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 Society.

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.

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 Educational Services, Lynn Millard, BaSC
Ms. Millard is responsible for the educational component at Heartland. She oversees teachers, educational assistants, and programming. Ms. Millard has worked in the field of early childhood education for 22 years. She has been involved in all aspects of the field including: infant centres, preschools, parent cooperative preschools, daycare, and kindergarten programs. She brings an extensive knowledge of children, families, and the community to her work at Heartland. Ms. Millard has a four-year honours degree in Child Studies with a specialty in early childhood education.

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, Mandy Goldau
Mandy Goldau 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 programs as well as summer camp. Together with the Director in each area, Mandy oversees the school transportation areas as well as recruitment. She is involved in program development for the Before and After School Care program as well as summer camp. Mandy has worked at Heartland Agency since 1995.
Mandy is a graduate of Southern Alberta Institute of Technology, having completed her Business Administration Diploma majoring in General Management.

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.