Vera Atkinson grew up in the Netherlands and moved to Edmonton in 2013, where she planted new roots. Vera is a certified Spiritual Health Practitioner within CASC, and completed her academic degrees in Cultural Anthropology (B.Sc, M.Sc) and Religious Studies (B.A, M.A). She discovered her call to ‘journey with people’ that are hurting during her anthropological field research in a Buddhist monastery in Kathmandu. Vera has passionately worked as a hospital Chaplain since 2010. She practices inclusivity and compassion in her care for people who are confronted with illness, crisis and loss in the hospital. Kindness and warmth makes all the difference in those raw moments of brokenness.