Alison Antonio, Board of Directors of the Delta Spirit of B.C. Community Committee, DELTA

At 14, Alison moved to B.C. on her own to train as a springboard and tower diver. In 1975, she succeeded in becoming the Canadian Age group champion in Springboard. Using her pioneering spirit, determination, and commitment to excellence, she worked and volunteered for 25 years to enhance her community.

Her most recent achievement was as executive director for the 3-day event Rivermania. She was instrumental in uniting 40 diverse community organizations to celebrate BC’s 150th birthday and Simon Fraser’s exploration of the river 200 years ago. Particularly important was the re-enactment of the Tsawwassen First Nations leading the Ladner brothers into Delta. As a result of Alison’s work experience, community involvement, and athletic background, she was honored as one of 40 Canadians chosen to attend the Canadian Olympic Academy, a leadership development program that emphasizes Olympic values that cross borders and cultural boundaries to connect us all.

Bays Blackhall, Longtime Cultural and Natural World Volunteer, LANGLEY
Bays is a dynamic 78 year old woman and an inspiration to anyone and everyone who shares a passion for nature, arts and culture.
Since 1979, she has worked with the Langley Heritage Society members to see historical and natural sites preserved. In 1982, the GVRD proposed building a 640 acre garbage dump on Fort Langley’s cranberry bog to handle Vancouver’s garbage. She succeeded in saving this delicate environmental and heritage site from destruction.
For 25 years, she has run the Fort Festival promoting local talent and bringing world class artists to the community. Bays is a life member, fundraiser and volunteer at the Langley Community Music School. In her Gallery, Bays promotes local and international artists. One of her most rewarding accomplishments was the installation of the Lois Hannah life-size, bronze statue of James Douglas, B.C.’s first Governor outside the National Historic Fort Langley.
Bays feels that “music, art and natural history link the peoples of the world.”

Sukhy Dhillon, Delta School District Teacher, SURREY

Within a few weeks, Sukhy’s life changed from being a student in India to being married and pregnant in a foreign country. Despite many setbacks, Sukhy completed the education she needed to become a teacher and to pursue her personal mission: to empower women and to create awareness about the caste system in India, a form of racism which has emigrated into the Indo-Canadian community.

Sukhy guides women to achieve their educational and leadership goals and organizes fundraising and volunteer events. She has helped 5 women reach their educational goals. She adopted a school in India and provides uniforms, books and fees and a generator to make the summer heat more bearable. Whether she is assisting a woman in Vancouver, Jamacia. Africa or India, Sukhy says, “Each woman is a role model and an insipiration for me to continue my mission; these women are seeds ready to explode but they need rich soil.”

Courtney Fasolino, Project Manager WestStone Properties Ltd, LANGLEY
Courtney Fasolino is a wonderful role model for women entering the construction industry. In 2005, she joined WestStone Properties as a receptionist. In only three years, Courtney worked her way up to project manager and now oversees three multi-family construction sites.
Her determination and work ethic has allowed her to excel at her job while attending school and raising a family-gaining her respect throughout the company. Courtney plans to pursue a Bachelor of Technology in Construction Operations after completing her Associate Certificate in Construction Operations this spring.
Courtney plans to leave her mark on the traditionally male-dominated industry. She intends to one day hold a senior management position in a construction company.

Kim Gramlich, M.A., Coordinator of Delta Police Victim Services, DELTA/LANGLEY

Helping people is in Kim's job description, but it is not your everyday kind of help. She and her team of staff and volunteers respond with police to crime and trauma in Delta, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They respond to some of the most highly traumatic situations including sexual assaults, sudden deaths, robberies and domestic violence.

Working with volunteers requires leadership and warmth, Kim has both. Volunteers report that Kim is an exceptional leader, the "best boss" they have ever worked for!

Kim is involved with 14 professional organizations including her role as President of Police Victim Services of BC and a board member of the Canadian Victim Assistance Association. She is an exceptional teacher, training volunteers and staff in the field of Victim Services. Kim is known as a true leader in her field.

Anita Patil Huberman, Chief Executive Officer Surrey Board of Trade, SURREY
Anita began working at the Surrey Board of Trade as a 19-year-old summer student. Four years later, she became the executive assistant to the executive director. She continued to devote her energies to the Board of Trade until 2007 when she was promoted to Chief Executive Officer, becoming Canada's first South Asian board of trade director.
As CEO of the second largest board of trade in the province, her influence is far reaching. She is strategic with the board's advocacy when lobbying all levels of government, resulting in a strong focus on crime & justice, education, the environment, finance, taxation, transportation, and social policy. Her success has inspired others to further their education and career goals throughout the province. There are few people in our community who are better known or more recognizable than Anita.

