Meet the team

Our dedicated team is passionate about creating a nurturing and inspiring environment for children to learn, play and grow. Our small but mighty leadership team brings experience and passion to guiding our programs, while our educators are committed to fostering each child’s development with care, creativity and enthusiasm.

Our leadership team

Alicia Larson
Associate Director, Child Care Services

Alicia began working at UBC Okanagan Campus in January 2023. Before that, she spent six years as an ECE instructor at Okanagan College (OC). Before her time at OC, she was with the Kelowna Child Care Society (now known as Childhood Connections), where she supported childcare 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 includes working 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. Alicia’s career has been focused on children and their families. She has a personal connection to the childcare centre as her children attended and graduated from here when it was run by the University Children’s Learning Centre Society.

Lisa Anderson
Operations Manager

Lisa has been a part of the Student Housing and Community Services portfolio on the UBC Okanagan campus for over 8 years. As the Manager of Residence Administration, she demonstrated her ability to navigate the complexities of the waitlists, assignments, administration and operation of all student residence units on campus. In her role, she supported a group of over 2000 students with their housing administration needs. Lisa also collaborated closely with campus partners to foster a cohesive community experience. Before her residence administration role, she managed site operations for an external contractor on campus, overseeing a team with efficiency and compassion.

Beyond her professional endeavours, she values her time with family, cherishing moments spent with her husband and children. Lisa also enjoys an active lifestyle by engaging in various sports activities.

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 endeavours, she cherishes quality time with her family and embraces the opportunity to explore new destinations.

Our educators

Aya Miura

Aya 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, Aya 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 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.

Brenda 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.

Carmen Zhang

Carmen entered early childcare with her Assistant Certificate in 2015. She gained her Early Childhood Educator Certificate in 2016.

Since then, she has been working with children in play-based preschool, licensed group childcare and Montessori preschool settings.

In 2018, Carmen finished her practicum at University Children’s Learning Centre Society and obtained her Infant/Toddler Educator Certificate. After that she has been working with the infant and toddler group for about four years. Carmen has the following training: ASQ-3, ASQ:SE-2; Circle of Security; Relationship, Brain and Regulation etc.

She loves being an Early Childhood Educator; being a friendly teacher to the children; being a trustworthy caregiver to the family; being a positive and uplifting staff to the community. Carmen believes every child is unique and is passionate about assisting children to grow and develop.

Janine Fojt

Janine 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.

Janine started working at a small centre in Kelowna as an ECEA over a summer break in university.

She earned her ECE in 2017 and was working at a large centre 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 loves 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.

Joann Hernandez
Senior Educator, 3-5 program

Joann has over 12 years of teaching experience in childcare, ementary and high school settings. She began teaching in the Philippines in 1997 as a Chemistry and Physics teacher.

Prior to joining UBC-Okanagan childcare, she worked as a Supervisor at Elowyn in Lake Country in 2022. Her passion for teaching science has led her to analyze why students nowadays lack interest in hands-on learning.

She is currently pursuing further education in the field of children with exceptionalities at Okanagan College in Vernon and hopes to complete a Master’s in Education to further enhance her teaching practices. Alongside her professional endeavours, she is a proud mother of three beautiful girls, and enjoys connecting with nature and exploring various destinations in Canada.

Kerri Lang
Senior Educator, 3-5 program

Kerri has been practicing ECE for the last 29 years, having graduated from Okanagan College’s ECE program in 1995. Upon graduating, she moved to New Westminster.

There, Kerri began working in a 3-5 program in a group daycare. Kerri 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.

Lauren Buck

Lauren is an educator in the 3-5 program and has been in the child care field for 10 years. She fell in love with ECE and Graduated from UBCO with Bachelor of Arts degree. She was inspired by many amazing teachers who left lasting impressions on her life.

From, that Lauren grew a passion for teaching and encouraging children to learn. They are the reason she strives to do the same thing in every child’s life that she gets the pleasure to work with. From a young age she wanted to guide and support children in their learning. She started helping facilitate learning and a love of nature as young as 10 years old when she became a Girl Guide and helped with the young age groups in weekly meetings. As a student she also received a chance to work with adults and children (school aged) with diverse needs which open my heart further to the joys of teaching. I look forward to meeting and inspiring little ones in the near future.”

Nance Joy Agustin

Nance grew up in the Philippines, where she finished her Bachelor’s Degree in Child Development and Education, Special Education. She has been in the early childhood education field since 2018.

Nance’s teaching journey started in the Philippines where she taught Kindergarten. In 2021, she moved to Canada to learn different approaches in the field of ECE. She is a strong advocate of play and hands-on learning. She believes that these are vital components for the holistic development of children. She endeavours to create a conducive play environment for the children to explore and interact with the world. Apart from being a teacher, she is passionate about playing Volleyball and badminton. She loves reading books, going on a road trip and exploring nature.

