BCBusiness
Trish Mandewo, president of UBCM, councillor for the City of Coquitlam, president of Synergy Executive & Boards Consulting Group, is a winner in the Diversity and Inclusion Champion category of the 2025 Women of the Year Awards
The day after Trish Mandewo moved to Coquitlam in 2009, she met the mayor, Richard Stewart, and asked how she could help. “My approach, no matter where I am, is always that it’s not about what my community can give to me, but what I can give to my community,” she says.
Mandewo immediately got involved with several local organizations, from the Tri-City Transitions Society and the Tri-City Chamber of Commerce to immigrant groups and the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM). In the 16 years since Mandewo moved to B.C., she’s built three businesses and two nonprofits, and has served on dozens of executive boards in various leadership positions.
But she always knew politics were in her cards. During Mandewo’s childhood in Zimbabwe, her father encouraged her to become a changemaker, especially as her family was unhoused from time to time. “He always said, ‘Make sure that you sit at the table where decisions are made, and make sure that you look out for those people that don’t have a voice,’” she recalls.
So, in 2018, Mandewo ran for a seat at the table on Coquitlam city council—and won. “I always knew that when the time was right, I was going to raise my hand, so that I could be at the table, so that I can make policies or change policies in order to look out for the disadvantaged people,” she says.
Mandewo did more than just join the table. After the George Floyd protests in 2020, she saw the need to train those in governance to understand the weight of their policies on equity-deserving groups. So, she founded Synergy Executive and Boards Consulting Group to bridge the gap and support representation of BIPOC individuals in boardrooms.
“We have trained thousands now from coast to coast to coast,” Mandewo says, adding that, despite some pushback on DEI narratives, her inclusion work never means inclusion by exclusion. “For me, success is about having someone who never saw themselves sitting in a boardroom now saying they are in a boardroom and they’re contributing to that conversation, and they help them change the narrative,” she says.
As Mandewo continues her work with Synergy, serves her second term as a Coquitlam city councillor, and wraps up as UBCM president, she remains inspired by her goal to create meaningful change.
“I see myself just continuing to move the needle when it comes to getting more people into positions of power, and supporting women and other previously equity-denied groups into stepping up so that we can be better human beings,” Mandewo says.
Discover our full list of 21 BCBusiness 2025 Women of the Year award winners here.