Bear
Necessities
Meet The Team
Board of Directors
Leah Villanueva
Co-Founder & Co-Chair
Alexa Villanueva
Co-Founder & Co-Chair
Jacqueline Tran
Board Member
Keith Dela Cruz
Board Member
Executive Team
Helen Pethrick
Co-President
Rachel Grigg
VP Education
Veniecia Laylor
VP Community Relations
Benilde Aquino
VP Internal
Ambassadors and Assistants
Olga Shtepa
CR Ambassador
David Yuan
Finance Ambassador
Clare Song
Project Ambassador
Quinn Stevenson
Education Ambassador
Kiana Hampton
Operations Assistant
Andrea Jervis
Internal Ambassador
Mary Garcia
Operations Assistant
Megan Romih
Project Ambassador
Leah Villanueva
Co-Founder & Co-Chair
Leah Villanueva is a recent graduate from Mechanical Engineering with a minor in Petroleum at the University of Calgary. She is passionate about feminism, poverty alleviation and sustainability. In her spare time she trains in Shotokan Karate, reads, and enjoys eating.
Alexa Villanueva
Co-Founder & Co-Chair
Alexa is currently working towards a Business Marketing major with a concentration in Socially Responsible Marketing. She is passionate about poverty alleviation, feminism, and she loves socially responsible and sustainable businesses!
Jacqueline Tran
Board Member
Jacqueline is a recent Communication, Media, & Film Studies graduate from the University of Calgary and the former VP of Marketing for BNC. With a passion for creative living, she dedicates the majority of her time acting, filming, and editing videos. The empathy she has for humankind is the driving force she uses to push the club's marketing initiatives.
Keith Dela Cruz
Board Member
Keith joined Bear Necessities in 2014 and worked as Junior Ambassador for Finance and Operations and as VP Finance. A graduated Business student at the University of Calgary with a concentration in International Business, he hopes to someday work for a multinational social enterprise!
Helen Pethrick
Co-President
Helen is in her final year of a combined degree in Health & Society and Social Cultural Anthropology. Her passion for meaningful community engagement and fighting the negative stigma around homelessness was sparked when she participated in a volunteer program called Homelessness at Home. Helen has been involved with Bear Necessities since 2015 and she loves supporting the executive team and seeing others grow!
Evita Molino
Co-President
Evita Molino is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology with a minor in Psychology at the University of Calgary. She has a desire to help others, and loves that Bear Necessities has an intersectional approach of addressing homelessness in the local community!