Ancaster / Aurora / Burlington / Milton / Mississauga /Oakville / Richmond Hill / Vaughan
CV Community

Shaping the leaders of tomorrow

Shaping the leaders of tomorrow
Margaret C

Margaret Czajkowski, RECE
Head of Curriculum

Margaret is truly the heart of Childventures. She has been with the company since its inception and built CV to become one of Ontario’s leading childcare operators. Her significant experience and her genuine passion for education has made her a staple within the industry as well as CV. Margaret has promoted the concept of quality childcare experiences since 1982. She was an educator in the Early Childhood Education program lab school at Mohawk College for twenty years in addition to serving as an advisory board member for their diploma program. Margaret continues to give back to the ECE profession by sharing her knowledge as a guest lecturer at conferences and events. As Head of Curriculum, Margaret’s role is to ensure CV remains an industry leader by fully engaging our children and instilling a lifelong love of learning through our proprietary blended curriculum.

CV Leadership Team

Pedagogical Leaders

Fatima Tavares, RECE
Director of Quality

Trace Junker, RECE
Director of Operational Excellence

Lisa Raso, RECE, BA, Msc. Ed
Director, Projects & Procurement

Campus Leaders

Cory Werner, RECE
Centre Director, Ancaster

Meagan Lowe, RECE
Centre Director, Burlington

Eleni Zarafonitis, RECE
Centre Director, Aurora

Madelyn Parent
Centre Director, Meadowvale

Jesmyn Henderson, RECE
Centre Director, Milton

Kathryn Lowe, RECE
Centre Director, Oakville

Melissa Capogna, RECE
Centre Director, Richmond Hill

Julie Bersche Glover, RECE
Centre Director, Vaughan

Corporate Team

Ron Craig
President

Michael Meeks
Vice President/Executive Director

Vicki Ringelberg, CPA, MBA
Chief Financial Officer

Shelley Findlay
VP, Brand and Enrolment

Amanda Vali, BA, CHRL
Director of People Success

Martina Ross, RECE
Director of Enrolment

Stacey Segal, BScA, MSc, RD
Pediatric Nutrition Consultant for Childventures

John Kunaratnam
Head Chef

Fatima Tavares, RECE
Director of Quality

With thirty-five years in the childcare industry, Fatima is a wealth of knowledge and a purveyor of best practices. In her role of Director of Quality, she ensures each of our campuses maintain the highest quality of care for our children. She is also charged with providing the entire CV educational team with curriculum, inclusivity and scaffolded learning training. As a positive team player, Fatima works tirelessly with the campus teams to deliver a premium experience for our families. She is a mother to two daughters and one son. Fatima is also a proud grandmother to three grandchildren.

Powered by
Trace Junker, RECE
Director of Operational Excellence

With CV for eleven years, Trace has held many different roles at multiple campuses. Throughout it all, Trace has shown a dedication in providing the full CV experience to families. In her current role, Trace is tasked with strengthening our systems and processes. Her wealth of operational experience provides a deep understanding and expertise of Ministry guidelines and compliance. Trace has been married for thirty years and has three children and three grandchildren – one of whom attended CV right through to JK/SK. She is a devoted grandmother who is crafty and loves scrapbooking in her spare time.

Powered by
Lisa Raso, RECE, BA, Msc. Ed
Director, Projects & Procurement

With fifteen years in the childcare industry, Lisa applied her well-honed leadership skills to the 2020 launch of the Aurora campus. Her passion for education and her calm demeanour translated into a warm welcoming environment for both families and CV team members alike. Lisa’s tenacity and sense of professionalism was evident throughout her tenure at Aurora, leading to her promotion in 2022 to the role of Director, Projects & Procurement. This new corporate role allows Lisa to make a larger impact across the entire organization. When she is not at CV, Lisa is a dedicated kickboxer who also loves to travel with her husband of five years.

Powered by
Cory Werner, RECE
Centre Director, Ancaster

Cory started at CV in the apprentice program – he worked at CV during the day while he went to school for his RECE at night. During his time at the Burlington campus Cory was the specialist for the Montessori and Brain Gym programs. Now, fourteen years later, as the Ancaster Director, Cory brings leadership experience and a calm-under-pressure approach that instils confidence in team and children alike. Cory is a father of one toddler with another baby on the way. In his spare time, Cory loves to spend time in the backyard oasis he and his wife built themselves.

