Our team

Carla Leon

Carla Leon is an innovator. When approached with the opportunity to become part of Just Like Family Home Care, she spearheaded the first social acquisition by charities in Canada. With her vision, JLF has been transformed into a Social Enterprise, with the majority of profits going to charities.

During her career, Carla has provided leadership, coaching, mentorship, and education to thousands of entrepreneurs and small business owners—experience she brings to Just Like Family Home Care. She strives to make a social impact, transforming home care across Canada for franchise owners and the families they support. She holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from University of British Columbia.

Carla believes success comes from collaboration. She has a long history of creating partnerships that transform organizations and people. Her greatest sense of satisfaction comes from using her skills to make a positive impact on those whose lives she touches.

Lawrence Davis

Lawrence is a seasoned finance executive with extensive experience as a Chief Financial Officer and consultant, supporting organizations through complex operational and technology transformation initiatives. His CFO roles have included leadership at British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI), a $200B+ provider of investment management services for British Columbia’s public sector; the Workplace Safety Insurance Board (WSIB), one of North America’s largest insurance organizations; and Hydrogenics Corporation (NASDAQ:HYGS / TSX:HYG), a global provider of alternative energy solutions. More recently, Lawrence has provided strategic financial and technology advisory services to financial institutions navigating business and technology transformation.

He brings deep governance experience, having served in Board, Audit Committee Chair, and CFO roles across publicly listed companies (NASDAQ, TSX, TSX-V), public sector financial institutions, and non-profit organizations. His current governance roles include serving on the Board of Directors and Finance, Audit and Risk Committee for Diabetes Canada; Chairing the Audit Committee for PACE Independent Living; participating on the Board and Audit Committee for the Alzheimer Society of Ontario; and contributing as a member of the Finance and Property Committee at Trent University.

Lawrence holds the designation of Chartered Professional Accountant (FCPA), is a Chartered Insolvency and Restructuring Professional (CIRP), and is a member of the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD.D).

Gordialin Ferguson

As a multi-business entrepreneur deeply rooted in her community, Gordialin (Lin) Ferguson brings over two decades of diverse business expertise to her position at Just Like Family Home Care. She presently serves as the Executive Director of a global foundation while simultaneously owning a consultancy firm specializing in strategic planning, community engagement, corporate leadership, and more.

Lin’s infectious excitement and passion for helping others fuels her ambitious nature. Becoming a part of Just Like Family was a natural progression for her. Drawn to the organization’s commitment to social impact, she takes immense satisfaction in applying her wealth of knowledge and experience to positively impact the lives of those she serves.

Lin believes that:

“In the world of franchise development, our mission is simple but powerful: nurturing dreams, expanding opportunities, and creating a ‘family’ of compassionate entrepreneurs who care, just like family. Together, we’re building a brighter future, one franchise at a time.”

Tom Auger

As a C-suite executive for nearly two decades, Tom has managed and empowered technical and creative teams to design, develop, and deliver customized solutions in product, startup, and services contexts. Tom has that unusual dual skillset of the seasoned creative and the technical guru, which allows him to think big while weighing realistic implementation details.

In addition to supporting, growing, optimizing, and mentoring cross-functional teams, Tom is an animated and enthusiastic facilitator, regularly collaborating with senior stakeholders and clients in design thinking or technical solution architecture workshopping in real-time. Tom endeavours to leverage his considerable business acumen gained over decades of strategic work across nearly all sectors to bring discernment and 360-degree thinking to even the most tactical issues.

Tom is a first-generation digital native who thrives in highly creative, strategic engagements where his broad range of experience can be brought to bear holistically on the problem space. Having a complete hands-on grasp over the past 30+ years in software architecture and development, IT, web design, IoT, digital experience design, interaction and user experience, fabrication and prototyping as well as very strong communication, facilitation and illustration skills, Tom is equally at home in the boardroom, the scrum standup, the conference stage or the classroom.

Tom is a fervent advocate of equity, inclusivity, and accessibility, and actively seeks opportunities to lend his values and training around DEI and universal access to create, support, or amplify positive organizational and cultural change. He is passionate about the social enterprise and innovation space and is dedicating the “back half” of his career to pursuits that bring true social and cultural value into the world.

