Mark Friesen new executive director of Hollyburne Community Services Society

The Hollyburn Community Services has announced a new Executive Director. Mark Friesen will be the new Executive Director, effective August 5.

“Mark brings the perfect combination of skills, experience and commitment to social justice to take Hollyburn to the next level of impact in a rapidly shifting social services environment,” Board Chair Nancy Farran said in a press release.

Mark has over two decades of experience in leadership roles, developing and implementing partnerships and programs in the non-profit sector in BC. As Executive Director at Columbia College, he launched the Institute for Equity and Advancement in Education in 2022 to advance access to education for immigrant youth and individuals with refugee backgrounds.

He led partnership-based capacity-building initiatives for the non-profit sector in regions throughout BC, including a Housing First Innovation Lab in Metro Vancouver. Mark’s background in community engagement, working with organizations such as Vantage Point and SFU Public Square, will be instrumental as HCSS engages partners, clients and supporters throughout the North Shore in developing its next five-year strategic plan.

Society co-founder and Executive Director Nanette Taylor is retiring after two decades. Farran said that her vision to create a society was born out of a profound responsibility to care for youth. Nanette’s vision inspired a growing community dedicated to the HCSS mission. The Society created the North Shore Youth Safe House in response to the needs of youth leaving government care beyond 19 years of age.

Over 20 years of serving vulnerable citizens of the North Shore, the Society has grown to include transitional housing, life skills programs for youth, services for seniors, victim services, and support for those suffering intimate partner violence. As the North Shore’s housing crisis became more acute in recent years, Nanette was at the forefront of expanding the Society’s low-rental housing portfolio—soon to include eighty-six units of affordable housing now under construction.

Nanette leaves a legacy of inspiration and dedication – paving the way for her successor to build upon the organization’s reputation for innovative and caring community service.

“We are grateful to Nanette Taylor for her lifelong devotion to serving the needs of vulnerable members of our society,” says Board Chair Farran. “Her strong conviction that Hollyburn could fill gaps in the social safety net on the North Shore has changed the lives of many.” “The new Executive Director has a strong leadership team to continue the good work of this organization, and I have every confidence that the Board has made a good choice in hiring Mark Friesen.”