Elsie Goerzen has been with the MCC BC End Abuse Program since 2007. Previously she worked as a Registered Nurse, a child abuse prevention facilitator, a music teacher, and a parenting educator.  For 19 years, Elsie was the Coordinator of Sardis Doorway, a support program in Chilliwack for single mothers with preschool-age children. Elsie has been married to Walt for 54 years. They have two sons, two daughters-in-law, and five grandchildren ages 18-23. Walt and Elsie enjoy gardening, reading, and spending time with family.

Heather Peters (she/her) serves as the Peacebuilding Coordinator for MCC SK. In this role she focuses on trauma education, restorative justice capacity building, and promoting reconciliation opportunities. She has been a community educator for more than 15 years around the globe leading workshops in churches, prisons, offices, playgrounds, in the shade of trees, and even classrooms. When not working, Heather is engaging with her daughter’s imaginative play, taste testing her partner’s baking, and scheming ways to ruralize her urban property in Saskatoon. Heather’s education has come in the form of a MA in Human Security and Peacebuilding, a BA in International Development, a Bachelor of Theology, and many life lessons from living around the world and seeking good and interesting relationships from the people that come into her life.

Val Peters Hiebert is the assistant program coordinator for the Abuse Response and Prevention program of MCC MB. This role complements her academic work where she most recently was Assistant Professor of Sociology at Providence College. Val completed a Theatre and Sociology BA at Providence, a Sociology and Anthropology MA at the University of Manitoba, and her PhD in Social Sciences (Sociology & Anthropology) at Western Sydney University. Her academic specialties are gender, children & violence, language & culture, cultural anthropology, and marriage & family.
Living on the hobby farm near Mitchell where she and her husband enjoyed their married life (Jacob Friesen 1960-2017), she is an active member of her faith community and invests considerable energy into community education an advocacy. She is an avid gardener with a pantry annually full of organic plenty, as well as a life-long runner and now cyclist. To her delight, she has also recently become a grandma!! Whether in the garden, the classroom, or the public commons, Val feels awed by the privilege and wonder of planting and watching things grow.

Don Neufeld is the Canadian Coordinator for Mennonite Men and is a clinical social worker in private practice in the Niagara Region in Ontario. He co-edited the book Peaceful at Heart: Anabaptist Reflections on Healthy Masculinity.

Rod Friesen is the Restorative Justice Program Coordinator and began working with MCC Ontario in May 2017 and oversees programs and projects for individuals reintegrating to community from prison. He also is involved in peace and restorative justice education. Over his career in nonprofit management and human resources, Rod has been in various leadership roles in the social services sector. He has a passion for building peace by supporting creative ways to build healthy communities. Rod graduated from Conrad Grebel University College in the Master of Peace and Conflict Studies Program. In addition to having formal education in non-profit and human resources management, conflict mediation, he is also a Certified Human Resources Leader.

As MCC MB Abuse Response & Prevention Coordinator, Jaymie Friesen raises awareness and offers resources and workshops relating to healthy relationships, boundaries, and abuse, while supporting individuals and communities impacted by interpersonal trauma. Jaymie entered this role with experience as a healthy relationships educator, sexual assault crisis counsellor, and mental health worker. She holds a BA in Social Sciences and Counselling, and is currently working on her Masters in Psychotherapy and Spirituality.