YWCA Women of Distinction Awards Recipients 2024
byRecipients of the 41st YWCA Women of Distinction Awards were announced this evening at the Westin Bayshore in Downtown Vancouver. Over a thousand guests gathered to celebrate the 106 nominees and 12 recipients of the awards, presented by Scotiabank.
YWCA Women of Distinction Awards Recipients 2024
“For me the awards are most importantly about visibility. It’s about seeing women in positions of power, of influence, as change-makers, and as visionaries”
– YWCA CEO Erin Seeley
Join us tonight to celebrate these amazing women at the 41st Annual Women of Distinction Awards presented by @Scotiabank!#WODA pic.twitter.com/DAwNfuyjxl
— YWCA Metro Vancouver (@YWCAVAN) May 14, 2024
The recipients celebrated tonight:
- Arts, Culture & Design: Judith Pyke
- Business & the Professions: Sarah Hoffman
- Community Champion: Michelle Di Tomaso
- Education, Training & Development: Dr. Tamara Shenkier
- Entrepreneurship & Innovation: Jessica Regan
- Environmental Sustainability: Dr. Melissa Lem
- Health & Wellness: Vivian Eliopoulos
- Non-Profit: Chelsea Minhas
- Reconciliation In Action: kihci têpakohp iskotêw iskwêw (Emily Henry)
- Reconciliation in Action – Ally: Mary Gerges
- Research, the Sciences & Technology: Dr. Jacquelyn Cragg
- Young Woman of Distinction: Stephanie Quon
- Outstanding Workplace: Vancouver Community College
- Connecting the Community Award: Raheil Moradi (Gender Equity)
- Each nominee chose a YWCA area that is important to them for a chance to donate $10,000, courtesy of Scotiabank, to the YWCA program of her choice. The public voted on this award, for which all nominees were eligible.
The fundraising goal of the evening was $250,000 to support the YWCA Slocan development, which will provide deeply affordable and below-market housing with 70 new homes to help individuals and families thrive. An update on that total plus official photos from the evening will be available a bit later on the YWCA’s Facebook page.
Nominations for the 2025 awards are now open! Deadline to nominate is November 29, 2024. These awards honour all women, including trans women. The YWCA strongly encourages nominations that recognize the contributions of Black, Indigenous and People of Colour, as well as 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals.
YWCA Metro Vancouver is dedicated to achieving women’s equality. Their mission is to touch lives and build better futures for women and their families through advocacy and integrated services that foster economic independence, wellness and equal opportunities.
Miss604 is a proud sponsor of the YWCA Women of Distinction Awards, since 2010.
