Check out our BC ACORN leaders
Tabitha Naismith
Chair – Newton ACORN and National Board Representative
Tabitha Naismith has been very active with ACORN since she signed up in 2013, as a champion of anti-poverty issues and both disability rights. Thanks to her tireless advocacy, BC ACORN’s Disability Rights Group won their first major victory on their End the Child Support Clawback Campaign. Tabitha currently lives with her two. children in the community of Newton in Surrey, British Columbia.
Leslie MacFarlane
Co-Chair – Newton ACORN
Leslie joined ACORN in 2020 and became a key leader soon after. She is motivated by the belief that no one should be forced out of their home because of negligent landlords or to make room for luxury condos. Leslie has been helping to lead the fight to license landlords and crack down on slumlords in her neighbourhood of Newton and across Surrey.
Rennie Amundsen
Co-Chair – Newton ACORN
Rennie has been fighting with ACORN for over a decade. Elected Co-Chair in early 2022, he’s been involved with the ACORN Political Action Committee, and planning provincial campaigns. Recently, Rennie has been working on outreach and getting more people involved in the campaign for vacancy rent control.
Lori Pederson
Chair – Burnaby
Lori is a longtime member and newly elected Chair of the Burnaby chapter of BC ACORN. Since being elected chair in 2022, Lori has been involved in a diverse range of campaigns, from combatting predatory lenders to cracking down on financialized landlords.
Murray Martin
Co-Chair – Burnaby ACORN
Murray has been involved with stopping Demovictions in Burnaby, since getting involved with BC ACORN in 2013. His ongoing efforts have resulted in the development of Burnaby’s Tenant Assistance Policy which included many of ACORN’s policy proposals. To this day this policy remains the gold standard for municipal tenant policy in Canada.
Monica Bhandari
Chair - New West ACORN and National Board Representative
Monica was elected Chair of New West ACORN and sits on the National Board representing BC. Since getting involved with ACORN, Monica helped organise her apartment building into a tenant union that successfully fought to defeat her landlord’s attempt to pass on a million dollars in building repairs to tenants. She now helps lead the fight to increase tenant protections across BC.
