I migrated to Canada August 23rd 1969 and lived in Toronto for nine years. I then moved to Richmond May 8th 1978 and have been living in this same area since that time.

My fist job in Canada, I worked at the Toronto Credit Bureau for four years and then started with the Royal Bank of Canada Sept 18th 1974 until 2007. Although I am retired, I still work part-time for the bank.

My main focus is in helping women of different cultures and seniors. I have volunteered for the Richmond Gateway Theatre for 15 years 1991 – 2006, the Vancouver Olympics in 2010 and the RBC Canadian Golf PGA 2011. I am presently and active member and President of the Trinidad Chinese Club.

I am an avid reader and gardener and enjoy helping others especially seniors.

Winnie began volunteering for RWRC as a board mentee from the Leadership Richmond’s “Youth Now Program” in 2016, and is currently the secretary of the board and the centre’s social media manager. She is also a student at UBC studying psychology, an avid volunteer in the community, and recipient of a 2012 U-ROC Award for Outstanding Youth. She is interested in learning about intersectional feminism and enjoys hiking.

Marielle has been active in women’s issues since 1970. She is the co-founder of the Richmond Women’s Centre and has continued as a Board member since its inception in 1976. Marielle currently participates in a variety of community committees and is winner of the 2002 Volunteer Richmond’s Community Service Award.

Mikaela Nuval is a fourth-year student pursuing a dual concentration in Human Resources and International Business, with course fundamentals in Political Science. She is passionate about creating impact in my community, especially in education and empowerment. Her enthusiasm in education is seen in her consecutive terms as a Teaching Assistant where she taught 168 students to date, and as a mentor to 6 first-year students through their first term in Beedie in the BASS Mentorship program.

As an advocate for female empowerment, she is a proactive board member of the Richmond Women’s Resource Centre, having been heavily involved in Young Women in Business SFU, championing more opportunity for young female professionals. As the previous Development Assistant for Junior Achievement of BC, she combines these themes finding and researching external partners who believe in educating and empowering youth to succeed in the global economy. She will be pursuing her growth at a new role as the Human Resources and Administrative Assistant at Microserve in the fall.

Born and raised in Richmond, BC, Michelle’s deep roots in the community and her strong belief in supporting and advocating for women brought her to RWRC. Growing up, Michelle’s days were filled with hockey in the winters, softball in the summers with music lessons and summer jobs sprinkled throughout. That variety continued in her life, brought her through both business and music degrees in university and she has continued careers in both.

Michelle’s focus at RWRC will be to develop outreach programs for teens and to mentor young women navigating career paths and social issues through high school and university.