Diane was born in Hong Kong and grew up in a small town in Yilan, Taiwan. A proud Taiwanese Canadian, she loves snacking on Taiwanese snacks and night market food. After graduating from UBC many, many many years ago, she travelled back to Taiwan and taught English for four years. Knowing that helping others is one of her passion, she volunteered in many non-profit organizations after returning to Vancouver, where she experienced valuable work in the settlement field. Since 2014, she has been the Settlement Coordinator at Frog Hollow, working with a group of passionate and amazing people.

Diane loves playing badminton, though the last time she played was more than a decade ago. She also loves listening to music, though the only opportunity she has is during her commute to work. What she enjoys the most is connecting with others – families, friends, colleagues, participants, and even strangers 🙂

She is a mother of two very sweet children – Isa and Isaac 🙂

Reach out to her if you have questions about Family and Settlement Programs, or if you simply like to chat 🙂

My name is Maria Helena Morales. I grew up in Bogota Colombia with my parents and four siblings. Always passionate about children, education and supporting people and families. My background is in ECE, Educational Psychology, and General Psychology. I have also worked as a teacher focusing on young children for many years.

I came to Canada with my husband and my three wonderful children some time ago and after looking for a place where I could find my dream job, I came to Frog Hollow NH as a volunteer in one of the first language groups. I also worked as a childminder at the Satellite Daycare where I had a very special connection with the little children and with the amazing staff that I keep in my heart.

Later on, Family programs opened their arms and gave me the opportunity to work as a Family/Settlement worker supporting mainly my lovely Spanish-speaking community. I am also one of the facilitators in the family drop-in and La Colmena where my heart and passion for children make them my favourite programs. But I can’t put aside another beautiful program which has all my energy and dedication that I run with a marvellous volunteer. It is called “Alelies “. It is a Women (50+) group where connection, friendship, empowerment, personal growth, and support play a very important role.

I have also co-founded “Cacatua, a children’s entertainment initiative where I interact with puppets to have fun with little ones and see them smile.

I’m passionate, enthusiastic, compassionate, creative, empathetic and with a good sense of humour while trying to enjoy life in the best way possible.

Working with the community I have found the meaning of life. Helping and supporting others. Thank you Frog Hollow Neighbourhood House for being the place where I found it.

Hi, my name is Carrie Yan. I was born in Tai Shan, China. I first immigrated to Canada in 1992.

I was first introduced to Frog Hollow in 2002 when I was enrolling my daughter in the preschool provided there. From there, in 2003, I signed my son up for the drop-in program; and I ended up volunteering and started helping prepare snacks for the children in the program. By 2005 I was officially hired by Frog Hollow to help with the drop-in hot lunch program, and it’s been smooth sailing since then; I have worked here now for 17 years. I have learned so much from everyone in Frog Hollow. Especially those in the Family Program; they have helped me grow as a person from their endless support. Frog Hollow really feels like a second home for me. My children have also been involved in the programs and have all volunteered here as well. 

One of my hobbies is cooking which started from the drop-in program. Other hobbies I have are gardening and singing karaoke.

Ana Lorena Pérez was born in Ecuador and moved to Canada in 2014. She has a Psychology and Family Therapy academic background. Back in Ecuador, during her university years, she was a children’s entertainer and independent worker but then, she redirected her professional experience to the field of Educational Counseling.

As soon as she came to Canada, Ana Lorena started volunteering in a couple of programs supporting Spanish-speaking families with young kids, one of them was at Frog Hollow (today La Colmena). Due to the reconnection with the “playful spirit” that working with young children awakens, in 2016, she started with a friend “Cacatúa”, a small business of children’s entertainment services focused on puppetry and Latin American Culture.

In 2019, she was hired as a Childminder at Frog Hollow and then, little by little, she expanded her work to more Family Programs in both English and Spanish. Currently, she is also coordinating the Childminding Service.

Hola/Hello, I’m Rocio Quevedo, aka Chio, born in a little desert town in Mexico, where black widows, scorpions, and little lizards were our entertainment in the backyard.

As you can imagine living in Canada has been a culture shock, even after living here for more than a decade. I have my moments when I miss the desert sun. Yet, it has been a wonderful journey living in this part of the world.

After getting married to a Canadian and moving from Vancouver to Toronto, Toronto to Calgary, Calgary to Winnipeg, and Winnipeg to Vancouver, my mom is right by saying, “Mija, you are at the right place, with the right people”.

As a lover of nature and a former ESL teacher with a bachelor of arts in English language teaching, majoring in bilingual education, I am passionate to learn more about culture, languages, and everything that connects us and makes us human. This passion has walked me through many different paths in life, among them dance instructor and performer, cook and server, co-owner of distribution house, and educational assistant.

I feel so fortunate to be at Frog Hollow as Family Programmer and Volunteer Coordinator having my heart filled with love every day and being lucky enough to help people feel the same way.

I am a mother of a very fun, 5-year-old, little scientist, wife of my best friend, and furry mama of a 13-year-old maltipoo named Cheeks. It is a pleasure to meet you.