Rita Parikh
Rita is the proud mother of two children, both of whom speak French effortlessly and happily thanks in large part to CPF and its members who have worked so long and hard to create excellent FSL programs across the country.
Drawn to CPF about a decade ago, Rita was active in the Victoria chapter before joining CPF BC and Yukon branch as its executive director in 2005. As director, she supported parents’ efforts to expand immersion in their communities, recruit and retain skilled teachers, run camps and after-school programs, and secure resources for children with learning challenges. She loved every minute.
In 2008, Rita, her partner, Peter, and her two children travelled around the world for a year. They spent four months of that journey nestled in a small community in the south of France, where she registered her children in school while immersing herself in the language and culture. She and her daughter, Anjali, are writing about their year abroad in Planes, Tweens and Automobiles: Navigating the World of Family Travel, a book they hope will be published next year.
Rita’s background is varied. As a journalism school graduate, she worked as a feature writer for the London Free Press before completing a Masters in International Affairs and going on to work in the field of international development – in particular on issues of human rights, women’s health, and sustainable agriculture – for over a decade. Rita lives in Victoria, is a strategic planning and management consultant, and is the project manager for the Association of Canadian Occupational Therapy Regulatory Organizations. She brings considerable organizational and human resource management skills, visioning, fundraising and financial planning experience to CPF, gained in part through her role as Chair and Member of the Board of Directors of BC-based Mountain Equipment Co-op from 1995 to 2002. She is honoured to be nominated for CPF’s national board, can’t wait to dive in, and is looking forward to the next two years.
Email Rita: r.parikh@cpf.ca
