BC CRN welcomes Heather Treleaven as the new Executive Director. Heather joins the BC CRN after leading the Seniors Network Society of Maple Ridge & Pitt Meadows for the past 14 years where she avidly supported the development and work of the local CRN. During that time she saw firsthand the value of its grassroots initiatives to create a coordinated community response to adult abuse, neglect and self-neglect.
Meet Heather
Since starting in her new position April 1, 2024, Heather has been spending a lot of time on Zoom where she has been meeting and hearing from the many passionate people across the province that make BC CRN the amazing organization that it is today. She is excited about working with the BC CRN because of the many CRNs across the province and the important work they are doing of connecting with individuals in the various communities and supporting people where they are at.
Heather learned early in life the importance of community connections growing up in the West Kootenays in the small town of Nakusp BC. She saw the importance of people helping people and sees that parallel with the CRNs supporting vulnerable folks by bringing a safety net together when needed.
Some of Heather’s leadership experience comes from over 14 years of working with the Maple Ridge, Pitt Meadows, Katzie Seniors Network, one of the original seniors planning tables established in 2008 through the United Way. In the years that followed, the Seniors Network began working with the cities directly on age-friendly projects, earning the cities of Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows the BC Age Friendly Community designation. Currently, the City of Maple Ridge is also a member of the World Health Organization’s Global Network of Age Friendly Cities. While she is very proud of those milestone accomplishments, Heather deeply enjoyed being part of a grass-roots community initiative that developed from empowering older adults and giving them a voice in shaping their community.
Other notable achievements include overseeing the construction and operation of an Intergenerational Garden in the heart of downtown Maple Ridge. The garden project is now in its 10th year and is currently overseen by 20 older adult volunteers who help to grow vegetables, flowers, herbs, and friendships with over 400 school age children each year. The garden is also visited by new immigrant families and the un-homed. The volunteers offer community support referrals, connection and mentoring that is just as important as the produce that is grown.
The garden served as a safe meeting place during the pandemic and Heather noted that the volunteers were able to continue their work and did not experience the level of social isolation reported by many others during that time.
Working with Emergency Management Professionals, Heather used her communications background to oversee the publication of an Emergency Preparedness Guide for Seniors that was recently adopted by the United Way of British Columbia and expanded into a provincial resource.
It’s Just The Beginning
Heather notes that while she is excited to be moving into the BC CRNs’ provincial arena from her corner of the map, following in Sherry Baker’s footsteps is a little daunting and will not be an easy task as Sherry has been a driving force behind BC CRN for a long time.
Heather has been using the first few weeks of her tenure to meet the many people within the organization, and spend time hearing from the folks who are on the ‘front lines’ in the communities to understand what’s working and not working. Her goal is to find ways to add value by identifying improvements that make sense and make the community work easier and more impactful. She sees this happening by understanding the experiences in the various communities in order to drive thoughtful policy changes and continuing to build new partnerships to make everything work better down the line.
BC CRN work-related travel begins in May with a trip up to Prince George for the Non-Profit North conference hosted by The Federation of Community Social Services of BC. After which she plans to attend a few other events around the Lower Mainland.
When Heather is not at work, she enjoys camping around beautiful BC and hopes to connect with CRNs this summer on her vacation route. In the off-season, she also loves traveling to warmer destinations where she can spend time relaxing on a beach, snorkeling and exploring other cultures. Heather also enjoys experimenting and applying new-found gardening skills from the community garden initiative to her own backyard where she has a variety of veggies and flowers underway.
Read more about Heather in the press release announcement on the BC CRN website from the Board of Directors.
Explore our website to learn more about BC CRN or connect with your local CRN for more information or resources.
