited Social Change.

In her free time she rides her bicycle, bakes bread, and enjoys the company of courageous people.