Our Team
Meet Nadine, Site Coordinator
Nadine doesn't just advocate for people experiencing homelessness, she takes them in.
Meet Our Board
Jeff Willmer - Chair
Jeff Willmer has been a resident of Waterloo Region for over 40 years. He served with the City of Kitchener as an urban planner since 1989. He was the City's Director of Planning starting in 2002 and later served as CAO until his retirement in 2017. Along with the late Ron Doyle, Jeff is co-founder of A Better Tent City, and is president of ABTC's inaugural board.
Fr. Toby Collins, CR - Secretary
Fr. Toby grew up in a family of seven children and has lived most of his life in Kitchener with time spent in Hamilton, St. Catharines, St. Louis, Chicago, and Bermuda. He went to Wilford Laurier University and graduated with a double major in geography and philosophy. He then worked in the insurance industry and then opened up a landscaping company which he owned for 3 years. In his mid-20's he met a religious community of Catholic Priests and Brothers called Resurrectionists. He admired how they lived a life in community and constantly brought hope to people in despair. He began to discern a life-long commitment to becoming a member of the Resurrectionist community and graduating from Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis with a Masters of Divinity degree. Twenty years later he continues to be transformed by his faith and the love of family, friends, and the brothers living in his community. Fr. Toby is currently the pastor of St. Mary's Church in downtown Kitchener and has a passion for prayer and building Tiny Homes for the homeless and working with anyone who dares to risk seeing the less fortunate as their friends.
Daniel Cardy – Treasurer
Dan is a CPA, CA who spent his entire working career in public accounting, first with KPMG and then with several smaller partnerships. He sold his practice in 2019 and transitioned out of public practice in 2020. He worked with many small charities over the years, as auditor or accountant and also served on the board of several others during his working career.
One of Dan’s retirement goals is to give back to the community by taking a larger role in worthwhile not-for-profit organizations and using many of the skills he developed in his years as a public accountant. Dan currently sits on the finance committee of St. Mary’s Church in downtown Kitchener and on the finance committee of Marillac Place, a charity assisting young women who are pregnant, who have a child in their care, or who are attempting to regain care of their child. Dan joined the inaugural board of ABTC in June 2021 and handles all the finances in his role as accountant and board treasurer.
Joe Mancini - Director
Joe, along with Stephanie Mancini, were the main proponents in establishing The Working Centre in 1982. They continue to be integral in the development of The Working Centre's vital social infrastructure operating with over 140 workers and 20 different projects. The Working Centre community is anchored by 15 revitalized commercial buildings and multiplex houses that makes possible a community of service providing housing, food distribution, on-the-street outreach, medical, mental health and harm reduction supports, an employment service, a financial help service, a community bike shop, cafes, a market garden, 2 greenhouses and thrift stores
Laura Hamilton - Director
Laura has worked in community and workforce development for the federal and provincial governments for over forty years. Laura serves on the board of the Social Development Centre Waterloo Region and is a founding member of both Union Sustainable Development Co-op and the Community Kitchen Co-operative of Kitchener Waterloo. In 2013 Laura, along with three friends formed Divest Waterloo, a grassroots organization committed to climate justice that works in solidarity with local and national Indigenous land defenders to create awareness and action on climate change. Over the last twenty years, Laura has been an active member of Kitchener Food Not Bombs, a collective that recovers and publically shares food that would otherwise be discarded as a way of protesting war and poverty. Laura helped to establish A Better Tent City and continues to support ABTC operations as a founding director.
Marion Thomson Howell - Director
Marion Thomson Howell is an entrepreneur and active community contributor. After 33 years as President of ShaughnessyHowell Inc., an award-winning provider of learning and leadership development solutions, Marion now spends her semi-retirement years working with board directors in the not-for-profit sector helping them to advance the mission of their organizations and put practices in place to ensure they are effective stewards of their organizations’ resources.
As well as being a founding director for A Better Tent City Waterloo Region, Marion is currently Chair of the Board of Trustees at St. Mary’s General Hospital in Kitchener and a Director on the St. Mary’s Foundation Board.
Nadine Green, Our Site Coordinator
Nadine has experienced homelessness; she sees opportunity in adversity and works tirelessly to support those who have fallen through the cracks. Nadine never walks away from a challenge.
For five years, Nadine sheltered and cared for people experiencing homeless in her downtown Kitchener convenience store until she was evicted for doing so in January 2020. She then began to care for the unsheltered folks who could no longer seek shelter in her store with nightly visits to bring them food, tents and blankets.
In April 2020 Ron Doyle invited Nadine to help to establish and live in A Better Tent City. Nadine continues to live on site and manage life at ABTC. She also continues to go out at night to care for hundreds of people in our community who remain unsheltered and has organized and trained a team of volunteers to do this work when she cannot.
Nadine is the site coordinator and jack-of-all-trades at A Better Tent City. She brings people to the site who need shelter, she ushers residents to appointments and has set the general rules and tone for the community. Basically, Nadine manages and supports life at ABTC.
Nadine is the most gentle, generous, and humble of souls, and is respected in all her roles: as community builder, advocate and den mother. She resolves disputes among ABTC residents with unconditional love, the same love that propels her as she ventures out at night to bring food, blankets, tents and compassion to those who continue to live on the streets or in unsanctioned encampments. She always gives a smile and a hug, and will share her sage advice and uplifting stories with those who need these the most. Nadine is an extraordinary woman who selflessly volunteers her time to serve her community. She is a woman who not only finds beauty in giving back, she also finds and shares love.
Supports for Nadine and all of the residents include:
Site Worker - Emily Smith was hired to do a thorough inspection of the site 3 times a week and organize volunteers or contractors to attend to the necessary upkeep. Addressing the concerns of our immediate neighbours while helping the residents to both manage difficult life circumstances and engage in their ongoing contribution to the community is also part of her job description.
Cleanup and Repair Crew - a team of approximately 12 volunteers clean, fix, sew, and offer joy and compassion to the residents every Tuesday afternoon and the first Saturday of the month. This helps "reset" the site on a regular basis and maintain a better level of care, safety, and cleanliness during every season of the year.
Carpenters - a team of dedicated volunteer carpenters ensures that larger renovations and upkeep of all buildings happens in a timely and affordable way.