Meet YCC Kelowna's Co-Leads

Today marks the start of our 2026 season for several YCC programs, including Kelowna. We'd like to introduce you to our program leads Ria and Augustus.

Ria

Ria Kaeley (she/her) grew up on the traditional territories of the Coast Salish peoples in Surrey and now lives, learns, and works on the unceded territory of the Syilx Okanagan Nation in Kelowna. She is a Bachelor of Sustainability student at UBC Okanagan with a passion for climate justice, social intersectionality, and community-based change. Inspired by early organizing in climate advocacy, Ria brings interests in storytelling, collaboration, and conscious consumption, and is excited to support climate action toward a more sustainable future. Outside of work, she enjoys vintage shopping, café hopping, discovering new music, and spending time outdoors in the Okanagan. 

Augustus

Having worked in the Kelowna area as coordinator for the fall and winter seasons, Augustus Lees brings his communication background in climate-focused programming, stakeholder engagement, and cross-sector environmental project delivery to his role as Program Co-Lead for YCCBC Kelowna’s programs. 

Augustus lives and works on the unceded and traditional territory of the Syilx (Okanagan) First Nation, and is committed to using an anti-colonial mindset to drive his climate action work. Augustus has spent much of his life travelling from place to place. Along his travels, nature has been a constant. From the dense jungles of Malaysia, to the rolling green hills of Northern California, to the orange autumn trees of Boston, this love and appreciation of nature has shaped his career in climate action. With a degree in Communication and a background in field programming, Augustus' experiences range from working in forestry, agriculture, watershed, and conservation restoration projects across Malaysia, Spain, the United States and Canada.

We're excited to have these amazing Co-Leads on our team!