Staff Information - Bios



Brandon Thomas, BCR
Executive Director

Brandon has been with Next Step from the start. His education background consists of a Bachelor’s Degree in Community Rehabilitation from the University of Calgary, and he has been working with individuals with disabilities for 24 years. His passion is playing guitar and he would like to record an instrumental CD in the near future.



GABRIELA QUEZADA, B MGMT
Human Resources Manager

Born and raised in Medicine Hat, Gabby is a people person with a passion for HR Management. She attended the University of Lethbridge, earning a double major Management Degree (Major in HR, Minor in Finance) and currently sits on the Board of Directors for the Medicine Hat Regional Human Resources Association as the Marketing Director. Gabby enjoys different cultures and is fluent in Spanish; she spent two years traveling and living in Asia and South America. In her spare time, Gabby loves to spend time with family and friends.



Allan Breitkreuz, BA PSY (Spc.)
Program Coordinator

Allan works with adult individuals at Next Step who have a developmental disability. He has a 4-year Bachelor of Arts in Psychology in Neuropsychology from the university of Alberta. In his free time, Allan enjoys playing drums, painting and drawing, watching movies and computers.



Karen Dorey, BA PSY (Spc.)
Program Coordinator

Karen graduated from Trinity Western University in Langley, BC in the Human Services program with a 4-year Bachelor’s degree in Psychology. She has worked with children on the autism spectrum doing one-on-one intensive ABA therapy and recently joined the Next Step team after relocating to Alberta from Kelowna, BC. When not at work, Karen enjoys snowboarding, playing Ultimate Frisbee, hiking, camping, traveling and spending lots of time with family and friends. Originally from England, Karen drinks large quantities of tea and eats smaller quantities of cheese.



Carolina Morales Hall, BA PSY/COUN
Program Coordinator / Autism (ASD) & Behavior Specialist

With a Bachelor’s Degree from Simon Fraser University in Psychology, Counseling and Human Development, Carolina designs program plans individualized for children on the autism spectrum. These specialized programs focus on behaviors, social skills and communication using ABA therapeutic principles. In addition to her work, Carolina enjoys spending time with her family and going out with friends.



Andra Olson
Program Coordinator / Autism (ASD) & Behavior Specialist

Andra successfully attended the University of Alberta, and has completed numerous conferences and workshops in Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA), biomedical understandings of ASD, and approaches for behavioral interventions. She has trained with renowned specialists Temple Grandin, Stephen Shore, Kenneth Stoller, MD, Michael Uzler, MD, Brenda Smith Myles, Stephen Gutstein and Dr. Doreen Granpeesheh. Andra has been published in The Ottawa Citizen, The Edmonton Journal and The Vancouver Sun, and has appeared on TV5 and CTV. She is the queen of Boggle, enjoys reading, and has a fondness for all creatures great and small.



Carrie Dalheim
Children’s Program Coordinator / Brooks Office

Carrie has a diploma in Recreational Therapy and brings much personal experience, working as frontline staff, to her position of providing programming and support for children with disabilities. Carrie recently moved to Brooks from Edmonton and is very glad to be back in southern Alberta. She values the time spent with family and friends, traveling, scrap booking and stamping, camping and just generally enjoying life.



Cindy Gyorkos
Administrative Assistant

A native of Medicine Hat, Cindy brings years of professional office administration and expertise to the team; she is favored by our clients at Next Step as the familiar face and voice who has all the answers, or knows where to find them! Cindy loves recreational activities such as golfing, skiing and holidaying in Whitefish, secondary of course to quality time with her puppy Molly.



Jordan Hoffman
Administrative Assistant

Jordan is our administration assistant; she possesses a strong admin background and comes to us with an informal education in office management. Originally from BC, Jordan thoroughly enjoys sunny Medicine Hat, as well as traveling, cooking and music.