Meet the Team

Meet the team behind EMBERS Staffing Solutions.

CEO

In 2001, Marcia Nozick founded EMBERS (Eastside Movement for Business and Economic Renewal Society) to create economic and employment opportunities for low-income residents in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. For over 23 years, her leadership has helped thousands overcome barriers to employment through self-employment education, job placements, training, and support.
Seven years later, Marcia launched EMBERS Staffing Solutions (ESS), a self-sustaining social enterprise that reinvests profits into the community. ESS provides flexible, short-term work placements and has made a significant social impact, paying $9.4 million in wages and employing more than 1,700 people in 2023.
Marcia’s innovative leadership has earned her national recognition, including the Governor General’s Innovation Award in 2020, the BC CEO Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2021, and the YWCA Women of Distinction Award for Community Champion in 2016. Before founding EMBERS, she coordinated Healthy Communities in Winnipeg, published City Magazine, and taught at Simon Fraser University. Marcia holds a master’s degree in city planning and authored the book No Place Like Home: Building Sustainable Communities in 1992, which David Suzuki praised as “a must-read.”

COO

A graduate of the Beedie School of Business at Simon Fraser University, he brings more than 15 years of senior leadership experience overseeing large, multi‑location operations, enterprise programs, and complex transformation initiatives. At EMBERS, he drives system modernization, strengthens financial and operational governance, and builds scalable service models that expand economic opportunity for people facing barriers to work.
Before joining EMBERS, Nurinder held senior leadership roles leading major transformation programs, enterprise service operations, and technology modernization across highly regulated, multi‑stakeholder environments. He is known for delivering measurable results—driving multimillion‑dollar efficiencies, building high‑performing teams, and implementing enterprise platforms that improve customer experience, operational reliability, and organizational resilience. At EMBERS, he applies this experience to strengthen service delivery, enhance customer and worker experience, and ensure every operational decision supports long‑term community impact.

CFO

Ping is a designated Chartered Professional Accountant, Certified Internal Auditor and has her Diplomas in Information Technology and Accounting. She spent the first 20 years of her career working in accounting firms in Beijing and Vancouver, where she became a senior manager in MNP.
Ping joined EMBERS in 2024, purposed with leveraging her accounting and finance professionalism to address social, economic and environmental issues. Ping passionately believes that Social Enterprise is the most impactful tool to build a better future.

Director of Business Development

Described by many as a “relationship man,” Doug Aason is a man passionate for changing lives and making a positive impact in his community. Doug is the Director of Business Development of EMBERS Staffing. He works closely with EMBERS partners and EMBERS Staffing workers’, building and fostering relationships on all levels. Doug engages partnerships that are aligned with EMBERS values and is committed to creating social impact and social purpose with partners that are Champions of Change.
Doug spent seven years working at Salvation Army Harbor Light alcohol and drug treatment centre, before taking on the role of Director of Community Investment at the Greater Vancouver Foodbank Society, helping to build financial support to a new level. He describes the most rewarding part of his job as “witnessing the profound impact we can have on changing people’s lives for the better.” A kind hearted man with a desire to make a difference, and a strong knack for story-telling, Doug is an inspiration for those he works with. In his free time, Doug enjoys spending time outdoors fishing for the elusive “big one,” desperately hoping his golf game will improve, and most importantly spending time with his beautiful daughters and loving wife.