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We are proud to be a part of such a vibrant community that has so many strong female leaders! The Nelson & District Women’s Centre has decided to pay tribute to the strong female leadership that enriches our community, both within the not-for-profit as well as business sector as success within every industry deserves acknowledgement and celebration.

Please read on to celebrate the success of Holly Smee!

Name: Holly Smee

Position: Owner, Director of Hollytree Wellness Centre and a psychotherapist in private practice.

Question One: What drew you to work in the non-profit sector?

Since I was a small child, I’ve naturally been drawn to helping people. I come from an intergenerational family history with mental health challenges and so there has always been a keen interest to understand others and figure out a way to help them. An insatiable curiosity of how other people think and feel led me to psychology in my 20’s, and later to a Master’s degree in my 30’s. I knew early on that I wanted to work in mental health therapy because I find people fascinating, their stories captivating, and consciousness, psy, and the realm of the human mind one of the great mysteries of life. We all live on the same earth and yet the lens through which we view the world is often vastly different. After hearing so many stories of trauma and abuse (typically by people known to the client) I realized that it’s people who hurt people, and that if kindness and empathy increased globally, adversity would decrease. The world is full of scary and sad stories; what we need now is more helper souls.

Question Two: Have you faced bias or barriers in being a woman leader?

Women have many challenges and hats that they wear in life as they juggle multiple roles. Exhaustion is something I have struggled with at times, as I am sure many women have. The feminist movement was beautiful for liberating women’s rights and giving women options that were not available before; however, I also feel it increased women’s workloads, silently. Running a business, maintaining a home, fulfilling the duties of wife/mother/sister/daughter/friend/therapist/entrepreneur/stepmother/mother/secretary/cook/cleaner is a lot. The thing I hear most commonly from women is that we are tired. Tiredness has been a significant barrier I am always navigating; the drive and the interest is there but often the time and the energy is not. A woman’s work day does not end at the end of the shift when she locks up the office at work. The bias is that women are expected to do it all; and when we can’t, we are presumed to be failing.

Question Three: What three qualities do women need to succeed as community leaders?

There are three qualities that go into being a truly great leader. The first is intelligence. Leaders intuitively see trends and can assess need, recognizing a gap in service/market and providing an innovating project/idea not there before. The second is hunger. Motivation, drive and self-belief go a long way in carving out a path that was not there before. Leaders typically don’t want to live a status quo life, doing what society expects of them. Leaders are often rebellious and stubborn, thinking for themself around what is best and true to them, while challenging social norms and stereotypes. The third quality is humility. A humble attitude goes a long way when coupled with gratitude. Feeling blessed to do what you do, and quietly going about your work and your goals without ego, is a sure-fire way to guarantee success. People don’t like arrogance or self-righteous attitudes. Most of us pull away from people who think they are better than everyone else or deserving of special privileges. We are all special in our own way and everyone brings something unique and magical to the table. Finding out what makes you “you” and pursuing that, makes one a leader because they are living their life with authenticity and integrity.

Question Four: What do you enjoy most about your work?

My favourite thing about my career is the diversity and that no day ever looks the same; hour by hour, I have no idea what will happen after someone walks through the door and the constant pivoting of attention keeps the mind highly engaged. No two people are alike and no stories are ever the same, even if the themes behind the stories don’t change much. Humans are emotional creatures and we all experience feeling, but the way the mind interprets emotions and the world around is drastically different. Stories are sacred and I feel endlessly grateful that I get to be the gatherer and the holder of other’s stories and secrets. Seeing growth in my clients and stability/progress makes my career highly rewarding. I get to witness people see/feel/think/behave better as they evolve into a higher level of consciousness.

Question Five: What’s the best book you’ve read or film you’ve seen recently?

The last book I read was Dying to be Me by Anita Moorjani. It recounts an amazing near death experience of a woman who was palliating from stage 4 cancer. She was in a coma on her deathbed as all her organs shut down. She returns to life with an amazing message for humanity and her story continues to be a medical mystery to many oncology doctors. Her message was very clear: if you want to be healthy and happy, be who you really are, rather than who you think the world expects/wants you to be.

We are proud to be a part of such a vibrant community that has so many strong female leaders! The Nelson & District Women’s Centre has decided to pay tribute to the strong female leadership that enriches our community, both within the not-for-profit as well as business sector as success within every industry deserves acknowledgement and celebration.

Please read on to celebrate the success of Jennie Barron!

Name: Jennie Barron

Position: Chair, Mir Centre for Peace and Instructor, School of University Arts & Sciences

Q: What drew you to work in the education sector?

I am a lover of ideas and thrive in challenging, intellectually stimulating environments, surrounded by motivated people who work hard and feel passionate about their work – as so many educators do. In post-secondary, we have a lot of autonomy and can be creative in designing learning experiences for students. We love our students and feel tremendous gratification of seeing them learn and grow. And it feels great when someone tells you that your course or your support made a difference in their life.

Q: Have you faced bias or barriers in being a woman leader?

