Andrea Gardner
Associate Executive Director, Jewish Family Services of Ottawa
Andrea Gardner is the Associate Executive Director of Jewish Family Services of Ottawa. Working at Jewish Family Services for over 20 years she has been involved in the development and implementation of many of the programs that are the corner stones of the agency.
Jewish Family Services prides itself in being a leader and collaborative partner in the areas of Settlement Services, Mental Health and Wellness Support, and Senior Services to both Jewish Community and the Ottawa Community at large. Through Jewish Family Services Settlement Program, Andrea has spearheaded many community responses to address systemic inequities that newcomers experience in their resettlement journey. In doing so she has supported advancing program development to address the needs of refugees and newcomers to Ottawa. She is a fierce advocate for those in the Ottawa community that face barriers and promotes creative collaborative partnerships to address gaps in services. Andrea co-chairs OLIP’s Health & Wellbeing Sector Table and The National Newcomer Navigation Network Advisory Committee. As well she is a community member of the Ottawa Police Community Equity Council.
Andrea has a Master of Social Work degree from the Wurzweiler School of Social Work at Yeshiva University and an Undergraduate Degree in Sociology from York University.