2012 Nominees - Business & the Professions
Sandy Gerber
Sandy is a fearless leader, marketing veteran, award-winning business entrepreneur and philanthropist. Founder and CEO of NEXT Marketing Agency Inc., Sandy continually strives to push the boundaries of what is possible in marketing. She independently created BRAND CHATTER™, a concept that is changing how people market their businesses online and offline. In addition to creating award-winning marketing campaigns, Sandy gives back to others globally and locally through the NEXT STEP Philanthropy Program where funds from every project directly contribute to people in need. Sandy also volunteers her time to mentor young entrepreneurs both with the Vancouver Board of Trade Leaders of Tomorrow program and internally with NEXT staff.
Connecting the Community Quote:
“Please vote! As a single mompreneur and someone who has a very good friend in need of affordable housing for herself and her children, I choose to support YWCA’s programs for safe and affordable housing for single moms and their children, as well as transitional housing for women with addiction issues and families escaping abuse. Thank you for your support.”
Patricia Graham
Patricia is an award-winning 30-year journalist who is currently the Vice-President of Digital at Pacific Newspaper Group. In an era of immense change in the newspaper industry, as Editor-in-Chief Patricia transformed The Vancouver Sun from a six-day-a-week newsprint publication into a multi-platform publisher delivering content seven days a week, 24 hours a day. Under her leadership as an early adopter of digital innovations, the newspaper experienced exponential online growth unprecedented in Canadian newspapers. Patricia has built bridges with a range of cultural and special-interest groups, including launching The Sun's new Chinese-language website. An active community member, she dedicates many hours to mentorship programs and community boards, including participating multiple times as a Women’s Executive Network mentor.
Connecting the Community Quote:
“Where else to start in providing well-rounded, confident, productive members of the community but at the very beginning? I support the YWCA’s commitment to early learning and child care because a healthy, safe start in life should be every child’s destiny.”
Sandra Hentzen
As the Executive Vice-President Human Resources for Translink, Sandra contributes leadership and guidance as the Translink family of companies undergoes significant transformational change. Sandra led the transition towards centralized processes and continues to advocate for ongoing change. She supports an aligned, accountable customer-focused team of people and she challenges herself and her staff to design and deliver programs to reflect best practices. Sandra shares her expertise on various human resources committees and volunteers her time with several organizations including Commissionaires BC, where she is the Chair of the CEO Succession and Compensation Committee. Sandra was nominated by her staff and was recognized by her human resources peers as the winner of the BC HRMA Award of Excellence in 2008.
Connecting the Community Quote:
“Growing up in a third world country, I saw child poverty first hand. I was lucky to have a great childhood – a home with parents, 3 meals daily, good health, school and play time! I’m shocked to learn about the child poverty rate in BC; the reducing child poverty program at YWCA provides much needed help to needy children. “
Molly Mason-Boule
As Senior Director of Content and Platform Development at Electronic Arts (EA), Molly is a strategic thinker responsible for a team of more than 250 employees. She has introduced inventive solutions that improve efficiency and lower costs company-wide while at the same time motivating and enabling employees to achieve artistic excellence. Molly’s capacity for propelling change led to her selection as a member of EA’s Strategic Action Team, a small team of employees focused on accelerating EA’s transformation into a digital, online gaming company. A proponent for advancing women in the field of interactive and entertainment technology, Molly takes the time to mentor others and has been a speaker at the Canadian Woman in Technology group.
Connecting the Community Quote:
“I’m honoured to have the opportunity to help support YWCA in preventing violence against women. I personally embrace the idea that self-respect, integrity and gaining insight into our own life experience are keys to wisdom, freedom and achievement. I am choosing to support Munroe House in providing a safe place for women to refocus on themselves, their children and a healthy future.”
Glenda Ouellette
An accomplished industry leader for 20 years, Glenda is currently the Vice-President of Broker Distribution at ICBC. Glenda contributes to generating $3.7 billion in annual revenues while seeking valuable solutions with Autoplan brokers for the benefit of customers, who represent almost every adult in the province. Glenda aspires to establish women as part of the decision-making process within the insurance industry by encouraging networking opportunities and mentoring her colleagues. She has volunteered on council and as president for the Insurance Institute of BC, the educational arm of the insurance industry, where her leadership efforts contributed to a surge in new members and revenue. Glenda extends her energy and skills to many organizations to make our community a better place including James Cameron School and 2277 Royal Canadian Army Cadets.
Connecting the Community Quote:
“I’m a passionate supporter of education and it starts with early learning and childcare. I believe quality childcare, like that offered by the YWCA, is foundational to success in life. I see the benefits of education firsthand with my boys and continue to see its impact through my involvement with James Cameron School, the Royal Canadian Army Cadets and the Insurance Institute of BC.”
