POPFASD

Our Team

Our team consists of our core staff members that carry out the day-to-day work, our Steering Committee that provides guidance, and our District Partners that connect us to each school district.

Our Staff

Picture of Stacey Kelsh

Stacey Kelsh

Program Lead

After traveling and teaching in lovely places such as Yellowknife, Mexico, and Montana, I decided to teach in Prince George for just one year…fast forward 14 years and I am still here and thankful to be raising a family in such a beautiful area of BC. I have a Bachelor of Education from the University of Alberta and a Master of Education in Leadership and Administration. As an educator, I have had a variety of roles (high school and middle school Resource Teacher, intermediate classroom teacher, and sessional instructor for VIU and UNBC) which all provide valuable insight and connections to the material and concepts we share. This is my fourth year with POPFASD, and I fully appreciate the many opportunities we get to enhance teachers’ understanding of FASD and their students’ learning experiences.

Picture of Trina Chivilo

Trina Chivilo

Provincial Educator

Hello, my name is Trina Chivilo. I am a Classroom Teacher with 12 years of experience in Kindergarten and Music Education at a community school called Harwin Elementary. I feel deep gratitude for the colleagues, students, and family care-givers who supported my growth as a teacher and welcomed me into the fold. I believe that it “takes a community to raise a teacher” and I humbly endeavor to share what I know and learn about FASD with a great new team in a new provincial community. I was honoured with a national research prize last year (Canadian Educational Researchers' Association) for advancing teacher inquiry. I earned a BA in First Nation Studies (minor Anthropology) and a MEd in Curricular Design (focus Performative Inquiry). I sometimes teach and mentor for SFU, UNBC, and my school district. I am Metis. I love hard questions, writing songs, playing stringed instruments, and making people laugh.

Picture of Vanessa Worthington

Vanessa Worthington

Provincial Educator

I have worked as an educator for over 20 years in public and private schools. My experience includes being a General and Special Education Teacher, a District Itinerant Assessment Teacher, and a District Itinerant Resource Teacher. In one of my roles, I coordinated community services for students with exceptional needs in a distance education program. I have also been a sessional instructor at UNBC for Pre-Service Teachers. I have a Master of Education in Special Education, where my research focused on the impact of collaborative opportunities for school teams on teachers' perceptions of inclusion. Personally, I enjoy hiking and mountain biking. I'm honoured to be part of POPFASD and share my knowledge and experiences as we work towards a better understanding of FASD and equitable opportunities for all.

Picture of Lael Sleep

Lael Sleep

Provincial Educator

Phone 604-968-3281

I am honoured to join the POPFASD team as a teacher and Provincial Educator. I have experience in a variety of district assignments in elementary, special education, and district learning services with the Vancouver School board on the ancestral and unceded territories of the the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), sḵwxwú7mesh (Squamish) & səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) nations. Building trusting relationship and connection with students, teachers and families is at the heart of my teaching practice. I am dedicated to collaborating with educators to create experiences of safety, belonging, and success in their classrooms.

Picture of Nicole Harris

Nicole Harris

Provincial Educator

I am excited to join POPFASD as a Literacy-Focused Provincial Educator. I have worked as a teacher for 10 years, with most of my experience in the early primary grades. When I realized that I did not have the tools and knowledge to help all of my students learn to read, I set out on a journey to improve my own teaching practice. Along the way I became passionate about literacy as a social justice issue and am determined to support equity in literacy education in any way that I can. I have a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from Simon Fraser University where I also completed the Professional Development Program. I recently completed a Graduate Certificate in Structured Literacy and Reading Science from the University of Alberta, and I am currently completing my Master of Education. I have lived all across the province, from Fort Nelson to Ladysmith with a handful of small towns and cities in between, and I am currently raising a young family in Prince George. I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to learn and collaborate with educators across the province to help develop understanding of how we can support literacy success for students with FASD.

