B.C. leaders making a difference

Zoe Craig-Sparrow

Co-Director Justice for Girls

As a human rights scholar, an Indigenous feminist academic and Co-Director of Justice for Girls, Zoë knows she has a unique skill set that can help effect change. 

Zoë first realized the power of youth voices when she went to the United Nations at 15 to speak to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child about the impacts of environmental degradation on children’s rights – particularly Indigenous girls.

By speaking on behalf of the children of Canada to safeguard the future, Zoë realized that everyone has their own unique skill set and ways to make change. It was the realization that one person can touch so many people’s lives and help shape the future that really propelled Zoë to continue her education and pursue her career path. 

Growing up on the Musqueam Indian Reserve, Zoë had the benefit of living in a close-knit community. However, she also began to understand the stark inequalities and colonial circumstances that exist, which forced her people to live on a small reserve while others reaped the benefits of their entire traditional territory.

Intergenerational barriers of colonialism also shaped her journey as until 1951, First Nations people would lose status if they graduated from university. This meant there were not a lot of female Indigenous scholars and academics to look to for guidance. As the first person in her mother’s family to get a university degree, Zoë is forging the way for her younger siblings and others in her community.

With her family supporting and believing in her, the urgency of the issues facing the world is helping motivate Zoë to overcome the challenges she has faced. Being educated on her rights, legal and political systems and social justice issues has also been critical. In response to threats of climate change, gender inequalities and violations of Indigenous rights in Canada, Zoë feels obligated, motivated and empowered to overcome any challenges she faces and to be a leader.

The resilience of Indigenous women and girls is what inspires Zoë the most. Women who continue to fight for their children, their culture and demonstrate strength, compassion and love while facing the deepest levels of poverty and vulnerability to racialized male violence.

Zoë’s advice to those who are just starting out is do not underestimate the power of your voice. The youth voice is extremely powerful and important, and it is crucial to know and exercise your rights.  And, if your rights aren’t being fulfilled, or the rights of those around you aren’t being fulfilled, take action and pressure decision-makers to make change.  History, she says, is defined by change-makers and since youth are inheriting the world from the older generation, let’s be the change we want to see in the world – starting today.

She also says that education can be a powerful tool and encourages youth to pursue educational opportunities, while recognizing that many youth can face barriers to educational success. Leadership and empowerment, she says, go hand in hand, and in order to be a leader, you must be empowered.  In order to lead others, you must also empower others.

Learn more about Zoe and Justice for Girls: http://www.justiceforgirls.org/

Sarah Crowe

Nurse Practitioner, Surrey Memorial Hospital
“Don’t be afraid to push the boundaries of your comfort zone and know that you are capable of more than you think.”

Sarah Crowe is a nurse practitioner with a unique role as there are only a few in the entire province who work in the critical care environment. While nursing has traditionally been a female-dominant career, being a nurse practitioner means functioning as part of the medical team as well as the nursing team.

Sarah has an active clinical practice where she cares for patients and their families, and mentors and teaches nurses. Sarah is also a researcher with a focus on Intensive Care Unit survivorship and care of teams.

Having been in health care for more than 20 years, Sarah knows the role has challenges, including being accepted for what nurse practitioners bring to the team. At times, patients, their families and even some nursing groups may also find it difficult to understand the position.

Working in healthcare during COVID-19 has been an additional challenge on many fronts. The pandemic has meant a greater focus on virtual services, which can be difficult for some patients and their families. It has also meant caring for critically ill people who are not able to visit with family. “It was heartbreaking,” Sarah says. “And it was the nurses that were there to support them.”

There was also the added stress for the staff in trying to reassure their own families that they were safe and not exposed to the virus. Unfortunately, some staff also encountered people who treated them differently because they cared for patients with COVID-19.

The pandemic has taken an emotional toll as well. When the pandemic first hit, the anxiety surrounding the unknown and fear of what was to come as the pandemic evolved around the world was extremely difficult.

As a leader, Sarah felt like she had to be the voice of reason and calm to support the team and de-escalate some of the heightened emotions. Sarah’s aim was to validate worries and concerns, and also reinforce information about how they were keeping everyone safe, that their PPE was adequate and that they had a plan.

Although many in the critical care teams are exhausted and feel stretched to their limits, Sarah is so proud of the work they have done. She expresses the importance of taking care of each other to ensure everyone stays healthy - physically, mentally and emotionally. 

She also hopes that some of the newfound kindness people have shown each other continues. For those working in the medical field, Sarah says there is also a greater appreciation for each other’s role and value on the team. “Care of patients does not happen without the entire team,” Sarah adds. “Whether that’s the housekeeper, the bedside nurse or the medical provider, we are all necessary and all valuable.”

