Meet Suzanne, Tsartlip’s Community Maternal Child Health Worker. Read her introduction interview below.
Can you tell us a bit about who you are and where you’re from?
I was born and raised here on Vancouver Island, living on the Peninsula until I was nine years old and then we moved up island. My favorite childhood memories are of the years living on the peninsula. My family are settlers, living with gratitude on these unceded and ancestral lands.
I’m a parent of three kids; two are adults now but I still have my sixteen-year-old child at home. We lived in a few communities around BC before coming to the peninsula where we are now so pleased to be.
What experience and expertise do you bring to the table?
I am an early childhood educator and I have worked in the field for 24 years. I began when my middle son was a baby. I have worked in a variety of settings including childcare, afterschool care, StrongStart and family support programs.
When we returned to the Peninsula, I began working in childcare and then family support doing Mother Goose in Sidney and Brentwood as well as play drop-in programs in Saanichton.
What’s your title and what are you up to at Tsartlip?
I’ve joined Liz Peterson in the Maternal Child and Health programs as her assistant. We support families in a variety of ways including two family drop-in programs one for infant and toddlers and the other for school age children. We have the maternal nourishment program, and we will be starting a Mother Goose singing/story program which will include some SENĆOŦEN language for young children and their families in the new year.
What do you do when you’re not at work?
I enjoy doing some creative things including photography, stained glass and needle felting. I enjoy photographing landscapes so that takes me outside for hikes and walks which I love to do on the Peninsula.
