About Plug In BC

Mahdis Araujo is Program Manager, Sustainable Transportation. Mahdis joined FBC’s Plug In BC team as an EV Advisor in March 2020. She now oversees all Plug In BC programs.

Mahdis is passionate about environmental initiatives, social equity, youth engagement and community building. She has worked with hundreds of people in multi-unit residential buildings, educational institutions and workplaces to help bring EV charging infrastructure to their buildings. Within FBC, she has contributed to program design, communications and social equity, and she is currently leading a research project on barriers to electrification in marginalized communities.

Before coming to FBC, Mahdis was a Program Ambassador at the City of Port Coquitlam, where she successfully implemented a Repair Café, Recycling Drop-off events and Trail and River Clean-ups. In that capacity, she also conducted extensive outreach and education at schools, community events and strata meetings, and within the organizations to address the importance of waste reduction, energy conservation and wildlife cohabitation within urban settings.

Mahdis has a studied design, communications, and social sciences. Outside of work, she can be found walking or biking the Vancouver seawall with her son and 2-year-old husky, Kona.

Mary Barrientos is the Program Administrator, Sustainable Transportation Program with the Fraser Basin Council’s Climate Change and Air Quality Program, supporting the CleanBC Go Electric Rebates program. As Program Administrator, Mary provides support in tracking and approving received applications for the Go Electric Rebates program, responds to inquiries related to Go Electric Rebates applications, provides quarterly financial analysis and regular updates on data received in the program.

Mary started as a volunteer for the Fraser Basin Council to provide administrative support in the Finance department. Shortly, she was offered a part-time and eventually a full-time position to join the team as a Finance and Administrative Coordinator. She also processed applications on previous programs related to EV incentives delivered by FBC.

Bala works as the ZEV Fleets Advisor and handles the Go Electric Fleets program, supporting the electrification journey of organizations and their fleets.

His passion to keep himself updated with all things automotive and would enjoy having a conversation about sustainable transportation and vehicle electrification all day.

J-M Toriel is the Program Lead for Plug In BC’s EV Advisor service. An EV driver since 2015, J-M has worked in the EV charging sector since its inception. In addition to the EV Advisor service, he also supports the Emotive Community Outreach Incentive Program and the Public Charger Program.

Originally from Montreal, J-M holds an MBA from Bainbridge Graduate Institute and an Honours BA in Political Science from Concordia University. He initiated BC’s first community PV rooftop solar project, designed Canada’s first EV charging parkade, and started his own EV charging business. J-M is passionate about “electrifying everything” and advises stratas and businesses on becoming EV Ready.

Pulkit works on the CleanBC Go Electric Public Charger program supporting the needs of organizations to install Public Charging infrastructure in the Province of British Columbia. He has also worked as an EV advisor and has provided support to hundreds of Multi Unit Residential Buildings and Workplaces getting started on bringing EV charging infrastructure in their developments.

Pulkit holds a Master of Community and Regional Planning degree from School of Community and Regional Planning, UBC and a Bachelor of Planning degree from School of Planning and Architecture (SPA), Delhi.

Avneet is the Program Coordinator for Plug In BC’s Go Electric Fleet Charging program where she supports businesses and organisations throughout British Columbia in electrifying their fleets.

Before joining the Fraser Basin Council, Avneet has worked in the Renewable Energy sector for over 7 years; managing and coordinating various Solar and Energy Storage projects across North America and Asia. Avneet holds a Master of Engineering degree and advocates strongly about the adoption of sustainable energy solutions including transition to Zero-Emission vehicles.

As a Program Coordinator for the Plug in BC team, Zachary Nanji works on electric vehicle outreach and engagement, assisting with communications and events. He also supports incentive programs for EV deployment, including the Go Electric Rebates program.

Prior to joining the Fraser Basin Council, Zachary worked on social equity and climate adaptation initiatives for the BC Public Service. With a passion for inclusive approaches to sustainability, he holds a Master of Public Policy and Global Affairs from the University of British Columbia and a Bachelor of Arts from McGill University.

Michael contributes to communications and social media, and also assists with events. Before joining the team, he was a volunteer Emotive Ambassador. He is keen to share the journeys that EV owners take: from island get-aways to epic road trips in the Rockies. Whether at events, through social media or web articles, Michael looks forward to connecting with EV owners, and the EV curious, to discuss the exciting new possibilities that electric vehicles bring to travelling in BC. Before joining the Plug In BC team, Michael worked on digital media and public outreach in the BC tourism industry.