President: Izabela Mazur

Izabela is the current President of the Adult Basic Education Association of British Columbia (ABEABC) Board of Directors and Executive since spring 2023. Past roles on the Board include four years serving as Treasurer of the association and one year as the Cariboo/Okanagan Representative.

Promoted to Associate Teaching Professor at Thompson Rivers University (TRU) in 2022. Dedicated and enthusiastic educator with over 20 years of teaching experience in Adult Basic Education (ABE).

Passionate advocate for use of Open Educational Resources (OER) to make education more accessible and affordable to students. An author of Introductory Algebra and a co-author of Advanced Business Technical Math; two open textbooks in the BCcampus collection.

Vice-President: Mark Friesen

Mark Friesen is an Assistant Professor at the University of the Fraser Valley where he teaches ABE English.  His research interests are in adult place-conscious learning and Indigenization, as well as generative AI and its impact on teaching and learning.  Mark has been a board member of ABEABC since 2022.

Secretary: Danielle Deschamps

Danielle is currently an Assistant for the Assessment Services department at the University of the Fraser Valley. She does the administrative work and invigilate exams for students. She currently sits as the ABEABC Secretary. In addition to her work as an invigilator and Assistant at UFV, her career includes teaching Watercolor Classes at the Langley Art Council in Aldergrove BC. She enjoys teaching to adult and kids, looking at their creations with joy. In all roles, she supports the interest for the people to explore their creativities or the achievement to their goal. When she finishes her day, she looks for the reward where she can enjoy her piece of paradise, painting her watercolor projects with her cats beside her.

 

 

Treasurer: Shauna Svekla

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shauna is currently a Coordinator for Adult Basic Education Programs, in the Upgrading and University Preparation department at UFV. She currently sits as the ABEABC Treasurer and Membership Coordinator and has been involved with the board in the past as a Government Liaison and conference presenter. In addition to Adult Basic Education, her career has included positions across the non profit and education sectors in Immigrant employment programs, Private Education and Human Resources.   In all roles, she has advocated for the consideration and support of talent that can be offered by people with barriered backgrounds and feels strongly about the importance of community collaboration in assisting people with barriered backgrounds to reach their goals. In her spare time, she can be found taking steps towards self understanding and growth, enjoying time with her daughter, spending time in nature and playing in the garden.

Groundworks Co-Chairs: Stephanie Forgacs and Christine Miller

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A qualified TESOL instructor, Stephanie began working in the field of English language teaching in 2019 after a 25-year career in fund development in higher education and healthcare.

Passionate about language and literacy development, Stephanie works one on one with both adults and children in English language learning, and remedial reading. She has been a member of the ABEABC since 2019 and is the Metro Vancouver Regional representative and Groundwork Magazine Co-Chair.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Christine is an Associate Teaching Professor at Thompson Rivers University and teaches Biology and General Science at the upgrading level. She is an avid creator, adapter, and user of Open Educational Resources. This work is done independently, in partnership with BCcampus, and as her role as the Open Educational Resource Development Grant Coordinator at TRU.

Her main areas of interest are creating community within the classroom, using OER as a way to support students and new faculty, and promoting the hidden curriculum of ABE: self-determination and belongingness. She deeply enjoys helping students create education plans to meet their individual goals, working to bring education to rural communities to improve the lives of individuals and groups, and cooperating with campus partners to develop programming that draws students into higher education.

Christine is a wife and the mom of six wonderful kids. She loves any type of crafting and enjoys spending time outdoors or curled up with a book.

 

Conference Co-Chair: Mark Friesen and Christine Miller

You already met us above! ⇑

Membership Chair: Shauna Svekla

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Indigenous Liaison: Stephanie Thomas

Government Liaison: Vacant

Regional Representatives:

• Cariboo Okanagan: Christine Miller – Thompson Rivers University

• Fraser Valley: Barnabe Assogba – Kwantlen Polytechnic University

• Kootenay-Boundary: Vacant

• Metro Vancouver: Stephanie Forgacs – EAL Instructor, Tutor

• North Central Region: Eric Moon – Retiree

• Surrey-Delta: Roberta Power – Educational Consultant, ProLiteracy New Readers Press

• Vancouver Island: Puja Gupta – Camosun College