Bev Olfert has been involved with the AYC for many years. She started at the AYC as a volunteer, later she worked as a program coordinator and eventually she was hired as the Executive Director. Before coming to the AYC, Bev worked in various programs serving children, youth and families at Abbotsford Community Services. These days Bev spends most of her time writing emails, going to meetings and generally looking after the day to day functioning of the AYC.
Bev is always looking for suggestions about programs and services that could be useful in the community. Come on in and have a chat . . . bring coffee – she likes that ;)
She loves meeting new people, experiencing new cultures, and discovering new places. She’s an avid traveller and has visited 35 countries and counting! She is passionate about youth empowerment and is excited to lead and support the AYC staff & volunteers in creating and implementing creative, fun, and purposeful programming for the beautifully diverse youth in Abbotsford!
Sasha is our Program Coordinator! You can usually find her at the AYC office, but when she's at ARC or MRC she loves to play Monopoly Deal with the youth there! She loves baking, travelling, and strawberry lemonade. Her ideal weekend includes reading a good book, drinking tea, getting brunch, and watching a movie!
David Witzke, Administrative and Marketing Assistant
David is our Admin & Marketing Assistant. He's usually at the AYC office, answering the phone, posting on social media, and wondering why we have so many spreadsheets. He enjoys musicals, video games, playing Ultimate Frisbee, and reading a good book.
Danaye is one of our Youth Centre Coordinators! You can usually find her at the AYC office or MRC, where she loves hanging out with the youth. She loves playing board games, being forced to go on hikes around the Fraser Valley, and buying books (she’ll read them eventually). One of her goals in life is to adopt a cat.
Chantel is your Youth Centre Coordinator at the ARC Youth Centre! In her role, she has the privilege of working with the ARC (and occasionally MRC) youth daily! She has always loved working with youth and students; therefore, she's SUPER ECSTATIC to get to know every one of you!
Shrimp is Chantel's favourite food! She also grew up playing soccer her whole life, so if you ever see her at ARC during Open Gym time, grab some friends to challenge Chantel to a soccer challenge - She'd love it!
Aaron loves working with youth and hearing about their life experiences. He loves to play basketball and pool at the youth centres. Aaron is team Tim Hortons, not Starbucks, and his favourite chocolate bar is Coffee Crisp. He loves butter chicken, Skyrim, and pineapple on pizza.
Meenakshi (or Meenu) is a down-to-earth youth leader who loves caring for youth and hearing their stories! You can find her at either ARC or MRC, playing games with youth and making connections!
Outside of work, Meenu is an adventurous cat lover who enjoys grooving to K-pop and trying exciting new things, though it can sometimes be scary. But it is definitely worth it in the end!
Kariena is one of our Youth Program Leaders at AYC. She loves encouraging youth to partake in various activities whether it be a board game or a sporting activity… (especially board games). Outside of the center Kariena likes to bake brownies, workout, and listen to her favourite true crime podcasts.
Avlok is a youth program leader at AYC. He loves to work with youth, hear their stories, and make a difference in their lives. You can often find Avlok playing sports (especially basketball and football), listening to music, or drinking the biggest cup of coffee he can find.
Ishita is a spirited Youth Program Leader at Abbotsford Youth Commission and is driven by a passion to create a holistic and welcoming environment for youth. During her time at AYC, she has picked up new interests like playing pool and Dutch Blitz, along with pursuing old ones such as challenging the youth to a game of basketball. Her favourite youth centre activity has to be a good old karaoke night which creates a space for everyone to let loose and have fun.
Ishita’s love for food and travel keeps her exploring new places, where she can be found capturing the surreal moments through her lens. Her interests keep her young at heart, which makes her pretty relatable for our wonderful teens!
