Our Team

Carissa Youssef is the Executive Director of Mennonite Central Committee British Columbia. Her career has spanned international relief and development, philanthropy, and business leadership, with a consistent focus on helping people and communities flourish. Before joining MCC BC, Carissa served as Executive Director of One Day’s Wages, a charity that invests in locally led efforts to address extreme poverty. She previously held senior leadership roles with Food for the Hungry Canada, culminating in her role as Vice President of Philanthropy and Public Engagement. As CEO of the Stattonrock Group, she led a group of businesses in the construction and home improvement sector. These experiences have shaped her belief that a healthy business can create value for its employees and community while generating resources to serve a larger purpose.

Chris is the President and CEO of the Hazelwood Group of Companies. Hazelwood is made up of several different operating companies which includes civil contracting, welding and fabricating contracting, natural stone production, residential construction, and various property developments. He graduated from Royal Roads University with a Bachelor of Commerce in 2005. He finished his CPA, CGA in 2009. After being the CFO of the Hazelwood Group of Companies, Chris was asked to fill in his current position as President and CEO in 2012.

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In years past Chris has been a member of the board of Elders at Saanich Baptist and was on the board for Mission San Quintin. He is currently on the board of Loaves & Fishes Food Bank.

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Chris and his wife Kelsey live in Nanaimo. They have three young children.

Ken Friesen has practiced in the area of estate, trust, and corporate litigation for over 25 years. He has a proven track record of success at both the trial and appeal court levels and through mediation. In addition to cases involving capacity, undue influence, trust law, and wills variation, Ken often handles matters involving difficult family dynamics in family business succession.

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Ken has been actively involved in commercial real estate development in British Columbia and Washington state for over 20 years including resort development, restoration and repurpose developments, and residential and office building development and management. He is past president of the Pacific Centre for Discipleship Association (the Menno Simons Centre) and is the founding chair of MCC Legacy Trust and was on the board for MCC BC for over 10 years.

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Ken serves on a number of boards, primarily charitable and some political. He is the proud father of four children, is a surfer, backcountry skier, and was VanuFC soccer coach of the year in 2018.

Wayne served with MCC BC in various roles from 1996 until his retirement in 2026, including 19 years as CEO. He was a founding board member with HyLand Properties and worked on the donation of property now held by HyLand. Wayne was a founding board member of Ecoworks Landscaping and Community Enterprises, MCC BC social enterprise companies that created jobs and provided employment training, as well as the founding board chair of a small business development company called Community Futures Development Corporation of South Fraser. He also served as the Development Director for MAF Canada and was a small business development advisor with MEDA in Nicaragua. He has a bachelor’s degree in business from TWU and a master’s degree in international development from the University of Toronto.

After University, Bruce began his business career as the sales manager for a construction and development firm. He moved into the property management field in 1986 and founded Baywest Management Corporation in 1988. At the time of its sale in 2012, Baywest was Canada’s leading residential property management firm with 620 buildings in its portfolio. He is currently involved in the glass industry and land development.

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Bruce has served on church and camp leadership teams and is currently on the board for International Justice Mission, the MCC Legacy Trust Board and the business advisory board at TWU.

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Bruce lives in Abbotsford BC with his wife Sylvia. They have 4 children and 7 grandsons. The Friesens love to entertain, travel, and serve God wherever they find themselves.

Diane Delves, has been involved in the real estate industry for approximately 40 years – the past 23 years as the President & CEO of Quantum Properties. The Quantum Properties Group of Companies is a developer/builder of residential and commercial projects.

Diane founded a real estate appraisal practice which she operated for 11 years. She is a member of the Appraisal Institute of Canada, holding the Accredited Appraiser Canadian Institute, Professional Appraiser designations (AACI, P. App).

Diane has served on several boards and committees over the years including the Urban Development Institute, Partnerships BC, BC Expropriation Compensation Board and the Abbotsford Airport Authority. Diane is currently a member of Translink’s External Real Estate Development Advisory Committee.

Craig Toews recently joined the MCC Board and was appointed to the Hylands Board following his tenure as President of the Abbotsford Chamber Board. Recently retired from UFV after 35 years, Craig brings extensive experience in postsecondary with a diverse career spanning IT, Property Development, Construction, and Community Engagement. His collaborative leadership style is shaped by years of fostering university partnerships and working closely with the business community. The policy work he was involved in at the Abbotsford Chamber advocated for changes to strengthen the business sector across the province. With a wealth of board experience, Craig thrives on collaborating with diverse groups of people and is a strong advocate for good governance and leadership development.

Tom has been involved in the commercial real estate industry for the past 40 years. Holding a Diploma in Building Technology from BCIT and a Diploma in Urban Land Economics from UBC, he has been involved management, leasing and development of real estate assets for organizations such as Sun Life, Ivanhoe Cambridge and most recently Cadillac Fairview. Over the past 18 years Tom oversaw CF’s portfolio of office buildings and shopping centres in Western Canada, and most recently was responsible for the management of their 18 shopping centres across Canada. Tom has served as President or Chairperson of various industry associations including NAIOP and BOMA. Tom currently is an advisor to the Board of Mackie’s Place, who serve at risk youth in North Surrey. Tom and his wife Teresa live in Vancouver and are part of the Village Church community. They have three adult children and two grandchildren.