Meet Your Nominees
Please click each photo to get to know your contestants for Park Board. Make sure your membership is up to date to vote on who becomes the Green Party of Vancouver's candidates in the October 17, 2026 municipal election.
Park Board Contestants
Adam Hawk
Adam Hawk
Adam is a dedicated father and husband, originally from Montréal, who has called Vancouver home since 2006. After earning a degree in Commerce from Concordia University, he built a career in the organic and natural foods sector, grounded in principles of healthy living, sustainability, and fair-trade practices. He has also served on the board of the Vancouver Greens, several strata councils, and the Velopalooza Bike Festival, bringing governance experience and community leadership to his work. A long-time member of the Strathcona Community Garden, he grew food for over 15 years and advocates for expanding access to community gardening across the city.
Adam’s vision for Vancouver centres on environmental stewardship, community well-being, and equitable access to public spaces. A strong advocate for bike and pedestrian safety, he organizes community cycling events and champions investments in active and public transportation as climate and gridlock solutions. He believes safe, accessible mobility is essential to ensure residents of all ages and abilities can enjoy Vancouver’s parks.
With hands-on experience building and renovating homes, Adam brings a practical, solutions-focused perspective to addressing aging and dilapidated community centres. He is committed to renewing and upgrading these vital public spaces. He believes thoughtful planning and investment can transform community centres into vibrant, inclusive hubs that strengthen neighbourhood connections.
Adam is also committed to protecting and expanding Vancouver’s tree canopy, recognizing its role in climate resilience, urban cooling, and community health. He supports proactive tree planting, preservation, and maintenance to ensure greener neighbourhoods. He also believes in providing 24-hour access to clean, safe public toilets as essential infrastructure that supports dignity, public health, and inclusion. His perspective is further informed by his wife’s work as a wildlife biologist, public forest school teacher, and environmental consultant.
He also supports expanding access to cultural and recreational opportunities, volunteering with the CULTCH and York Theatre and hosting visiting artists during the Fringe Festival.
An active outdoor enthusiast, Adam enjoys hiking, cross-country skiing, and cycling with his family, strengthening his commitment to protecting Vancouver’s parks.
Adam is running for Park Board to help build a healthier, greener, and safer Vancouver that remains welcoming, inclusive, and accessible to all.
Breanne Smart
Breanne Smart
Breanne is a transplant from Toronto who fell in love with Vancouver's green space in her early twenties and because of it, decided to call Vancouver her forever home. She's spent the last ten years working out in Vancouver's community centres, swimming in its pools, and volunteering in its parks.
As a new mom, Breanne spent every single day of her maternity leave again in a community centre, pool, or park. She wants to help preserve and rebuild these resources for her daughter to enjoy as she grows up in Vancouver.
Outside of her love for the urban outdoors, Breanne is one of Vancouver's leading vegan chefs, best known for helping build the plant-based food scene at MILA and Virtuous Pie. She believes that the easiest step to making the most significant change to our climate is on our plate.
She's also a passionate field hockey player, having played for and served on the board of the Jokers Field Hockey Club for the past four years. She is a huge advocate for kid and adult access to not just natural green space, but artificial turf, paved tracks, and hardwood courts.
She's a proud East Van resident, with a deep connection to Cedar Cottage Park, China Creek North and South, and of course, Trout Lake. She's spent the last ten years in Vancouver volunteering with organizations across the city including the Trout Lake Arts & Social Committee, The Looking Glass Foundation, Big Sisters of Vancouver, and the Ronald McDonald House.
Breanne is running to secure a victory for the Green Party on a board where our perspective on the environment is so crucial to protecting access to parks for generations to come.
Gabi Tremblay
Gabi Tremblay
Gabi Tremblay is passionate about building safe, inclusive, and thriving public spaces - and has the experience to deliver. From frontline emergency response as a Vancouver outdoor lifeguard and outreach worker in the Downtown Eastside, to shaping community-led solutions as a social planner, she brings a grounded understanding of how parks and community spaces serve people at every stage of life.
Gabi spent seven seasons as an outdoor lifeguard, developing strong expertise in public safety, prevention, and team leadership. From open water to recreation facilities, she understands how parks, beaches, and community centres keep people safe, active, and connected.
