Our Team

Chantelle is one of the Founders and Chair of ADHD Advocacy Society of BC. She is an ADHD mom of two amazing kids. Recently diagnosed with ADHD, she has many loved ones who have had this piece of their identity confirmed for a lot longer. Coming from the East Coast a few decades ago, she held some interesting jobs before settling down and having kids, from selling Papyrus, to working for a Canadian diamond wholesaler, to bill collections. Since having kids, there have been some real roller coaster rides, some of which led her to being on a Strata Council for nine years and then taking a Strata Management Course. However, while building her career, inclusive child care was a huge issue, and she had to make the choice to leave her budding career to focus on her children and their equitable access to education and supports. She found a small group of parents on Facebook who were also trying to navigate the education system and 8+ yrs later, Chantelle is proud to be on the Board of Directors of BCEdAccess and to have helped it grow to 5,000+ strong. Collaborating with other organizations, developing and delivering a yearly Education Advocacy conference, she is honored to create weekly Inclusive Minecraft social sessions for children and youth. Not one to ever stay still and in true ADHD fashion, Chantelle had her own radio show on CIVL Radio in Abbotsford called “All In”, started an Inclusion Sub-committee with a PAC that kicked off the "Wall of Wonder" that is now popping up around the province in various schools/districts by other amazing families, and held various positions on PAC’s, including co-chair of DPAC before moving to Vancouver island. She also was lucky enough to get back to her old career, even for a little bit, as Building Manager for a Strata. However, over all these years, seeing the gaps in the specific area of ADHD Advocacy, she decided to put her insatiable energy into getting the word out about what ADHD IS...and what it is NOT and to advocate for better supports and services in all areas. She is eternally grateful for her journey, even with its ups and downs, that led her here, to the incredibly beautiful, unceded, stolen lands of the Snuneymuxw, Sna naw as, and Stz'uminus First Nations. She lives here now, working with the knowledge that she has a role to play in learning the truth of colonization and moving towards reconciliation as an active ally.

Elisa is one of the founders and Co-Chair of the ADHD Advocacy Society of BC. She is also a mother of two amazing kids who have helped steer her passion of helping others into this new role of Co-Chair. A few years ago, Elisa was diagnosed as neurodivergent (ADHD to be specific).This shined a light on a lot of the challenges that she faced at school while growing up. In 2008, Elisa started supporting Autistic children in their homes and communities. That opportunity is what led her to complete her Diploma in Classroom and Community Support. She then went on to work with the Surrey Association for Community Living as a Senior Activity Worker supporting youth in obtaining employment through their STEP program. She also worked at PALS Autism School in Vancouver for many years where she gained even more experience supporting the neurodiverse community. Currently, Elisa cares for her two children at home while keeping her family business running by attending to all administration duties. While being home with her children, Elisa found herself facing new challenges once her children started to attend elementary school. She quickly realized how little the education system actually understood about ADHD and its relation to school expectations. To be able to support her children as best as she could, Elisa added to her already growing “toolbox” of skills by educating herself about ADHD. In 2020 Elisa acquired the support of a parenting coach where she became even more versed in self-regulation and executive functioning skills, the core of ADHD. Learning about self-regulation and executive functioning skills in depth, gave her more specific language to use in supporting her children at home and towards advocating for them in their school. She has successfully advocated in her child’s school for needed support while providing updated information to school administration and staff regarding ADHD, self-regulation and executive functioning skills. Elisa is constantly learning and growing her knowledge base to be able to support herself, her family and the people in her community. Over the next year, Elisa will be working towards completing her certificate in self-regulation as well as preparing to return to school to obtain her BA in Child and Youth Care. She hopes this will open more opportunities for her to support children and families in need within the education system, as well as give her another stepping stone towards educating others about ADHD and creating change where it is needed within other ministries. Elisa comes from a large close-knit family that was always involved in active sports and travel. In the year 2000, she had the opportunity to travel to Spain to represent Canada during a 5-city tour with members of her dance studio. Elisa is passionate about photography, always being behind the lens. She is an avid book reader and enjoys sharing this hobby with her children. Elisa is also an animal lover who has never lived without a pet and enjoys spending time trick training her 5 year old Border Collie.

Denise is one of the founders and secretary of ADHD Advocacy Society of BC. She is also a founding member and administrator of the ever-growing facebook group, “ADHD Parent Support group of BC” that currently has over 5,000 members. Diagnosed at the age of 12, Denise has become a strong ADHD self-advocate. Being diagnosed early in life and experiencing many different forms of therapies, she has a distinct perspective on the lived experience, which has aided her in advocating for and supporting her 2 neurodivergent children. Denise has been educating herself about ADHD for many years, and has a passion for understanding how the ADHD brain works. Itshows greatly in her knowledge base and the large amount of resources surrounding ADHD she has been compiling. She now has an extensive library of resources that she is always ready to share with the community. Her attention to detail and drive to keep learning and sharing her knowledge is what makes her a strong supporter and advocate for helping support other ADHDers, adults and youth alike. Coming from a Veterinary Technician background, and growing up riding and caring for horses, Denise has the natural tendencies to care and nurture for others. When she isn’t spending time with her family or searching for, reading and sharing resources to help her family and the wider community, she can be found indulging in her creative outlets such as sewing and fiber arts or reading books.