Archive

Upon witnessing just how much hearing aids can improve a person’s life, Dr. Katarina Vavrovicova set out to pursue a career in audiology. Growing up in Bratislava, Slovakia, she went on to graduate from Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania with a doctoral degree in audiology in 2006. Since then, Vavrovicova has been working with physicians and the medical community in the Vancouver area, all the while gaining extensive experience in the assessment, diagnosis and treatment of hearing disorders.

After volunteering in an elementary classroom while in high school, and encouraged by her mentors, Ginny Chiu knew she wanted to pursue a career in education. “Almost everything we do revolves around some form of reading and writing, so teaching students to read, write and think critically is an important skill set to have – not only in school, but in life,” says Chiu, who has both a BA in English and BEd from UBC. Teaching

Teaching Zumba classes at the Kerrisdale Community Centre for 12 years, Tanya Hillson draws deeply from both her Caribbean heritage and Latin dance background. “My family comes from Trinidad and Tobago, which is the birthplace of soca and calypso music, the steel drum and limbo, and home to the world’s largest Caribbean carnival,” says Hillson, who was born and raised in Vancouver but frequently visited Trinidad as a child and teen. “Latin dance is also popular on the

Julien Toscano-Saoui has entered the building as our new food services coordinator. Working in Vancouver’s restaurant scene since he was 16, he fully embarked on his culinary journey at Mahoney’s Tavern (Vancouver Convention Centre location) before moving on to help open Tap & Barrel‘s North Vancouver location, oversee Tacofino‘s food trucks, work as chef de partie at Kitsilano’s Oddfish Restaurant and, most recently, as sous chef at Yolks on W. Broadway. Only a few weeks into his new Kerrisdale Community Centre Society role, Toscano-Saoui says: “I like it, it’s exciting, it’s fun.

Music instructor Joseph Young can’t say enough about the humble ukulele. “One of my favourite things about teaching the ukulele is the community surrounding it,” says Young, who has been teaching music for almost 20 years. “The uke community in the Lower Mainland is robust and welcoming across the board, and getting to introduce people to it is a pleasure.” Skilled at playing a variety of instruments, including the guitar, piano, saxophone and, of course, ukulele, he