Our Team
Nancy Bradshaw – Executive Director – has been designing and delivering social and emotional learning school-wide programs for over seven years. Nancy has been leading and running friendship intervention groups including leading the creation of Active Friends, a manual used by the Vancouver School Board and other school districts, which documents how to set up peer programs to reverse isolation in a school’s most vulnerable children. Nancy’s programs have been enjoyed by over 700 children and she has taught over 200 teachers, principals and support staff. She has co-produced and co-written 2 award winning CDs that help children with anxiety heal and sleep www.joyfilledmusic.com. She holds a PhD and is currently enrolled in a Masters of Counselling Program.
Christine Dearing – Strategic Director – brings 15 years of experience leading creative problem-solving programs for elementary school-aged students, as well as researching and editing the ground-breaking Hold On To Your Kids, by Gordon Neufeld. Christine has held leadership positions in several Vancouver non-profit organizations and schools and works with the Social and Emotional Leadership Foundation to provide strategic policy, programming and communication advice to its Executive Director.
Megan Kaulius – Research Director – is a community youth leader currently completing her MA in Kinesiology at the University of British Columbia. In addition to managing a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC)-funded study to provide a cost-effective intervention to elementary school teachers to increase students’ physical activity, Megan conducts research and gathers evidence to inform the curriculum and programming development process for the Social and Emotional Leadership Foundation.
Annika Raithby – Program Support – is a community youth leader as well as a graduate and facilitator of the Kids in the Spotlight and Teens Alive programs at the Haven. Annika has her diploma in child and youth care and will provide training and program support for the Social and Emotional Leadership Foundation’s school programs.
Natasha Asselstine – Design Lead – provides communication support to the Social and Emotional Leadership Foundation. Her background includes a BA in Communication, and she has worked primarily in the areas of publishing, photography, design and marketing for non-profits. Natasha is currently studying holistic nutrition and is particularly interested in the role food plays on our mental and emotional well-being.
Advisory Team
Bridget Brown – Acting Principal L'Ecole Bilingue
Indira Dahliwal – Middle School Counsellor, Coquitlam School District
Rachel Davey – Executive Director, Haven Foundation
Beverley Elliott - Award-Winning Actress, Singing, Acting Teacher
Larry Haberlin – Adjunct Professor at the UBC School of Medicine, Friends for Life Trainer, SACY co-founder, VSB Social Responsibility
Linda Hamilton – MCC Province columnist (Coaches Corner), former PAC chair in Coquitlam
Maria LeRose - Award Winning Documentary Film Maker and Dalai Lama Centre Facilitator and former Director of Programs,
Loreen Long – Richmond School District DPAC representative and 2 year PAC Chair, Maple Lane School.
Susan Nichols – Principal, General Wolfe Elementary School, Vancouver
Libby Taylor – Teacher and Chair, Social and Emotional Committee of the General Wolfe Elementary School PAC
Cathy Thomas – Vice Principal, Garibaldi Annex, Vancouver
Carol Thorton – Leader Provincial Resource Program Sunnyhill Health Centre for Children, VSB Education Behaviour Consultant
Creona Wells - Montessori Teacher, Sunnyside Elementary, Surrey BC