BC Business
Our fifth annual Women of the Year Awards honour 21 winners and runners-up who are pushing the province forward and stomping through barriers
Five years into our Women of the Year awards, we’re very proud to say that the quality of winners, runners-up and applicants hasn’t dipped an iota. In fact, we expanded the awards from last year’s one runner-up per category to two, solely so that we could honour more of the incredibly impressive applicants who came in. Still, it was a challenge to narrow it down to one winner and two runners-up in each category (other than rising stars, which kept its traditional three winners). That’s a testament to the province’s female talent, who we’ve been lucky enough to experience and connect with over the past five years. Of course, we couldn’t have done it without our judging panel, a powerhouse team of four who care about the magazine and the people we feature in it. It’s an absolute pleasure to have them on our side for this daunting task. Without further ado, we’re pleased to introduce you to the 2024 BCBusiness Women of the Year.
Shauna Harper is the CEO of WeBC and is based in its Kelowna office. As a federally funded not-for-profit organization, WeBC provides thousands of women entrepreneurs across B.C. with business loans, expertise, training, resources and peer support to help their businesses grow and thrive.
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.
Erin Seeley is the CEO of YWCA Metro Vancouver, one of B.C.’s largest multi-service charities With a budget of $50 million and almost 500 employees, YWCA currently operates 73 programs supporting women, families and allies across 178 locations. Prior to YWCA, Seeley served as SVP of the BCFSA.
Minerva BC is a registered charity dedicated to advancing the leadership of women and girls. As CEO, Tina Strehlke has over 15 years’ senior leadership experience in the social impact sector. She volunteers with Her Mentors and Locelle and is a member of the Essential Impact Advisory Group.