Barbara Humphrey, Registered Nurse, DELTA

Barbara is a Registered Nurse educator. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing Degree from the University of British Columbia. Barbara has contributed over 32 years of nursing experience to helping others. She shares her nursing knowledge with members of the community including the Barbados Cultural Association of B.C. and the Congress of Black Women's Foundation of B.C. The educational seminars she instructs cover a variety health issues, such as diabetes, high blood pressure and AIDS. Barbara is also on several advisory committees involving policy change and Safer Administration of Medication to reduce harm to clients. As well, she works with the Congress of Black Women of British Columbia and the Committee for Racial Justice, striving to facilitate positive social change. However, working with young people has been her most rewarding and challenging experience to date.

Debbie Johansen, Project Manager Ledcor Construction, RICHMOND
Debbie had to overcome a major challenge to become project manager in a construction company-as a graduate from UBC with a BA in International Relations, she didn't have the educational background experience that is usually required for such an appointment. What she did have was the skills she learned first hand, starting from the ground up.
After graduating, she began temping in her family's construction business while deciding on a career path. She quickly realized that her strong math skills and assertive personality were well suited for a career in the construction industry. With little construction experience or knowledge, she completed the last 30% of a 7-storey high-rise. Five years later, she began working at Ledcor as a project administrator and seven years after that she was promoted to project manger overseeing multi-million dollar projects. She now has aimed her sites on becoming the company's first female senior construction manager.

Linda Jones, Artist and Art Instructor, DELTA
Linda is a working artist, art teacher, business women and community volunteer. For over 20 years of teaching art, she has inspired children and adult artists to express themselves through various media. In addition to sharing her love of art with her students, Linda contributes to community projects within the schools, the arts, and festivals with her artistic abilities and her sincere desire to understand and connect with her community.
As a volunteer artist with the Art in the Village program, she helped to encourage tourism in the historic village of Ladner. By donating her paintings to various fundraising initiatives held by organizations such as OWL Rehabilitation Society, the Delta Farmland and Wildlife Trust, and the Delta Arts Council, she has helped them raise funds to support many community services and programs.

Maya Korbynn, Eric Hamber Secondary School Student, VANCOUVER
Maya, from an early age, has devoted herself to Vancouver's arts community and non-profit organizations such as Sage House, which helps women at risk. She is always eager to help out others while displaying maturity and perseverance.
In 2008, Maya became a youth panel member with the Vancouver East Cultural Centre, in which she helps to organize the IGNITE! Youth Festival.
She has worked on many events including the Magnetic North Theatre festival, the Vancouver Fringe Festival, the World Urban Festival and the Parade of Lost Souls. She is currently the stage manager of her high school play. She has volunteered at the Power Within™ Conferences, motivational and training programs for the general public and corporations.

Caroline MacGillivray, Founder and President of Beauty Night Society, VANCOUVER

In 2000, Caroline founded Beauty Night Society, a charity that provides makeovers, literacy, and wellness programs to women and youth who deal with issues of abuse, violence, poverty, homelessness, and physical and mental ill health.

The idea began when Caroline volunteered at WISH Drop-In Centre Society, a non-profit agency for sex-trade workers. She did the hair, make up and nails for one of the women there and saw how this change transformed her expression to one of hope and excitement. Since then, she has inspired hundreds of volunteers and organizations to contribute to over 10, 000
makeovers to women in Vancouver, Victoria, Prince George and Toronto. And in the process, she has set a positive example of how people can foster constructive change in other people's lives.

Dr. Lucia Pham Machine, Veterinarian at Brookswood Veterinary Hospital, LANGLEY
Lucia’s parents risked everything for her and her brothers to come to Canada from Vietnam as a child. In doing so, she was given the opportunity to live and study in a country free from the chains of communism. Because of their sacrifices and the generosity of others during her first years in Canada, Lucia strives to give back to her others.
After graduating from UBC, she traveled to Vietnam to volunteer in a Tropical Disease Hospital. After that, she volunteered with the Flying Samaritans and travelled to Mexico with other health care professionals to provide free health care to disadvantaged families. While in Mexico, she developed an interest in helping animals. There that she came to understand the crucial role animals have in food, labour, and protection. While learning more about animal care, she found her calling for a career in veterinary medicine, devoting herself to take care of our furry friends and family.

