GET TO KNOW US.
Our Story
YES Canada is made up of a group of people who love to travel, explore and discover new things. We’re a company that is built on family – from our hosts across the world to our team here in Canada, family is at the core of our values and our family grows with every student that travels with us.
We welcomed our first students to the family and officially sent them abroad when YES Canada came together in 2008 but our roots in international experiences for teens stretch much further back.
Today YES Canada operates in over 20 countries worldwide with programs ranging from 2 week language and culture trips to year-long high school exchange & immersion experiences.
We love what we do and we know you will too!
Our People
The Founders
As the founders of YES Canada, Mike Ruby and Bev MacWilliams created the culture of “YES” that instills an excitement and a genuine pride in what we do.
As two friends from small town Canada they set out to combine their love of education and travel, to showcase and share their town and country with students from around the globe. Now, over 20 years on and thousands of successful experiences later, Mike and Bev run a network of Canadian organizations that provide unique opportunities for students across the world.
Their latest venture, YES Canada allows us to offer these awesome experiences and expand the tradition of travel to our Canadian students.
The Bairds
Scott and Alissa Baird are the husband and wife team at the helm of YES Canada today. Taking over the company in 2012, Scott and Alissa took their love for discovering new places, sparked by a childhood of travel, and today focus every energy into generating new ideas that foster opportunities for high school students across the country.
Our People
The Founders
As the founders of YES Canada, Mike Ruby and Bev MacWilliams created the culture of “YES” that instills an excitement and a genuine pride in what we do.
As two friends from small town Canada they set out to combine their love of education and travel, to showcase and share their town and country with students from around the globe. Now, 20 years on and thousands of successful experiences later, Mike and Bev run a network of Canadian organizations that provide unique opportunities for students across the world.
Their latest venture, YES Canada allows us to offer these awesome experiences and expand the tradition of travel to our Canadian students.
The Bairds
Scott and Alissa Baird are the husband and wife team at the helm of YES Canada today. Taking over the company in 2012, Scott and Alissa took their love for discovering new places, sparked by a childhood of travel, and today focus every energy into generating new ideas that foster opportunities for high school students across the country.
As part owners of YES Canada they work closely with Bev, Mike and the team to ensure that the strong quality and roots of the company continue to thrive and reach every student that travels with us.
Alissa Baird
President | Operations Manager
Alissa grew up in the travel industry and has always been traveling in one way or another.
She started by volunteering with Japanese student group programs in her home town and then as a teen she experienced her own student exchange program in the vibrant city of Seville, Spain. After teaching English in Japan for three summers, Alissa travelled to Scotland to complete her university education and lived and worked there before making the move back to her homeland with Scott.
Alissa is the Operations Manager at YES Canada, which means that she is the captain of our ship! Alissa makes sure that we have the best possible program offerings at YES Canada and works with our management team, our partner agencies abroad and school boards across the country to ensure that we are providing the best possible service and experiences. Alissa is from small town Canada but has a world-class approach to what she does and we hope you will see this in the quality and range of our programs.
Scott Baird
Vice President | Support Team Lead & Relationship Manager
Scott originally hails from Edinburgh, Scotland and discovered his love for international experiences at an early age travelling with his family. After meeting Alissa in business school, he quickly realized that his calling was in a far away land called Canada and he hasn’t looked back since. Being half Italian and half Scottish, Scott is a bit of a “foodie” and claims to have eaten his way around Europe.
Scott is YES Canada’s Support Team Lead & Relationship Manager, overseeing on-program support and working with program participants, host families and partners across the country.
Annie Jolliffe
Inbound and Homestay Program Manager
Emily Snider
National Homestay Manager
Lindsey Gottlieb
Support Team - Program Coordinator
Tim Clarke
Outbound Admissions and Support Team Program Coordinator
Andrea Corbeil
Inbound Admissions Coordinator
Laura Maroukis
Homestay Recruitment & Community Development Coordinator
Julia Saunders
Program Assistant
LOCAL COORDINATORS
YES Canada couldn’t exist without our fantastic, enthusiastic and devoted local coordinators. We think of them as our extended family and they are out there taking care of our international students and spreading the word in their local communities about our awesome high school student exchange experiences.
Our endless appreciation goes out to our team across Canada!
