Team

Lezlie Wagman retired from Vancouver Coastal Health’s Sharon Martin Community Health Fund (SMART Fund) in 2012. As Manager of the Fund since 2001 she supported the initial start-up and continuing funding of Arts & Health Project recognizing it as an innovative strategy to build creative art skills and community capacity with seniors.

Lezlie brings more than 35 years experience in population health promotion covering areas of strategic planning, program evaluation, community development, social marketing, health literacy, health education and policy development. She continues to support Arts & Health as a volunteer.

Currently a Population Health Policy Consultant, Claire has worked in Public Health for 16 years. She uses her Masters Degree in Community and Regional Planning to provide leadership within Vancouver Coastal Health, which is one of 6 Regional Health authorities in BC, in the areas of healthy communities and community food security. The Vancouver Coastal Health Population Health team uses partnerships, policy, leadership and advocacy to address the determinants of health and support the creation of healthy environments and healthy equity.

Claire has been an executive member of the Arts & Health Project since the project’s inception in 2006.

Anthony is a Certified Professional Gerontologist and the Planner 2, Seniors with the City of Richmond. In this role, he leads policy, planning and strategy for the aging population and works collaboratively across departments and with community partners and other levels of government to help make Richmond a more age-inclusive city.

Anthony completed the MA in Gerontology through Simon Fraser University and has been working in the field of aging for his entire career, including in seniors’ centres, care homes, adult day programs, hospitals and research settings. He previously worked with the City of Vancouver as Strategic Lead for Aging and Older Persons, the Alzheimer Society of B.C., and as Executive Director with the West End Seniors’ Network in Vancouver and the Langley Senior Resources Society.

Steve is the Director of Recreation for Vancouver, and a leader experienced in advancing innovative, inclusive, and community focused recreation systems. With senior leadership experience across multiple municipalities as well as Board roles with British Columbia Recreation & Parks Association (BCRPA) and past roles with Canadian Parks & Recreation Association (CPRA), he brings a strong strategic lens to sector collaboration, policy, and service excellence. Steve is committed to shaping equitable, future ready recreation and sport environments

Marie Lopes is the Coordinator of Arts Culture and Engagement for the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation. Marie is an arts educator and administrator who has worked for over 24 years in museums and arts organizations, creating exhibitions and projects fostering creative engagement and public discourse in the arts. She studied Art History at Wayne State University and was Curator of Education at art galleries in Windsor, Edmonton and Burnaby. In Vancouver since 1999, she has worked at ArtStarts and the Vancouver Art Gallery, as a Public Programs coordinator and Head of Public Programs, responsible for artists’ residencies, performances, conferences, classes, artist talks and cultural events.

Marie joined the Vancouver Park Board in 2009 and worked as an Arts Programmer at the Roundhouse Community Centre developing engaging arts projects connecting professional creative practice and everyday life. As an Arts Programmer she coordinated partnerships with arts organizations across disciplines who present their work at the Roundhouse and around the city in parks and community centres.

Caroline is a contemporary dance artist and has worked in Vancouver as a choreographer and multi-disciplinary creator since 2003. As a dance educator, facilitator, and organizer, Caroline has led community engaged arts projects in community centres, art galleries, parks, schools and neighbourhoods. From 2008-2013, Caroline coordinated dance outreach projects with Made in BC – Dance on Tour, working with communities around the province. She has 20 years of dance and arts facilitation experience in museums, including as a museum educator at the Vancouver Art Gallery from 2009-2016.

Caroline draws on training in group facilitation, trauma informed practice and conflict transformation in her work. She holds an interdisciplinary Bachelor of Arts & Science degree from McMaster University, and completed her professional dance training at MainDance. In 2025 she completed her Masters of Fine Arts in Interdisciplinary Arts at Simon Fraser University. Caroline has been Project Coordinator of Arts & Health since 2015.