Our Team

Alicia Oeser, Director

Prefers name to pronouns

Alicia is a settler from Southern California where the original and current caretakers of the land, water, and air are the Cahuilla, Tongva, Luiseño, and Serrano peoples. Alicia graduated from the University of New Hampshire with a BA in Political Science, followed by DePaul University’s MA program in Sociology.

Professionally, since 2006, Alicia has been working with survivors of sexual, relationship, and gender-based violence, harassment and harm. Alicia has held roles in the field at non-profits, in local government, and higher education. Prior to arriving at UBC in 2020, Alicia most recently served as the Director for the University of California Los Angeles’ Campus Assault Resources and Education Program and before that as the Director for Harvard University’s Office of Sexual Assault Prevention & Response.

Alicia contextualizes the work with personal and political queerness, an atypical brain, and a commitment to the active learning required to be an accomplice in the tremendous work of accessibility, decolonization and anti-racism. Alicia currently serves on the Vancouver City Council’s 2SLGBTQIA Advisory Committee.

Outside of work, Alicia can be found eating vegan tacos, devouring telenovelas, reading delicious fiction written by cis women, trans people of all genders, non-binary, two-spirit, and other gender diverse authors, cultivating streaming recommendations for “strong female leads,” smooshing the dog’s face, or FaceTiming with The World’s Cutest Niblings.

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Althea Evans, Administrative Manager

Pronouns she/her

Althea is of Afro-Caribbean descent and was born in Toronto, Canada, the traditional territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit River, the Anishnabeg, and the Haudenosaunee peoples. She completed her degree in International Development Studies at York University (Toronto) in 2005.

Althea now lives and works on the beautiful land of the Musqueam people. Her work with Jumpstart Charities brought her to Vancouver in 2013 as the Regional Manager of the Western Canada Jumpstart program, where she managed funding to support children from low-income families in sport and recreational activities. In her 15 year professional career, Althea has been drawn to work that focuses on social issues in many facets of life. She is inspired and excited every day to work with her incredibly talented and compassionate teammates at SVPRO.

In her free time, Althea roams the planet as often as she can, and has visited over 20 countries and 6 continents. She is a global citizen at heart and maintains her connection with the world by regularly getting lost in new places. She also lives for road trips with friends, listening to the latest greatest podcast series, and taking pictures of absolutely everything from the beautiful to the mundane (which is beautiful too, in its own quiet way).

Ari Willis, Support Specialist

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Ari is a queer, non-binary Korean adoptee, settler, and writer who is humbled to walk alongside individuals on their healing journeys. They have been involved in anti-violence work for over ten years in paid and volunteer roles and for many additional years in community.

Ari was born on Jeju Island, South Korea, and raised on the traditional and unceded territory of the Katzie and Kwantlen nations. Their academic background is in law, gender studies, and English literature. Prior to SVPRO, Ari worked at WAVAW Rape Crisis Centre supporting trans, gender diverse, and 2-Spirit individuals who have experienced sexual violence. In this role, they were a part of an organizational and sector-wide shift to increase access and safety for gender diverse individuals seeking support services.

Ari has also acted as an advocate in the Downtown Eastside, a legal researcher, and a board member with Ishtar Transition Housing Society. As part of an intervenor coalition of anti-violence organizations, they had the opportunity to provide legal support in a strategic litigation case at the Supreme Court of Canada.

Anti-oppression, decolonization, and collective liberation are core values for Ari, and they are grateful to ground their work and life in these frameworks. In their spare time, Ari loves to solo hike and camp, write short fiction, and brainstorm and then procrastinate working on creative projects. They are a published poet and happiest nerding out while choosing books for friends and family that they think they’ll love.