Sarah reflects that many nurses are seen to “just do the work” and are often quiet and humble in their accomplishments. She acknowledges that many nurses frequently support other’s projects, including physicians, pharmacists and academics, rather than lead their own.

It is for this reason that Sarah advocates for nurses and nurse practitioners to have a bigger voice and be proud of the amazing work they do for the people they support. Sarah encourages the upcoming generation to understand and recognize their value – and to see themselves as leaders.

For Sarah, knowing that she is more resilient than she thought and what she does matters has made all the difference.

She also encourages young people not to settle for the status quo, not to be afraid to push the boundaries of your comfort zone and know that you are capable of more than you think. Sarah notes that having been an introvert her whole life, it has taken a long time for her get comfortable as a leader and to have the self confidence that she has now.

In addition to being a Nurse Practitioner, Sarah is the Vice President of the Canadian Association of Critical Care Nurses and has recently published a research study examining the impact of the pandemic on front line critical care nurses. Sarah is also Co-Chair, Scientific Committee, World Critical Care Congress 2021 and Adjunct Professor, UBC School of Nursing.

We acknowledge Sarah, her team at Surrey Memorial Hospital and the many people in the heath care system who are working around the clock to see us through the COVID-19 pandemic. Thank you, Sarah!

Cheri Franklin

handyDART Driver, Kamloops
“We can do so much when we set our minds in a positive and generative direction.”

Cheri Franklin has been driving handyDART in Kamloops for 12 years and the people she supports rely on her experience, dedication and compassion. Many would not otherwise be able to access medical appointments or essential trips. And for Cheri, the job means so much more as on any given day she is everything from a driver, friend, counsellor and listener.

As a woman working in the transportation field, being seen as an equal has not always been easy. In many ways, Cheri finds this has also been insightful in terms of how the elderly and people with disabilities must sometimes feel. Cheri says, “everyone is equal in their own right and we all can learn so much if we just open our hearts to accept each person for who they are and what they have to offer.”

Especially since all woman, including trans women and LGBTQ2S+ people, have a lifetime of amazing accomplishments and stories to tell.

Cheri reflects on the fact she has had to work very hard to get where she is now. She entered the workforce as a young, single mother of two with neither a diploma or a degree. She was also a survivor of domestic abuse. She started out cleaning up after fires and floods, and cleaning houses and commercial buildings. Then she began driving – semi-trucks at first and now handyDART buses, which has traditionally been a male-dominated industry.

Today, while there are many women at Cheri’s worksite, the opportunities to bring in more women still remain. Pushing her career forward is important to Cheri, not just for herself but also to pave the way for her girls.

Like so many others, the COVID-19 pandemic has showed Cheri that as a society, kindness, patience, love and most of all companionship are what keeps us going as human beings.

Cheri has been told she has an innate ability to bring people together and be their voice. If there is an issue, she will get the bottom of it and find a solution. Especially in a crisis, women have an ability to work together and brainstorm like no other force.

While the stress of the pandemic has been wearing on everyone as a society, many women have stepped up more than normal with work, children and household chores. Cheri knows that she has always been strong but has learned recently to lean on friends for support in a whole new way. Realizing that she doesn’t need to bear everything on her own has even made her stronger.

As a survivor of domestic abuse, Cheri also expresses concern for an increase in violence during the pandemic for women housebound with an abuser. Cheri encourages women facing violence to seek help and know that they can enter the workforce and feel safe there. For people facing or leaving violence, being a part of the workforce also means financial independence and recovery.

Cheri stands up for what is right and shows support for people when no one else will. Cheri is determined to be treated equally and make a difference for others.

For young people starting out on their career, Cheri says, “don’t let anyone steal your fire and listen to your gut.” We can do so much when we set our minds in a positive and generative direction, she adds, do not wait to do whatever it is you choose to do.

We acknowledge Cheri, the people she supports in her job, her family and friends for being there for each other, sharing inspiration and never giving up. Thank you, Cheri!

Dr. Charuka Maheswaran

Public Health Physician-in-Training
“COVID-19 has been a lens to show the fractures we already have in our society.”

