Brian has extensive experience as a senior leader across non-profit developmental services and healthcare sectors, as well as in community services, and government.  Having studied, lived, worked and volunteered in Waterloo Region for over 30 years, Brian appreciates the importance of non-profit services and supports in the lives of vulnerable individuals and their families in the local community.

After completing his master’s degree at the University of Waterloo, Brian earned his CPA, CGA designation and achieved certification as a healthcare administrator through AdvantAge Ontario.  Brian is an alumnus of the Leadership Waterloo Region program, and recently completed the Public Sector Executive Leadership Institute Program through the Smith School of Business at Queen’s University.

Brian continues to serve on non-profit Boards and Committees in a volunteer capacity, and for several years he served as a host family home provider for an individual requiring intellectual, physical and emotional supports.

Brian acknowledges the dedication and compassion of Sunbeam’s staff and volunteers, and he is extremely grateful for the opportunity to lead the Sunbeam Community in its service to the individuals and families we support.

Laura has dedicated her career to serving and supporting persons with developmental disabilities for over 40 years.

In her role as Chief Operating Officer, Laura oversees all program areas across Sunbeam’s operating divisions, providing person-centred services and supports to over 14,000 individuals and their families each year.

She is appreciative of the opportunities and experiences that working for Sunbeam Community and Developmental Services has provided her.

Tracy has worked in the Developmental Services sector for over 24 years and has been with Sunbeam since 2006.  She is responsible for a vast array of community-focused, person-centred programs serving individuals and their families, offered by Sunbeam’s Developmental Resource Centre, including Brightside ABA Services.

Tracy has a background in social work, bringing a client-centered approach to her role at Sunbeam. With a passion for helping others and making a positive impact, she thrives in the collaborative and supportive culture at Sunbeam. Tracy values the relationships she’s built with her colleagues and is inspired daily by the people she works with. Beyond her professional life, Tracy enjoys spending time in her garden, and with family and friends.

Prior to coming to work at Sunbeam Nancy worked as Director of Community Services with Kerry’s Place Autism Services and Director of Residential Services with Niagara Support Services.  Her focus at Developmental Services Ontario (DSO) is to ensure a fair and equitable process is maintained for people applying for and receiving adult developmental services.  She is passionate about inclusion and participation for all which has led to her work at Sunbeam.  She is the proud mom of 2 young boys and enjoys spending lots of time being active outdoors!

Sana Ali joined Sunbeam as a Manager, Financial Services in 2019. She is a CPA, CMA graduate with over 15 years of experience in the finance field. Sana helps senior management and Board of Directors in decision making, by providing them with accurate and up to date financial information and analysis.

She enjoys working at Sunbeam because of the great cause the organization works for. During her spare times, Sana enjoys spending time with family and friends.

Neil supervises clinical services, (speech, behaviour, autism behaviour, Applied Behaviour Analysis, health care and social work, in addition to intake and Sunbeam Developmental Resource Centre administration. He is originally from St. John’s Newfoundland and is living in this area for 20-years, while working for Sunbeam.

Neil has over 40 years experience working with people with Intellectual Disabilities and ASD, and has a degree in Master of Education (Counselling) and Bachelor of Science (Psychology).

Deborah feels honoured to have worked in the Developmental Services sector since 1987. She has always strived to advocate for individuals and ensure that the supports they receive are focused on their well-being and hopes and dreams.

Deborah previously provided supports to persons with developmental disabilities to help them with job and volunteer opportunities in the community.  She also managed the Job Track program,  piloted the new Application for Developmental Services and Supports, and worked as an Assessor for Developmental Services Ontario (DSO).

Deborah joined Sunbeam’s Developmental Resource Centre in 2017, and currently manages the Transitional Aged Youth Coordination team, the Host Family Home program and the Quality Assurance Measures Oversight program.

Amanda Ficca has joined the sunbeam team as the Manager of Community Living Services. She comes to us from the Durham region where she worked in a similar role supporting individuals and their families in various capacities. She holds a Masters in Counselling Psychology and an Honours in Criminology and Psychology. She started working in the developmental sector in her youth and though it was not the career path she had started on, she found a passion for the work of inclusivity and advocacy that steered her to her current role

Amanda loves working collaboratively with individuals, their families and the community to ensure people are supported in living their dreams, are safe and participating in their community as much as they wish. When not working Amanda loves the outdoors, coffee and a good book, traveling and spending time with her family.

