Staff Team

Adriana joined the Kinbrace staff team in 2006. Her main role is to welcome new residents into the community by providing orientation, advocacy, and accompaniment.

She lives in Port Moody with her husband Paco and their two adult children, Marcelo and Sofia. Adriana's whole family has been part of the Kinbrace community since 2004.

Alex brings over a decade of academic and professional experience in forced displacement, working with refugee-serving organizations locally and internationally. Her work focuses on community engagement, systems change, and is grounded in equity, trust-building, and participatory storytelling. Outside of work, Alex enjoys spending time in nature with her partner, dog, and young daughter.

Allison joined the Kinbrace team in 2024 as Refugee Protection Coordinator. Prior to Kinbrace, Allison worked in Southeast Asia for 12 years with a focus on anti-human trafficking, migration, and forced displacement. Allison completed her BA with a double-major in International Relations and Psychology, and an MSc in Behavioural Science with the goal to support effective and people-centered program design in these sectors. When not working you can find her reading, running (slowly) with friends, or hanging out with her husband.

Amanda joined the Kinbrace team in 2023. Her role involves overseeing and collaborating with the Settlement Team, which provides guidance and support to refugee claimant residents in their settlement journey. Amanda has previous experience working in forced displacement, including in advocacy, policy, and various roles at a local settlement organization. She holds a Master of Laws in International Migration and Refugee Law and Policy. In her free time, Amanda enjoys crocheting, watching baseball, running, and exploring nature with her friends and family.

Ebenezer has been a part of the Kinbrace community since May 2019. He serves as the administrator, providing support in the areas of finance, human resources, and records management. Ebenezer has degrees in business and theology. He also has several years of experience working with various organizations. He is currently pursuing an advanced master's degree at Regent College. When he is not at Kinbrace, he and his wife are hanging out together doing fun activities in Vancouver.

As the Community Coordinator, Julie has the joy of creating opportunities for Kinbrace residents to develop friendships with other residents, volunteers, neighbours, and staff members. Julie spent many years living intentionally in community in Ontario before moving to the Vancouver area with her husband Darren and three young kids. She loves being near the ocean, gardening, hosting people in her home, and baking bread.

Kerry joined the Kinbrace team in August 2023, bringing her passion for supporting refugees and newcomers to Vancouver. Originally from Ireland, Kerry has quickly embraced East Vancouver as her new home and is deeply committed to journeying alongside refugee claimants. In her role, she focuses on creating a welcoming environment and collaborates closely with the settlement team to provide comprehensive, wrap-around support to individuals navigating the refugee process at Kinbrace. Favourite activities include soaking in the sunset from the roof of our offices, and listening to the clucks of our backyard chickens In the morning.

Laura joined the Kinbrace team in 2019. She brings extensive fundraising experience specializing in Major Gifts and Community Fundraising. Laura lives locally with her family in East Vancouver and is passionate about this community. She enjoys baking, building new relationships, travels and spending time outdoors.

Loren is one of the co-founders of Kinbrace and lived with his family in the transformational housing community from 1998-2017. In his role as Acting Executive Director, Loren works with the Board of Directors to promote the values and strategic vision of Kinbrace while resourcing its mission to support refugee claimants regionally and nationally. Loren lives with his partner Tama and their two young-adult children Abigail and Oliver in New Westminster.

Masi started working with refugee claimants in 2014 with UNHCR and later continued this work with the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC). Her journey eventually led to Kinbrace, where she currently supports Farsi-speaking residents with their settlement needs, offering guidance, resources and support as they navigate the refugee protection journey. Among Kinbrace’s core values, “trust” and “welcome” resonate with her the most—they reflect the kind of environment she strives to create for those who arrive at Kinbrace seeking safety and belonging. Outside of work, Masi loves spending time in nature, baking, and being with her family..

With his refugee claimant background, Mohammed has been advocating for refugee claimants' right to work, settle and more with different organizations and institutions including his internship position with the Multi Agency Partnership (MAP BC). Seeing the challenges people around the world face on a daily basis, Mohammed has directed his educational and professional experience towards easing and solving life’s difficulties and ending violence. He is excited to bring that passion to his role at Kinbrace helping refugee claimants find home.

Sara has lived experience as a refugee claimant and joined Kinbrace in 2024, bringing global expertise supporting survivors of torture and advocating for forcibly displaced people. She has led nationwide advocacy to end the incarceration of migrants and asylum seekers in provincial jails and contributed to legal research on immigration detention. She is passionate about creating safety and belonging for refugee claimants. Outside of work, she treasures time with family and friends and enjoys hiking.

Sophia joined the Kinbrace team in 2020, having recently returned to her home base of East Vancouver from the UK where she worked on issues of immigration detention. Her role is to coordinate the Ready Tours and lead the My Refugee Claim public legal education and information project. Sophia is passionate about access to justice. She holds a BA in International Studies and an MSc in Human Rights. When she is not working, you can often find Sophia sitting somewhere on Commercial Drive with a coffee and a book, or out for a neighbourhood walk with her family.

Stephanie joined Kinbrace in June 2024 as the administrator. Originally from Brazil, Stephanie moved to Vancouver to pursue her Master's in Theology at Regent College, following her Bachelor’s degree in International Relations. In her role, she manages key administrative functions, including overseeing financial processes, supporting human resources, and maintaining important records. Outside of work, Stephanie enjoys relaxing at the beach, experimenting with new recipes in the kitchen, and immersing herself in Brazilian music.