About Us

Dr. Kristine Theurer is a researcher who is pioneering the use of standardized peer support and peer mentoring programs to address loneliness and social isolation in senior living. She is a published author of a number of research articles, the most recent of which ‘It makes life worthwhile!’ Peer mentoring in long-term care—a feasibility study in the Journal of Aging & Mental Health, The Impact of Peer Mentoring on Loneliness, Depression, and Social Engagement in Long-Term Care in the Journal of Applied Gerontology and The Need for a Social Revolution in Residential Care, the most downloaded article in the Journal of Aging Studies. Kristine has completed her PhD at the University of British Columbia, leads training workshops and webinars in Canada and the US and presents regularly at international conferences. She has received numerous research awards including the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. She serves on the planning committee for the national conference on culture change in Canada, hosted by the Schlegel-UW Research Institute for Aging.

As Co-founder and CEO of  Java Group Programs, Clayton brings many years of business experience. His experience originated in the insurance industry where he operated his own company for many years helping insurers and government in emergency and disaster situations. In addition, he worked closely with Ministry of Health in their third party cost recovery program. Clayton has also volunteered for many years with men in recovery from addiction and served as a board member for a non-profit agency that provides a vital link in the continuum of recovery services.

He has built an understanding of the strong impact of peer support groups and the ability of these groups to create positive and supportive communities. He currently serves on the committee for the Canadian Culture Change movement called ‘Walk with Me’. His plan for Java Group Programs is to standardize the use of peer support programs within senior living across Canada and the US.

Charlene is a graduate of Seneca College with a Business-Marketing (BMT) diploma. She also studied at George Brown College with a diploma in Activation Coordination/Gerontology. She has over 10+ years of experience working in long term care, customer service roles and marketing positions. This makes her uniquely qualified to help clients understand why the Java group programs are essential for your senior living community. Charlene is passionate about customer service and loves to share her knowledge about the power of peer support programs. She is dedicated to empowering seniors and enhancing their quality of life.

Melonie has worked in the senior living marketplace for the past 3 decades. Throughout her career she has been privileged to work in many different levels of care. One of the areas of expertise that Melonie has embraced is dementia care and working with both staff and residents to enhance their quality of live. After many years of working at the local community level and then at a corporate level, Melonie transitioned to helping communities find result-based programs that helped bridge the gap in resident life in communities across the nation.

Dorcas brings 15 years of experience in volunteer program coordination and more than 18 years working with multicultural groups in the non-profit sector and social services. Her passion for seniors started in 1992 when she worked as a Recreations Assistant in a long-term care facility in Germany. Since then, she has been helping seniors and families from different educational and cultural backgrounds, in the private and public sector. She possesses a Master’s in Cultural Anthropology and a Bachelor’s in Sociology. Her skills and training include: group facilitation, community network, event planning, translation services, conflict resolution and volunteer management on a small and large scale. Dorcas is also of Latin heritage and is fully conversant with written and spoken Spanish. She also has a vast experience working with immigrants and refugees in North America.

Alexander has an extensive background in software development, sales, and marketing. This combination makes him uniquely equipt to understand what the target user needs from the app, how it can best serve them, and how to bring that idea to life from a technical perspective.

He is currently responsible for development team project managment, DevOps, software QA, and the majority of front-end and back-end development.

With over ten years of experience in software engineering, Omar brings a multifaceted approach to his work. This background allows Omar to gather from his versatile pools of knowledge on cutting-edge technologies and apply it to the development at JAVAconnects. Omar has a passion for using his skill set to create helpful services, especially for vulnerable populations. Due to the pervasive issue of loneliness among older adults, he believes it is a rewarding experience implementing meaningful change. Currently, his responsibilities include fixing problems that arise and finding new ways to advance JAVAconnects to its greatest potential – and beyond.