Tanya Hansford, line cook

Recognizing team members’ different points of view is one way line cook, Tanya Hansford, collaborates to make Evanston Summit an inclusive respectful place. With many cultures represented on the team, Tanya takes time to honour everyone’s beliefs, traditions and culinary perspectives.

Recognizing Evanston Summit is an integral part of the community, she baked goodies to help raise funds for community families who lost their homes in a fire even though she does not live in the community. She also helps build community by participating in the site’s open houses, car show and local school students’ visits and performances.

Tanya shares her ideas and helps her colleagues. She’s quick to express appreciation and respect. When her team participated in a line dancing competition, she knew not everyone was comfortable. In her personal time, she took classes to learn line dances to share with the team. Tanya hosted many dance classes with her team so they could rehearse the choreography and gain confidence. Her hard work paid off with her team not only being comfortable entering the competition but also winning it.

Although Tanya does not have direct contact with residents’ families, her beautiful attitude is spread throughout the site by staff.