Alana Breen

Alana brings more than a decade of experience in the healthcare industry to her role with Just Like Family Home Care, with significant time spent in elder care and retirement homes. She possesses a degree in Global Health Promotion and Disease Prevention from York University with a special focus on aging populations and aging in place. Her passion lies in empowering others, building relationships, and making a positive impact in the lives of others.

Alana loves being part of a team (or as she calls it, a “mini-community”) that is based on common values; wearing their hearts on their sleeves and showing up when, and in the ways, that truly matter.

She says:

“Here at Just Like Family, I truly want to make everyone feel like a member of our family. In-home care shouldn’t feel transactional—the relationship between the client and caregiver can have the same warmth you offer to family members. I love that we value this type of connection at Just Like Family.”

Karen Blackwell

Karen is a connector at heart. Whether she’s writing compelling content, brainstorming big ideas, or building out brand strategies, her work is always rooted in helping people feel seen, supported, and inspired.

Karen’s career began in the nonprofit world, where she worked in fundraising and quickly discovered her love for relationship-building and meaningful impact. That same drive led her to launch her own online business supporting parents and later become a Certified Babywearing
Educator—empowering families to feel more confident and connected during life’s most tender moments.

In 2020, Karen stepped into her next chapter, offering marketing support to small businesses. A year later, she began working with Just Like Family Home Care. What started as a client quickly became a calling. When JLF evolved into a Certified Social Enterprise, Karen found herself more and more aligned with the organization’s mission, and in 2024, she joined full-time as Director of Marketing & Communications.

Karen brings a rare mix of strategy and soul to everything she touches. She’s a natural cheerleader, a quiet force behind the scenes, and a firm believer that great marketing starts with great listening. Her goal? To tell stories that matter and build tools that help others thrive.

For Karen, success isn’t about the spotlight—it’s about lifting others into it.

Maria Lopez

Maria works closely with franchise owners to help them implement systems and processes to ensure their business thrives.

Originally from Medellin, Colombia, Maria Lopez supports our franchise partners in their first year as a member of Just Like Family Home Care. Every step of the way she connects them with resources and is their biggest cheerleader in the first stages of getting their businesses off the ground. She brings experience working with a nonprofit health care organization and a degree in Healthcare Administration to her role.

Maria enjoys working with others and contributing to team success. As she says,

“I love to be of service to people, helping them through any process and coming up with solutions. My own success is found through integrating my values and helping others find their success.”

Stephanie Chan

Stephanie is the Online Marketing Coordinator at Just Like Family’s National Office, where she brings her creativity, curiosity, and collaborative spirit to life. After two years of working in marketing and communications at a healthcare company, Stephanie joined the JLF team in 2023,
driven by a desire to be part of a people-first organization where meaningful relationships and purpose-led work are at the forefront.

In her role, she supports Franchise Partners across the country through impactful digital marketing initiatives, combining strategy and storytelling to help grow their local presence and deepen community connections. Stephanie is passionate about empowering others by sharing what she
knows, trying new ideas, and continuously learning along the way.

Her approach is rooted in curiosity, care, and a genuine desire to help others thrive—a perfect match for Just Like Family’s mission to deliver compassionate care and connection in every home.

Sarah Bowder

With more than 20 years’ experience managing business operations, Sarah Bowder not only knows how to run a successful business, she knows how to run a successful business better. Prior to joining Just Like Family, Sarah specialized in Project Management in the energy sector, ensuring the success of multi-million dollar projects. At Just Like Family, Sarah has been a part of it all—starting as a Franchise Partner, then as Chief Operating Officer, and now as a member of the Board of Directors.

Drawn to JLF because of her desire to use her skills and experience to make a difference in people’s lives, Sarah believes true success is a group dynamic—that a business thrives when everyone is successful and works together to achieve their goals.

On the Board of Directors, Sarah helps ensure the organization is well-managed financially, ethically, and strategically. While clients and caregivers may not meet Sarah face-to-face, she is working hard behind the scenes to ensure that everyone touched by Just Like Family thrives.