With a mission to inform, empower, celebrate and advocate for British Columbia's current and aspiring business leaders, BCBusiness go behind the headlines and bring readers face to face with the key issues and people driving business in B.C.
Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/1498118
MAY/JUNE 2023 BCBUSINESS.CA 33 SHAUNA HARPER Shauna Harper is the CEO of WeBC, based in its Kelowna office. As a federally funded not-for-profit organiza- tion, WeBC provides thousands of women entrepreneurs across B.C. with business loans, expertise, train- ing, resources and peer support to help their businesses grow and thrive each year. Prior to coming to WeBC, Harper was an entre- preneur for 22 years. She owned a manu- facturing company that created and sold inspirational glass stone magnets globally, and a marketing and commu- nications company that helped small businesses and not-for-profit or- ganizations by offering marketing strategies, project management, team support and marketing training. CAROL LIAO Dr. Carol Liao is an associate professor and director of the Centre for Business Law at the Peter A. Allard School of Law, University of British Columbia. A multiple award-winning scholar and teacher, Liao focuses her work on corporate law and sustainability, climate governance, gender and racial justice. She is the UBC Sauder Distin- guished Scholar at the Peter P. Dhillon Centre for Business Ethics, UBC Sauder School of Business, and co-leads the Canada Climate Law Initiative, advancing knowledge to Canadian corporate boards on the latest in climate science and their fiduciary obligations. Liao is also a director of the Pacific Canada Heritage Centre – Museum of Migration Society, an anti-racist museum dedicated to broadening the collective memories of historically marginalized groups in the Pacific Northwest. ERIN SEELEY Seeley is currently the CEO of Y WCA Metro Vancouver, one of B.C.'s largest multi-service charities, including two social enterprises, the Y WCA Hotel and Health and Fitness centre. With a budget of $50M and almost 500 employees, Y WCA currently operates 73 programs supporting women, families and al- lies across 178 locations including transitional and permanent housing, violence prevention, employment, youth and mentorship and early childhood education. A firm believer in the value of public and commu- nity service, Seeley has more than 20 years of experience in gover- nance, strategic plan- ning, communications, policy analysis and stakeholder relations. Most recently, Seeley served as senior vice president, BC Financial Services Authority, and CEO of the Real Estate Council of BC. TINA STREHLKE Founded in 1999, Mi- nerva BC is a registered charity that is dedicated to advancing the leader- ship of women and girls. As CEO, Strehlke has over 15 years' senior leadership experience in the social impact sector. She has knowl- edge and expertise in gender equality, career development, inclusive leadership and creating equitable workplaces. Strehlke has a bachelor of arts in international relations from UBC and a master of arts in com- munications from Royal Roads University. She has lived and worked in Germany, Costa Rica, Guyana and Taiwan. Strehlke currently volunteers with Her Mentors and Locelle, and is a member of the Essential Impact Advisory Group. n T H E J U D G E S W I N N E R Carissa Konesky D E V E L O P M E N T O F F I C E R , U N I O N G O S P E L M I S S I O N ; S P E C I A L P R O J E C T S M A N A G E R , S H E V A L E S C O "I don't remember ever learning about mental health in elementary or high school," says Carissa Konesky, who grew up in Burnaby struggling with anxiety and body image issues. Having been involved with Girl Guides since she was five, Konesky wishes she had access to the kind of workshops that nonprofits like ShEvalesco host. As its part-time special projects manager, Konesky connected ShEvalesco with Girl Guides. In 2020, she helped put together the I Am Tena- cious program to support female-identifying and non-binary youth with resilience, mindfulness and setting boundaries. "We had over 100 participants," she says of the four-week program, which, after securing a grant from a law firm, was able to continue for another year. It now runs under ShEvalesco's Investing in YOUth series. "Getting to see how much it impacted the youth and how responsive they were was really rewarding," she adds, noting that the programs have reached over 3,000 people. Konesky earned an associate's degree in global stewardship from Capilano University in 2017. She then completed a bachelor's in psychology and gen- der, sexuality and women's studies, followed by a certificate in nonprofit management from SFU. She joined Union Gospel Mission (UGM) as a co-op in 2018. The Downtown Eastside charity has over 300 staff and seven locations offering alcohol and drug recovery support, subsidized housing, youth programs and other services. Konesky grew from a part-time development coordinator managing annual donors who donate $1-500 per year to an officer handling mid-level donors who give $500-5,000 a year. But given how UGM runs entirely on donations, she's still trying to navigate the effects of COVID and inflation on people's capacity to give, continuously emphasiz- ing that "every little bit counts." –R.R.