Natalie Hobbs

Natalie 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 qualifications.

Natalie 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.

Rachelle Fortier

Rachelle 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.

Rachelle 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.

Alanna Hartwig

Alanna grew up in the small mountain town of Golden, BC. She always knew she wanted to work in childcare and was even more inspired to become an educator after becoming an auntie at a young age.

She moved to Armstrong 7 years ago, where she began nannying and pursuing her chosen career.

After getting her ECEA, Alanna worked in a Montessori Preschool while continuing her education. She graduated from Okanagan College in 2023, with a Diploma in Early Childhood Education. Alanna specializes in Infant/Toddler care.

Alanna believes that every child is unique, and each child deserves a caring educator who helps foster and grow that individuality. She believes in an environment made of natural objects and open-ended materials that foster creativity and expression. She is committed to creating an inclusive environment and building trusting relationships with families and communities.

In her spare time, Alanna most enjoys spending time with family, the occasional “no-map” road trip, and reading a good book with her cat beside her.

Camille Greene-Thompson

Camille began her teaching career as an English Language Teaching Assistant in France in 2011. She holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in French with a Minor in International Relations from the University of the West Indies.

During her final year of tertiary studies, the University hired her as a French and Spanish tutor for the Pre-university center. She held this position for three years.

Camille’s interest in early years education was sparked after the birth of her daughter in 2020. Her deep desire to understand and implement best practices in child development in her daughter’s early years prompted her to pursue her ECE certification in 2023. Camille became a certified ECE in 2024 and hopes to further enhance her skills by pursuing her studies in the field of children with exceptionalities as well as a Master’s in Education.

For leisure, she enjoys going for nature walks, reading and spending time with her family.

Janet Tait

Janet has been working in the Early Childhood field for 34 years. She began her teaching career in the Cariboo area where she worked in a preschool for 14 years and then relocated to Okanagan.

After a stint of ten years at a day care in Penticton, Janet joined the present centre and has been a valuable educator at UBC Okanagan Child Care since then. She is passionate about working as an early childhood educator as it gives her immense satisfaction to see children learning and growing. In her spare time, she likes to read and garden. She is a nature lover and likes to be outdoors.

Jennifer Mitchell
Senior Educator, Infant Toddler

Jen holds an Early Childhood Education Diploma and has 15 years of experience in the field. During her practice, she has taken a great interest in working with children with diverse abilities and bringing nature-based play into her programming.

Jen has spent the last 10 years travelling and working with children of many cultural backgrounds. When she is not working she enjoys spending her time in the woods and mountains during all seasons. She is also always up for trying new things and is currently learning to play the piano and kickboxing.

Kimberley Letiec
Senior Educator, Infant Toddler

Kimberley 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, Kimberley 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.

Manjot Kaur

Manjot Kaur is a passionate and dedicated educator, bringing with her over five years of experience. She has specialized training in Infant/Toddler and Special Needs.

Manjot creates a nurturing and stimulating learning environment that fosters curiosity, creativity and social skills in young children. She believes in building strong, trusting relationships with both children and families. She is committed to inclusivity, ensuring that every child feels valued and understood.

Manjot enjoys exploring nature, reading and participating in community events.

Nichelle Marquardt

Nichelle started her education journey as an RA working with school age children in 2019. During this time, she took her ECE certificate at Okanagan College and Gradually went from RA to ECEA to ECE.

She then found her passion for working with the infant department, getting her specialization in the subject. Nichelle comes from the theory, process over product. How a child accomplishes an activity is more valuable than the product that is produced at the end. Nichelle is a very compassionate educator with five years of experience in the field. Nichelle plans to continue her education in the future and keep expanding her knowledge of the field.

In Nichelle’s time off she spends it with her partner and two cats relaxing at home. Or Nichelle is on the open roads riding her motorcycle, enjoying the Okanagan.

Sarah Young

Sarah has been in the ECE field for over 10 years. Sarah’s career began after graduating from University with a degree in History, spent some time abroad as an Aupair.

It was through this experience that she discovered a passion for nurturing and guiding young children. This led her to complete her ECE certificate at Mount Royal University in 2012. She then spent several years working in various daycare centers in Calgary before opening her own licensed dayhome in 2016. After relocating to Kelowna in 2022 with her family, she worked as a CCRR program consultant at Childhood Connections and continued to foster strong relationships with families, children and childcare providers during her time there.

She continuously seeks to expand her knowledge within the ECE field and loves watching children develop, grow and explore the world around them through play.

When she’s not working, Sarah enjoys spending time with her husband and son, going for walks in nature, playing pickleball, and reading.