About us

UBC Okanagan Child Care operates licensed group care for children from infancy to kindergarten entry. We aim to provide exceptional child care service to students, faculty, and staff families within the university community. This is an ancillary operation within UBC’s Student Housing and Community Services Department.

We employ skilled, educated and certified Early Childhood Educators. We value and support ongoing professional development and education for our staff. We are a unionized worksite; the early childhood educators are members of BCGEU.

Our current centre is located near the upper student residences and backs onto a small forest that provides us with many opportunities. Our centre has an Infant Program, Toddler Program, 3-4 Program and a 4/5 program.

The existing Child Care Centre on the Okanagan campus was built in 1992. Since its inception, it was an independently run, not-for-profit daycare, with a parent-led board of directors. In 2005, the North Campus of Okanagan College transitioned to the UBC system and became UBC Okanagan, and the child care continued to run independently. Since that time, the student, faculty, and staff population has grown more than three-fold; however, until 2020, the Centre operated with the same number of childcare spaces. In 2019 a grant permitted a renovation and expansion of the Centre’s original building to allow for 20 additional childcare spaces bringing the total number to 56. This expansion allowed for the creation of two new programs and separated the age groups further for programming to be more targeted at the developmental needs of the children.   

We have a new building opening soon!

In 2020 we received partial funding toward increasing the licensed spaces by an additional 37 spaces. This new addition increases the total number of childcare spaces to 93 (34 spaces for infants/toddlers and 59 spaces for 3-5-year-olds). Construction has now begun on our new building – located next to our existing Child Care Centre – which is expected to open in the Fall of 2024.

Meet the Team

Alicia Larson
Associate Director, Child Care Services

For the past six years, Alicia has been an ECE instructor at Okanagan College (OC). Prior to her time at OC, she was with the Kelowna Child Care Society (currently known as Childhood Connections), where she supported child care in the region as the Program Coordinator and Consultant for Child Care Resource and Referral, Kelowna Young Parent Program, and Family Resource Program. Her background also includes work as an Assistant Director, Outreach worker, frontline ECE in Saskatchewan and Ontario and a Child Life Specialist in both BC and Ontario. In addition to her Bachelor of Arts in Child and Youth Care from the University of Victoria, Alicia also has her Early Childhood Educator Certificate and is a Certified Child Life Specialist. Alicia’s career has been focused on children and their families. She has a personal connection to the child care centre as her own children attended and graduated from here when it was run by the University Children’s Learning Centre Society.

Lisa Anderson
Operations Manager

Lisa has spent the past seven years working as the Manager, Residence Administration with Student Housing & Community Services on the Okanagan Campus. In that role, she managed student residence occupancy rates, offers/assignments, meal plans and housing fees. Prior to her time with UBC, Lisa was a Site Manager for an external contract on the UBCO Campus and owned and operated her own business.

Kamini Kishore
Program Manager

Kami is an experienced educator and social worker with an ambition to nurture young minds. She began her journey with a Bachelor’s degree in Social Science and a Master’s degree in English Literature, motivated by interest in early childhood education, she pursued an ECE diploma from Bow Valley College and a Montessori Diploma from Montessori Teachers College in Calgary. She also has specialized certificates in Infant/Toddler and Special Needs through the Ministry of Education and Childcare in BC. Her work experience spans over 20 years in the education field. This dedicated pursuit allowed her to refine her pedagogical skills and prepare her for the roles that followed. Outside of her professional endeavors, she cherishes quality time with her family and embraces the opportunity to explore new destinations.

Alex Miller

Alex Miller entered the field in 2013 as an ECEA and continued on with her education to receive her ECE certificate along with her Infant/Toddler designation. She has been working at the current centre for the entirety of her career.

She is passionate about supporting child development and creating a safe and enriching environment where children can spend their time. She enjoys building relationships with children and their families to ensure quality care is provided to everyone who enters our centre.

In her spare time, she enjoys all the outdoor activities, spending quality time with her family and friends, reading a good book or getting in some self-care with a mani/pedi.

Azadeh Kasperat

Azadeh Kasperat is an Early Childhood Educator certified in ECE IT/Diverse Needs (SN). She has been working in the field since 2013. She obtained her Diploma in ECE IT from Vancouver Community College and Diverse (SN) by Northern Lights.

She has worked for childcare centers in North Vancouver, Vancouver, and Burnaby before moving to Vernon and Kelowna. She gained experience and knowledge from working at centers with different philosophies. She chose to work with children and families as she enjoys helping the community and support working families. Assisting children in reaching their full potential and having a safe environment is her motive. She has volunteered for the Food Bank, and Mamas for Mamas and donated blood/plasma. I enjoys hiking, spinning, working out, and cooking/baking in her leisure time.

