The Office is staffed by a dedicated and diverse group of professionals. Staff are representative of the diversity of the population served by the Office and come from a variety of education and employment backgrounds, such as law, social work, education, child and youth mental health, community-based and public sector advocacy, law enforcement, social policy, communications, administration and human resources.

Jennifer Charlesworth

Representative for Children and Youth

Dr. Jennifer Charlesworth is British Columbia’s Representative for Children and Youth. She was appointed as Acting Representative effective Aug. 31, 2018 and confirmed in her appointment as B.C.’s Representative for Children and Youth on Oct. …


READ MORE »

Senior Management Team

Samantha Cocker

Deputy Representative

Samantha joined the Representative’s Office on Aug. 31, 2020 as Deputy Representative of Advocacy and First Nations, Métis and Inuit Relations. Samantha is of Cree and Scottish ancestry and brings more than 20 years’ experience in a wide …


READ MORE »

Pippa Rowcliffe

Deputy Representative

Pippa joined RCY in October 2020 as Executive Director, Monitoring and Strategic Initiatives and was appointed Deputy Representative in September 2021. She was born and raised in Wimbledon, United Kingdom and graduated from the University of Oxford with …


READ MORE »

John Yakielashek

Executive Director, Reviews & Investigations

John joined the Representative’s Office in February 2023, as Executive Director of Reviews and Investigations. John expresses his gratitude as a guest on the traditional territory of the Syilx peoples in Kelowna.

John began his …


READ MORE »

Blair Mitchell

Executive Director, Individual Advocacy, First Nations, Métis and Inuit Engagement

Blair’s strength-based approach ensures vulnerable children, youth and young adults have meaningful opportunities to express who they are and what they need to achieve their potential and to ensure that …


READ MORE »

Jennifer Dreyer

Executive Director, Systemic Advocacy, First Nations, Métis and Inuit Research

Jennifer joined the Representative’s Office in September 2021 as Executive Director, Systemic Advocacy, and First Nations, Métis and Inuit Research. Jennifer is Métis-Cree, and is a member of the Métis …


READ MORE »

Carissa Matheson

Manager, Executive Operations

Carissa joined the Representative’s Office in December of 2014. In her role as Manager, Executive Operations, she is responsible for the daily flow of priorities and responsibilities for the Representative and the executive team.

Prior to this …


READ MORE »