It’s been a long journey for Dr. Charuka Maheswaran to arrive at her current home of Courtenay on Vancouver Island, where she spent 17 years as a general practitioner and is now a public health physician-in-training. Born in Sri Lanka, where her parents endured brutal colonial rule and a bloody civil war that raged throughout most of her young life, Dr. Maheswaran cites her family as lucky to have had the opportunity to emigrate to the United Kingdom. She was, as she describes it, “welcomed and loved in Wales” and still misses the sight of hillsides covered in golden daffodils in the Welsh spring. Eventually she came to British Columbia, where she has lived for nearly a decade. “I know in my soul that this is where I [will] raise my children, grow old and die.” Dr. Maheswaran says. “We immigrants choose the place we want to belong to.”

Dr. Maheswaran approaches her work as a doctor with strength and compassion, perhaps gleaned from so many extraordinary life experiences from a young age. This empathy carries over into her thoughts on the pandemic and its widespread effects on our communities. “COVID-19 has been a lens to show the fractures we already have in our society,” Dr. Maheswaran says, and sees this as a time to “acknowledge the issues, how far we have come, and how much further we need to go to redress the imbalances. [We must] recognize that marginalized peoples are there because of power and structural inequities that will take all of us working together to fix.”

This thoughtfulness is reflected in her career choice too. “Work brings structure to your day and purpose to your life,” she says, “if that work makes someone else’s day a little better too, then you’ve found the thing you should spend your days doing.” Her passion for her career can be seen in the standards to which she holds it. She describes her children as her “world and life”, and thus her job must be worth doing in order for her to be away from them. “If you don’t do something as important or worthwhile as raising your child,” she advises, “then you need to find something else.”

While it’s clear practicing medicine is something of great value to Dr. Maheswaran, her journey has not been without its challenges. Speaking with frank honesty, she describes growing up in the 1980s, when racism was pervasive, and becoming a young woman in the 1990s, when sexism and sexual harassment were commonplace. She has seen a great deal of positive change, albeit slowly, and cites Doctors of BC as an organization very receptive to the evolving medical culture. But she knows a challenging and complex paradigm shift throughout all of society is required to eliminate systemic sexism and racism, embodied in the objectification and othering she stills experiences. “There is [still] an expectation from medical colleagues, other health professionals and patients, of what a doctor should look like and how they should be and behave,” Dr. Maheswaran says.

Dr. Maheswaran has observed these deeply embedded systems and their effects throughout the pandemic. She notes the increase of divorces resulting from lockdowns, as women see how much they do in comparison for tasks that should be shared in the home, and a disheartening increase in intimate partner violence. She hopes one positive outcome of the pandemic might be an acknowledgement of the pervasiveness of domestic violence, with an accompanying movement to spark conversation and action in families and throughout society.

As a woman of colour working in a male-dominated field, Dr. Maheswaran’s career has not been without its challenges, but she remains optimistic about the progress she’s seen. “Of course I have experienced racism and sexism, and that special brand of both—misogynoir—faced by women of colour,” she says, “but I know this is more than my grandmother and beloved aunt ever dreamed for me. I am my ancestors’ wildest dreams and most daring hope, and for that I am humbly grateful.” Dr. Maheswaran sees this same hope in her own daughter and a young generation of shifting attitudes and open minds, and she is heartened by what she is witnessing. “Once freedoms and equalities are achieved,” Dr. Maheswaran says, “they’re hard to push back.” With COVID-19 having proved our world can shift in ways never previously imagined, Dr. Maheswaran’s wildest dreams for her own children feel more possible than ever.

Tracy Porteous

Executive Director, Ending Violence Association of BC

Back in the early 1980s, when Tracy was 19, she decided to volunteer at the then-new Victoria Women’s Sexual Assault Centre. Their intensive training, which was designed to equip volunteers to answer the crisis line and accompany survivors of sexual assault to the hospital and police, led Tracy to make a life-long commitment to helping and supporting survivors who have faced violence.

She realized later that her intense feelings about the importance of providing survivors with help was directly related to being sexually assaulted herself at age 14. “Sexual assault is a life-crushing experience that can destroy a person,” says Tracy of her own experience and those she has heard and seen firsthand from many other survivors. “It was evident in the 1980s and remains so to this day that having a skilled advocate can mean the difference for their survival.”

Still in the early 1980s, building on her volunteer work, Tracy began working as a project manager at the Sexual Assault Centre and, along with two other young women, wrote a booklet aimed at teenage girls called Let’s Talk About Sexual Assault. The booklet won a national award for crime prevention and became a Canadian bestseller. 

Over those years, Tracy attended every training course available to build her skills and knowledge of gender-based-violence-related trauma, counselling and support, laws, legislation and more. She also began coordinating volunteers and gaining experience in every position in the agency.  