Picture of Nicole Haines

Nicole Haines

Speech Language Pathologist

I am a devoted mother to three amazing kiddos, and passionate about communication and education. I love exploring nature with my family, and together we can be found skiing, hiking, gardening, riding bikes and tending our chickens. I strive to maintain a student-centered approach to intervention and learning. I believe that collaboration between educators, support staff and families provides a rich framework for making informed, conscious decisions about how best to support learners. Communication plays a role in every interaction, every learning opportunity, and every relationship. My studies and work have given me the opportunity to live in several beautiful cities across Canada. I am happy to have settled in Prince George, where both my husband and I were born and raised, and where I feel a strong connection to the community. I have worked as a speech language pathologist since 2009. I completed my master’s degree in Speech Language Pathology and the University of Alberta, and my undergraduate degree in Speech Sciences at the University of British Columbia.

Picture of Matt Ferris

Matt Ferris

Technical Lead

It is said that IT is an industry that never sleeps, which is fitting because as a father of three young children, neither do I. After graduating from high-school in 2011, I started working at an Internet Service Provider and was on the front lines of the transition from dial-up to broadband. In 2006 I joined School District 57 supporting schools and various District initiatives. In 2011 I joined POPFASD as the program transitioned to online training. More recently I have dipped a toe in the pedogical waters, spending some of my evenings moonlighting as a college IT Instructor, passing on hard-earned lessons to a new generation of IT professionals. I love to build (mostly useful) things, I'm passionate about computing, and I love to empower people through technology. Fortunately, POPFASD provides many challenging, yet rewarding opportunities and is staffed with folks who champion my strengths and graciously accommodate my stretches.

Picture of Russell Holtby

Russell Holtby

Technical Analyst

Russell handles most of the day-to-day technical support needs for the team. His willingness to help, and cheerful approach goes a long way to reducing technical anxiety in the office. With a focus on hardware and networking, his contributions help to extend the programs digital footprint.

Picture of Lisa Horswell

Lisa Horswell

Program Administrator

Lisa is the POPFASD Program Administrator. She is also the Director of Instruction for the Inclusive Education department of SD57 (Prince George).

Our Steering Committee

Vancouver Island

Cathy Walker
District Inclusive Education Coordinator, SD No. 64 (Gulf Islands)
School districts: 46, 61, 62, 63, 64, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 79, 84, 85

Interior (West)

Cori Christensen
District Coordinator, Student Support Services, SD No. 23 (Central Okanagan)
School Districts: 19, 22, 23, 27, 53, 58, 67, 73, 74, 83

Vancouver Coastal

Kristie Colpitts
District Vice-Principal, Learning Services Department, SD No. 42 (Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows)
School districts: 37, 38, 39, 42, 44, 45, 47, 48, 49

Northern

Lisa Horswell
Director of Instruction, Inclusive Education, SD No. 57 (Prince George)
School Districts: 28, 50, 52, 54, 57, 59, 60, 81, 82, 87, 91, 92, 93, 109, 117, 118, CISND, CISPG, FNESC, SCSBC

Interior (East)

Heather English
Vice Principal, SD No. 6 (Rocky Mountain)
School Districts: 5, 6, 8, 10, 20, 51

Fraser

Michelle Gehring
District Principal, Learning Support Services, SD No. 34 (Abbotsford)
School Districts: 33, 34, 35, 36, 40, 41, 43, 75, 78

Ministry of Education and Child Care

Veronica Horgan
Education Officer, Inclusive Education, Learning and Education Programs Division

External Community Advocate

Kee Warner
Executive Director, Whitecrow Village

Our District Partners

District Partners allow us to communicate through one key individual from each district regarding in-service and support need.

Note: A District Partner does this job along with their regular job assignment, thus the role of each District Partner varies according to the need of the district and the time available.

