Margaret Alexander, Program Manager/Developer
Margaret has been an activist and educator in the women’s anti-violence movement for over 12 years. Her work has primarily focused on frontline service delivery for women’s shelters and sexual assault/rape crisis centres. As Program Manager/Developer for Springtide she manages the Immigrant and Refugee Women’s Program, the Young Women’s Program as well as a number of projects related to violence against women training for various sectors. Margaret also teaches in the Assaulted Women and Children’s Counsellor/Advocate Program at George Brown College in Toronto.
Fran Odette, Program Manager, Women with Disabilities
Fran is a trainer/educator on issues impacting women with disabilities, with a particular focus on VAW and disability.
She is the Program Manager of the Women with Disabilities and Deaf Women’s Program, which provides training, material
development and consultations with service providers who are interested in enhancing their capacity to provide inclusive
services to women living with disabilities and Deaf women fleeting violence. She has worked closely with women's services
and disability related organizations on issues such as violence against women with disabilities, access to services,
sexuality and body image. Fran worked with the Speak Up Project: Safeguarding People with Augmentative and Alternative
Communication Against Sexual Abuse, a provincial initiative funded by the Trillium Foundation.
Erna Opeña, Administration
Erna, BSc in Social Work, is an Administrator with Springtide Resources. She came to this position from her work
with the Coalition for Visible Minority Women and the National Council of Filipino Associations where she worked on
their National Conference on Violence Against Women in the Filipino Community. Her work while Owner/Manager of ASAP
WordPro Services contributed to training youth and women to enter/re-enter the labour force.
Angie Rupra, Community Outreach and Education Coordinator
Angie, B.S.W, M.S.W, is Springtide Resource’s Community Outreach and Education Coordinator, overseeing both the Immigrant and Refugee Women’s Program and Volunteer Program. Angie has worked in the violence against women sector for over five years where she has done front-line service and community development. Her experience includes working in shelters for abused women and children, the Council of Agencies Serving South Asians, the Woman Abuse Council of Toronto and with the Ministry of Attorney General. She also teaches at Humber College’s Social Service Worker program and is a certified trainer with OCASI’s Prevention of Violence Against Immigrant Women project.
Marsha Sfeir, Executive Director
Marsha, BA/Ed, Executive Director at Springtide Resources, was the Coordinator of Training and Education at EWA for
15 years and has been an educator and activist for social justice for 38 years. She has been listed in Who's Who of
Canadian Women and has received the Soroptimist International's "Women Helping Women" Award and the Mt. Sinai Hospital's
Women's Achievement Award for “Promoting Awareness of Domestic Violence as a Significant Health Issue". Her publications
include five volumes of curriculum on social issues and numerous study guides, essays and fact sheets on woman abuse.