For Ishita Khosla, strong communities are built through relationships.
Much of her career has been focused on helping people feel more connected to where they live and more confident taking part in community life.
And that experience now brings her to BC CRN as the new Regional Mentor for Fraser Valley West, where she’ll provide support to several CRNs, including New Westminster, Burnaby, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody, Coquitlam, and Maple Ridge.
At this point, she’s just beginning to get to know BC CRN and the communities in her region, but the heart of the work is already familiar.
For the past eight years, Ishita has worked in community inclusion and with adults who face barriers to participation, independence, and connection.
And at the centre of that work is something she’s cared about throughout her career, which is helping people build stronger connections within their communities.
A Background Built Around Community Connection
After earning a degree in psychology, Ishita joined the Burnaby Association for Community Inclusion (BACI), where she spent five years working as a community connector.
In this role, she supported adults with intellectual disabilities and mental health concerns as they developed stronger community connections, greater independence, and more confidence in expressing themselves.
She later joined Minivillage, where she now works as Operations Manager. The organization works in residential communities across the Lower Mainland, helping neighbours to connect and develop a stronger sense of belonging where they live.
As part of this role, Ishita recruits and trains volunteers who help activate their own residential communities, and that experience has reinforced her belief that meaningful change often begins with relationships between people who live in the same community.
“Creating ties and connections within the community is what I’m really passionate about,” she said.
Through this community work, Ishita began hearing about BC CRN, and when she saw the Regional Mentor opportunity, the connection with her past experience was easy to see.
Why the BC CRN Model Resonated
One aspect of BC CRN that stood out to Ishita was its community-led approach.
Because rather than assuming every community needs the same response, here at BC CRN, we support local coordinators and community members who understand the people, relationships, and circumstances in their own areas.
“I really like the model of empowering coordinators who are local to the community,” she said.
That approach reflects much of what Ishita has already experienced in her work, as she’s seen how local knowledge and trusted relationships can help people feel more connected and supported.
Ishita’s interest in adult abuse prevention also comes from firsthand experience supporting adults who were dealing with neglect or leaving abusive situations.
And those experiences showed her how important it is for people to have informed, connected individuals around them who understand what’s happening and know how to respond.
Bringing a New Perspective to Fraser Valley West
Because Ishita is new to BC CRN, she’s approaching her first months with a ton of curiosity.
She wants to learn from coordinators, volunteers, and community partners who have kept local CRNs going through major changes and challenges.
And there’s one question that particularly interests her: What allows a community to remain resilient over time?
“I want to know what makes resilient communities. Like what is it that’s able to hold people together despite hardship?” she said.
Ishita also hopes to contribute some ideas of her own, and one area she wants to explore is intergenerational community building.
She sees potential in creating more opportunities for younger people to contribute their energy and skills while building relationships across generations.
What’s more, she’s interested in accessibility and inclusion, as well as breaking down barriers that can make community participation more difficult for people with different access needs.
Supporting the People Who Support Their Communities
Ishita describes herself as a believer in reverse leadership, which offers a more bottom-up approach to management.
So, even though her title includes the word mentor, she doesn’t see the role as one where she’ll be arriving with all the answers.
“I believe that my duty is to learn from the folks that I’m supporting and try my best to meet their needs and support them because they’re the ones who are holding the CRNs,” she said.
Her previous experience with service design may also shape how she approaches her new role, as she’s interested in finding ways to make processes easier for coordinators and reduce unnecessary strain on the people volunteering their time in their communities.
And this is incredibly important because Ishita is stepping into a region with several coordinator vacancies and some recent turnover.
So, as she begins building relationships and filling those vacancies, she wants people who take on these roles to feel supported, engaged, and able to make a meaningful contribution without becoming overwhelmed.
When asked what would make her first year feel successful, she pointed directly to the experience of the coordinators she supports.
“I think if my coordinators enjoyed or felt like they were able to make meaningful contributions and weren’t burnt out by the end of the year, felt supported, and felt engaged, and that people want to stick around and be a coordinator and stay in the role, I think that that would be a good marker for success,” she said.
Creating Space for Ideas
Ishita wants coordinators and BC CRN members to know that she welcomes conversation and new ideas.
She recognizes that each community has different needs and that what works in New Westminster may look quite different from what works in Coquitlam.
In any case, her goal is to understand those differences while also helping coordinators connect with and support one another.
“If there’s ever an idea, don’t hesitate to reach out about it. If it doesn’t seem like it would work, I’ll try my best to see what we can do,” she said.
Ishita also made a point of inviting anyone who’d like to become a coordinator, and those who are interested in learning more about the Fraser Valley West CRNs, to connect with her for a conversation.
Books, Kittens, and Boxing
Outside of work, Ishita is an enthusiastic reader, especially when it comes to fantasy and science fiction. She belongs to several book clubs and considers Robin Hobb, James S. A. Corey, and Margaret Atwood to be some of her favourite authors.
Ishita also fosters kittens, something she sees as a simple and meaningful way to give back to her community.
And something people might be surprised to learn about Ishita, not least because of her calm, caring demeanour, is that she’s been boxing for several years and continues to train regularly.
It gives her an outlet to deal with any frustration she’s experiencing and, as she puts it, it’s “something that I find a lot of joy in.”
