Freedom Quest is an agency that is made up of creative, knowledgable, and skilled individuals who have backgrounds in child & youth care, social work, counselling, psychology, and related fields. What these individuals share is a passion for supporting young people in talking about what is going on in their lives, thinking about what they might want to do next, and empowering them to move forward.
Executive Team
Tina Tew - Executive Director
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Tina is guided by a passion for supporting young people and families through adversities relating to trauma, substance-use, family violence, mental wellness, and injustice. She naturally works from a place of unconditional positive regard in both her clinical work as well as in her relationships with colleagues and community members. She is warm, creative, and committed to collaboration. She is grounded in the belief that multidisciplinary teams with diverse experiences, knowledges, perspectives, and worldviews are vital to providing a community with the best services possible.
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Dailton Luis Magnago Jr. - Financial Coordinator
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Dailton was born in Brazil and moved to Canada with his wife and three children in early 2022. He loves to spend time with his family enjoying nature`s beauty, talking about life, listening to music or just watching a good movie. Walking in a park and watching soccer are some of his hobbies. Dailton has a passion for world history and foreign cultures. He speaks Portuguese, Spanish and English.
He has a Bachelor of Law and a Postgraduate Diploma in Financial Management, both earned from Brazilian universities. Currently, he is attending a Postgraduate Program in Business Management at Selkirk College. Dailton has a lot of experience in financial management and office administration. Working with numbers, databases and spreadsheets makes him happy. He has also practiced law as a licensed attorney for about 8 years in Brazil. In Law School and during the time he practiced law, he learned how to work alongside worldviews that were not his own, to understand and respect different opinions and to defend people`s freedom. He believes freedom to be a fundamental right that is absolutely necessary for any society in the world. Honesty and integrity are some of the attributes that he treasures most. Dailton is a happy and smiley person who is always willing to make the difference in the workplace. |
Kat Chong - Human Resources Manager
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Kat moved to the West Kootenays from Vancouver four years ago and hasn’t’ looked back, she calls Castlegar her home now. Kat brings with her over 10 years of experience in Human Resources and is a people-first HR leader that is passionate about making a difference in the community around her. Kat brings a great passion for equity, diversity, and inclusion and is dedicated to ensuring that these practices are part of her life in all ways possible.
When not working you can find probably find Kat in the forest hiking and running, or cross-country skiing, but even more likely behind her sewing machine and at home spending quality time with her family. Kat’s door is always open, so feel free to drop by if you see her in the office and have a tea and chat! |
Leadership Team
Cindy Cropley - Day Treatment Coordinator & Youth Substance Use Counsellor Coordinator
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Bio & Photo coming soon...
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Regional Concurrent Disorders Clinician - vacant
Greg Cote - Therapeutic Recreation Programming Coordinator
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Having grown up the Alberta Rockies, with a father who is an ER doctor and an older brother who is an ACMG ski guide. Greg is no stranger to outdoor recreation and mountain adventure. By age 16, Greg had taken an Outdoor Leaders In Training program and was leading young people on outdoor adventure pursuits.
Greg attended College of the Rockies in Fernie B.C. where he was immersed in the hands on study of Mountain Adventure Skills Training. This program gave him the skills, knowledge, and certifications needed to confidently lead groups in many outdoor pursuits. Following this Greg continued with college to study Environmental Planning at Selkirk. Greg is ultra excited to be sharing his passion for outdoor adventure and environmental stewardship with youth in the community and to be helping community members break down barriers for accessing recreation. When not at work, you can often find Greg on the skin track pursuing his own backcountry ski adventures, or white-water paddling. Greg is a certified freestyle ski coach, snowboard instructor, whitewater raft guide, mountain bike instructor, and he is an all around stoked guy!! |
Mandy Root - Prevention Coordinator & Nelson Youth Substance Use Counsellor
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Bio & photo coming soon...
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Samantha Jackson - Residence Coordinator
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With many years of experience in residential care, Samantha is excited about her role as a Youth Residence Coordinator. She knows it will be an amazing opportunity to provide youth in the West Kootenay’s with a stable, safe, warm, non judgmental, and caring home base. The home is where the day starts and where it ends, and Samantha will do everything she can to ensure youth living in the home feel cared for and happy when they wake and when they go to sleep!
