Andrea Mellalieu

Andrea goes by Dre and uses she/her pronouns. She began a life of service at the age of 6 years old, when her parents founded Arcus Community Resources. Growing up, Andrea was immersed in community inclusion for children and adults with special needs, as her mother was a Registered Nurse who advocated for quality of life and dignified care for individuals with complex medical and behavioural needs.

As a young adult, Andrea became the youngest volunteer for AIDS Vancouver, and devoted her spare time to hospital visitation. In the late 1990’s, Andrea joined the board of Vancouver Status of Women and worked to bring Angela Davis to Vancouver as a speaker. After completing her undergraduate degree at UBC, and post-baccalaureate research in Women’s Studies, Andrea began a professional journey working at the Canadian Cancer Society in Toronto as the National Breast Cancer Research Initiative grant administrator. Falling in love with numbers, Andrea moved on to Deloitte, where she experienced the thrill of professional excellence combined with world-class leadership. She went on to complete her MBA while on maternity leave, before returning to Vancouver to assist her brother with his dream.

In her 10 years as CFO, she and her brother grew the startup to a multi-national franchise model, securing contracts with global leaders such as the Shangri-La hotel chain and Electronic Arts. Executing her own lifelong plan and dream, she returned to Arcus Community Resources in 2017, permitting her parents to retire from a lifetime of service.

Since arriving in 2017, Andrea has grown the business from 17M to 40M in service contracts and mentored growth entirely from existing talent within the agency. Andrea is a passionate advocate for the rights of workers and persons served, and is devoted to mentoring future generations of leaders. Andrea’s volunteer time is spent mentoring high school students in their interview skills.

In her spare time, Andrea is an avid reader and below-average runner; she is currently training for the Paris Marathon and has completed 5 full, 15 half, and 2 ultra-relay marathons.

Andrea’s partner is a PhD Ecologist and Wildlife Advocate, serving the First Nations of British Columbia exclusively; Andrea’s son is beginning his first year at her Alma Mater, UBC. Andrea is a descendant of a Residential School Survivor, and credits her tenacity and ethics to the community that lives within her: the Nlaka’pamux First Nation.