Program Directors

Tamara Strijack: director of our virtual campus and our distance education program

Tamara has a natural flair for organization and administration and creative solutions. No problem seems to daunt her and her multi-tasking is impressive. In addition to her Neufeld Institute responsibilites, she is the home-schooling mother of Dr. Neufeld's granddaughters, the caretaker of a small alpaca farm, and a parent consultant as well as a marriage & family therapist.  As the campus principal, Tamara is responsible for overseeing the training and support programs, for organizing the various campus centres, and for directing campus development and access.  As the director of distance education, Tamara oversees the development of new courses as well as the delivery of these courses to individuals and groups and organizations. Her introduction to the theoretical constructs of this approach came after growing up in the Neufeld family. She is now committed to furthering the approach that has been articulated by her father. Tamara lives with her husband Andrew and their two daughters on a picturesque farm near Parksville on Vancouver Island in British Columbia.

Gail Carney: director of our authorization programs

Gail comes to the Neufeld Institute with a life-time of experience as an administrator in one of Canada's premium art colleges - Emily Carr Institute. She was introduced to Dr. Neufeld's teaching in the 1980s and has been applying this material ever since to her work with the college staff and students. Upon her retirement from college administration, Gail decided to devote her time and energy to the Neufeld Institute to help forward the approach. Her responsibility is to use our resources to equip those who are seeking authorization to teach or practice this approach. She brings a wonderful combination of artistic sensitivity, administrative know-how, and scientific acumen to her responsibilities. When Gail is not working in her art studio or backyard ceramic kiln, she can be found reading all the latest scientific literature, updating the campus library, and matching incoming authorization students to the appropriate faculty advisors. Gail lives in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Eva de Gosztonyi: director of our school system initiatives

Eva's specialty is schools and school systems. As the Director of Education for the Neufeld Institute she helps school systems to integrate the Neufeld approach into their day-to-day practice. Eva comes to her role in the Neufeld Institute as a psychologist with a life-time of administrative experience working with school boards in Quebec. Her specialty is creating programs for students who have trouble learning and behaving. She was introduced to Dr. Neufeld's work when he gave the keynote at Canada's first national conference on bullying and she has been hooked on the material ever since. Eva is convinced that in order for a school and the system to really be able to implement the change needed, the teachers and supporting professionals must see their students differently. Our answer to this is the courses we have developed in our Distance Education program. Eva works with Tamara Strijack to help school systems to use these insight-based courses to provide the in-depth paradigm shift required to create and sustain systemic change. Eva is married to Michael and lives in Montreal, Quebec.

Pamela Whyte: director of support for those who are authorized to teach or practice the Neufeld approach

Pamela is well-suited to her administrative responsibilities in the Neufeld Institute with her organizational flair, her soft nurturing ways, her never-ending energy, and her ever-charming demeanor. Pamela was introduced to Neufeld's teaching when she took his parenting course two years before having her first child. Soon after, she had a much more hands-on practicum, in helping take care of some of the Neufeld family children when they too were young. Pamela has an amazing ability to multi-task, homeschooling her three precocious children while at the same time preparing presentations and building our support system. She carries one of the most important responsibilities in the organization in developing resources to provide ongoing support to the growing number of individuals who are becoming authorized to teach or practice this approach. Pamela's own specialty is parent consulting, a role in which she is able to combine her significant mastery of the paradigm with her warm natural intuition. We are most pleased to be the beneficiary of her giftedness. Pamela is married to our IT guy, Roderick, and they live together with their three red-headed children in Winnipeg, Manitoba.