Powered by
Meagan Lowe, RECE
Centre Director, Burlington

Meagan first came to CV during her student placement as she was completing her RECE. She was immediately hired after graduation as an infant educator at our Burlington campus. Ten years later, she is now the Centre Director in Burlington. Meagan’s energetic, can-do attitude is perfectly suited to managing our largest campus. Her passion for education and her experience is evident in her work. Meagan lives in Hamilton with her partner and has one son.

Powered by
Eleni Zarafonitis, RECE
Centre Director, Aurora

With over 10 years of childcare experience, Eleni Zarafonitis swiftly rose through the CV ranks at both the Richmond Hill and Aurora locations. Eleni began her CV journey as a toddler educator before her promotion to team mentor and eventually centre director of our Aurora campus. Eleni demonstrates a calm leadership style that easily earns the trust of her team, families and the children, putting even our littlest learners at ease. Eleni’s passion for early learning is evident and paves the way for a premium quality experience for all. In her spare time, Eleni loves crafts and is a Cricut connoisseur frequently creating items for family and friends!

Powered by
Madelyn Parent
Centre Director, Meadowvale

Madelyn started her career with CV 10 years ago at our Burlington campus where most recently she was the Mentor of the Toddler program. Madelyn is a natural born leader who has exhibited nothing but dedication to CV’s children, families and team. She has an unwavering passion for curriculum and an eye for quality that is evident in her work. As a Team Mentor and High Scope trainer, Madelyn inspired her team through hands-on coaching while quickly gaining the trust of the children and their families. As someone who is highly motivated displaying a great deal of initiative, Madelyn is the consummate brand ambassador for CV. She thrives in the community of like-minded individuals at Childventures and is thrilled to provide new ideas and encourage her team to grow in her role as Director. Madelyn and her partner live in the Hamilton area with their fur-baby Henry.

Powered by
Jesmyn Henderson, RECE
Centre Director, Milton

Jesmyn started at CV in 2014 as an educator at our Vaughan campus. Her tenacity and her dedication to high standards quickly stood out as did her ability to motivate those around her. Jesmyn was promoted to a Team Mentor where her team thrived under her quiet, patient leadership. She took on the role of ‘mama bear’ with the entire leadership team keeping everyone organized and on track. Jesmyn was asked to step up on several occasions further showcasing her abilities to effectively lead a team and resulting in her well-deserved promotion to Centre Director for our Milton centre. Jesmyn lives in Toronto with her husband and 2 children. She is an avid reader and spends her free time volunteering at local food banks and city shelters.

Powered by
Kathryn Lowe, RECE
Centre Director, Oakville

During her seventeen years with Childventures, Kathryn has worked at five of the CV campuses in a myriad of roles from educator to team leader to Ancaster Director. She mentored other leaders in the company for a number of years before launching the Oakville campus where she is currently the Centre Director. Kathryn lives and breathes the CV brand and has an exceptional attention to detail maintaining CV’s high standards. She is a long- term resident of Burlington, an avid gardener and has three grown children and one grandson who attends CV

Powered by
Melissa Capogna, RECE
Centre Director, Richmond Hill

Melissa’s career with CV started eleven years ago as an educator at the Vaughan campus. From there she was part of the pilot project to create the Team Mentor role and was instrumental in expanding the program to all eight campuses. Melissa has been at the Richmond Hill campus for the past two years and is currently the Director. Melissa’s inspirational and communicative leadership style is much appreciated by her team and the centre’s families. She and her husband have two sons who are both CV students. In her spare time, Melissa plays a pivotal role in her family’s agricultural business, with the care and trading of livestock across North America.

Powered by
Julie Bersche Glover, RECE
Centre Director, Vaughan

 

Julie has over twenty years of childcare experience, including ten years owning her own centre in the Uxbridge area and seven years working as a Centre Director for childcare companies within the GTA. Julie’s expansive knowledge of all aspects of the childcare industry coupled with her calm leadership skills have made a significant impact on our Vaughan campus. As a serial entrepreneur, Julie runs an organizational decluttering business in her spare time in addition to building a small hobby farm. Julie is married with two teenaged children.

Powered by
Ron Craig
President

As President of CV, Ron is a seasoned executive with over two decades of experience across a number of industries, holding senior leadership roles in top tier organizations such as Bell, Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation and Recipe Unlimited Corporation. Ron also serves on the Board and is a major fundraiser for The Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada, a cause that is near and dear to his heart. With Ron at the helm, CV will continue to strengthen its position as Canada’s Premier Early Childcare provider as it grows its footprint in Ontario and beyond. In his off-time, Ron loves relaxing at his cottage with his wife and two grown children and is passionate about perfecting his golf game.

