Executive Director – Marianne Sorensen
Marianne has been a life long advocate for vulnerable members of our communities, holding a deep passion for social justice and community inclusion. Marianne spent most of her life in Prince George, raising her family and working in the not for profit sector. She served 18 years as Executive Director of AWAC – An Association Advocating for Women and Children, supporting homeless, impoverished and severely marginalized women and female youth.
Marianne moved to Victoria in 2012 and has since worked on behalf of domestic violence survivors, and with men and women experiencing homelessness and complex barriers. With a strong focus on collaboration and community development, Marianne has served in a leadership capacity on housing, poverty reduction, mental health and substance use initiatives at a community, regional and provincial level. Combined with extensive not for profit financial and human resource management experience Marianne is an ideal fit for 1Up. She is delighted to have the opportunity to work with, and advocate for single parent families. | Email Marianne
Administrative Coordinator – Trevor Tuckwell
Trevor was born in Sechelt, BC. Trevor has been a single parent for 13 years, and has sole custody of his son, Taryn, who was born with profound hearing loss. While working in out-of-school care in 2009, Trevor took the Peer Helper volunteer training at 1Up. After volunteering regularly at the Centre for over a year, Trevor was hired as the Administrative Coordinator and has been employed full-time at 1Up since 2010. Trevor enjoys being a part of the Centre’s capacity to create a welcoming and supportive place for single parents, with amazing volunteers and donors who truly understand how significant their contributions are to the community. | Email Trevor
Moms & Mentors Coordinator – Sanni Rosebrock
Sanni has worked at 1Up SPRC since April 2013 when she started as Program Assistant and Child Care Coordinator in the ‘MOMentum: Moms & Mentors’ Program. In July 2014 she moved into the role of program coordinator. Sanni has been working with children and families for close to 30 years, her background is in Child and Youth care, and in Early Childhood and Special Needs Education. She enjoys sharing her skills and knowledge and is always open for a chat. She loves her work at 1Up. She has lived in Canada since 1989, is married, and has two (almost) grown sons. | Email Sanni
Counsellor & Educational Coordinator – Lesley McNeely
Lesley’s background is in Fine Arts, Social Work and Facilitation. She has worked in BC and the Victoria area for the past 20 years with children, youth and families in a variety of capacities. She holds an integral belief that individuals and families are strong, capable and resilient. Through one on one work and group facilitation, Lesley has worked with people of all ages to reconnect with themselves and their inherent ability to love life fully, to connect with themselves and others and to parent in the way they dream of. | Email Lesley