Our Team

Our Core Staff and Consultants:

Lynell Anderson

Drawing on over 40 years of experience as a professional accountant in the private, public, academic and voluntary sectors, Lynell analyzes and utilizes financial information to engage communities, promote public accountability and advocate for evidence-informed systemic change. Her research and advocacy activities focus on government policies and funding that advance the rights of children, women and families, especially with respect to child care services. Lynell provides research and strategic leadership to the BC-based $10aDay Child Care Campaign, led by the Coalition of Child Care Advocates of BC, and has served on the Board of the Child Care Advocacy Association of Canada (Child Care Now). Lynell is a former Treasurer of SFU Childcare Society, Chairperson of the Federation of BC Youth in Care Networks,and Research Associate with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. She is also a recipient of the United Way of the Lower Mainland Excellence in Action Early Childhood Development Award for both her research and advocacy efforts.

Sharon Gregson

Sharon is the mother of 2 sons and 2 daughters which is how her connection to child care began. She's the provincial spokesperson for the $10aDay Child Care campaign working with the Coalition of Child Care Advocates of BC. She spent two terms as an elected Trustee on the Vancouver Board of Education and currently represents British Columbia on the Board of the Child Care Advocacy Association of Canada (Child Care Now). Sharon sits on the Child Care Administrators Network in Vancouver and the Childcare Council of Vancouver. She is a past Director of the Early Years at a large unionized agency with infant, toddler, 3 to 5, preschool, school-age and family drop-in programs. Sharon was nominated for a YWCA Women of Distinction award in 2018 for her work on the successful $10aDay Child Care Plan and for her role in developing cultural competency resources for the ECE sector. Business in Vancouver (BIV) named Sharon in the Power 50 in Vancouver in 2022 - and one of the top 500 most influential business leaders in British Columbia in 2022 and 2023. She received the King Charles Coronation Medal in 2025.

Sherlana Schroeder

Sherlana is of Cree and Métis descent from Saskatchewan, though her connection to community was deeply impacted by the colonial disruption of Indigenous families. As an adult, she has been actively reclaiming her heritage through connections with Elders, learning her ancestral language, and engaging with the work of Indigenous scholars. This journey of cultural reclamation fuels Sherlana’s passion and purpose in the field of Early Childhood Education. She is committed to fostering environments where children grow up knowing their stories, cultures, and identities—without needing to reclaim them later in life. Sherlana joined the Coalition already rooted in advocacy, and with the support of a strong network of colleagues and board members, she continues to strengthen her voice in pursuit of meaningful, systemic change.

Eric Swanson

Eric Swanson is a public-interest nonprofit veteran with 15 years of experience spanning policy design, operations, and public engagement. From 2007–2014 he worked on climate mitigation and coastal protection, before serving as Executive Director of Generation Squeeze (2014–2021), where he helped develop and advance comprehensive family and housing affordability frameworks across local, provincial, and federal governments. He is now Principal at Third Space Planning, an award-winning consultancy helping communities navigate the intersections of child care, housing, and climate. Eric brings extensive child care policy expertise through work with the Coalition of Child Care Advocates of BC, the Early Childhood Educators of BC, and Child Care Now. His research and recommendations focus on accelerating universal $10aDay child care, including educator compensation, operational funding models, non-standard and flexible care, capital expansion, facility design, and environmental health. Through Third Space Planning, he also supports child care capital projects and engages with BC’s New Spaces Fund. He serves on Child Care Now’s Educators Matter advisory committee and co-chairs the board of Fernwood Neighbourhood House, a major $10aDay provider in Victoria. As a parent of two young daughters in $10aDay care, Eric is committed to ensuring all families can access quality, affordable child care.