Beginnings Family Services

Board of Directors

Beginnings is governed by an elected Board of Directors:

BRYAN HERECHUK


MBA, CHE, CPHQ, CSSBB, CAPM – CHAIR

Bryan and his wife, Kellie, are proud adoptive parents of two children.  Their son was adopted through Beginnings in 2014 and their daughter was adopted in 2017.  Bryan has over 10 years experience in various leadership roles within the hospital sector in Hamilton.  Bryan is currently the Manager, Quality & Value Improvement at Hamilton Health Sciences.  An active community member, over the last 10 years, Bryan has also held local executive and national board roles with the Canadian College of Health Leaders and also volunteers on the advisory committee for executive education at DeGroote School of Business.

ANN STOCKER


RP, M.Div

Ann is a Registered Psychotherapist and WrapAround Coach & Facilitator.  Her background includes almost 35 years of working in marginalized communities with at risk families and youth, and is currently the Critical Care Consultant at Youth Unlimited in Toronto. She enjoys exploring the city, where she can often be found at the local farmer’s market on Saturday morning.

ADRIAN FOSTER


Adrian and his husband, David, are proud adoptive parents to their son who was adopted through a unique Beginnings, CanadaAdopts, and CAS collaboration.  Adrian has over 20 years of experience in the transportation and logistics sector.  Adrian’s career has been focused on continuous improvement and leading multi-disciplinary multicultural teams.  Adrian, his husband and their son attend Forestview Church Without Walls in Oakville.

TRENT JOHNSON


Trent has been a lawyer involved in civil and commercial litigation since 2005. He also has expertise in governance and procedural matters and serves on various committees at his law firm. He has been involved with many community organizations in the Guelph and surrounding area and remains involved with the Rotary Club of Guelph Trillium and the Wellington Law Association. Trent is an adoptive parent of two children, and his youngest child’s adoption was facilitated through Beginnings.

HEATHER MORRISON


Heather is an adoptive parent of a now teenage son which was facilitated through Beginnings. Heather has been a regular speaker and panelist for the Adoption Council of Ontario “How to Adopt” sessions and has attended various events over the years in support of the adoption community. She also has over 25 years of strategical and operational Human Resources experience in non-profit organizations.

TANYA APOSTOLIDIS


Tanya and her husband Glen are adoptive parents to their young daughter. Tanya works in Human Resources management and holds a CHRP designation. Her primary focus is on employee relations, continuous improvement, recruitment and creating development opportunities. Tanya also specializes in policy development.

REVEREND ARIE GIDEON VAN EEK


B.A. M. DIV – FOUNDER/PAST CHAIR/BOARD MEMBER EMERITUS

Arie is a founding member of Beginnings and active volunteer in the organization since its inception in 1985. He received his Master of Divinity from Calvin Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids Michigan in 1957. As an ordained minister of the Christian Reformed Church of North America (CRCNA), he has served the denomination in both pastoral and administrative leadership roles. He retired from the CRCNA in 1999 as Executive Secretary of the Council of Christian Reformed Churches. Since then has dedicated his time to many worthy causes, including World Wide Christian Schools, Shalem Mental Health Network, and his home church of Bethel CRC, Waterdown.

  • Hendrik (Hank) Bylstra
    Hendrik (Hank) Bylstra

    Hank was born in the Netherlands in 1952 and emigrated to Canada that same year.  His family settled in Hamilton where hegrew up and was part of the Paradise Road Reformed Church.  He attended Hamilton District Christian High School and later lived for three years In the Netherlands for study purposes.  Hank attended McMaster University in Hamilton for his Bachelors degree in History.  He attended Asbury Theological Seminary in Kentucky for his Masters Degree in Divinity.  Hank is married to Connie and they have two adopted Children and now three grandchildren.  He spent ten years as a Pastor in the Free Methodist Church in Southern Ontario before going to Mississauga in 1996 to serve for seven years with two small Reformed Churches in the GTA.  Hank took a 2 year course of studies in Conflict Management at Conrad Grebel College at the University of Waterloo and has served since 2003 as Pastor/Chaplain at Holland Christian Homes in Brampton.  Hank enjoys reading, photography, travel and family times.

Join In. You’re In The Family

Support the Beginnings family in a range of wonderful ways.