Vancouver Foundation

SARAH SIDHU WAS SIX YEARS OLD and watching, as was her habit, the CBC evening news with her family. It was April 17, 1982, and Queen Elizabeth II, dressed in a subdued blue coat and matching pillbox hat, sat alongside then-prime minister Pierre Trudeau in Ottawa to sign the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the part of the Canadian constitution guaranteeing all citizens certain civil and political rights. "I remember asking what the Charter was and why it was important," Sidhu says. "is was when I became interested in the law." It wasn't a stretch to predict that the curious and precocious young girl, who would run home at lunch from elementary school in Port Coquitlam, B.C., to watch black-and-white reruns of the American legal drama Perry Mason, would become a lawyer. After obtaining a political science degree from Simon Fraser University, Sidhu indeed went to law school at the University of Manitoba (U of M). But despite growing up on the theatricality of Perry Mason, she did not aspire to defence litigation. Instead, Sidhu became enamoured with the quiet but powerful ideals upheld by jurisprudence: justice, fairness and equality. e practice of law, she realized, could be a way to be very impactful in the community. Since graduating from law school, Sidhu has juggled legal practice with volunteer work to help effect positive social change. Currently, she is an independent member of the board of directors of Vancouver Foundation, and for the past three years, served as United Way of the Lower Mainland's representative on the board. She also holds several other volunteer positions within the organization: chair of the Health and Social Development Committee; vice-chair of the Governance and Human Resources Committee; member of the Grants and Community Initiatives Committee; and chair of Giving Well, a giving circle that brings women together to engage in grant- making and collectively support women's issues. Sidhu's ambition to make a positive impact on society complements Vancouver Foundation's vision of building healthy, vibrant and livable communities. She points to the opioid crisis – there were 914 fatal overdoses across British Columbia last year – as topping her list of concerns. Homelessness and a lack of social housing are also high on her agenda. "Vancouver Foundation is looking at things through a long-term lens and focusing on finding meaningful solutions," says Sidhu, who works as general counsel and corporate secretary for Destination Canada, a Crown corporation that markets Canada abroad. Sarah Sidhu's involvement with Vancouver Foundation reflects her desire to work for social justice By roberta staLey | Photo robert KarPa roughout her career, Sidhu has found a diversity of platforms to effect change. She was editor-in-chief of the Manitoba Law Journal while still a student and worked at U of M's pro bono clinic. One memorable case, she says, involved working with a young mother who was arrested for stealing diapers for her baby. Sidhu ventured into politics as a young adult, but behind the scenes. She volunteered on political campaigns and, as an undergrad and law school student, worked for a federal cabinet minister. She also made sure to nab a front- row seat to the 1996 United States presidential race by moving to Washington, D.C., to intern at a consulting firm – in order to "be in the thick of it." Later, in 2012, Sidhu became the British Columbia co-chair of Justin Trudeau's federal election campaign. "I really liked what I had heard about him as a leader," Sidhu says. e fact that Sidhu became pregnant during the campaign didn't slow her down. Her daughter Serena became a fixture in the Vancouver headquarters, learning to crawl as the 2015 election date drew closer and earning the moniker "unofficial third co-chair." Sidhu is convinced that volunteering is something that anyone of any age can – and should – undertake, even when juggling career and family. She says the key is to find something you're passionate about. "Knowing that maybe you're making a little bit of an impact is important," she says, "and making something easier for somebody else." 2 0 1 7 I V a n c o u v e r F o u n d a t i o n l p a g e 1 9 Vancouver Foundation is looking at things through a long-term lens and focusing on finding meaningful solutions. " "

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