Compassionate, curious, and extremely thrilled by whales. Alaine has a passion for equitable opportunities, building community and social enterprises, being outside, creating, and refining spaces, and dreaming up new business ideas. She is also a proud Filipino/Indo-Canadian and uses her voice to advocate for intersectional equity. As the Program Manager, of Lower Mainland, Alaine ensures Take a Hike’s Lower Mainland program staff who empower youth, feel supported, and are on the receiving end of our trauma-informed practices of change.
Alaine began her career in the field of community and social services while in Alberta supporting persons with disabilities and families experiencing homelessness. In the midst of this, she launched a social enterprise called Succulent by Nature that was centered around self-care and community. Succulent by Nature created custom terrariums and provided workshops that allocated 10% of profits to be donated back to the community. Over the course of 2 years, $15,000 was donated to charities like, the Ronald McDonald House of Alberta, Alberta SPCA, Meow Foundation and many more. Through owning a business, Alaine realized her love for business strategy which led to a career change as she accepted a role in Business Development for a Big 4 firm. Alaine decided to return to the work that fills her cup and took a leap by moving to Vancouver in 2021 to manage employment readiness and life skills programs for self-identifying women with justice involvement and youth aging out of government care, which is what led her to Take a Hike.
Outside of work, Alaine is a plant mama and loves hanging out with her 18-year-old chihuahua, exploring the forest, going for sea wall runs, and learning how to swim. Alaine dreams of traveling and going on safari in the Serengeti. Ask Alaine about decolonizing social systems, baking focaccia, and 90’s Hip Hop and RnB.