The Stop Abuse in Families (SAIF) Society
Our Vision Our Team Our History Our Impact
Our Vision & Mission
Working towards a society free of abuse.
Our mission is to promote healthy, respectful relationships through education, support & advocacy.
Our Definition of
Family Violence
We use a definition that is consistent with many of the agencies we work with in the family violence/gender based violence sector.
Our Values
We believe each individual has dignity, is unique & deserves respect. Each individual shall live without fear of physical, sexual, emotional, verbal, financial or spiritual abuse.
Here's a more detailed version of our values.
Our Team
Our volunteer Board of Directors is comprised of local community members invested in SAIF's programs & success. They provide governance, oversight, & strategic direction to the organization. A dedicated group, they serve 2 year terms & meet all year round.
Our staff are a passionate group of clinicians (psychologists, counsellors,
social workers) & administrators working tirelessly to ensure SAIF's programs are structured to deliver the best possible outcomes for our clients within our resources. We work to the ethics & standards as outlined by the Canadian Association of Psychologists for our clinical work.
Our Board
Cheryl Pollard, President
Dean of Nursing, University of Regina
TBA, Vice President
Dayna Kwasney, Secretary
Lawyer, Quantz Law
Marie Tsang, Treasurer
Business Transformation Mgr, AMA
Jacquie Hansen
Former St Albert City Councillor
Thomas Holmes,
Registered Psychologist
Robert (Bob) Hassel
Retired, Edmonton Police Service
Patrick Schiller
Registered Psychologist
We currently have vacancies we are looking to fill for our Board. If you are interested in applying, check out our Board posting here and feel free to send us a cover letter indicating your interest and what you would like to contribute to our organization.
Our Staff
Areni Kelleppan, Executive Director
Dr Marcia Gordeyko, Clinical Supervisor
Candace Scheurer, Adult Counsellor
Karelia Gamache, Adult/Youth Counsellor
Hang Diem Huynh, Child/Youth Counsellor
Ignacio Astete, Education Facilitator
Teresa Sutherland,
Elder Abuse Response Coordinator
Tanya de la Mare,
Admin/Volunteer Coordinator
Laura Friedrich (summer student)
Digital Records & Admin Assistant
Bailey Downy (summer student)
Social Media & Events Assistant
Debits & Credits, Bookkeeping Services
In July 2020, we worked with Reel Communications to put together a short video on how SAIF began & its impact on the community over the past 30 years.
Ireen Slater, our founder, shared a bit of SAIF's humble beginnings & what started it all back in the late 1980's. Staff shared programs & services & the rewards/challenges in working with families dealing with the impacts of abuse & violence.
This is our work.
This is our impact.
This is Ireen's legacy.
