Community Professional Learning Day

Karen Gelb is a Vancouver-based consultant who works with organizations across the social purpose sector to define their purpose, develop their strategy, and understand their impact. To do this, she pairs her deep understanding of research, evaluation, knowledge mobilization and implementation methods with her energetic curiosity.

Karen brings more than 20 years of experience as a qualitative researcher and evaluator to her work. Over that time, she has worked in research institutes at BC Women’s Hospital + Health Centre, academic departments at UBC, with community-based research teams, government bodies, local non-profits, and with the philanthropic sector. She holds a Master’s in Studies in Policy and Practice from the University of Victoria.

Karen’s work is grounded in a collaborative, non-judgemental, strengths-based approach. Guided by a systems perspective, she is always keen to understand how each initiative fits within the larger community context, in order to produce deeply meaningful and useful outcomes. At the heart of her work is helping people find clarity in complexity, so they can lead with intention, build through good process, and impact what matters most.

Trilby Smith joined the Ronald S. Roadburg Foundation in 2024. She is a seasoned philanthropic professional having served in multiple roles both inside philanthropic institutions and supporting organizations as a consultant. Prior to joining the Roadburg S. Foundation, she managed her own consulting practice focused on strategic evaluation, research and facilitation for both philanthropic and non-profit organizations. From 2017-2020 Trilby was the inaugural Director of Learning and Evaluation at Vancouver Foundation, where she created and led an organization-wide approach to learning and evaluation. Trilby held additional roles at Vancouver Foundation from 2014-2017 and previously worked at the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research as well as Metis Associates.

Trilby has held a variety of volunteer roles in the Vancouver Jewish community, including as a current board member of Congregation Beth Israel. She holds a Master of Management from Brandeis University.

Lena Perez serves as the Director of System Marketing at Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA), where she leads the marketing strategy, messaging, and support for the network of 141 Jewish Federations across North America. Previously, Lena served as Vice President of Marketing and Communications at the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta and co-owned a marketing agency serving Jewish nonprofit organizations across the United States and Israel. She brings extensive experience in strategic communications, brand development, and nonprofit marketing, with a focus on strengthening the reach and impact of Jewish organizations.

For the past four years, Gayle has served as Director of Development at Jewish Federation of British Columbia, leading the organization’s annual campaign and working closely with donors, volunteers, community partners and leadership to strengthen Jewish life across British Columbia.
Today, Gayle’s role has evolved to Chief Development Officer, reflecting her expanded leadership across Federation’s development portfolio. In this role, she will continue to lead campaign and philanthropic strategy while deepening donor engagement, growing Federation’s base of support, and building the resources needed to advance our community’s priorities.
A second-generation Vancouverite, Gayle is deeply connected to the community and brings a strong passion for philanthropy, relationship-building and creating meaningful opportunities for people to make a difference.

At the heart of her work is a simple belief: when we bring people together around a shared purpose, we can build a stronger, more connected and resilient Jewish community!

Jack is an experienced business transformation leader with over 15 years of experience bridging strategy and implementation across government, technology, and retail sectors. He is passionate about building high-performing teams, developing talent, and turning ambitious goals into successful outcomes, one project at a time.

Serving as the Managser, Strategic Development & Partnerships at the Jewish Federation of British Columbia, her experience spans nonprofit fundraising and partnerships in Israel and Canada, including her previous role as Partnerships Director at Israel’s Tzedek Centers. She brings hands-on experience developing grant proposals, communicating impact, and cultivating funder relationships, with a practical focus on connecting an organization’s work with funding opportunities.