2011 Nominees - Education, Training and Development

NATACHA V. BEIM

In 1998 Natacha opened the first junior kindergarten school in Canada. Natacha’s vision was to provide an incredible learning environment that would inspire children for life. Despite the overwhelming shortage of child care programs in Vancouver, Natacha faced numerous obstacles and onerous licensing requirements. She overcame these challenges and Core Education & Fine Arts (CEFA) now operates in ten locations across the Lower Mainland. Her CEFA schools follow the international guidelines for pre-kindergarten learning and offer unique developmental opportunities that are tailored for each child. Natacha is also an avid fundraiser, mentor and volunteer. As an advocate for universal education, Natacha continually lobbies the government to make early learning programs like CEFA’s accessible to parents who cannot afford child care.

Connecting the Community Award quote:

“As an expert and fervent advocate for early learning, I know that it makes all the difference in a child's life. It also greatly impacts our society by reducing crime and poverty and by empowering individuals to contribute. CEFA offers thousands of children per year this opportunity. By supporting early learning and child care, I hope to make a greater difference.”

MALGORZATA DUBIEL

Malgorzata strives to help students overcome “math anxiety.” With over 40 years of teaching she applies her experience to improving math education in Canada. She works with elementary school teachers and children to change the misconceptions about math that are formed at an early age. Malgorzata also established math camps, conferences and community outreach programs for students of all ages. Her contributions have encouraged many women to engage with and consider careers in mathematics, a field where women are still underrepresented. She is a recipient of the 3M National Teaching Fellowship, the SFU Excellence in Teaching Award and the Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences Education Prize.

Connecting the Community Award quote:

“Education is the best weapon in the war on poverty. YWCA Emma's Early Learning and Child Care Centre helps to open the door to education and through it to a successful and meaningful life for both young mothers and for their children.”

BARB FINLEY

Barb is a groundbreaking culinary educator and an advocate of healthy eating as a fundamental life skill. She is the founder of Project CHEF Education Society, a non-profit society that has taught over 4,000 elementary school children to make healthy food choices and prepare their own meals. She leveraged her culinary skills and teaching experience to create lessons that match the Ministry of Education’s Learning Outcomes. She gained the approval of the school board, teachers and parents to bring Project CHEF into the classroom. To fund the project Barb raises over $80,000 annually through cash and in-kind donations. The program has visited more than 58 elementary schools and involved over 140 teachers, 1,300 parents and countless community volunteers.

Connecting the Community Award quote:

“As an educator, I see children struggle with the difficult transition between elementary and high school. I have also seen them empowered to embrace change with confidence through learning knowledge and skills from supportive role models. I support the YWCA’s Welcome to My Life and Boys 4 Real programs as they steer girls and boys toward healthy choices for youth.” 

COREY ZYLSTRA

Corey founded the REACH Orton-Gillingham Learning Centre in 2004 to help meet the growing needs of children with dyslexia and other learning difficulties. Corey advocates the Orton-Gillingham approach as an effective method to reading and spelling instruction for all learners but particularly for children who are struggling at school. She has trained and mentored educators across North America and the Middle East to effectively teach literacy skills to these students. Corey was recently awarded an honorary fellowship from the American Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators. She was also invited to partake in a unique project: to create an Arabic-language program based on the O-G method; the program is currently being used in Kuwait and throughout the Middle Eastern gulf and is available free to those supporting students with dyslexia.

Connecting the Community Award quote:

“As an advocate for early educational support for children and families and early intervention for those struggling with literacy, I choose to support early learning and child care. With almost one-third of BC children entering kindergarten already behind their peers, support in early learning is crucial in helping to make the children of BC more successful in their lives.”