POPFASD District Partner role expectations

A table of contact information for POPFASD District Partners
SD No. District Name Name Email Phone
5 Southeast Kootenay Julie Russchen julie.russchen@sd5.bc.ca 250-417-0112
5 Southeast Kootenay Kim McKeown kim.mckeown@sd5.bc.ca 604-880-8235
6 Rocky Mountain Kari Mason kari.mason@sd6.bc.ca 250-342-9243 (4412)
6 Rocky Mountain Heather English heather.english@sd6.bc.ca 250-342-9213
8 Kootenay Lake-Nelson Keira Angus keira.angus@sd8.bc.ca 250-551-1875
10 Arrow Lake Peter Dubinsky peter.dubinsky@sd10.bc.ca 250-265-3638 (3320)
19 Revelstoke Pam Mair pmair@sd19.bc.ca 250-837-3085
20 Kootenay-Columbia Castlegar Tammy Wilde twilde@sd20.bc.ca 250-368-6434
22 Vernon Vicki Pederson vpederson@sd22.bc.ca 250-549-9240
23 Central Okanagan Cori Christensen cori.christensen@sd23.bc.ca 250-870-5148 (6848)
27 Cariboo-Chilcoltin Joy Gammie joy.gammie@sd27.bc.ca 250-706-3578 Cell
28 Quesnel Angelina Gauthier angelinagauthier@sd28.bc.ca 250-925-4823
33 Chilliwack Shasha White shasha_white@sd33.bc.ca 604-615-6353
34 Abbotsford Wendy Costello wendy.costello@abbyschools.ca 604-504-4610 (1809)
35 Langley Freya Choboter fchoboter@sd35.bc.ca 604-534-7891
36 Surrey Eckhard Perk perk_e@surreyschools.ca 778-772-5209
36 Surrey Kelly Zalkowsky Zalkowsky_k@surreyschools.ca 778-772-3236
37 Delta Lynsey Scales lscales@deltaschools.ca 604-952-2882
38 Richmond Cynthia Tensuan ctensuan@sd38.bc.ca 604-668-6000 (6151)
39 Vancouver Nikki Short nshort@vsb.bc.ca
40 New Westminster Kate Martinek kmartinek@sd40.bc.ca 778-836-4855
40 New Westminster Susan Crosby scrosby@sd40.bc.ca 604-517-6332
40 New Westminster Rhonda Jones rjones@sd40.bc.ca 604-517-6369
41 Burnaby Tanya Grant Tanya.Grant@burnabyschools.ca 604-296-9009
41 Burnaby Carolyn McInnes carolyn.mcinnes@burnabyschools.ca 604 644-7488
42 Maple Ridge Demetra Kotsalis demetra_kotsalis@sd42.ca 778-995-6964
42 Maple Ridge Gillian Campbell Gillian_Campbell@sd42.ca 604-467-1101
43 Coquitlam Anna Lemmo alemmo@sd43.bc.ca 604-937-6386
43 Coquitlam Catherine Aoyama caoyama@sd43.bc.ca 604-937-6386
44 North Vancouver Meagan Stoker mstoker@sd44.ca 604-721-8710
45 West Vancouver Carol Langley clangley@wvschools.ca 604-981-1095
46 Sunshine Coast Karys Foley kfoley@sd46.bc.ca 604-989-4517
46 Sunshine Coast Dave Heskin dheskin@sd46.bc.ca 604-885-0127
47 Powell River Tawnie Gaudreau tawnie.gaudreau@sd47.bc.ca 604-485-6164
48 Sea to Sky Michelle Roberts mroberts@sd48.bc.ca 604-849-0775
49 Central Coast Alannah Stewart astewart@sd49.ca 250-982-2193
49 Central Coast Lorna Dishkin ldishkin@sd49.ca 250-982-2691
50 Haida Gwaii Leighann Rodger lrodger@sd50.bc.ca 250-559-8889
51 Boundry Dawna Small dawna.small@sd51.bc.ca 250-442-8285
52 Prince Rupert Mackenzie Guadagni mackenzie.guadagni@sd52.bc.ca 250-624-6218
52 Prince Rupert Megan Cameron megan.cameron@sd52.bc.ca 250-624-6757 (2259)
53 Okanagan Similkameen Stacey Zakall szakall@sd53.bc.ca 250-498-3481
54 Bulkley Valley Cynthia Dufresne cdufresne@sd54.bc.ca 250-847-5517
54 Bulkley Valley Stephanie Capyk stephanie.capyk@sd54.bc.ca 250-847-5517
57 Prince George Alaina Parker aparker@sd57.bc.ca 250-561-9235 (2214)