In her later role as the agency’s Executive Director, it became clear that the sexual assault centres in B.C. and the many community-based victim assistance programs had no voice at the provincial level, no one looking out for them. This led to what is now the Ending Violence Association of BC or EVA BC, an organization with more than 300 programs and initiatives, and a steadfast team of dedicated staff who bring support and a collective voice for people who have faced violence and for the workers who support them.

Tracy gets her inspiration from anyone who, despite many obstacles, has found the courage to speak up about what has historically remained in silence and in a world that would rather not hear about such things. Whether it’s a survivor, a parent, a sibling of a survivor, or a politician, Tracy believes that speaking up is the antidote to violence.

Tracy says that even today, it’s not easy for people to speak about traumatic events that are deeply humiliating. Most people have never been given permission to talk about these things and others don’t know how. In fact, she points out that sexual assault continues to be largely invisible.

It was ten years ago, in response to a dramatic increase in domestic violence homicides in BC, that Tracy and her team at EVA BC decided to create a “game-changer.” They approached the BC Lions Football Club to ask that these big, burly, masculine icons become spokesmen for a campaign to prevent gender-based violence. The resulting Be More Than a Bystander campaign has been a resounding success. 

Historically, people have viewed sexual assault and intimate partner violence as women’s issues, but because it’s men who commit these crimes, gender-based violence also needs to be seen as a men’s issue. The Be More Than a Bystander Program is premised on the fact that the vast majority of men don’t commit violence against women, but because the vast majority of violence against women is committed by men, men must be part of the conversation, become part of the solution.

Sometimes, Tracy says, it just takes deeply respecting and being still enough to allow you to hear what someone wants to tell you about a very difficult experience they have lived through, providing sacred space for them to talk and begin to heal. The individual transformation in people who have survived violence is a huge privilege to witness. 

Being involved in policy change and seeing systems change like police, military, and other male-dominated industries is also what keeps Tracy going. Tracy and others at EVA BC are taking the Be More Than a Bystander work, which began with the BC Lions, and implementing this in male-dominated industries to change the culture at workplaces.

Tracy feels very fortunate to have come across a path of work that has led to 38 years of helping others.  Although there has been little public recognition of the issue and little funding, she has had the opportunity, many times, to see healing take place in the spirit of another human being. That, she finds, completely inspiring.

Tracy encourages all young people to try and find a path of service to others that not only provides a powerful sense of satisfaction and makes a difference in a broader sense, but also contributes to the healing and transformation of individuals.

For those facing barriers who may not believe they can reach their goals, Tracy says feeling unsure or insecure is a universal experience and it’s probably more common in women. She acknowledges spending a lot of her life feeling unsure and continues to feel this way about how to reach her own goal, which is to see a government sexual assault policy put in place in B.C. and to have sexual assault centres funded.

Tracy’s advice is to be part of a group, community, sector or work force that is bigger than yourself alone. That is one of the most powerful antidotes to isolation and insecurity. She encourages anyone who wants to make social change or find their path to seek out others who share the same vision.

At this moment in Canadian history, Tracy says we are at the centre of transformation related to gender-based violence and gender equality that sits on the shoulders of 50 years of feminist activism. EVA BC is now seeing institutions, systems and (some) governments coming forward in unprecedented numbers for assistance related to training, policy and best practices. 

For more information on Tracy and the Ending Violence Association of B.C., please visit:  https://endingviolence.org/

Sydney-Anne Porter

Owner and Manager, AG Valley Foods
“I hope COVID allows us to be less judgmental, to accept people and their choices for who they are.”

Sydney-Anne Porter has always had a soft heart. She describes herself as a young girl as compassionate and sensitive, and these kind traits have followed Sydney-Anne into adulthood, where they serve her well as a business owner and leader. Alongside her two sons, Sydney-Anne is owner and manager of AG Valley Foods, an independent grocery store in Invermere. She sometimes works seven days a week, and up to fourteen hours a day, when “cottage country season” kicks in during the summer. At one point she did all ordering for the store, but these days focuses on scheduling, bookwork, and oversees the bakery, deli and kitchen, always with an eye for improvements. Sydney-Anne is humble about her achievements - running a business is no easy task, and every element has been further complicated by the pandemic. While she’s seen plenty of kind and generous acts, there are always short tempers and people exhausted with COVID-related restrictions. Sydney-Anne, however, tackles these challenges and all the tough parts of life with no-nonsense determination.

While Sydney-Anne is quick to downplay her achievements as a woman in a male-dominated industry, it’s clear she’s always followed her own path, regardless of societal norms. “When I started in grocery 37 years ago, you did not see women as managers,” Sydney-Anne says. “I had a proactive male boss… [who] placed women in management roles. [But] people didn’t expect to see women in roles like that, or running the business. You’d have to ask, are you okay working with a woman?”

