Okanagan College Foundation

In 2019, Helen joined Okanagan College as the Executive Director of the Okanagan College Foundation and Director of Advancement at Okanagan College.

Helen is a relatively new arrival in the Okanagan, moving here with her family in 2017 to join United Way. Before leaving the United Kingdom, she was chief executive officer of the Macular Society, a medical research charity, where she led multi-million dollar research campaigns and oversaw significant growth.

Prior to that, she was executive director of programs at NESTA, where she built funding partnerships with government and industry.

She also recently joined the Board of the Journey Home Society, for which she co-chairs the Advocacy and Education Committee.

Sasha Carter recently joined the Okanagan College Foundation team as its new Development Officer for Planned Giving. With more than five years’ experience working in nonprofit planned giving and 17 years in the insurance industry, Sasha blends passion and financial acumen to support donors in planning their legacy. 

Sasha helps donors with identifying their passions and aligning them with projects at Okanagan College, whether that be for individual student supports and bursaries, estate planning or capital project and program enhancement.  There is never one size fits all. 

For Sasha, it is paramount that she understands how her donors would like to have their positive impact felt in the world.  By understanding the different methods of funding, whether it be through publicly-traded gifts of securities, a gift in a will or other charitable tools, Sasha helps donors maximize their philanthropy.

Sasha is a mom to two young boys, and is an avid competitive curler.  She has competed on the provincial, national and international stage; capturing the title of World Champion in both 1995 and 2007. 

Samantha serves as the Campaign Coordinator for the Advancement department and Okanagan College Foundation. Her primary focus is supporting capital campaigns. She is responsible for coordinating meetings for the Campaign Cabinet, events and tours for donors and the community, and supporting the Director and Development Officers.

In 2019, Samantha was recognized by Okanagan College and her peers with a Service Excellence Award for consistently going beyond her regular duties and responsibilities to meet the needs of Okanagan College and contribute to our culture of service excellence.

Prior to joining the Advancement team in 2013, Samantha worked with local societies and non-profit organizations. Her primary responsibilities were to maintain and grow positive relations, and to creatively enhance the service experience.

Samantha earned her Bachelor of Business Administration (with Distinction), with a focus in Finance and Marketing, from Okanagan College in 2013. 

Richard is responsible for the receiving and processing of all donations and revenues generated from award appeals, special events and other fundraising activities for the Okanagan College Foundation and for Alumni Relations.

He maintains award files and ensures the database is updated. Richard works closely with the Finance department and Financial Awards Department. He coordinates special events for Advancement & Alumni, including annual awards receptions and monthly presentations, and assists with other special events.

Richard is an OUC alumnus, earning his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science in 2003, before going on to complete a Master's degree at Dalhousie University in 2006. Richard joined the Advancement team in 2013.

Holly Routley joined the Advancement & Alumni team in April 2018 as Development Officer - Major Gifts / Capital Campaigns. She plays a key strategic role in the Major Gifts program at Okanagan College, with a weighting on activities related to capital campaigns, including the new Health Sciences Centre on the Kelowna campus.

Holly's professional and volunteer history have uniquely prepared her to promote and advocate health and education in the community. Holly previously worked as a Registered Nurse, as well as developed and delivered effective volunteer leadership programs across Western Canada for the non-profit sector.

Stepping into funds development professionally, Holly blended these passions to successfully lead the recent rebuild of one of our community’s oldest elementary schools. She looks forward to carrying forth what she has learned into the Health Sciences Centre capital campaign.

An OUC alumna and 20+ year employee of Okanagan College, Dawn is the Executive Assistant to the Director of Advancement as well as Board Secretary for the Okanagan College Foundation. She administers the day-to-day operations of the department, manages the Director's schedule, and coordinates Okanagan College Foundation Board meetings and activities.

Dawn oversees the Annual Charity Golf Tournament in Kelowna, the 50/50 Staff Lottery program and other events through the year.

In 2020, Dawn was recognized by Okanagan College and her peers with the Career Achievement Award, highlighting her dedication to the College and passion for supporting students.

Camille is responsible for campaign communications planning, public and media relations, and the creation of website content and other key publications.

Prior to joining Okanagan College, Camille has worked in a number of diverse roles from media to business consulting to launching a tech platform.

Camille loves helping people tell their stories. She feels very lucky to share the inspiring stories of students and donors alike, demonstrating first-hand the transformative power of education.

Camille has a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, Philosophy and Economics (PPE).

Jeunesse joined the team as Division Assistant on March 29. She supports the team on all activities and will play a particularly important role in coordinating events.

Prior to joining the Advancement team, Jeunesse worked with the B.C. First Nations Gaming Revenue Sharing Limited Partnership that sees a 23- year agreement with the Province of B.C. and B.C. First Nations to share approximately $3 billion in gaming revenue.

Jeunesse graduated from Grant MacEwan University in 1999 with a Public Relations diploma and has worked for a number of non-profit organizations, specifically in culture and social services. After returning to Canada after more than ten years in the U.S., she has a renewed sense of purpose and is excited about joining the Okanagan College Foundation team because of the positive impact we have on the lives of students and on our community.

She is happy to make Kelowna her forever home with her family – a husband and two daughters (aged seven and 10).