Jill Martyniuk, Proprietor of Romancing the Home, SOUTH SURREY

Jill has accomplished what most people dream about, she transformed her on-the-side passion into a full-time successful business. Her venture began as a Christmas crafts show that she held in her home to display her own works while she worked as a dental assistant. Building on the show's successes, she then turned it into a local event showcasing 20 artists and artisans at the Ocean Park Community Hall. Three years later, she opened her shop, Romancing the Home, in Ocean Park.

Through her shop, she directly supports local handcrafted and Canadian made products. She organizes the event, Christmas in Ocean Park, which benefits merchants and customers alike. For non-profits, she has participated and organized teams for relays & walks, and is the proud sponsor and committee member of the gala event, Nite of Hope, for breast cancer research.

Sharon Meneely, Chair of the Derby Reach/Brae Island Parks Partnership Association, LANGLEY
For 10 years, Sharon taught ESL, but she was more than just a teacher- she liaised between the family and their new English-speaking world. Whether she was acting as an advocate to resolve an ICBC claim, a friend giving a homesick teen a hug, or even playing the role of Grandma on Grandparent's day, she was an important part of her students' lives.

For the Derby Reach/Brae Island Parks Partnership Association, she is more than a founding member and its chair. She has organized and delivered most of the important events promoting the preservation of the Langley bog and the two parks. Three years ago, she led the first Apple Day event in which historical interpretations, education, and festivities about the rich apple heritage found in the park were given to the public. Under her guidance, she helps educate people on the importance of nature and recreation to our wellbeing and the role of special places in building community pride.

Elly Morgan, M.A., Coordinator of Career Choices and Life Success Program, Kwantlen Polytechnic University, SURREY

Elly’s leadership provides career direction and a renewed sense of life purpose for many women. She does this by providing instruction in communication, conflict management, and problem solving techniques, so students gain the confidence to ask for what they need and take action. For many students this is a turning point in their lives. Students leave her program with a defined career goal and the life-long learning capacity to successfully transition their lives in the future. The school day ends but Elly's guidance and passion to help her students doesn't.

Elly successfully developed a similar program at the University of the Fraser Valley before leaving to complete her graduate training. In 1990, she created her own company, “Connections”, to meet the demand for organizational leadership and conflict management. As a motivational speaker, Elly inspires individuals and organizations to make positive changes. She has served as the family counselor for Chilliwack Community Services, the Coordinator of Big Sisters, and recently led her class to donate to the South Surrey Women's Place Society.

Dr. Briony Penn, Author, Broadcaster, Educator, Illustrator, and Geographer, SALT SPRING ISLAND
Briony bridges the worlds of science, media and community engagement and has been an advocate for environmental sustainability and social justice throughout her life.
As a community cartographer, she pioneered the barefoot mapping concept and for over a decade, she has conducted community and ecosystem mapping workshops to assist communities to map their cherished places. As an adjunct professor, she has lectured in the UVic School of Environmental Studies and in the Restoration of Natural Systems Program for over 15 years. She is an award-winning natural history columnist, feature writer, and for three years hosted Enviro/Mental, a weekly new magazine show for CIVI, Victoria. As an activist, she is a co-founder of The Land Conservancy of BC and a director of the Raincoast Conservation Foundation. She has a life long interest in sandhill cranes and in 2006, she launched a project studying their habitat use on the central and north coasts of BC.

Linda Williams, Chair of the Coast Cultural Alliance, SUNSHINE COAST
Linda is committed to advancing the arts in her community. For 10 years, she has been the chair of the Coast Cultural Alliance, a network of organizations, businesses, and individuals that promote arts and cultural involvement on the Sunshine Coast. To broaden its reach, she helped create and manages its website and interactive database, the monthly printed Arts and Cultural Calendar and the yearly Studio & Gallery Guide.
Linda also supports her community through advocacy and leadership. She is a director with Sunshine Coast Tourism and was a founding member for 10 years of the preceding organization, the Sunshine Coast Tourism Partnership. She is also on the steering committee for the Sunshine Coast Regional Cultural Strategy.
Her involvement and passion for the arts is unlimited. She is a director for the Sunshine Coast Arts Council, has spent 12 years as chair for the Sunshine Coast Jazz and Entertainment Society and festival director and webmistress for the Gibsons Landing Jazz Festival, and produces Music in the Landing. She performs a cappella, plays the marimba, and the mbira.