Ariana Barer, Educator

Pronouns she/her or they/them

Ariana has been a professional in the anti-violence field for over 10 years. She is Ashkenazi Jewish with ancestors from Eastern Europe who were displaced by violence, and takes that to heart in considering the colonial displacement and active resistance of the Indigenous people on whose land she lives. She came to unceded coast salish territories in 2011 from Amiskwaciy-Wâskahikan (Edmonton, Alberta) – Cree, Blackfoot, Métis, Nakoda, Tsuu T’ina, Dene (Treaty 6) territory – to attend UBC’s Faculty of Education for graduate studies after completing a BA in Sociology at the University of Alberta. Her SSHRC-funded masters thesis was a critical analysis of representations of responsibility for sexual assault prevention in mainstream media and police discourse, countered in grassroots anti-violence activism.

Before joining SVPRO in 2018, she worked at WAVAW Rape Crisis Centre for 7 years, providing training and education for service providers across BC, crisis line operators, high schools, post secondary institutions, media outlets, touring theatre productions, and the public.

Ariana has also been a choreographer in dance, theatre, and choral productions for over 10 years, and spent 9 years as a feminist radio producer and host. She is keenly aware of how much can be done through the arts and media to question and shift cultural norms and beliefs around sexual harm as a seemingly inevitable part of life. Invested in how sexuality, sexual harm, queerness, race, trans and non-binary and BIPOC performers, and survivors are represented, she completed training in 2021 to become a certified intimacy coordinator for film and television.

Ariana believes that anti-violence movements, and all social justice efforts, are fueled by the unique gifts, talents, and perspectives we each bring to this collective work. Supporting and learning from the next generation of changemakers gives her life.

Dawn Nealon, Support Specialist

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Dawn came to Vancouver three years ago from Calgary, Alberta, the traditional territories of the people of the Treaty 7 region in southern Alberta, which includes the Blackfoot Confederacy (comprising the Siksika, Piikani, and Kainai First Nations), the Tsuut’ina Nation, and the Stoney Nakoda Nation (including Chiniki, Bearspaw, and Wesley First Nations). She joined SVPRO after time at Vancouver Coastal Health and has been with the office since 2018.

Dawn is a registered social worker with over 14 years of experience working to support individuals, families, and communities. Dawn holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work as well as a Clinical Masters of Social work from the University of Calgary. Dawn has worked in a wide variety of settings including non-profits, government, hospital, and education. Dawn has a background in victim services, court support, hospital-based sexual assault services, research and school-based mental health. The primary focus of her career has been in the areas of human sexuality and sexualized violence. This was reflected through Dawn’s work as sexual health counsellor and educator before becoming a sexual violence therapist with Calgary’s primary sexual assault Centre.

Dawn is passionate about ending the stigma of talking about bodies, whether it is about sexual health or sexual violence. She firmly believes people have a right to feel good in their bodies and that we cannot achieve this without talking about the experiences we have within our bodies.

Outside of work Dawn spends her time with her puppy Sig getting to know Vancouver, where he is frequently mistaken for a fox. Dawn is much relieved to live in a place that does not get slammed with snow, but even in Vancouver she continues to dream of tropical locales- which likely explains her love of warm weather plants.

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Erin Offer, Support Specialist*

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Erin, a queer mixed-race settler, was born and raised on the traditional, ancestral, unceded territories of the Matsqui, Kwantlen, Katzie, and Semiahmoo Nations.


After completing her BA in Political Science (University of Victoria), Erin worked in documentary and independent film and TV. She returned to school for her Bachelor of Social Work (University of British Columbia) and her Master of Social Work (University of Toronto). Erin practised social work in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside for several years in outreach and counselling roles in HIV/AIDS care, home health, substance use treatment and harm reduction, and women’s programs.


Erin’s approach comes from lessons from family, those who came before her, and those she works alongside, who are generous enough to share their stories, suffering, and successes with her: that we are responsible for one another’s well-being, which requires that we contribute what we’re able, with humility and empathy.


Outside of work, Erin can be found feeling insecure in hip hop dance classes, and doing stand-up comedy and improv— using the latter mediums to express her confusion and hopefulness about most things.

*Erin is currently on leave through February of 2024.

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Habibatou Ba, Support Specialist

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Habibatou was born and raised in Dakar and moved to New York City at the age of 15 before setting roots in this Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh territory 15 years ago.