Kaylee is a Nurse Manager at Sunbeam, where she works together with the team to support the medically fragile homes. Her journey in developmental services began in my early adulthood, starting as a volunteer and evolving through various roles, including educational assistant, personal support worker, and Registered Practical Nurse (RPN) before becoming a Registered Nurse (RN).

Kaylee has worked directly with individuals and their families in both respite and residential programs, deepening her understanding of the unique challenges they face. These front-line experiences have fueled her passion for individualized care, ensuring that each person receives the support they need to thrive.

When she is not working, Kaylee enjoys spending quality time with her family, whether they are sharing meals, simply enjoying each other’s company, or going on road trips.

Erika is an experienced Registered Nurse from Kitchener, Ontario, with a background in emergency medicine, public health, nurse instruction, and pieces in between. Erika graduated from McMaster’s Nursing program in late 2016 and began her nursing adventure shortly thereafter.

Erika is a returning member of the Sunbeam Community. Having volunteered in the Respite Program throughout nursing school, Erika is delighted to return to the community in the capacity of Nurse Manager as of March 2022.

Erika is a firm believer in the care of the whole person, and practices nursing with an evidence-based, and collaborative approach.

In her spare time Erika enjoys spending time with her family, being outdoors, practicing yoga, and reading a good book.

Dr. Dignam has been part of the Sunbeam community since 2017 providing primary care for many of the residents at Sunbeam. She works collaboratively with the healthcare team to ensure all residents receive well-rounded, multidisciplinary care with a focus on prevention, safety and enhancing the quality of each day for the residents.

Dr. Dignam trained to be a Registered Nurse at Western University, as well as obtain an undergraduate degree in Health Sciences, before starting her medical degree at McMaster University. She then completed her Family Medicine training locally at McMaster’s Waterloo campus. Dr. Dignam has worked in Waterloo Region since graduating.

In addition to her work at Sunbeam, Dr. Dignam provides locum coverage to family practices in need, as well as provide COVID related support over the last couple of years. Dr. Dignam also has a special interest in lifestyle medicine, promoting wellness through lifestyle change, and in teaching health care providers.

Dr. Dignam thoroughly enjoys her work at Sunbeam, as she values the importance of providing exceptional health care to all people, especially those who are vulnerable. She appreciates the importance of providing support to families as well.

Dr. Dignam particularly enjoys her interactions with the residents here at Sunbeam! “Each and every smile is beautiful”. She also feels very fortunate to work with a such kind, dedicated health-care team. Dr. Dignam looks forward to working closely with the leadership team in her role as Attending Physician to further advance the good work being done at Sunbeam, and within the developmental community.

Connie is a proud wife, mother, daughter, Registered Social Worker, and Registered Early Childhood Educator.  As a full-time Professor in the Faculty of Community Studies at Fanshawe College in London, her goal is to instill acceptance and compassion in students from a holistic and anti-oppressive lens.  Connie’s passion for inclusion evolved while raising a daughter with complex Autism into her adult years.

Connie’s relationship with Sunbeam Community & Developmental Services can be considered one that has come ‘full circle’.  When Connie moved to Waterloo in 2008, she requested the services of the Sunbeam Developmental Resource Centre (then known as DSRC) to assist with locating supports for her daughter as they were new to the Region.  The care and compassion Connie received from the staff at DSRC during that initial meeting encouraged Connie to return to university with the goal of achieving a Master of Social Work in order to support other families who have children with special needs.  This goal was achieved, and now that her daughter lives in one of Sunbeam’s residential homes, Connie is sharing the skills and experience she has gained with students who will be working in the field of Mental Health in the future.

Becoming a Board Member of Sunbeam Community and Developmental Services is one way that Connie is ‘giving back’. Having experienced some of the same challenges faced by the people and family members whom the organization supports allows Connie to face decision-making and advocacy at the Board level with compassion and understanding.

Outside of work, Connie enjoys spending time with her family, caring for her and her wife’s pets (3 dogs and 2 cats), following the Toronto Blue Jays, and Seattle Kraken, and playing Virtual Reality.

