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Our History

In 1978, Little Mountain Neighbourhood House opened its doors in a local storefront. A group of committed volunteers and three staff members began the challenging task of identifying and responding to a spectrum of local, regional and national issues as they were then experienced by our residents of our own neighbourhood. Like all neighbourhood houses, we were then and still are a grass roots volunteer –driven organization. The programs and initiatives that have emerged from our work in the community have, in some cases gone on to become established, recognized programs adopted by governments, and other organizations.

On occasion our solutions have been adopted to serve as models for other providers, and other constituencies far beyond our neighbourhood. In some cases, Little Mountain Neighbourhood House has created vital programming such as the Special Services to Children and Families, and Settlement and Adaptation Programs are in line with the strategic direction of the Provincial Government and the City.

"We value diversity, responsiveness, integrity, engagement, accessibility, excellence and empowerment!"

Our Management Team

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Joel Bronstein

Executive Director

Joel has been working at LMNHS since 1987, where he began working with children, youth and seniors, then as a Program Director and has been the Executive Director since 1997. His education background are in the fields of Social Work, Recreation Management and Human Services. He loves the neighbourhood and is thrilled by the level of involvement in many aspects of the neighbourhood house and the neighbourhood by community members from such diverse backgrounds.

Email Joel

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Claudia Cao

Director, Finance and Operations

Claudia has been working at LMNHS since 2002. Claudia began working as LMNHS’ accounting and administrative assistant and now oversees the financial management and operations of the Neighbourhood House. Claudia graduated from BCIT’s financial management program and is currently working towards her CGA designation. Claudia has many years of experience with different accounting systems and full-cycle accounting. She is committed to ethical principles and upholding LMNHS’ financial policy. Claudia came to Canada as a landed immigrant from mainland China and is multi-lingual. She likes the multicultural environment at LMNHS and is happy to support all facets of the community services offered here.

Email Claudia

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Diane Wilmann

Director, Settlement and Seniors Programs

LMNHS is excited to announce that starting June 7, Diane Wilmann will be our new Settlement and Seniors Manager. Diane has three decades of experience working in the settlement sector and over 17 years in senior leadership, primarily within ANHBC. She recently completed her Masters of Arts in Leadership with Royal Roads University, with a focus on decolonization and Truth and Reconciliation. Diane's knowledge, experience and passion for this work will be an asset to the organization and the communities we serve. The LMNHS board and staff welcome Diane to our team!

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Geraldine Clevette

Director, Child Care Programs

Geraldine has been working at Little Mountain since February, 2008. She sometimes refers to herself as a “neighbourhood house brat” because ever since she started doing leadership training at Cedar Cottage Neighbourhood House when she was a teenager, she’s continuously found herself involved in neighbourhood houses in one way, shape or form! Geraldine has worked in a wide range of child care settings and was a crisis line counsellor for over 10 years. She holds certificates in Early Childhood Education, Infant and Toddler, Special Needs and Counselling Skills. Geraldine loves working at Little Mountain. For her, its like a family – a safe place to explore ideas, be creative and feed off others’ energy.

Email Geraldine

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Maria Valenzuela

Director, Community and Family Programs

Maria has been at LMNH since 2004, where she started working as Family Support Worker in the Family Resource Programs. She then moved on to the Settlement Department as a Settlement Worker where she worked with newcomer families. She enjoys working with children and families and finds it especially relevant and rewarding to work as a Manager in the FRP as she has two young children of her own. Maria has a background in Psychology and has been working with the multicultural community in Vancouver for many years. She hopes to continue to grow and learn in her new position.

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Andrea Canales

Director, Children and Youth Programs

Andrea's bio coming soon.

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At the AGM on June 20, 2022, LMNHS members elected 4 new members and 4 returning members to the Board of Directors. Those elected to 2-year terms include the new members; Salima Abdulla, Emma Coffin, Sarah Hamid-Balma, Albert Huang and the returning members; Art Bomke, Adam Mattinson and Mindy Nannar. Also elected to complete a 1-year term is one new member, Emma Coffin and one returning member, Erin Seeley - LMNHS Past President. We welcome all the new members and we're excited to continue the strides made on our recently approved Strategic Plan and formation of the JEDI Committee. We'd also like to recognize the contribution of those leaving us after serving out their terms; Rachel Tuttle - President and Thais Mori - Treasurer..

Welcome and thanks to all of you for coming on board.

Board of Directors

Eduardo Aragon - President

Adam Mattinson - Vice President

Erin Turner - Treasurer

Mary Nguyen - Secretary

Members at Large

Salima Abdulla

Art Bomke

Emma Coffin

Sarah Hamid-Balma

Albert Huang

Mindy Nannar

Erin Seeley

Alexander White