Work With Us
Eastside Family Place’s team is a diverse, multicultural group composed of experienced and professionally-trained social workers, teachers, early-childhood educators and family-resource practitioners. We are a small, dedicated staff consisting of full-time, part-time and casual employees, with parent group contractors and workshop facilitators providing specialized programs and resources. The following is a list of current staff and board members. We welcome your inquiries. Please contact us via telephone or email by using our contact form.
Volunteer Opportunities
We are very grateful to all the volunteers who make valuable contributions to Eastside Family Place on a daily basis: from sweeping the floor to cooking a hot meal, volunteers are integral to ESFP and indispensable. If you have a skill or a particular interest relevant to our programs, or if you have some extra time that you would like to give back to the community, please talk to us! We welcome your support and can help you find a meaningful volunteer opportunity. Please visit our Volunteer page for further information.
Staff Members
Brenda Lohrenz – Executive Director
blohrenz@eastsidefamilyplace.org
Brenda has been an executive director in various capacities for 20 years. Prior to starting with ESFP in 2018, she was on the board of Burnaby Family Life – a community organization that she accessed as a mom. Brenda has a Masters in Community Development from UVIC and firmly believes that a sense of belonging in community is a foundation for strong families and thriving children.
Anda Gavala – Office Manager
info@eastsidefamilyplace.org
Anda has been working with Family Place as an Office Manager for over 27 years. Anda is committed to supporting parents and caregivers to bring up healthy and happy children. All kids need strong families, and strong families need strong communities. When families are strong and children thrive, the community prospers.
Melissa Rodrigues – Family Support Worker – Program Coordinator
mrodrigues@eastsidefamilyplace.org
Melissa was a professional ballet dancer for 14 years dancing with Ballet BC, The National Ballet of Canada, and many companies in NYC. She has lived in the Commercial Drive area for 15 years and is the mother of two daughters. Melissa has been a yoga teacher and a birth doula for over a decade which helped ignite her passion for connecting with families in her community.
Arlene English – Family Support Worker – Drop-In Centre Lead
aenglish@eastsidefamilyplace.org
Arlene grew up in Ontario and worked in licensed daycare before she discovered family resource programs. A mother of four, Arlene sees the importance and value of supporting families in a community environment. Having worked with Eastside Family Place since 1998, she has appreciated the opportunity to watch families grow and develop over time.
Mamata Mohapatra – Family Support Worker – Drop-In Centre
mmohapatra@eastsidefamilyplace.org
Mamata immigrated to Canada from India in 1995. Connecting with families reminds her of the value community plays in a child’s life, particularly considering the support she received while raising her two young adult sons. She feels lucky to live in a community that helps children feel that they are valued. Mamata loves gardening, volunteering, and exploring Commercial Drive.
Gisele McClain – Family Support Worker – Child Care
gmcclain@eastsidefamilyplace.org
Gisele who was born and grew up in Vancouver, has been working in family center environments since 2007. She sees the value of families connecting with their neighbourhood and loves to watch parents and children thrive in the welcoming world of Family Places.
ESFP Board of Director Bios
Jean-François Caron (Board Chair) lives near Garden Park with his partner Sherry and son Elzéar. He is a physicist by training, currently lecturing at SFU. He played a big role volunteering at the A.M.S. Bike Co-op/Bike Kitchen at UBC during his graduate studies. He enjoys skiing, cycling, and hiking.
Amanda Hume (Board Treasurer) is a parent of two that has lived in East Vancouver since 2015. She first
attended a baby group at family place in 2018 and has enjoyed being part of the ESFP
community ever since. Originally from California, she is a trained school psychologist and
teacher.
Angela Henning (Board Secretary) worked as a teacher and then elementary school principal for the Burnaby School District for 25 years until she retired in 2015. She worked with many diverse communities and enjoyed helping children and families develop bonds of belonging to their school. In her retirement she keeps fit by swimming, walking and cycling. She also volunteers in the community and enjoys spending time with her family. She especially loves playing with her three young granddaughters!
Kate Buium joined the Eastside Family Place board in January 2020. Kate has lived in the Commercial Drive neighbourhood for many years and has two school-aged children that attend local schools. Originally from Toronto, she has a Masters of Social Work and has worked in a broad range of positions in the field over the past two decades. Currently, she works with a child development research centre with a focus on the early years.
Adom Jeffers is a parent who’s enjoyed many morning drop-in sessions at Eastside Family Place with his young child. He is a teacher and a flight attendant. He also loves coaching and playing soccer whenever he can.
Paulina Rodriguez has been living in East Vancouver and the Grandview-Woodland
neighborhood since 2022. As a mom of two young girls, she has actively participated in
almost all Eastside Family Place activities. Her family enjoys volunteering and supporting in
the care of the centre, the garden and the community. Originally from Mexico where she
worked for 8 years as a cardiologist specialist in cardiac rehabilitation, Paulina is now in the
pursuit of getting licensed to practice medicine here in Vancouver.
Matthew Smith has lived and worked in East Van for 15 years. He is a community choir director, music teacher, and professional musician and is currently busy being the full-time caregiver to his two young children. He has appreciated the services the ESFP provides since becoming a parent eight years ago.
Roxanne Shute is a long-time member and passionate supporter of Eastside Family Place.
She has been actively involved as a child care professional since 2006 and brings deep
insight in the needs of families and young children. She is the proud mother of a two-year old boy, and together they enjoy participating in ESFP programs and contributing to the
community garden. Having travelled extensively, Roxanne is committed to fostering
inclusion, support, and belonging for families in the Eastside community.