Through her work with the City of Vancouver’s Homelessness Services Outreach Team, Gabi supported people navigating barriers related to homelessness, poverty, mental health, and substance use. This experience has shown her the critical role community centre programming and social services play in building connection, dignity, and opportunity. She later advanced into a social planner role with the City, leading a pilot project focused on reducing stigma and supporting neighbourhood-led solutions - experiences that continue to shape her approach to people-centered public spaces.
Gabi holds a Master’s in Community and Regional Planning from the University of British Columbia. She brings a strong understanding of land use policy, governance, and community engagement, alongside experience as an investment analyst, where she assesses financial statements and helps advance investments in affordable housing and regenerative agriculture.
A lifelong athlete who has played across Vancouver’s fields and beaches, Gabi is committed to expanding access to recreation for youth and seniors, restoring urban biodiversity, and ensuring parks feel safe and welcoming to everyone. You can find her training for an open water swim race, spending time with friends at Jonathan Rogers Park, or reading a book at Spanish Banks East while keeping an eye on the water.
Spencer van Vloten
Spencer van Vloten
A lifelong lover of Vancouver's parks, Spencer is a writer, community advocate, and accessibility expert, dedicated to making public spaces welcoming for everyone.
A regular commentator on radio and television, he has had over 150 articles published across Canada on accessibility, inclusion, and how public spaces can better serve communities. Spencer is particularly passionate about ensuring that Vancouver’s parks are spaces where everyone can safely and fully enjoy nature, recreation, and community programs.
Spencer founded the Vancouver Community Inclusion Fest and chairs Community Living BC's Vancouver Council. Through these efforts, he has focused on making community spaces—including playgrounds, trails, beaches, and park facilities—more accessible, welcoming, and enjoyable for all.
Governments and organizations at all levels have consulted Spencer on accessibility and public space strategies, and his guidance has been recognized as instrumental in creating safe, inclusive environments.
For his work, Spencer was named the Rick Hansen Foundation’s Difference Maker of the Year, received the City of Vancouver’s Excellence Award for Accessibility, and has earned six other honours for community service, having volunteered with seniors, newcomers, low-income youth, and as a leading member of community cleanups.
Outside advocacy, Spencer loves exploring Vancouver’s parks, sharing his knowledge of BC’s wildlife—especially woodland critters—and helping people connect with the natural and cultural history of the city’s public spaces.
He also enjoys editing his Community Conversations newsletter, a monthly roundup of local resources, events, and opportunities sent to 50,000 Vancouverites.
Feel free to get in touch with Spencer through his website or social media - he'd love to connect!
Tom Digby
Tom Digby
Tom is the current Chair of the Vancouver Park Board, and seeking nomination for re-election as a Park Board Commissioner.
In his first term at Park Board, Tom championed and won dozens of battles including:
- Fighting successfully to preserve the 136-year-old elected Park Board, securing a victory against the Mayor’s anti-democratic efforts to abolish it
- Convincing Commissioners to restore the Stanley Park bike lane in September 2025
- It was originally removed in 2023 in a decision that was later found by the Integrity Commissioner to have been in breach of Code of Conduct by all 6 ABC commissioners
- Negotiating and leading the unanimous Park Board apology to the trans community in view of the Harry Potter event. Disavowed JK Rowling (and he’s glad she knows it!)
- Opposing Mayor Ken Sim’s Zero-Means-Zero budget, which predictably resulted in over $120M in damaging cuts and at least 440 layoffs of City and Park Board staff
- Working with community gardeners to cancel the $320 green bin fee levied by the City in 2026
- Leading and winning the vote to revitalize the stagnant Lost Lagoon and restore it to an intertidal estuary, connecting it to Coal Harbour and to English Bay
- Successfully leading effort to require Park Board contractors to pay the Living Wage
- Receiving an “A” rating from HUB Cycling on cycling infrastructure support
- Leading push for $1.35b investment in parks and recreation facilities in Capital Plan 2027-30
In his day job, Tom is a lawyer working in global intellectual property law. He and his wife live in Kitsilano.
Tom is grateful for the guidance and insights of Pete Fry, Adriane Carr, our School Board trustees, members, and the executive which has been invaluable over his first term.
He asks the members “give me a great team of candidates to run with, and we can continue our long-term winning streak at Park Board. Greens and parks just somehow go together!”
Run with the Greens
Ready to stand up for your community? Become a candidate for the Green Party of Vancouver.
Learn About NominationsWant to Get Involved?
You don't have to run for office to make a difference. Join our movement or volunteer your time.