Samantha has been working with youth since 2012 and has had the privilege of working in many diverse roles throughout Canada and beyond. The majority of this work has been with youth aged 13-18 struggling with substance misuse, mental health concerns, sexual exploitation, and criminal involvement. Samantha also has a passion for recreation, especially outdoor recreation, and has been able to bring this into the work she does. She is excited to work with her team to make this a large part of daily life for the youth living in the home. Samantha feels privileged to work in this field and constantly strives to bring this gratitude to her relationships with youth. She sees all of the youth she works with as masters of their own destiny and endeavors to assist them in meeting their goals however she can. When she’s not at work, you can find Samantha on the side of a mountain, either skiing or mountain biking. Samantha loves to be outside, but also loves spending time indoors reading a good book. She is calm, funny, and comes with lots of fun quirks! |
Staff Team
Substance Use Services Team
Holly Hume - Grand Forks Youth Substance Use Counsellor
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Engaging, fun, and thought-provoking, Holly enjoys facilitating workshops and creatively assisting Boundary area youth meet their full potential. Previous to joining Freedom Quest, Holly worked with Community Futures Boundary for 10 years as an Employment Counsellor, Workshop Facilitator, and Boundary Youth Success Program Coordinator and Lead Facilitator. Holly completed her Social Work Diploma in Calgary where she worked with various social services agencies with individuals, families and youth. Holly loves the outdoors and incorporating recreation into her work with youth. Holly is passionate about empowering and supporting youth.
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Lisette McCracken - Kaslo Youth Substance Use Counsellor
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Lisette is a Metis woman from Treaty 6 and 7 territory who recently relocated to Kaslo, BC with her family in 2021. She is currently completing her final year of training as an Art Therapist at the Kutenai Art Therapy Institute in Nelson, BC and she recently joined the Freedom Quest crew as the Kaslo Youth Substance Use Counsellor.
As a Metis woman, Lisette is a passionate advocate and ally for all marginalized peoples and works diligently to create and hold safe, anti-oppressive, and inclusive spaces. Through her lived experience as a youth who struggled with abuse, poverty, homelessness, addiction, and displacement, she is dedicated to working with and supporting youth through a trauma-informed relational lens. While she maintains her professional/academic life, she is most importantly a mother of three children, is a self-taught artist, and loves taking the path less followed roaming the natural world. |
Shannon Udall - Trail/Salmo Youth Substance Use Counsellor
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In years of working in the social service field and studying social work, Shannon has developed a passion for working with children, youth and families who are struggling with homelessness, poverty, substance use and mental health. Shannon thrives when developing and facilitating creative therapeutic programming and is very excited to join the Freedom Quest team!
Shannon brings experience in group facilitation and therapeutic outdoor recreation. She values group programming as an opportunity to foster authentic connection, find strength in vulnerability, create community, and have some fun along the way. Shannon’s practice is guided by honesty, respect, curiosity and social justice. She has completed a BSW at Western University and an MSW at University of Toronto specializing in social policy. Shannon is eager to experience all of what the West Kootenays have to offer and enjoys snowboarding, white water paddling, and exploring, with a side of board games and crafts in her free time. |
AisHA Mulhall - Nakusp Youth Substance Use Counsellor
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For the past 10 years Aisha Mulhall has worked with children, youth and families as an art instructor and therapist, behavioural interventionist and education assistant. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree, from the University of Waterloo, with a Teaching Specialization involving additional courses in educational sociology and psychology. Building relationships with youth, families and the community has been the building block of Aisha’s work. The kind of work she believes that is built on a foundation of kindness, trust, understanding, respect, and a genuine interest in improving quality of life.
Aisha brings her love of art as well as the passion she has always carried in providing support to those in need. She loves living in Nakusp and enjoying all that the Kootenays has to offer in outdoor adventure and vibrant community. |
Lynsey Souza - Day treatment Facilitator & Slocan Youth Substance Use Counsellor
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Lynsey brings compassion and a background in expressive arts to her position as RADD co-facilitator. She believes strongly in supporting youth (and everybody) to reach towards their creativity and knowledge of themselves as resources for growth and well-being. Of course, she also believes in connecting with the natural world, through adventuring as well as finding stillness and quiet (whichever seems right at the time – maybe both).
Whether creating (art), exploring solutions, doing something for the first time, or contemplating change (maybe even dreaming), Lynsey is committed to acknowledging the power of doing these things in a group – togetherness is so essential to our well-being, yet in our current world we are often struggling with isolation, or feeling alone in the challenges that we are facing. This is in part what has led Lynsey to the RADD facilitator position, where she hopes to be part of creating a space for individuals to connect with each other and to share group experiences that inspire the energy and empowerment we all need to keep growing. |
CRAIG ORRETT - CASTLEGAR YOUTH SUBSTANCE USE COUNSELLOR
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Bio & photo coming soon...
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Mental Health Services Team
RIVER JONES - CASTLEGAR/TRAIL CHILD AND YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH OUTREACH COUNSELLOR
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Bio & photo coming soon...
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Residential Services Team
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Merope Chappell
Christina Henderson
Jordan Murdick
Gordon Lucht
Jersey Hay
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Kayla Driscoll
Jagr Boucher
Jessica Nelson
Lelainya Harvey
Natasha Gould
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Nhat Anh Trinh
Tayo Olojede
Kyla Phillips
Emily Tidmarsh
Quentin Collins
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Christine Connor
Madalyn Maxinuk
Tanisha Braithewaite
Hailey Penner
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Nicole Johnstone
Jigarjit Kaur
Junie Moralda
Jayden Small
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