58 Nicola Similkameen Misty Sheldon msheldon@365.sd58.bc.ca 250.315-1140 (office phone) 250.315.9653 (cell)
59 Peace River South Joy Kelly-Bratt jkellybratt@sd59.bc.ca 250-782-6336
60 Peace River North Chantelle Fowler cfowler@prn.bc.ca 250-785-3704
61 Greater Victoria Jessie Moore jesmoore@sd61.bc.ca 250-888-9875
62 Sooke Kathleen Cherry kcherry@sd62.bc.ca 250-474-9841
63 Saanich Sean Kenny skenny@sd63.bc.ca 250-658-5412
64 Gulf Islands Cathy Walker cwalker@sd64.org 250-537-7781
64 Gulf Islands Marine McDonnell mmcdonnell@sd64.org 250-537-6145
68 Nanaimo Lise Anderson landerson2@sd68.bc.ca 250-755-9267
67 Okanagan Skaha Emily Spencer espencer@sd67.bc.ca 250-770-7686
69 Qualicum Amy Kazeil akazeil@sd69.bc.ca 250-248-8446
69 Qualicum Jill Brown jbrown@sd69.bc.ca 250-927-3317
70 Pacific Rim Felicia Randall (Haider) fhaider@sd70.bc.ca 250-720-2750
71 Comox Valley Tracy Pederson tracy.pederson@sd71.bc.ca 250-334-4495
71 Comox Valley Catherine Leppanen Catherine.Leppanen@sd71.bc.ca 250-339-0922
72 Campbell River Erin Stephens erin.stephens@sd72.bc.ca
73 Kamloops/Thompson Lise Hyam lhyam@sd73.bc.ca 250-376-2266
73 Kamloops/Thompson Deanna Brady dbrady@sd73.bc.ca 250-376-6224
73 Kamloops/Thompson Leah Clare lclare@exc.sd73.bc.ca 250-579-9284
74 Gold Trail Christine Franes cfranes@sd74.bc.ca (250) 453-9151 ext 206
74 Gold Trail Nicole Minnabarriet nminnabarriet@sd74.bc.ca 250-453-9151 (215)
75 Mission Lisa Stevens lisa.stevens@mpsd.ca 604-820-3333 (4120)
75 Mission Sandra Norum sandra.norum@mpsd.ca 604-826-6286 (3332)
78 Fraser-Cascade Dan Thiessen dan.thiessen@sd78.bc.ca 604-796-9496
79 Cowichan Carmen Barrack cbarrack@sd79.bc.ca 780-667-3299
81 Fort Nelson Sarah-Jane Attrill sattrill@sd81.bc.ca 250-774-2591
82 Coast Mountain Julia Nieckarz julia.nieckarz@cmsd.bc.ca 250-638-4415
82 Coast Mountain Zach Frankel zachary.frankel@cmsd.bc.ca 250-638-4401
83 North Okanagan/Shuswap Karmen Krahn kkrahn@sd83.bc.ca 250-517-0506
83 North Okanagan/Shuswap Crystal Truscott ctruscot@sd83.bc.ca 250-253-8152
84 Vancouver Island West Steve Larre slarre@viw.sd84.bc.ca 250-283-2241
87 Stikine Donna Mortimer donna.mortimer@sd87.bc.ca 250-771-4440
85 Vancouver Island North Rena Sweeny rsweeney@sd85.bc.ca 250-949-6618
91 Nechako Lakes Dave Lawrence dlawrence@sd91.bc.ca 250-570-7733
91 Nechako Lakes Stacey Lee slee@sd91.bc.ca 250-699-6233
92 Nisga'a Olga Jorda ojorda@nisgaa.bc.ca (250) 633-2225
93 French Education Authority Chantale Desmarais chantale_desmarais@csf.bc.ca 250-317-8702 (cell)
93 French Education Authority Monica Monus monica_monus@csf.bc.ca 604-214-2600
117 Catholic Ind. Schools Vancouver Diocese Caterina Kennedy ckennedy@cisva.bc.ca 604-683-9331
117 Catholic Ind. Schools Vancouver Diocese Nicole Regush nregush@cisva.bc.ca 604-683-9331
118 Catholic Ind. Schools Victoria Diocese Lana Durand ldurand@cisdv.bc.ca 250-746-5919
Society of Christian Schools BC Amanda Broadway amanda.broadway@scsbc.ca 604-888-6366
Catholic Ind. Schools Nelson Dioces Kat Grootjes ololprincipal@cisnd.ca 250-768-9008
Catholic Ind. Schools Prince George Diocese Oriana Viveiros oviveiros@cispg.ca 250-632-6313
West Coast Adventist School (SDABC) Linda King lking@bcadventist.ca 604-853-5451 (504)