Our Staff

Janice Abbott
Chief Executive Officer
Janice Abbott has been the CEO of Atira Women's Resource Society since 1992. She has lead the Society through its incredible growth from a single transition house located in South Surrey with a staff of seven to a large multi-service agency with two, for-profit subsidiaries, a development arm and more than 500 staff.

Jacqui Evans-Atkinson
Executive Director, Finance & Administration
Jacqui is a Chartered Accountant and a Certified Professional Accountant with more than 30 years of experience. She has a broad base of expertise including financial statement preparation and review, budgeting and forecasting, financial analysis, strategic planning, and improving financial reporting and process control.

Sarah Louie
Director, Transitional Housing Programs
Sarah Louie joined Atira in 2010 as the Program Manager at Sereena’s Housing for Women, where she worked until 2012 after which she took on the PM role at Maxxine Wright Place. In 2015, she accepted the position of Director, Operational Excellence, ensuring organizational standards and procedures are followed.

Lara Maestro
Director, Records Management and Privacy
Lara joined Atira in 2012 as a Junior Fundraiser and Grant Writer, and enjoyed a number of positions in the Donations, Communications and Fundraising department until 2016, when she accepted the position of Records Manager and later took on the responsibilities of the organization’s Privacy Officer. Lara held the position of Director, Operational Excellence from 2018 to 2019, where her responsibilities grew to her current position in records management and privacy.

Anne M’Mithiaru
Director, Non-Residential Programs
Anne moved to from Kenya to Canada in 2003 to pursue a Bachelor’s in Human Ecology, majoring in Family Violence & Conflict Resolution and Child & Adolescent Development at the University of Manitoba. After graduating, she worked at a number of agencies in progressively more responsible roles. Anne joined Atira in 2014 as the Manager, Non-Residential Programs, and was soon promoted to Director, Non-Residential Programs as Atira expanded.

Caithlin Scarpelli
Director, Communications & Fund Development
Caithlin began volunteering at Atira Women’s Resource Society at age 13 providing after-school childcare for moms accessing services at one of Atira’s second-stage housing programs, as well as in the administration office filing and cleaning.

Bella Sun
Director, Finance
Bella Sun has worked for Atira since 2017, starting as the Senior Manager, Finance. She accepted a promotion to Director, Finance in 2018. Bella co-manages the accounting team with Ashley Kim. She is a professional accountant, and has more than ten years of progressive accounting and supervision experience.

Lynda Teskey
Director, Supportive Housing
Lynda Teskey has worked at both Atira Women’s Resource Society and in the Atira Property Management SRO Hotel Portfolio in various capacities for the past eight years. Her roles have included front-line support worker, program manager, and Homeless Outreach Worker/Women’s Health and Safety Liaison.
Amanda
Director, Facilities Maintenance
Amanda joined Atira Property Management in 2008 as a property management assistant and in 2010 moved to Atira Women’s Resource Society as a facilities manager with increased responsibilities. Since then, the portfolio Amanda is responsible for has grown considerably, including adding four new housing projects and nearly 375 new units within one year of her starting in the position. She completed the BCIT Management Certificate in Operations Management, Facilities Management Option, With Distinction, in 2014. In 2019, she was offered and accepted the role as Director, Facilities Management for Atira and supervises facilities staff for the organization.
Hajar
Director, Operational Excellence
Hajar grew up on the Gaza Strip (part of the Occupied Palestinian Territory) where she earned a B.Sc. in Civil Engineering at the Islamic University of Gaza. She spent three years as a project manager before moving into the world of international aid where she spent nine years doing project design, monitoring and evaluation in countries as diverse as Palestine, Jordan and Somaliland.
Jannel
Director, Early Years & Family Well-being
Jannel first worked with Atira as a consultant on the River Run Early Care & Learning Centre bringing her expertise in early years’ program development. Jannel has worked most of her career with not-for-profit child care centres and most recently held the position of Head of Operations at Vancouver Child Study Centre.