Habibatou’s interest in social justice and cultural understanding was sparked during her studies at the United Nations International School in New York City, which exposed her to 100 nationalities and a myriad of cultures and gave her a platform to speak her mind. This spark led her to study Cultural Anthropology and Philosophy at UBC, which not only helped her understand that her differences were an asset, but also led her to work on projects that focused on communities that were fleeing violence.

Habi combines a deep experience in harm reduction and trauma informed practices centered on feminist and anti-oppression values, with a lust for life and insatiable curiosity. She worked at the SASC, and also spent 10 years working in the Vancouver Downtown Eastside in transitional housing shelters and recovery projects that provide support to sex workers, people fleeing domestic violence, and gender-based violence. In addition, she went to culinary school to train as a chef and worked as an apprentice in a reputable fine dining restaurant which introduced her to structural and collective work and the power of food in healing.

She comes to this work always thinking of different ways to support one’s healing path. She truly believes that healing happens in ways we connect with our environment, it happens in relation to our intersections, some of hers being: having lived in three different countries, speaking fluently three different languages (English, French and wolloff), the culinary arts, anthropology and her experience working in sexual violence prevention & response. On her days off you can find Habi enjoying walks/ foraging with her daughter and dog, cooking up a feast or weightlifting at the gym.

Ogake Angwenyi, Support Specialist

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Ogake was born and raised in the city in the sun (Nairobi, Kenya) and is grateful for the serendipitous mix of luck, choice, and opportunity that has led her to call the beautiful lands of the Coast Salish Nations a second home.

An avid traveller, Ogake has been fortunate to live, study, and work in Wales, Canada, and France over the last decade. She completed her Bachelor in International Studies at Simon Fraser University in 2012 and her Masters in Social Policy at Sciences Po in Paris in 2018. Ever curious about the world and the human condition, Ogake constantly learns from those she is so fortunate to work with and for, and feels especially grateful for work that allows her to engage with people one-on-one.

Before coming to UBC, Ogake spent the last few years working in the anti-violence movement as a front-line worker and in team leadership supporting and advocating on behalf of survivors of gender-based violence, interpersonal violence, and sexualized violence. Through various roles within transition housing and community-based victim services as well as in her current role,Ogake endeavours to meet her clients where they’re at, and to offer a safe and supportive presence while honouring individual agency and providing meaningful options. Ogake is grateful for the unique privilege of being able to witness, in her clients, shared humanity, vulnerability, pain, strength, resilience, and triumph.

When she isn’t working, Ogake enjoys frolicking in the outdoors, cultivating her love for interior decor, singing out loud, gazing lovingly at flowers, and reading through her growing collection of books and magazines.

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Sasha Santos, Educator

Pronouns they/them or she/her

Sasha was born on territories belonging to the Káínawa, Siksiká, Piikani, Tsúūt’ínà, and Îyârhe Nakoda, as well as the Métis Nation of Alberta, that today are colonially occupied under the name “Calgary”. Sasha grew up and still lives in East Vancouver on the unceded, occupied territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Skwxwú7mesh, and səlilwətaɬ; recognition of Indigenous jurisdiction and governance is a central principle that underpins Sasha’s work.

Sasha graduated from UBC with a BA in Political Science (2005) and BEd (2006), followed by graduate studies in Public Policy and Public Health at SFU. Sasha’s background includes almost a decade as a public school teacher in Vancouver, teaching courses including Women’s Studies, Law, Social Studies, and English; five years policy work with the Tsawwassen and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) First Nations; and over 15 years of community work and activism focused on gender equality, ending violence, anti-oppression, and anti-poverty work, including with the Vancouver and BC Teachers’ Federations and numerous activist communities.

Sasha is a big picture thinker who is keen to connect research with lived experience and engage in difficult conversations. As a dedicated life-long learner, Sasha is invested in the work of self-reflection related to privilege and oppression, guided by the understanding that violence prevention requires us all to be willing to leverage and risk losing our privilege in the name of pursuing safety and equity for all.

Outside the world of work, Sasha spends time in community organizing, writing, binging feminist sci-fi, hiking, laying on the beach, dancing, and doting on Ophelia the small cat.