Our Team

NexUp team works with the applicant(s) and local partner organizations to best define how requested activity(ies) meet the needs of the community and fall under the NexUp Pillars

Jermaine Tallio

NexUp Lead

Jermaine grew up in Bella Coola – Bear Clan. Starting as a NexUp participant, Jermaine has grown into a leadership role and now supports the NexUp team as a Youth Lead. He is often seen playing video games, hanging out with his cat, and generally horsing around.

Moe Mohammad

Youth In Residence

Moe who is of Syrian Kurdish background started as a participant with NexUp and took lead on supporting youth in shaping their ideas to the NexUp team. Moe became the Youth In Residence with NexUp-DCS whose main focus is Youth Engagement- building relationships with the youth. Being that NexUp is Youth Lead, Moe leads the Youth Advisory Team to cross their ideas to NexUp as we aim to implement their needs.

Kyler Tang

Project Assistant

Kyler is a project assistant with NexUp and thrives in creative or athletic spaces. Kyler is a first generation Canadian with over 5 years of experience working and volunteering in the community. From piano, to sports, to coding languages, he enjoys new discoveries and picking up new skills. He uses his previous experience planning, facilitating, and leading recreation groups as a base for his work while he continues to learn and grow. Kyler is currently working towards a degree in nursing at Langara. In the future he hopes to complete his program and practice travel nursing around the world. In his spare time, he binges tv shows, tries new restaurants, and trains martial arts.

Leona Lu

Administrator

As the operations manager for DUDES Club Society, Leona has demonstrated exceptional leadership and organizational skills, driving significant improvements in the organization’s overall efficiency and effectiveness. Leona holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and comes from a Han Chinese background. In her free time, she enjoys hiking and spending time with her dog and two cats.

Frank Cohn

Co-Director

Frank has more than 20 years of experience in managing and evaluating Community Development, Social Impact, and Education Programs, in 22 countries; with leadership capacity building work with over 10,000 people in over 100 rural villages and urban neighbourhoods. Frank also serves as the Exec. Director of the Vancouver Association for Survivors of Torture.

 Rome Mahdavi

Administrative Coordinator

Rome (They/Them) is a first generation immigrant with a variety of lived and professional experience. They find their best self in creative and challenging spaces. Rome always looks forward to developing their worldview and knowledge through community connections and meaningful conversations. In their spare time, you can find them with their cat Babylon, playing video games, or chilling at the park.

Francis Baptiste

Social Media Specialist

Francis is of Syilx ancestry from the South Okanagan Valley. A member of the Osoyoos Indian Band (OIB), Francis grew up on the OIB reservation before moving to Vancouver for college. For the past twenty years Francis has lived in Vancouver, where he’s working in Marketing and Communications for organizations like Indigenous Tourism BC and Sacred Trust. He is also a musician and a music journalist who writes for Exclaim magazine.

Cruz

Senior Web Designer

Cruz is a jack of all trades. He’s a web designer, UI expert, talented artist, app store and advertising creative design legend. He also has experience working with Big IPs. Cruz is someone who has the creative flair that every client loves. While his talent is in his creativity, his output and speed of high quality deliverables is his forte.