Aya Miura

Aya Miura began her career as an educator in Japan. She worked in renowned Child Care centres and Child Development office in Japan for four years.

In 2019 she relocated to Vancouver and further enhanced her qualification by taking an ECE Diploma from Sprott Shaw College. Upon completion she joined the current centre and is an educator in the toddler classroom. She is inspired each day by watching the children learn and grow. She aspires to provide a fun and safe place to the children and build strong relationships with the families. She likes singing, dancing, outdoor activities and above all snowboarding.

Brenda Florko

Brenda Florko has been in the child care field for twenty years and specializes in Infant/Toddler care. She has worked in this Child Care for fifteen years.

She enjoys being a small part of the children’s lives and create a warm and safe place for children to learn and grow. In her free time, she enjoys spending time at her cabin with her family and have found a new love of growing fresh cut flowers.

In her spare time, she enjoys all the outdoor activities, spending quality time with her family and friends, reading a good book or getting in some self-care with a mani/pedi.

Kimberley Letiec

Kimberley Letiec graduated from the ECE program in 1989 and relocated to Kelowna from Newfoundland in 1992. She has 35 years of experience in the field of early childhood education.

Currently she is working as a lead educator in our Infant/toddler program. Shaping young minds has been a delightful journey for her. In 2006, she completed the Infant/ Toddler program from Okanagan College and focused her career on caring for children under 3 years of age. She is passionate about providing care to all children and it is rewarding to see them reach their full potential in a quality program.

Rachelle Fortier

Rachelle Fortier has been involved in the childcare field since 2003. She always enjoyed spending time/babysitting my younger family members and that motivated her to continue on the path of working with younger children.

She has earned the certificates of, Early Childhood Education, Supported Childcare and Infant/Toddler and has been engaged in various workshops over the years. After graduating she did a year of subbing in a variety of daycares in Kelowna. With this valuable experience in 2004 she accepted a fulltime position as an Infant/Toddler educator. Outside of work I like spending time with friends/family, crafting and enjoying a good movie.

Kerri Lang

Kerri Lang has been practicing ECE for the last 29 years having graduated from the Okanagan College ECE program in 1995. Upon graduating she moved to New Westminster and began working in a 3-5 program in a group daycare.

She relocated to Kelowna in January 2003 and started working as an educator at the current daycare. In 2018 she was offered the opportunity to move programs and become the supervisor in the three to five program. She enjoys watching the children grow, develop and meet wonderful families along the way. I entered the field for my love of children and passion for making a difference in their lives. She loves spending time with her family, her partner Jason, and three teenage girls, Paige who is 17, Kennedy 15 and Kate 14. In the summer she enjoys boating on Okanagan Lake. In the winter she enjoys skating and watching movies. I love to read and explore our beautiful city by taking in some local hikes.

Teasha John

Teasha John began her career as an educator upon graduating from the ECE program in 2018. She has been working at the current centre for five years. Her passion for early childhood education is evident when she works with the children.

She likes to see the children learn and engage in varied activities. She believes in the play-based approach and create a program based on child’s interests. She likes to spend quality time with her family, going for nature walks and camping.

Natalie Hobbs

Natalie Hobbs holds a Bachelor’s degree in dance. Her passion for working with the children encouraged her to take early childhood education assistant course. She is working towards further enhancing her qualification.

She has been working in the present centre for two years. She grew up in a musical family and loves to teach dance and music to children. She also has experience of teaching 3-5 age group creative movement. She enjoys watching children’s confidence blossom as they explore and express themselves.

Janine Fojt

Janine Fojt grew up in Armstrong, BC. After graduating she completed her Associate of Arts in Vernon, BC. Janine has always had a passion for childcare. She started babysitting as a pre-teen, then nannying for a few families over the years. She started working at a small centre in Kelowna as an ECEA over a summer break in university.

Janine earned her ECE in 2017 and was working at a large Center in Kelowna. She was the lead teacher in a 3-5 classroom. After 7 years she decided she needed to grow and learn from other educators and started at the campus daycare in 2022. Janine is also trying to complete her Bachelor of Arts at UBCO.
She is passionate about art, circle and messy play. Children’s love, smiles and warm hugs encourage her to work harder.
Janine love Mickey Mouse and Disneyland. She loves to travel and go on road trips. In the summer you can find Janine with her boyfriend, 2 step-daughters and dog Zeus at the beach, camping and 4x4ing around the Okanagan.