MEET OUR TEAM

Executive Director

Rev. Ken MacLaren 

B.A., M.Div., Th.M.

In May 2003, Rev. Ken MacLaren became the Executive Director of Ottawa Innercity Ministries. Ken has a B.A. from the University of Western Ontario (1979), a M.Div. from the Lutheran Theological Seminary, Saskatoon (1983), and a Th.M. from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Deerfield, Illinois (1984). Following his formal education, Ken was the Senior Pastor of three churches in three provinces with the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada (1986-91).He was a member of the National Social Concerns Committee of the P.A.O.C. and initiated and developed a National Capital Men’s Ministry Network in Ottawa in 2001. Ken has been married for 40 years, and has three grown children and seven grandchildren.

Ken has been a member of the National Advisory for Street Level Canada, and the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada’s Roundtable on Poverty and Homelessness.

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Managing Director

Jeliza Zdero

B.A., M.A., Ph.D.

After volunteering with OIM in 2007/2008, Jelica responded to God’s call to join the team in October 2008. She is honoured to be working alongside the caring staff and volunteers of OIM who joyfully give of themselves to work alongside our street community. Jelica brings with her a skill-set that includes university teaching, research, and writing as well as a variety of volunteer experiences in her church and community.

Youth Program Coordinator

Kevin Schafer

B.A.Sc.

This is Kevin's fourth career after a diverse background in high-tech, the music industry and career/leadership coaching. He has been a long-time volunteer at OIM dating back to 2003 where he helped during drop-in lunches, and has spent the last 9+ years volunteering weekly with the Innercity Arts Program as the "music guy". He is thrilled to come on-staff as the facilitator of the Innercity Arts Program, working with these amazing young adults on a full-time basis - his dream job! Kevin is active in his local church, has been married over 27 years, and has three wonderful young-adult children.

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"He heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds." - Psa 147:3

Youth Internship Coordinator

Bonnie Gardner

Bonnie volunteered with OIM as a street outreach worker and with the Innercity Arts program since 2016 before God called her into fulltime ministry in March 2018 and she has been with OIM fulltime ever since; first as The Front line Care Worker and now with her new title as Youth Outreach Worker. Bonnie finds the greatest joy when she is engaging one-on-one with street friends and when mentoring youth, listening, visiting and sharing a cup of coffee.  Bonnie’s first loves are Jesus,  walking her  dogs in the woods and writing about OIM and life on the streets. She is currently in the process of working towards finishing her Ministerial Diploma at Ottawa School of the Bible, with the end goal of becoming an ordained pastor.

Administrative Assistant

Elizabeth Sutherland-Beaven 

After 15 years of administrative work at various government and private industries, Beth took 10 years off to concentrate on her family before returning to the work force as an Adult Crossing Guard at a local school, then back into administration at a local church before trying the retail industry.  Beth has felt it is now time to use her administrative gifting’s again that God has blessed her with and has joined OIM.  She obtained her Ministerial Diploma in 2014 at Ottawa School of the Bible.   Beth has been married for 28 years and has two grown sons.   

Donor Care Administrator

Sue O'Neal

After volunteering behind the scene with OIM since 2011, Sue came out of retirement to accept a part-time position as Office Assistant.  She currently splits her time between babysitting four of her eight grandchildren and helping out at OIM.  Sue’s 30 year experience in the workforce includes full-time ministry, banking and as an industry analyst in the Federal Government.  She’s honoured to be a part of this amazing team and ministry.

Volunteer Coordinator

Sarah Pearce

Sarah joined the OIM team as the Volunteer Coordinator in 2020. Sarah has a degree in Political Science, a diploma in Public Relations, and most recently, a graduate certificate in Project Management. Sarah has been married for over 20 years and has homeschooled her three children for over a decade. She is actively involved in her church and local community, serving and encouraging those around her.

Promotions &

Events Coordinator

Warren Fishwick

Warren first heard about OIM while attending Trinity Bible Church in Osgoode and was able to get to know Ken MacLaren through another ministry called Souly Business. Warren retired from the Federal Government in January 2020 after having worked in the IT field for 35 years. He then decided to volunteer as the Events Coordinator for OIM and has since added the title of Promotions. Both he and his wife Karen help out on the Street Outreach Teams. Warren has 5 children including two sets of twins. 

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Doug Cooper

Retired Naval Office

Kari Yli-Renko

Area Manager, Leader Impact Ministries

Bethany Yli-Renko

Accountant, Welch LLP

Legal Counsel, City of Ottawa

Doug Assaly

Founder/CEO, Honey Construction Ltd. 

Dr. Robert Yelle

Family Medicine, Private Practice