As we manage the rapid growth of our organization, with over 3,000 new clients in the past year, we have been called on to reassess operational capacity. We found that continuing to meaningfully address the needs of our clients will mean expansion and a few transitions.
Lori Steward, who has served as our Manager, Refugee Immigrant Health & Case Coordination for many years, is transitioning into the new role of Finance and Operations Manager. This means we had the opportunity to find another fantastic individual to round out our management team! We are thrilled to introduce Cherese Reemaul as our new Client Care Manager. Client Care encompasses Case Coordination program, Providing Access To Healthcare program, Cultural Health Navigators, Enhanced Lifeskills, and mental health counselling.
Cherese grew up in the Carribean and came to Canada as an adult. In her own words, “My community and my life led me to nonprofit work.” She has a Bachelor of Education and a Master of Business Administration. Her most recent position was with the Saskatoon Housing Initiatives Partnership, developing, monitoring, and evaluating programs across various non-profits in the Saskatoon region. Prior to that, Cherese was the Manager of Housing and Support Services at OutSaskatoon and worked for years as a Project Manager developing, monitoring and evaluating various programs for vulnerable persons across southern British Columbia. She credits her confident, personable management style to strong female leaders who mentored her early in her career. “A lot those values and techniques that I learned, I still use today,” Cherese said, “A lot of those teachings have followed me and serve me well in this work.”
When Cherese saw our job posting for Client Care Manager, her first thought was “I have a lot to offer and give a program like that.” In addition to her work with our country’s most vulnerable populations, she has also been involved in settlement work for most of her life. Most recently, she served on the board of the Pacific Immigrant Resources Society. Cherese knows that making a significant difference in the lives of vulnerable people is often about collaboration and maintaining relationships. She is proud of the partnerships she formed with healthcare providers and government agencies to support clients in the past. “Those relationships, that experience building those relationships, and navigating those relationships I think is my greatest asset,” Cherese said.
She is equally passionate about fostering positive working relationships internally. After meeting her team, the first thing she told Lori was “There’s a lot of love in that room.” Cherese was heartened to see that our Client Care team supports each other and acts respectfully, compassionately, and collaboratively: “that was the most striking thing to me.” This internal culture is critically important as our Client Care program continues to balance an unprecedentedly high caseload and manage expansions.
We can’t wait to see the new directions and heights Cherese will lead our Client Care program to!
