Heartland Agency is a non-profit company founded by
Ilona Boyce, MSW. As Heartland's Executive Director, Ms. Boyce has worked with government and children's services in positions of increasing responsibility for 16 years. She left the government in 1995 to start Heartland

Ms. Boyce is a recognized expert in the field of early childhood programs and is regularly asked to speak at conferences about early intervention initiatives. She has been awarded the Early Childhood Professional Association of Alberta's Children's Service Award for her work. Ms. Boyce is a member of the Board of Directors of the Calgary Drop-in Centre Society, is a member of the Advisory Board for the Faculty of Social Work at Mount Royal College, and chairs the EvenStart for Children Foundation.

Heartland successfully operates Early Childhood Education (ECE),
Early Childhood Services (ECS) and Out-of-School Care programs.

All Heartland programs are based on the most current research in children's services. Heartland's mission statement is that "all children, regardless of circumstance, need to be supported by their community in order to grow up healthy, happy and with every opportunity to meet their potential."

The agency employs professional staff, most of whom have post secondary education. Teachers all hold a Bachelor of Education degree.

In addition to its mainstream programming, Heartland operates EvenStart, an early intervention program for children three to five years of age. The goal of the EvenStart Programs is to give children born into hardship, the same opportunities as those available to their peers.

Jennifer Boyce, B.Comm.
General Manager

General Manager - Heartland Agency
Head Office and Monterey Park Site Manager
As a Bachelor of Commerce Degree graduate from the Haskayne School of Business (University of Calgary), Jennifer is responsible for the management of the Agency. She also overseess site management of the Downtown and Monterey Park sites, including coordination of the EvenStart program, children's summer camps, and the school transportation system. She recruits and oversees staff including special needs teachers, educational assistants, therapists, and consultants. Jennifer has been involved with Heartland since its inception in 1995.

Clinical Services Director, Bobbi-Jo Gaetz
Ms. Gaetz supervises assessment and therapy services, which include
speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, and physical therapy. She offers and oversees a play therapy program to assist children in dealing with behavioral issues and/or issues of trauma, abuse and neglect. Ms. Gaetz also acts as a liaison with referring agencies such as Alberta Children's Hospital and Calgary Rockyview Child and Family Services. She has worked in the field of children and youth with special needs for 14 years. Ms. Gaetz is a Chartered Psychologist with her Masters Degree in Applied Psychologist. Previous to working as a Psychologist, she was a teacher.

Director of Human Resources & Payroll Services, Brianna Boyce
Brianna is part of the team responsible for Human Resource functions. As part of the Management Team, she works with the Directors of Clinical Services and Educational Services on the child enrollment process for the EvenStart Program.Ms. Boyce holds a diploma in Business Administration, Management field and has worked at Heartland since 1995.

Signal Hill Site Manager, Kate Mulyk
Kait Mulyk is responsible for the coordination of programs at the Signal Hill and Westside Recreational Centre locations. She manages the children's registration for the Preschool, ECS and Before and After School (BAS) programs as well as summer camp. Together with the Director in each area, Kait oversees the school transportation areas as well as recruitment. Kait began working at Heartland Agency in 2006 as a teacher's assistant in the EvenStart classroom, and then went on to assist in the therapy program as well as to become the BAS coordinator. Kait is a graduate of University fo Calgary, having completed her Bachelor of Arts Degree (English).

Behavior Consultant & Child Therapist/Counsellor

Margo LePage, SLP
Margo has 24 years providing speech-language services to children and adults. She worked for three years in Alberta West Central Health Unit, another 19 years for the David Thompson Health Region out of Red Deer, and in the preschool program in the Red Deer Catholic School System, and as a fluency specialist for DTHR. She has worked for the Heartland Agency since February of 2006 at the Monterey site. Her extensive experience with articulation, phonology, language and fluency disorders is important when addressing the varied needs of the preschool and kindergarten population at the Monterey site. She will be working collaboratively with a speech-language assistant and the teachers and staff to provide individual and group therapy.