Powered by
Michael Meeks
Vice President/Executive Director

 

In this key organizational role, Michael is responsible for leading the operations of all CV campuses with the goal of providing a premium experience for families and team members alike. Michael has over twenty years of multi-unit operational and team leadership experience from a variety of leading service and retail businesses including SirCorp, Moxie’s and Bell. He was most recently with Compass Canada as Head of Retail Healthcare and attended University of Guelph in the BComm program. As a fitness enthusiast and Dance Dad, Michael also enjoys spending time with his wife and daughters at their family cottage, fishing, golfing and relaxing by the fire.

Powered by
Vicki Rogenburg, CPA, MBA
Chief Financial Officer

Vicki has served as CV’s CFO for ten years. Prior to that, Vicki spent over twenty years working in various senior financial capacities including Chief Financial Officer of Portland Investment Counsel and the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer of AIC Limited. Vicki has broad experience in the financial services industry including managing large scale initiatives, evaluating business opportunities and executing the acquisitions and sales of various businesses. Vicki is a CPA and holds an MBA from the Rotman School of Business. She also serves on the Board of Northern Trust and is a member of Fidelity Investment’s Independent Review Committee. In her spare time, Vicki loves spending time at her cottage on Lake Erie with family and friends.

Powered by
Shelley Findlay
VP, Brand and Enrolment

In her role, Shelley assumes strategic leadership of our Marketing and Enrolment functions responsible for defining the brand and solidifying CV’s position as Canada’s premier childcare provider. Charged with building a customer first experience, Shelley has over twenty years of experience in marketing and sales most recently as VP Marketing and Brand Strategy at Corus Entertainment. Shelley’s innate curiosity and love of learning reflects the overall CV brand ethos. Shelley and her family love to travel with a focus on outdoor adventures.

Powered by
Amanda Vali, BA, CHRL
Director of People Success

Amanda brings a strong HR leadership background with over twenty years of experience. In her role as Director of People Success, Amanda will help to shape CV’s corporate culture while positioning CV to be employer of choice. She is focused on recruiting the best and the brightest to deliver CV’s proprietary curriculum program. Amanda is a Certified Human Resource Leader (CHRL) with a HR diploma from Sheridan College and a BA from Western University. A long-term Burlington resident, Amanda and enjoys spending time with her husband and two children.

Powered by
Martina Ross, RECE
Director of Enrolment

Martina began her career at CV nineteen years ago as an infant educator in Ancaster. She played an instrumental role in growing the company, fulfilling different roles in multiple campuses including the Director role in Ancaster and York region. Martina settled in Burlington where she was the Centre Director for nine years building strong relationships with community partners including ROCK Centre for Kids, Erin Oaks Kids Treatment Centre and Mohawk College to name a few. Martina has been the Director of Enrolment for the past two years charged with growing the CV community. Martina lives in Burlington along with her husband and guinea pig. She has three grown daughters, one of whom works at CV in our Toddler program.

Powered by
Stacey Segal, BScA, MSc, RD
Pediatric Nutrition Consultant for Childventures

With 15 years experience, Stacey’s career has been dedicated to nourishing babies, toddlers and children. While working as a pediatric nutrition consultant for CV, Stacey works at The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto as a pediatric dietitian, specializing in neuroscience. The CV food program is founded on the philosophy that good nutrition is the fuel that powers active minds. Stacey’s role at CV will be to work with our head chef in developing CV’s menu to ensure that each meal is nutritionally dense so that our children are optimized for learning. Stacey is also the founder of the Prenatal and Pediatric Nutrition Clinic at GSH Medical, a nutrition author for AboutKidsHealth website and a nutrition consultant and author for Cerebelly, a baby/toddler food company. As a mom of two little eaters, Stacey is passionate about helping families raise well-nourished kids right from the start.

Powered by
John Kunaratnam
Head Chef

As the Head Chef, John is responsible for the development and implementation of the food & nutrition program, managing a culinary team across all CV locations. John has an extensive background in the food and beverage industry working as the Executive Chef for Georgian College of Applied Arts & Technology and holding multiple leaderships roles at SIRCORP managing both operations and teams. While he’s not in the kitchen, John is a devoted dad who supports his children’s dance and soccer careers. He also enjoys playing golf and travelling with his family.

Powered by
yellow heart
Book a Tour