Deborah Bell’s Legacy

After 25 years leading the Mothers Matter Centre, Debbie Bell has decided to retire. She will be leaving her post in 2023 following the appointment of her successor.

​

“The Mothers Matter Centre and the HIPPY Canada program have made an incredible difference in lives of mothers and families across Canada for so many years. I am so proud of everything that the MMC team and our partners have achieved together over the years,” Debbie said, “and we now ready for new leadership to build on these years of success.”

 

“The MMC would literally not exist without Debbie,” added Bruce Flexman, Chair of the Board. “Debbie’s leadership, devotion, and passion grew the MMC from a small single-site program 25 years ago, to one serving thousands of mothers every year. Debbie also led us through the Covid pandemic, and we are so grateful for everything she has done. We are saddened to see her leave and are grateful for her tireless efforts in cultivating and growing our impact and reach for so long.”

 

Other highlights of Debbie’s tenure include: 

• Becoming Canada’s first HIPPY site, piloting a unique mother-to-mother support approach for newcomers and families in need.

• Establishing a network of partners across the country leading to 38 partner HIPPY sites.

• Broadening HIPPY into the full Mothers Matter Centre in 2017, allowing the Centre to build out other related programs and widening our reach and scope.

• Building an incredible staff team at MMC headquarters in Vancouver, and strong relationships with sites, government, funders, and other key partners.

 

“I will miss all the staff, partners, and clients I have met over the years. My time with the MMC has been incredibly meaningful and fulfilling, and most importantly is the role we have played to collectively help people,” she said.

 

The Mothers Matter Centre is a virtual, national consortium of organizations dedicated to serving socially isolated and low economic status mothers and their families Our mother-to-mother approach is unique in that we work with isolated mothers where they live – at home – connecting them with other mothers in their communities who share an intimate awareness of the issues and challenges they face. Since inception, the Mothers Matter Centre has transformed over 55,000 lives. We helped more than 21,000 mothers gain new skills and abilities essential to strengthening mother-child relationships. This means their children and families were better prepared to get the most from their early school experiences. To learn more, see https://mothersmattercentre.ca The Board is working hard to ensure a successful and smooth transition and continuing Debbie’s legacy. It has engaged search consultant Christoph Clodius from The Discovery Group to support their recruitment of this important role.

 

Anyone interested in learning more is invited to contact Christoph at christoph@thediscoverygroup.ca.