Colleen Hardwick

Colleen Hardwick is a former Vancouver City Councillor (2018-2022) and TEAM Mayoral Candidate in 2022.

 

Colleen was born, raised and educated in Vancouver. The Hardwick family has provided civic leadership in the City for three generations. Her father, Dr. Walter G. Hardwick, served on city council from 1968 to 1974, was BC Deputy Minister of Education and a founder of the Knowledge Network. Her grandmother, Iris Hardwick, was the only woman elected to the Vancouver Park Board in 1956-1960. Colleen obtained a B.A. in Geography and Political Science at the University of British Columbia in 1983, began her Masters in Urban Planning with her practicum at the City of Victoria before pursuing a career in the film industry. 

 

From the mid-1980s to 2000s, Colleen worked in the film industry and progressed through the ranks to create her own company, New City Productions, which produced dozens of film and TV projects in the region. During this period, she was nominated twice in the Entrepreneurship category for a prestigious YWCA Women of Distinction Award, named one of the 13 Most Important People in the B.C. Film Industry by the Financial Post, received a 40 under 40 Award, and an Influential Women in Business Award from Business in Vancouver.

 

Circling back to her urban geography roots while working on a planning project in 2010, Colleen sought to consult with residents online within specific neighbourhood boundaries. When she could not find a solution, she set out to invent one. The result is PlaceSpeak, a pioneering location-based community consultation platform designed to authenticate online public consultation in order to facilitate evidence-based decision-making and policy development. Since receiving the support of the National Research Council of Canada for technology validation in 2011, Colleen has continued to advance the platform’s technology and processes and is a frequent speaker on the subject of digital democracy and online citizen engagement.

 

She is now completing her thesis in  Applied Innovation in the UBC Interdisciplinary Studies Graduate Program (ISGP).

 

Colleen has two daughters, who live and work in Vancouver, and is a grandmother of two, and is committed to helping ensure that future generations can continue to live in Vancouver. She is married to BC Entertainment Hall of Fame character actor Garry Chalk, and lives in Kitsilano.