Adrienne Carter
Acting Executive Director/Senior Clinical & Strategic Consultant
People, mission and governance
VICCIR’s Team, Leadership and Mission
VICCIR is a federally registered charity providing trauma-informed, culturally safe mental health support for immigrants and refugees on Vancouver Island.
One Team, Working Together
Leadership, Operations & Administration
Phil N. Rossner
Communications & Fundraising Manager
Laura Lee
Community Services Manager
Ismat Musafir
Admin Clinical & Data Coordinator
Sarjina Trima
Fund Development & Communications Coordinator
Henry McKenzie
Coordinator of Youth Resilience and New Horizons Grants
Jacqueline Hernandez
Bookkeeper
Sepideh Akhavan
Administrative Coordinator
Counselling & Interpreter Services
VICCIR has more than 20 counsellors, all of whom are experienced Master's level members of their professional associations. They are from diverse backgrounds, speak several languages, and are specially trained and supervised to meet the specific needs of VICCIR clientele.
We also have a team of trained and supervised clinical interpreters, many of whom have lived experience of the issues facing our clients.
Counsellors
24 team members
Ana Pavon, RCC-ACS, MACPshyc, MM, LLB, CIC
Clinical Counsellor
Miream Rabba
BA, DCiiat, AT, Art Therapist
Crystal James, MSW, RCSW
Counsellor
Afrah Ashoor, MSc, RCC
EMDR Trained Therapist
Maria Medrano
MC, RCC, ACS Candidate, Registered Clinical Counsellor
Dr. Shannan Nobahar
Counsellor
Dr. Susanna Ruebsaat
PhD, MA, T.Ed, DVATI, BFA, BCATR, RCC, RCC-ACS
Rewa Grewal
Counsellor
Paola Soto Flores
Counsellor
Panida Pongpanich
Counsellor
Gehad Khadr
RCC, Counsellor
Yiana Belcher
Counsellor
Ingrid Haagmans
MSc, MA, RCC, Counsellor
Christine Alevizakis
Counsellor
Lee McLeod
RCC, Counsellor
Anastasiia Khromova
RCC, Counsellor
Barb Imlach
MA, RCC, Counsellor
Jean Ellis
BEd, MEd, SEP, CAIET, Counsellor
Sonya Boya
MSc, RCC, Clinical Supervisor
Macayla Yan
Counsellor
Doina Serea MA, RCC
Counsellor
Jaswant Guzder
MD, Consultant Psychiatrist and Trainer
Alannah McPhail
DVATI, Art Therapist
Alison Miller PhD
Clinical Supervisor and originator of Parenting Workshops
Interpreters
19 team members
Xi Yao
Interpreter Supervisor, Associate Member STIBC, Mandarin Interpreter
Lemlem Ogbasilassie
Tigrinya Interpreter
JiaRui Zhu
Interpreter: Mandarin
Chui Ying Luk
Interpreter: Cantonese
Marilynn Quigley
Interpreter: Tagalog/Filipino
Michael Isaac
Tigrinya Interpreter
Victoria Grando
Ukrainian/Russian Interpreter
Spohzmay Oriya
Dari, Pashto, Farsi Interpreter
Besmillah Sultani
Farsi/Dari Interpreter
Miriam Beechey
Spanish Interpreter
Samuel Oweis
Arabic Interpreter
Manasi Shaha
Hindi and Punjabi Interpreter
Kaveh Sarmast
Persian and Serbo-Croatian Interpreter
Nelio Buongermino
Portuguese Interpreter
Latifa Elalaoui
Arabic Interpreter
Jasroop Chauhan
Hindi and Punjabi Interpreter
Iana Zavaloka
Russian Interpreter
Kim Chi Nguyen
Vietnamese Interpreter
Jasmin Gerwien
Manager/trainer of Interpreting Services, (temporarily on leave)
Governance
Board of Directors
Our board provides governance, fiduciary oversight, and strategic stewardship so VICCIR can sustain responsive care for newcomers and refugees.
- Ben InghamChair
- Zainab IbrahimSecretary
- Len WechslerTreasurer
- Raghda AlhaddadDirector
- Robin PikeDirector
- Adrienne CarterDirector
- Lynne ChobotarDirector
Our Mission
We support the healing and integration of immigrant and refugee individuals, families and communities through mental health services that are trauma-informed, culturally safe and accessible.
We restore resilience by helping individuals and families affected by trauma, torture, displacement, and migration reclaim their strength, dignity, and hope.
We provide compassionate care through a trained and diverse team of counsellors, interpreters, and Health and Cultural Ambassadors who understand and reflect the communities we serve.
We ignite change by serving as a hub for learning and capacity building, expanding mental health awareness, reinforcing community resources, and delivering transformative training.
We promote collaboration and advocacy to make mental health services more welcoming, inclusive, and responsive to each person’s unique background and needs.
We believe every individual deserves the opportunity to lead their life with dignity and well-being.
Our Values
Inclusiveness
we serve immigrants and refugees of all ages from all countries in the world who reside on Vancouver Island. Although clients are encouraged to financially contribute towards their treatment, no client is refused treatment and all clients are provided care regardless of their financial circumstances with the most traumatized clients given priority counselling.
Confidentiality
is essential to building the necessary trusting relationships between the counsellors and the clients, so information can be freely shared knowing that it will be held in the strictest confidence.
Respect
for the personal, religious and cultural diversity of our clients is accomplished by ensuring the appropriate counsellors and interpreters are assigned to meet the ethnic and language needs of our clients.
Service Quality
is of utmost importance to ensure the best possible results for our clients through the use of professional counsellors and trained interpreters who receive ongoing trauma treatment training and guidance.
Welcoming people
through our interactions and training of individuals and agencies involved with immigrants and refugees, we help facilitate the positive integration of immigrants and refugees into Canadian society.
At VICCIR we value inclusiveness, confidentiality, respect, a high quality of service, and extending a welcome to all.