Name: Marie May Zubot (she/her/hers) Job Title: Manager, Clinical Operations, Long-Term Care Length of Service: 5 years Worksite: Poplar Ridge, Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital Community: Trail / Kootenay Boundary Ancestral Territory: Ktunaxa Favourite Quote / Advice to Live By: “Vulnerability is not winning or losing, it's having the courage to show up and be seen when you have no control over the outcome.” —Brene Brown Marie Zubot moved to the Kootenays in 2004 with her husband and three children for a better quality of life and access to the beautiful outdoors and activities that the B.C. Interior offers. They love fishing, hiking, camping and swimming, and in the winter, head to the hills for some snowboarding and ice fishing. “I fell in love with life in the Interior," says Marie. "Our communities are tight knit and comprised of the hardest working people you’ll ever meet. Everywhere you go, you can find a place to belong, and people truly come together in times of hardship.”  Inspired by her community, and what quality of life can be, Marie began her career in health care with a desire to broaden her understanding of what well-being truly means. For Marie, choosing health care as a career meant the opportunity to use her clinical knowledge, lived experience, and lessons to improve the quality of life of her communities, with the person in care at the centre.

Name: Courtney Ruddiman (she/her/hers) Job Title: Team Lead, Recruitment Assistants Length of Service: 5 years Worksite: Kelowna Community Health & Services Centre Community: Kelowna Ancestral Territory: syilx/Okanagan Favourite Quote / Advice to Live By: "I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear." — Nelson Mandela Born in Saskatchewan, Courtney Ruddiman has lived on the traditional territory of the syilx nation in the South Okanagan since she was two. She now calls Kelowna home. With a background in business management, Courtney joined Interior Health (IH) in 2020 as an administrative assistant. Four years ago, she found her passion in recruitment and human resources (HR). She’s now the lead for the Recruitment Assistants team and has fully immersed herself in HR, and has gone back to school to study human resources management. She’s working towards a Chartered Professional HR (CPHR) designation.

Name: Chantal-Michelle Holt (she/her/hers) Job Title: Administration Clerk/Medical Office Assistant Length of Service: 8.5 years Worksite: Barriere Health Centre Community: Barriere Ancestral Territory: Secwepemc Chantal has called Secwepemc territory home her entire life. Her deep connection to the land and community has guided both her personal journey and career path. For Chantal, reconciliation means something beautifully simple and profound: “That no matter what colour our skin, gender or nationality, we all get along.” Chantal’s path to health care was shaped by a deep desire to help others through some of their hardest moments. After joining Interior Health as a housekeeper at Royal Inland Hospital, it didn’t take long for her determination and heart to shine through. Within her first year, she was asked to step into a supervisory role—a proud moment that would set the tone for what was to come. Driven by a dream to work closer to home, she began picking up every shift she could. “Sometimes I would sleep for a few hours in my car between doubles,” she recalls.

Name: Nida Farooqui (she/her/hers)  Job Title: Communications Consultant, Digital Health Length of Service: 9 months Worksite: Kelowna Community Health & Services Centre (CHSC) Community: Kelowna Ancestral Territory: syilx Favourite Quote / Advice to live by: "To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment." - Ralph Waldo Emerson Nida feels grateful to live on the ancestral territory of the syilx Nation where she has lived since June 2024, and from 2020 to 2023.  “To me, reconciliation means to be aware of and grateful for the Indigenous communities,” she says. “It's bringing my whole self to connect, listen and learn from the values and rich history rooted in Indigenous teachings.” Nida has always loved working with and supporting people—especially when it comes to their well-being. She believes two essential pieces that support one's well-being are education and health.  After spending close to a decade of her career dedicated to higher education, she felt compelled to explore health care and use her communications and storytelling skills at Interior Health (IH) as a new way to support people.   

Name: Jade Chaboyer-Kondra Job Title: Lead, Indigenous Engagement Length of Service: 7 years Worksite:  Work from home in syilx territory (West Kelowna) Community: West Kelowna Ancestral Territory: syilx If you ask Jade Chaboyer-Kondra what drives her, she’ll tell you it’s in building relationships with people who work to make a difference in their communities and Nations. That passion is evident in the skill, knowledge, insights and compassion she brings to her work every single day.  You may know Jade in her role as lead, Indigenous Engagement on our Indigenous Partnerships team, or as a former host of the IH’s Indigenous health and wellness podcast, Interior Voices. We connected with her to learn more about what inspires her, the meaningful experiences she’s had throughout her career, and her life outside of work (spoiler alert: you’ll see her wearing orange and blue during the NHL season).  

Name: Teresa LeBlanc  (she/her/hers) Job Title: Nursing Unit Clerk Years of Service: 13 Worksite: Ponderosa Lodge Community: Kamloops Ancestral Territory: Secwépemc Favourite Quote / Advice to live by: “C'est la vie [That's life].” Teresa LeBlanc works as a nursing unit clerk at Ponderosa Lodge in Kamloops, B.C. She was born in Squamish and raised in Logan Lake and Merritt. She moved to Kamloops in 1995 and has lived there ever since. Describing herself as an easygoing, generally happy person, Teresa is also the type of person who likes to keep everyone pleasantly organized.

Name: Laura Crossley (she/her/hers) Job Title: Counsellor Years of Service: 2 Worksite: Kelowna Community Health & Services Centre Community: Kelowna Ancestral Territory: syilx Favourite Quote / Advice to live by: I have so many: Vince Lombardi, Sun Tzu and Norman Schwarzkopf. But I will quote a line from Seinfeld, season 6, episode 16: "It’s not a lie if you believe it." Laura grew up in the Lower Mainland in Coquitlam and attended Douglas College. After graduation, she moved across the country to Halifax and made her way back to B.C. after spending time in Red Deer, Alberta. She “dabbled” in sales and worked in the transportation business along the way. In 2019, she moved to Kelowna where she started work at the Foundry, a wellness centre for young people aged 12–24.

Name: Alma Angelina Vega Perez (she/her/hers) Job Title: Activity Coordinator, Adult Day Services Years of Service: 1.5 Worksite: Kootenay Boundary Area Office Community: Kootenay Boundary Ancestral Territory: Ktunaxa, syilx Favourite Quote / Advice to Live By: “No fear of success.” Dare to chase your dreams, even when the path is uncertain. Life rewards those who take bold steps with a strong heart and a determined mind. Born and raised in Mexico, Alma has an innate love and passion for Mexican culture, traditions and gastronomy. She loves the art of selecting fresh ingredients, cooking meals from scratch and sharing them with friends and family. She also enjoys music and dancing. In fact, she has two bachelor’s degrees: one in arts education and one in Mexican folkloric dance. She also holds two master’s degrees. Alma found her calling in education and worked as a teacher. But after teaching for more than 10 years at various educational levels—primarily in universities—she decided to make a change and immigrate to Canada in July 2022.

Name:  Erik Reimer (he/him/his) Job Title: Spiritual Health Practitioner Years of Service: Seven months Worksite:  Vernon Jubilee Hospital Community: Vernon Ancestral Territory: syilx Favourite Quote / Advice to live by: “Shame and insecurity intimidate us into hiding. Connection and belonging invite us to step out into the open.” Meet Erik Reimer, the newly appointed spiritual health practitioner at Vernon Jubilee Hospital (VJH). Erik brings a wealth of experience in spiritual care, having spent more than two decades as a pastor walking alongside people through life’s most significant moments.  His journey is not just one of academic learning and teaching, but of profound personal reflection and empathy that undoubtedly resonates with those he serves.