Board of Directors
Our Board is dedicated to equitable education for all children! While we have a common goal, we each bring a variety of different unique skillsets, interests, and backgrounds to the team.
If you are interested in joining our volunteer based Board, we would love to have you!
Ashley Biddiscombe
Chair
Ashley Biddiscombe is a parent advocate in Kitchener-Waterloo. Ashley has two children with disabilities who were adopted through the foster care system. She has been an instructor with Pride Stables over the last 19 years providing therapeutic horse back riding for children and adults with disabilities.
Ashley is the author of Only the Strong Survive, a novel about the struggles of infertility, adoption and raising children with disabilities.
She is also a proud member of the Extend-A-Family Waterloo Region Board of Directors and runs a virtual parent support group as well as creator of the Parent Resource Guide, a parent recommended guide for disability resources in Waterloo Region and Parent Support Series which helps parents navigate the regions resources in a supportive environment.
Sam Brandsen
Vice Chair
Sam Brandsen is an autistic parent of an autistic child. He completed his Ph.D. in physics at Duke University with a focus on quantum information theory. Towards the end of his Ph.D., he became fascinated by quality of life in autistic individuals and ended up spending almost all of his free time thinking about autism and neurodiversity.
Sam collaborates with several different universities and organisations on autism research and disability advocacy. Much of his work is focused on understanding how healthcare and therapy can be made more accessible to autistic individuals, especially those who may be particularly vulnerable to clinical harm or barriers to healthcare (e.g. autistic individuals who are in prison, institutionalized, uninsured/underinsured, and/or multiply marginalized.)
Rossy Jivkova
Director
Rossy is a Chartered Professional Accountant and has a passion for operations and strategic management, with 7+ years of volunteer experience in supporting non-profit organizations and for-profit ventures in managing operations and short and long-term strategic planning.
She is a mom to two children with disabilities, with different levels of support needs. As a caregiver, she understands the challenges of finding supports and advocating for what their children need and deserve.
Join Our Board!
If you are:
Passionate about affordable access to accessible, quality education
Available for regular Board meetings and responsibilities (~3 hours total per month, though we aim to be flexible if family emergencies or extenuating circumstances get in the way)
Willing to complete brief paperwork for the onboarding process (i.e. conflict of interest form, background check, etc.)
Excited to support Colleen Cares in programming, fundraising, hosting events, or developing our long term plan
Then you might be a wonderful fit for our Board! You are welcome to email us or fill out the contact form on the connect page (via the button below).
Colleen Cares aims to be inclusive and accessible in all of our initiatives, including the Board. If you have any questions or if there are any accommodations we can provide that would make joining the Board more accessible, we would be happy to discuss further.
