For YWCA Board Vice-Chair Michelle Cooper-Iversen, being on the board is being part of an environment filled with "female joy."
"You’re in a space with women who are career-driven, that are passionate about their community, that are smart, intelligent, that are compassionate, that are kind," she said. "It’s an incredible bunch."
Michelle, who is the Chief Operating Officer at the Co-Operative Housing Federation of BC, joined the YWCA’s Board of Directors in 2022. This September, she will be named Chair.
Michelle moved to Canada from Trinidad and Tobago with her family when she was a child. She says she was surrounded by hard-working women who “wrapped their hearts and love” around her while she was growing up.
Her grandmother, for example, made her living as a domestic worker and held multiple jobs.
"She bore these physical scars of how hard she worked for us to have a better life," Michelle said. "I have a lot of appreciation for the people that came before me."
And Michelle hasn’t shied away from hard work either. She rose up at CHF-BC, first starting at the organization as an administrative executive assistant, which she says is an important part of her narrative.
Even in her personal life she loves to tackle challenges, like hiking Peru’s famous Inca Trail.
Michelle says being on YWCA’s board is part of the “returning” phase of her life.
“I’m returning back to community, I’m returning in terms of opening the doors for other women, other people, racialized peoples, I think we all come with different experiences,” she said.
The YWCA Board of Directors is comprised of 12 volunteer community leaders, who serve up to three two-year terms and meet seven times a year. The Governance and Nominating Committee leads an annual recruitment process and new directors are elected by members at the Annual General Meeting.
For more information on the YWCA Board of Directors, contact Helen Kim at hkim@ywcavan.org.