Stacey is a new member to the Sunbeam Board of Directors in 2022 and is looking forward to new experiences and new perspectives with an amazing organization that does so much for its community. Stacey has worked for 28 years in the non-profit sector with an organization that provides personal care to adults and seniors with physical disabilities. Stacey started out many years ago as an Attendant Services Worker, then moved to Human Resources, then on to Coordinator of all Community and Seniors program and is currently a Program Manager at Guelph Independent Living.  These many different roles have given her a wide range of perspectives which she is happy to be able to share with Sunbeam.

Stacey enjoys reading and spending time outside of work with her family and friends and her very furry dog, Axel.

Darcy joined the Sunbeam Board of Directors in 2024. As a parent of an individual with a neurological disorder, Darcy strongly advocates for and believes in Sunbeam’s vision of inclusivity. Darcy’s daughter lives with Rett Syndrome, and he previously had spent 11 years as a Board Member, Chair of the Fundraising Committee, and Secretary to the Board for the O.R.S.A. (Ontario Rett Syndrome Association).

From Farm Labourer to Food Inspector, Food Plant Manager to Operations Manager of multi-facility Bio-Gas plants, Darcy has worked in the Agriculture, Food industry and Food recycling/ renewable natural gas for the last 30 years. He brings a great wealth of experience with Compliance & Quality Assurance.

Darcy is a graduate of the University of Manitoba Faculty of Agriculture and, in his spare time, enjoys tending to his vegetable garden. His specialty is tomatoes and hot peppers, which he turns into a world-class salsa and tomato sauce.

As a long-time resident of Kitchener-Waterloo, Chandelle has gained a rich understanding of the importance of not-for-profit services and their ability to empower their communities, as well as provide those in need with essential tools to grow, heal, and succeed. Chandelle brings to the table first-hand experience with Sunbeam, which allow her insight into how best Sunbeam’s services can be utilized by the community.

Chandelle has over 15 years professional experience as a retail industry leader; proving repeatedly that she has a thorough understanding of both frontline customer service and people management; but also, comprehensive insight into employee mental health and the impact it has on successful businesses. She earned her diploma in Client Relations from Conestoga College, which has reaffirmed in her a lifelong philosophy of putting clients first.

Currently Chandelle is employed as Waterloo Region Manager, with jurisdiction over the Region’s Collision Reporting Centres, where she works side-by-side with frontline law enforcement agents as well as the Ontario Ministry of Transportation.

John Goerzen joined the Board of Directors, September 2020.  He has volunteered in the community in various capacities, including Ray of Hope, Big Brothers, the City of Waterloo’s Citizen Committees and Professional Engineers of Ontario.

Semi-retired from a career in manufacturing and construction engineering, John remains engaged with his own consultant business and working part-time.  John and his wife have 2 independent adult children.

John has always enjoyed giving back to the community and looks forward to sharing his array of experience while serving on Sunbeam’s Board of Directors.

Chantal Hunter joined the Sunbeam Board of Directors in 2024.  She was looking for an opportunity to give back to the community and was drawn to the values and mission of the Sunbeam community.

Chantal lives with her partner Joel and is a proud mom of two boys ages 18 and 20.  She is a CPA and graduate from McMaster University and has been in several leadership positions within finance and sales operations over the past 20 years.  She is hopeful that her experience in finance across a range of industries will bring a positive perspective to the Sunbeam board.

Chantal lives in the beautiful township of St. Jacobs for over 10 years and truly enjoys the culture of this small community.  In her spare time, Chantal enjoys traveling through Europe and has a residence in Spain where she hopes to retire to some day.

Krista was drawn to Sunbeam’s Vision, Mission, and Values, aligning perfectly with her personal commitment to innovation, inclusion and supporting individuals with disabilities within the community.

Professionally, Krista serves as a Patient Services Manager with Home and Community Care Support Services (HCCSS) Waterloo Wellington. Her extensive healthcare experience includes 16 years at Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS), specializing in clinical Speech-Language Pathology and leadership roles within the Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) and Stroke Programs, and 6 years at HCCSS leading hospital, community, and specialty programs and teams.

In her downtime, Krista cherishes moments with her husband and two teenage sons, exploring the outdoors through camping, hiking, and biking. Outside of her board role, Krista volunteers her time with her boys’ baseball teams through Kitchener Minor Baseball and Guelph Minor Baseball.