I suppose I must have, but it’s not something I think about much, to be honest. There are now so many women in leadership roles at the college, sometimes I wonder where all the men have gone! I was raised in a family of four daughters and that meant five women in the house – my poor dad! At least that’s what people always said. But he was most comfortable as a father of girls/young women and said he wouldn’t have it any other way. I also went to a girls camp and had leadership roles starting in high school. So, I guess I was very lucky to grow up feeling pretty empowered like that.

Q: What 3 qualities do women need to succeed as community leaders?

We need a kind of confidence that is different from men’s. I think it is a self-reflective kind of confidence. It doesn’t exist in isolation, and it isn’t blind to our limitations. It is humble but strong and determined, and very relationally aware. Secondly, I think we need skills of collaboration to partner and work with diverse colleagues and community members. Third, we need the courage to take risks, to go where maybe women haven’t gone before and do things a bit differently because we are women. We don’t want only to succeed in a man’s world but to work with others – including men – to change the world so it works better for people of all genders.

Q: What do you enjoy most about your work?

I love that it is so meaningful. I get to work on issues I feel passionate about. I also love the challenges it provides. It’s very diverse and there is always so much room for me to keep learning and growing and improving my skills in so many areas. I also love that it is people work. I’m very relationship-oriented and I love my colleagues. They make going to work and doing the hard work so much easier.

Q: What’s the best book you’ve read or film you’ve seen recently?

I recently re-watched Dr Strangelove (1964) with my 19-year-old son. I realize that might seem almost absurd in the current context amidst so much very real fear about nuclear war, but it’s clever satire and I really appreciate that. I’m also reading Jody Wilson-Raybould’s book, Indian in the Cabinet, and listening to her read it on Audible. Hearing her story in her voice is inspiring because I really admire her commitment to her people and to democratic ideals, as well as her integrity.

Members of the Nelson & District Women’s Centre gathered peacefully outside of the Nelson Courthouse early on Sunday morning to join women from all over British Columbia to bring awareness to a guaranteed livable income. To read more, please read the full news story published by The Nelson Daily.

We are proud to be a part of such a vibrant community that has so many strong female leaders! The Nelson & District Women’s Centre has decided to pay tribute to the strong female leadership that enriches our community, both within the not-for-profit as well as business sector as success within every industry deserves acknowledgement and celebration.

Our first feature focuses on Anna Maskerine, Program Director at Nelson Community Services. Please read on to celebrate her success!

Name: Anna Maskerine

Position: Program Director (Aimee Beaulieu Transition House, Stopping the Violence Counselling, PEACE, Women’s Outreach) Nelson Community Services.

Q: What drew you to work in the non-profit sector?

A.      From the time I was young, I’ve always had a keen sense of right/wrong and of speaking out where I see injustice.  I was innately drawn to work in ways that support vulnerable people.  I began working in the anti-violence specifically, over 30 years ago.  I am a survivor or high risk violence which informs me in deep ways and fuels my passion for this work.

Q: Have you faced bias or barriers in being a woman leader?

A.     I was fortunate that early in my working life, I encountered very supportive women who encouraged me to develop my leadership skills.  I think that given non-profits are staffed by women to a large degree, and many women are in leadership roles in those organizations, I’ve experienced barriers and bias to a lesser degree.  That said, there still is a culture where unequal standards and salary inequities exist.  I’ve experienced a mindset where “leadership” equates to what are considered to be more masculine traits, and where women’s accomplishments are downplayed.  As a woman leader, there is an expectation to balance work/life alongside being a primary caregiver and I experienced that when my son was young.  And when working with other systems in the course of my work, there still exists a great deal of misunderstanding and stereotyping of what it means to be a feminist and also to work in the anti-violence field, which can be compounded by being a leader in that field of work. 

Q: What 3 qualities do women need to succeed as community leaders?

Humility – No one person knows it all and it’s ok to make mistakes.  And it’s ok for others to make mistakes too, that’s how growth and learning happens. 

Inclusivity –  You can’t do it alone.  Listen more, talk less.  There are many great women doing this work and everyone contributes to a collective outcome.  Create opportunities to acknowledge that.  Encourage and honours others strengths.   Relationships, relationships, relationships.    

Integrity – Speak up for what’s right, and keep your word.

Q: What do you enjoy most about your work?

I enjoy so many things about my work; the work itself as I believe it’s important and that what we do makes a difference.  It’s personal for me.  I’ve been there.  Seeing the strength and courage of  women who reach out to us is undullably inspiring, life impacting. working alongside other women who are so passionate about the work, I love the teams that I work with. Working in a role that allows for a lot of creativity and variety in the work; creating new programming, like indigenous cultural programming for example.  I enjoy supporting women and teams in the difficult work that they do.  I also enjoy community development work, being part of the collaborative work in the community and the opportunity to be part of creating change. 

Q: What’s the best book you’ve read or film you’ve seen recently?       

The best book I’ve read in a very long time, hands down, “From the Ashes” by Jessie Thistle.  It’s a must read.  It speaks to the human spirit and to the significance of community, connection and love.