Welcome Back Event 2026

Agenda

Paul Cheng Memorial Lecture and Inspiring Social Worker of the Year Award

The UBC School of Social Work is proud to commemorate the contributions of an outstanding social justice activist and social work leading-light, Paul Cheng.

Paul was a social worker who immigrated to Canada from Hong Kong and dedicated himself to serve refugees, new immigrants, youth in care, street-involved youth, people with addictions, and many others in Hong Kong and Canada for over forty years. It is widely recognized by his colleagues, clients, students, and friends that Paul’s deep caring, enduring social justice ethics, strong professional practice, and tireless personal efforts touched and inspired many people in the social work and larger community.

In memory of Paul, the Inspiring Social Worker of the Year Award is is co-sponsored by BCASW and the UBC School of Social Work to recognize social workers in British Columbia whose professional and personal efforts and dedication to people from marginalized communities has inspired others to care and contribute to social justice.

Inspiring Social Worker of the Year 2026 Award
Winner: Kaitlyn Nohr

Kaitlyn (she/her) is a registered social worker, as well as the founder, co-owner, and executive director of WILD Collaborative Harm Reduction Association, and has been working in social services since 2008. Kaitlyn has worked primarily in community-based case management and non-profit programming in Victoria and South Island, in a variety of different capacities. Kaitlyn has hands-on experience working with individuals and communities in urban, rural, and remote spaces. Her work experience involves supporting folks of all ages, backgrounds, demographics, and experiences through case management, as well as in systemic advocacy, equity, program development, and community-based education.

Kaitlyn has a particular interest in working with marginalized and vulnerable demographics through a deeply rooted harm reduction philosophy and finds collaboration to be the key to moving forward in safe and healthy ways. Pulled from both lived/living experiences as well as through empowering relationships with folks she works with, Kaitlyn has a strong belief in the importance of meaningful involvement of people who use drugs at all levels of harm reduction responses, programs, and drug policy discussions. The “nothing about us, without us” understanding is what strongly influences her practice and ideology.

Outside of work, Kaitlyn enjoys spending time with her family and friends, attending live music and community events, cooking, and reading.

Honouring Our Nominees

Jennifer-Lee Koble, a clinical private practitioner and a adjunct faculty of the UBC School of Social Work, exemplifies the Inspiring Social Worker of the Year Award criteria through her transformative dedication to Indigenous sovereignty and justice in British Columbia. With Métis/Cree and European ancestry, she held BSW and MSW degrees from UBC and is a registered social worker specializing in colonial trauma healing and anti-Indigenous racism education. As the former Strategic Lead for Indigenous Cultural Safety at Vancouver Coastal Health, Jennifer-Lee profoundly shifted institutional culture. A revered mentor and somatic abolitionist, she inspires others by modeling decolonizing practice with humility and courage, profoundly impacting Indigenous communities across the province.

Gwen Lister exemplifies the Inspiring Social Worker of the Year Award through her transformative leadership and unwavering commitment to social justice in British Columbia. As the visionary Team Lead behind the Vancouver Junction and the Community Outpatient Recovery Experience program, Gwen has expanded inclusive, person-centered substance use supports to seven locations across the province. Her practice champions marginalized populations, specifically 2SLGBTQIA+ and Indigenous communities, by integrating cultural safety and traditional healing. A recognized role model, Gwen inspires colleagues by elevating lived experience and dismantling systemic barriers to care, profoundly impacting the social work profession.

Ewelina Mikos, a first-generation Polish settler, exemplifies the Inspiring Social Worker of the Year Award criteria through her unwavering dedication to social justice and marginalized communities. She is currently a social worker of the Mobile Crisis De-Escalation Team of VCH. Her journey, spanning humanitarian work in Latin America and Poland, informs her current role with Vancouver Coastal Health’s Mobile Crisis De-escalation Team. Completing her MSW at UBC, her practice is deeply rooted in Indigenous-centered education and decolonization. Ewelina’s leadership spans clinical practice and grassroots advocacy, mobilizing thousands in resources for those experiencing homelessness. A recognized role model, she uses art and collaborative partnerships to inspire others to contribute to social justice in British Columbia.

Mel Schwartz exemplifies the Inspiring Social Worker of the Year Award through a career defined by fierce advocacy for marginalized youth, unhoused individuals, and those living with HIV/AIDS across British Columbia. Practicing within the Primary Care Network in Cowichan, Mel is recognized for challenging the status quo and upholding the rights of those historically disenfranchised. Mel’s commitment to social justice is demonstrated through transformative harm-reduction work and systemic equity, including a dedication to humanizing language. A source of ethical clarity, Mel inspires colleagues while providing clients with hope and dignity.

Tsatsu Stalqayu – Coastal Wolf Pack

Tsatsu Stalqayu is a traditional multigenerational group of Coast Salish people coming from across the Coast and throughout the lower mainland. They have members in their group from Musqueam, Nanaimo, Kuper Island, Cowichan, Tsartlip, just to name a few. They all come from different homes, but they all come from one creator, who is the creator of all good things. Which brings them all together to sing and dance as one. The only goal in this group is to reunite their people and show the world who they are and where they come from. Performing for the people brings happiness and joy to their hearts as they sing dance and pray for each and every one of us that are here today.