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Why I’m Running for Re-election

As board chair and longtime member, I’ve seen how seismic geopolitical shifts, inflationary shocks, and powerful climate events have slammed our communities. And how threats to our sovereignty are driving real fears for our future. I believe Vancity is needed – now more than ever – to unleash the transformative power of capital required to build the resilient, thriving communities we need and desire.

This year marks a revitalization at Vancity. It aims to deliver members a new digital experience and innovative financial solutions that boost local businesses, drive affordable housing builds, and shine a laser focus on individual member needs. All while redoubling efforts nationally and globally to model climate-resilient, socially responsible growth. Vancity’s members – staff included – are clear in what they are seeking from us. It continues to be the privilege of a lifetime to express those aspirations at the board table.

As banks around the world are driving profits to their shareholders, I’m helping ensure that Vancity brings those profits home to you. And as banks run from their commitments to DEI and climate action, I’ve been excited to guide a team that seeks to double down and go deeper. I bring decades of governance and non-profit management experience to the table including 14 years in BC’s regulatory sector. In every pursuit, I’ve worked alongside marginalized groups, furthering aspirations for justice and sustainability.

Values-led banking: that’s Vancity’s past, and importantly, our future.  If re-elected, I’ll continue to champion your vision.

Committed to Credit Unions and Co-ops

I’ve been a member of a credit union since opening my first account in Nelson, BC, when I was just a kid. I’m delighted that my own children carry on the credit union tradition through Vancity. It’s been an honour to have your trust over the past eight years, and to serve as Vancity’s Board Chair.

Since launching my career, I’ve worked with some of the world’s smallest cooperatives – helping women gain access to desperately needed capital so they can launch their businesses and get their products to market. I’ve also steered some of Canada’s largest cooperatives, helping them expand, diversify, and embrace powerful purpose-led missions. Today at Vancity, I’m excited to launch a strategy that recognizes and builds on the power of the cooperative economy, that explicitly leans into our intention of bolstering the coop eco-system in BC, and that aims to strengthen community access to credit unions across the province.

Member Focused

Since joining the board, and far before, I’ve heard your voice. You’ve called for Vancity to show courage where others have historically shrunk back. You’ve asked us to:

° Champion banking for those who have no access to banking services – and so we created Pigeon Park Savings in Vancouver’s lower east-side

° Offer a cheaper and safer alternative to the exploitative payday loan shops – and so we launched Fair and Fast, which has helped thousands of members meet unexpected (and potentially devastating) expenses

° Take meaningful action on the climate emergency – and so we were the first in Canada to commit to net-zero by 2040, and are among the very few financial institutions that have refused to quite the Net Zero Banking Alliance

° Champion affordable housing – and so our community partnerships with for-profit and non-profit developers have helped create thousands of affordable housing units in recent years

° Support Indigenous entrepreneurs – and so our unique branch on Cormorant Island, and our soon-to-open branch on-reserve is part of a more comprehensive Indigenous banking strategy that is fueling growth and resilience.

I am the first director ever to have been elected from Vancouver Island, and I am proud to be a voice for members in this community and throughout BC. It’s been a privilege to meet and engage with Vancity’s remarkable membership across the Lower Mainland and on the Island. I know you want your money to have real impact, and that you’ve put your trust in Vancity. I strive every day to deliver on that trust.

Experienced Director, Activist and Co-op Enthusiast

I’ve spent the last thirty years devoted to issues of economic development, gender justice, human rights and food security. I’ve served as the executive director of several provincial and national organizations including the Nursing Community Assessment Service, at the BC College of Nurses and Midwives, Canadian Parents for French – BC & Yukon, and Pacific Peoples’ Partnership, and worked at social change organizations like Oxfam Canada, Inter Pares, and Match International. I believe deeply in cooperative values, and in the people and planet-centred economies that they nurture.

I bring extensive governance experience to my role at Vancity. In addition to having served on Vancity’s board for the past six years, I was the chair of Mountain Equipment Co-op in the early 2000s (leading the transformation of the organization into a mission-based co-operative whose purpose embraced social, economic and climate justice). Its recent demise urges us to re-double our efforts to elect directors who are fully committed to the cooperative model, and accountable to the membership. I am also a director with Oxfam Canada, and have also served on the boards of Canadian Parents for French, as well as the Victoria Immigrant and Refugee Centre Society. All of this work has allowed me to develop the empathy, humility, strategic insight and financial acumen required to provide oversight over members assets, while carrying forward our collective aspirations for change.

Please Check Out My Endorsements