PLANNING COMMITTEE
Susana Farinha
Susana was born and raised in Lisbon, Portugal. She has a Medical Degree and specializes in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. She has collaborated with family associations and schools in the educational field for 16 years, both in Portugal and Canada. Susana is the co-founder of PUERI, a mental health association for children in Portugal.
Currently, Susana lives in Vancouver with her husband and is the mother of seven children, between the ages 3 and 16 years old. She finds it very rewarding to work with teenagers and young adults promoting healthy life-styles and great ideals. In her spare time she enjoys outdoors activities, reading and playing with her kids.
Anastasia Pearse
Anastasia works as the Executive Director for National Campus Life Network, a pro-life organization that supports university students in their pro-life outreach on campuses as they build a campus culture that respects and upholds the value and equality of all human life. For the past four years Anastasia has also been the co-director of the Crestwell Leadership Camp for high school girls, coordinating the camp and mentoring the girls to help them discover and enhance their individual potential, building them as leaders who can in turn reach out to and impact society. She has personally trained and educated hundreds of university and high schools students from Manitoba to B.C, speaking at conferences, youth retreats, camps, banquets, the B.C. March for Life, and taking part in debates on campus.
Anastasia holds a Masters of Leadership from Trinity Western University, specializing in not-for-profit organizations. She is also an avid fitness fanatic, and when she isn’t working to impact the lives of youth and students she can be found at the gym, running around the trails in Langley, or chasing one of her 6 brothers around a soccer field.
Vanessa Park
Vanessa was born in Peru and moved to Canada in 1988. She holds Bachelor’s degrees in Linguistics and German, and a Master’s Degree in Linguistics from the University of British Columbia. After marrying she returned to Peru and worked as a teacher and counsellor at a girls' school in Lima for 10 years. Inspired by the educational environment, she furthered her own training and obtained a Master’s Degree in Educational Family Counselling.
In 2005, Vanessa moved back to Canada and is currently enjoying life as a stay-at-home mom to her 4 wonderful kids. She enjoys volunteering with Air Cadets and Canadian Guide Dogs for the Blind.
Miriam Helmers
Miriam Helmers is a graduate of the University of Toronto and former teacher at Hawthorn School in Toronto. She has also studied theology in Rome, Italy and is currently pursuing her goal of becoming a university professor. She considers herself both a dedicated educator and a perpetual student.