Team

Co-founder and Executive Director

A seasoned non profit leader, communicator and community collaborator, Karen also served as executive director for Third Space Charity and Kelowna Women’s Shelter in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada. Karen brings 35+ years of career experience in the private, public, and non-profit sectors to her work advocating for survivors of IPV, conducting knowledge translation and mobilization activities, and supporting research, development, and dissemination of promising practices. Mason has training in trauma-informed practice and advanced strangulation prevention, and is a member of the Pink Concussions Partner-Inflicted Brain Injury Task Force, the ENIGMA International Consortium Working Group on Brain Injury in Intimate Partner Violence, the Women’s Health Research Cluster, and the Canadian Concussion Network’s Advisory Council. Mason is also the recipient of the 2026 Kelowna Women in Business Change Maker RISE Award.

Co-founder and Scientific Director

Paul is a professor in the School of Health and Exercise Sciences at the University of British Columbia’s Okanagan campus in Kelowna, B.C., Canada. His research focusses on the basic mechanisms of sensorimotor control and the cerebrovascular, neurocognitive, and sensorimotor aspects of brain dysfunction resulting from traumatic brain injuries (TBI). Since 2016, he has focused much of his research on better understanding brain dysfunction in women who have experienced intimate partner violence-related BI.

Director of Operations

A seasoned and respected operator, Kelsey has extensive start-up to enterprise experience, and a strong background in portfolio & program management and strategic planning. Over his 20+ year career, Kelsey has managed programs and planning across 500+ person organizations, and supported external, key stakeholders to implementation of complex initiatives. As director of operations for Wheelhouse Ventures, he managed investments in multiple, seed-stage companies, oversaw the design, development, and construction of the Kelowna Innovation Centre, and established and supported the operation of a venture capital corporation.

Project Coordinator (finance and fundraising)

Nujhat holds a Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies (Power, Conflict, and Ideas) from the University of British Columbia (Okanagan), along with both a Master and Bachelor of Social Science in Criminology from the University of Dhaka. With over five years of experience in academic research, Nujhat specializes in gender-based violence and trauma victims. She previously conducted research on traumatic brain injury and intimate partner violence as a Research Assistant as well as served as a Research Coordinator at UBCO in a community-based health project.

Project Coordinator (research and engagement)

Teagan holds a Master of Science in Global Health from McMaster University and a Bachelor of Honours Science in Neuroscience from Dalhousie University. With previous experience as a community support facilitator for people with severe brain injuries, she has worked directly with survivors facing these challenges. Teagan also has research experience in the Cognitive Health and Recovery Research Laboratory, where she focused on spatial neglect symptoms following stroke or unilateral brain injury.

Project Manager

Natalie is a people-centered professional with over a decade of experience across the well-being, education, and nonprofit sectors. Driven by a deep commitment to creating and managing programs that are inclusive, meaningful, and impactful, her career has included expanding a Canadian arts and mental health charity, developing youth well-being resources at Kids Help Phone, designing virtual learning programs for a global coaching startup, and delivering suicide prevention trainings in her local community. She brings both the heart and the strategy needed to ensure that those affected by intimate partner violence and brain injury receive the education, care, and support they need to thrive.

Marketing and Communications Manager

Victoria Ott brings more than 20 years of experience leading communications, engagement, brand, and systems transformation work across healthcare, nonprofit, education, and public sectors. Her work focuses on helping organizations navigate complexity in more human, connected, and meaningful ways—whether through storytelling, public engagement, digital transformation, or culture change initiatives. She cares deeply about making complex information more accessible and creating systems that better support people when they need them most. SOAR’s work is deeply personal and important to Victoria, as brain injuries caused by intimate partner violence remain one of the most overlooked and misunderstood public health issues affecting survivors today. She is passionate about helping shine a light on this hidden epidemic, reducing stigma, increasing awareness, and supporting the collaboration and systems change needed to reduce barriers to care and improve outcomes for survivors across Canada.

Senior Operations Coordinator

Sam brings over a decade of hands-on experience designing and managing the internal systems, CRM data infrastructure, revenue reporting and forecasting models that keep non-profit operations moving forward. He studied international development and fundraising management, an educational foundation that naturally led to his operational focus on fundraising operations, database systems, and robust revenue reporting. Prior to joining SOAR, Sam spent eleven years at the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR) as a fundraiser and Advancement Operations Manager. There, he focused on translating data into actionable fundraising strategy, optimizing CRM workflows, and revenue reporting. Sam was drawn to SOAR by the urgency of its mission. Intimate partner violence is a massive, often hidden public health crisis, and the reality that so many survivors deal with unnoticed brain injuries is staggering. Sam believes SOAR’s work matters because it bridges these critical gaps. By translating complex science into real-world training for frontline workers, the organization can help teams adapt their care, fundamentally changing how survivors are supported as they rebuild their lives.