Meet Our Team

Charles Roberts is the Director of Programs, and has 12 years experience in youth leadership and international team development. His passion for making a difference is evidenced in all that he does with us at Live Different. He loves spending time with his family, is married to Tricia, God’s grace on his life, and together they have 3 boys and a baby girl: Gabriel, Micah, Isaac, and Aliyah. He enjoys a good practical joke and loves any kind of off roading vehicle experience.

Ashley Smart is Live Different's Media/Marketing consultant. This is a fancy title that means he is really smart and reads all the fine print that no one else wants to. Ashley is one of the original members of the Live Different team, and has invested many years into this generation in Canada through countless road trips, high school assemblies, and bad cups of gas station coffee. Ashley is married to Erin, has a beautiful daughter, Malaya, with another baby girl on the way, and they live in Kingston, the original capital of Canada (in case you were unaware).

Diane Ciarallo is our Programs/Office Administrator, which means she is always in the know. Diane has been with Live Different since September 2003, has held many different positions within the organization, and still strongly believes in the vision of Live Different! Diane is a proud Italian who loves traveling (whenever given the chance to escape the office), dancing, laughing (especially at Johnny Henderson's antics), high heels and ethnic food, but most of all loves seeing the looks on students faces when they come to the realization that they can make a difference in this world and there is a purpose for their lives! Diane lives in Hamilton, Ontario...by choice!

Cindy has been involved with Live Different for the past six years, as a valuable member of our team in a variety of capacities, including the High School teams, office administration, and student leadership programs. She has also been greatly impacted by her participation on various Hero Holiday trips, which have been integral to developing her perspective on social justice. Cindy has just completed a Master's Degree in International Development at Wycliffe College (University of Toronto), and she's surreptitiously eying Ph.D. studies in the near future...even though the thought of more school makes her want to curl up in a ball and sleep forever! Cindy is currently our Community Engagement Coordinator, which means there's a good chance you've talked to her on the phone or gotten an email from her before! She is also an avid fan of thrift store shopping, taking pictures of awkward Hamilton moments...and her favourite colour is sparkle!

Jonathon Henderson VIII is originally from St. Catharines, Ontario and he is the Road Team Leader for Team One. He likes to describe himself as a "low pressure system of humour from the east crashing into a high pressure system of passion and enthusiasm from the west, stirring up an epic hurricane of awesomeness". Jacked up on caffeine, he will jump into each day with an exuberant amount of in-your-face entertainment. He has been known to churn out some life-changing infomercials for useful products such as string, lint, and 1980's love ballad compilations. He loves long walks on short beaches, Easter candy, and being a part of Live Different. His life has been changed by the power of hope and he is determined to bring that with him wherever he goes. His antics never quit, along with his overwhelming desire to see this generation rise up and rock the face off of injustice.

Nettie is our Hero Holiday Administrator and Trip Facilitator in Dominican Republic and Haiti. Nettie helps to logistically plan our Hero Holidays, works with our parents, teams, and students, and also gives leadership during our Hero Holidays. Nettie is known for her kindness, her charming personality, and great love of yoga. Nettie dreams of beaches and of riding their waves - whether on a surf board or kiting - so long as it's the ocean! More importantly, Nettie loves working with our teams, meeting each person she emails with prior to the trip, and introducing them to all the communities that she works in throughout the year.

We like to call Frantzo our "Fixer" - and he has greatly earned this title! Frantzo has been working with our Live Different Hero Holiday teams since 2007. Any problem you have or need help with, he has a solution in either Creole, French, Spanish, English, and German. Frantzo, his wife, and their sons Junior and Grace-Lee live part-time in Dominican Republic and Haiti. Like many of us, Fantzo has a dream, and with this dream he hopes to see Haiti a thriving and prosperous nation. We like that dream, too!

Katie works in our booking department, chatting with schools all day. Katie is originally from Harrow, Ontario. In Katie's spare time she likes to dream that her name is Bella Swan and she is in between two make believe creatures, Jake and Edward, who are fighting for her love until one day - oops, wrong life! However, Katie really likes to read and watch movies, and she likes to fish. She also loves working with youth and did just that for many years before joining Live Different. She is happily married to Shane, her high school sweetheart, and she has a bun in the oven.

Josh is a likeable guy. It could be because he is polite, or it could be because he is rarely late. It could also be because he is very kind and willing to make a difference in the world around him. Josh has been a part of Live Different since his first Hero Holiday experience in 2010, and he hasn't looked back. When not busy motivating students in high schools across Canada with Live Different, Josh can be found eating ice cream in a nice pair of slacks.