Our Project Team

Marta Carlucci

Inclusion Liaison for the Gateways to Post-Secondary Education Project

Marta’s passion for community and inclusion is the constant thread woven into both her personal and professional life. Marta brings over 15 years of experience supporting families who have a son or daughter with a disability and their supporters to further break down barriers to lifelong inclusion. Her lived experience and zeal for learning led Marta to complete a degree in Community Rehabilitation at the University of Calgary. Her experience includes Program Advisor at the Advocate for Service Quality, Volunteer and Community Engagement Coordinator at The Family Support Institute, and Facilitator and Co founder of  Hive & House Consulting. Marta has presented as a keynote speaker workshop presenter on the topic of inclusive education, housing and community. A vision of empowering both families and stakeholders to support equitable inclusive lives for people with disabilities is what drives her work.
 

Lisa DeWinter 

Provincial Northern Advisor and Family Liaison

Since 2011 Lisa has been working at the Nicola Valley Institute of Technology as the Senior Inclusion Facilitator and more recently accepted the role of Provincial Northern Advisor and Family Liaison for the BC-IPSE. During this time Lisa engages and collaborates with her community at multiple levels shifting assumptions and beliefs about people with developmental disabilities in hopes to move us closer to inclusive organizations and a more equitable society. Lisa’s passion is supporting and exploring with students and their families the Post-Secondary journey while building on positive life narratives and supporting socially valued roles in their communities.
 
Lisa is passionate and committed to family, community and education. Lisa is proud to continue building another generation in Merritt adding to her already established family roots going back to early 1860’s. Her drive to pursue her own education goals as a mature adult were evident when she received her Bachelor of Social Work and most recently, her Master’s in Social Work; all of which contributed to her holistic personal journey to live the best life possible and an opportunity to pay it forward when and where she can.
 

Tamara Hurtado

executive director: steps forward: BC-IPSE

 Alongside other family members, Tamara was one of the founding members of STEPS Forward. She is a co-author of "Assessment of Inclusive Post-Secondary Education for Young Adults with Developmental Disabilities", 2009. She has also worked as a high school teacher overseas with CUSO, and in northern BC with marginalized youth, and with women in an emergency shelter. She is the mother of twins who are entering the adult stages of life; one of whom has a developmental disability.  Her experience as an advocate for equitable inclusion in post-secondary education, and as a parent, has provided a wealth of grounded learning (and important unlearning) about inclusion. Learning the importance of ongoing critical reflection on how the practice of inclusion impacts students, both in the moment and in influencing future endeavours, has been a critical part of establishing, supporting, and sustaining authentic inclusive post-secondary education on campuses in BC. 

Lauren Matthews

BC Campus Coordinator and Staff Liaison: BC-IPSE

In her role as Staff Liaison Lauren overseas coordination between campuses, staff learning, professional development, and the day-to-day safeguarding of best practices in supporting students to get the most out of the post-secondary education. Her work includes collaborations with family groups, local school districts, and applicants interested in pursuing their post-secondary education with support from STEPS Forward. Lauren collaborates and coordinates with provincial, federal, and international movements and professional associations in implementing and promoting a better understanding of inclusion on campuses. 
 
Previous to her role as Provincial Coordinator, Lauren was the Senior Inclusion Facilitator at Simon Fraser University.