Sydney-Anne is glad she doesn’t have to ask that particular question anymore. Even if the beginning of her career was a “bumpy and challenging ride”, she doesn’t want to say she’s better than anybody, and shares with pride the equal opportunities for men and women in her store. “I’m thrilled every day that I can look at our staffing forecast and see men running the tills,” she says, “you never saw that when I was growing up. Now you go to the meat room, and see two out of the three people working there are women. The produce manager is a woman. We promote and hire based on what you can contribute.” It’s a balance, Sydney-Anne explains, so everyone has a “voice in the choir.”

Being in this leadership role “just feels normal” to Sydney-Anne. She’s immensely proud that she works alongside her sons, citing how much she learns from them. At a conference, she was once asked if she was disappointed that after working so hard to develop her business, that she didn’t have a daughter onto whom she could pass the torch. But to Sydney-Anne, it’s important to celebrate the successes of everyone. In fact, working in a grocery store over the pandemic has brought her a unique perspective on the changing roles of men and women. She’s been surprised over the years to see how many men now take on traditionally “domestic” tasks, like grocery shopping with the kids. As a newly divorced young mother, Sydney-Anne had to be “prepared to go out and fight” to survive. She got a job in a little corner store (noting with gracious amusement how this foreshadowed her future career) and prepared her family to live with less. “I stayed home with my kids - it was you’re the woman, you stay home - there wasn’t a choice. Now men and women make that decision together, looking at careers and seeing which person is more passionate about being home.”

In a post-COVID world, Sydney-Anne is looking forward to the healing. Invermere is a small community, and differences in opinions on how best to approach the pandemic can reverberate in this region. She hopes to continue to do her best in helping people be less judgemental, to accept others for who they are, and for their choices. She’s committed to doing the absolute best for her staff too. AG Valley Foods was recognized by the Canadian Independent Grocer of the Year Awards with gold for the 2019 Top Independent Grocer of the Year. It’s a reflection of her hard work and, as she says, “her heart”. She aims to treat every person she encounters, on every level, with respect and dignity. “I’m really proud of my wonderful sons and how they’ve celebrated my career by joining in,” Sydney-Anne says. “I will forever be grateful to our mothers and grandmothers for leading the way to this time where women get to enjoy equal opportunities too.”

Denise Williams

Chief Executive Officer, First Nations Technology Council

On the day Denise was accepted into the Executive Master of Business Administration program at SFU, her career path changed.  The timing was great as she had just started to build the First Nations Technology Council and needed to learn leadership skills quickly and on the fly.

The opportunity to ground her thinking and learning journey in a cohort of experienced leaders was instrumental, as was the exposure to a massive amount of material that has continued to help Denise build and scale her organization.

As an Indigenous woman in a leadership role, Denise has faced multiple challenges and biases. Although there is an increased interest in moving women – especially Indigenous women – into governance, advisory and public facing leadership roles, it’s not easy being one of the few holding space for the voices of so many others. Educating colleagues, providing emotional labour and value on subjects is no easy task, especially when the work means everything, is highly personal and you have to fight for the right to be heard.

This is a challenge Denise feels will be with her for the rest of her career. For Denise, however, the way to stand resilient is to build up a team around you that you can trust and that is capable of moving things forward when you need a minute to catch your breath. The saying: if you want to go fast go alone, if you want to go far go together rings true and Denise’s advice is don’t go alone!

With more Indigenous people’s access to digital and connected technologies in B.C., Denise and the highly driven team at the First Nations Technology Council are witnessing the power of Indigenous innovation and getting a glimpse of what will happen when all people have equal access and the ability to build stronger nations.

For those who are starting out or pursuing a new goal, Denise says you are remarkable, and you will do something significant in your journey.  Her advise is to turn inward, not outward, to define who you are and what you want to do. The better you are at listening to your own unique perspective and ideas, the more likely you will be able to actualize something incredible, creative and game changing in this world. Don’t try to fit in, don’t let that voice get muted, and never just do what you’re told.

For Denise, showing up and facing barriers is the most important thing as long as you can do if safely and you have support.  She acknowledges that overcoming barriers on the timeline in mind or in the way you wanted might not always happen but taking on something that feels impossible will make you a stronger leader and deepen your sense of purpose if you stay with it. She says there are no barriers that people are not capable of leaning into. She recommends share your struggle, talk about what you’re feeling, let your challenges be something the whole community can learn from.   

To learn more about Denise and the First Nations Technology Council, visit: https://technologycouncil.ca/