Rhea Kachroo (She/Her) Email & Phone Number

Edmonton, Ab, Ca

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

As a designer, I work on a variety of projects with partners and clients focused on supporting better systemic design, human-centered processes, and innovation.

I work at the Social Innovation Institute at MacEwan and primarily support the RECOVER initiative through the City of Edmonton. RECOVER Urban Wellbeing is an approach to improving urban wellness in amiskwacîwâskahikan, within Treaty 6 Territory; on the patch of land commonly known as Edmonton, Alberta. RECOVER is working to address long-standing systemic challenges that can be barriers to wellbeing. We’re doing this by working to shift our city’s collective understanding of what it means to be and live well. Our research and work is helping us understand and apply the ancient wisdom that wellness is relational -- it’s about the connections we feel both within and beyond ourselves.I also continued to lead the work of the Affordable Housing Solutions Lab.

I helped establish and lead the work of the Affordable Housing Solutions Lab at MacEwan University. The Affordable Housing Solutions Lab is an innovation lab working with community and housing stakeholders to co-create effective affordable housing solutions to meet the needs of diverse individuals and families in Edmonton.

As a member of the Innovate Calgary team, I support outreach, business assessment, licensing and commercialization strategies for technology and innovations derived from clinical and community-engaged research. This position supports UCalgary students and faculty to create scalable social impact, guiding them through the entrepreneurial process and brokering connections with on-campus and community resources, insights, and networks. The focus of the role for 2021 is to support the development of a Social Innovation Hub with wrap-around supports and programs for social entrepreneurs and innovators.

This is a three-month contract to support the development of a 'playbook' that can assist researchers in moving their research and evidence into social action within the community using social innovation, human-centered design, and start-up frameworks. This role also includes supporting other innovation initiatives as needed and providing input into the development of a social innovation hub.

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

• Support in the development of two promising housing and support models for people with developmental disabilities• Facilitate community and lab sessions and create learning and sense-making experiences in the community• Prototype and test interventions

I worked within Family and Community Services in the Community and Social Innovation Branch. I helped support development of strategies, concepts, ideas, and engagements to complex social issues in Strathcona County and supported the achievement of the Social Framework outcomes. My duties included: - project management for large, concurrent initiatives supporting the Social Framework outcomes- facilitation of internal and external groups to inform policy and to gain understanding by bringing diverse perspectives together- leading working groups to inform and develop priority initiatives that impact implementation of the Social Framework- mobilizing and catalyzing community networks to inform practice and policy- completing briefing documents related to the Social Framework and other ongoing policy initiatives- supporting policy direction setting, accountability, and evaluation activities as they contribute to the Strathcona County strategic and business plan- identifying and developing tools and supports and explore new methods that can be used to enable robust processes to inform policy- providing policy advice, process support, and coordination support to teams working on specific policy related initiatives- leading and participating in reviews of policy options, legislation, regulations, and related documents as required to align with County and Social Framework directions and priorities

As a Policy and Project Analyst for the Government of Alberta, I worked to support my department through: - Reviewing research proposals and granting researchers access to clients, staff, and or resources - Conducting current state analyses on adoption, foster care, and child welfare systems and practices in Canada - Completing literature reviews on adoption practices and actuarial risk assessments in Canada - Completing jurisdictional scans on different legislation around child welfare in Canada and the US - Supporting scheduling and presentation development for monthly policy presentations for front line staff - Preparing information briefs for Assistant Deputy Minister and Deputy Minister- Overseeing projects and ensuring deliverables were met, developing terms of reference for various committees, and sitting on committees in a supportive capacity- Contributing to policy papers - Maintaining internal website, developing materials for website, supporting development of monthly newsletter, and monitoring use of website through Google Analytics

University Of Alberta

As Social Innovation Action Researcher my tasks included: - conducting research connecting with the social innovation movement that embeds Skills society work within networks both local and international - working to develop a social innovation tool kit for the Shift Lab (www.edmontonshiftlab.ca)- working with the lab team to schedule and organize logistics around events - participating in the marketing of both the lab itself, as well as the findings of the lab on social media- designing promotional material both web-based and in print- being apart of the lab team and developing a three month social innovation deep dive to tackle a complex social challenge - developing informational material on social innovation, human centred design, and ethnographic research

As program coordinator, I was responsible for running all aspects of our programming. I managed our social media and website, built a network of youth supporting organizations, created and managed all grants and applications, oversaw volunteers, and supported the executive director as needed. I was responsible for creating and running a program for at-risk youth that connected them with community organizations to complete mandated community service hours, we were able to show improved relationships and reduced criminal activity for these youth.

University Of Alberta

As the Student Coordinator for the Summer Research Program I worked with the WISEST Coordinator in planning, delivering and evaluating the WISEST Summer Research Program at the University of Alberta. The Summer Research Program took place from July 3rd to August 14th with Grade 11 students who placed in research labs at the U of A.

University Of Alberta

I was the Student Coordinator for the Choices program run by WISEST. Choices is a two-day conference that brings in over 300 grade-6 girls and exposes them to science, engineering, technology, and math fields. As the student coordinator, I helped organize and run the conference.