President:
Nicole Wiet
She/Her
Nicole Wiet resides in New Westminster, the traditional, ancestral, unceded territory of the Qayqayt First Nation, as well as all Coast Salish peoples. She is a journey level IUEC elevator constructor, following her father and grandfather into the elevator trade. She is only the fourth woman to achieve this distinction in her local, in which she served two terms on the IUEC Executive Board.
She is a founding member and current President of the BC Tradeswomen Society, a partner in obtaining government funding to improve the culture and retention for tradeswomen. She sits on the governance board for the BCCWITT and was on the planning committee and attended as a speaker at the inaugural Women Build BC Conference for tradeswomen in 2021.
She was selected for and honored to attend as a co-chair at the Governor General Canadian Leadership Conference in 2022. The conference brings together Canada’s emerging leaders from business, labour, government, NGOs, education and the cultural sector for a unique two-week experience aimed at broadening their perspectives on work, leadership, their communities and their country. She met many amazing people during that experience, including Mary Simon, Governor General of Canada, Elizabeth Dowdeswell, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario and most importantly her amazing study group, Ontario 1.
She spends her free time adventuring with her partner and attending Whitecaps FC matches where she aided the creation of an inclusive and safe supporters group named the Vancouver Sisters.
Vice President:
Barbara James
She/Her/They/Them
Ancestral name Malidzas
I belong to the Gwa’sala-‘Nakwaxda’xw people of Port Hardy, B.C. I am a fourth-year carpentry apprentice and advocate for women in the trades. I currently work for BCIT as an instructor in the school of construction and the environment. I volunteer my time with various committees including the BC Tradeswomen Society, Build TogetHer, and BCCWITT. I am a trustee for The United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, local 1907 and a delegate to the BC regional council of carpenters. My hobbies include hiking with my dog, traveling and fishing. I aspire to become a Red Seal carpenter and to continue working within my community so that the trades may become a more welcoming and safer environment for everyone to pursue their passions. Gila’kasla
Secretary:
Jelissa De Torres
She/Her
Jelissa is a second-year carpentry apprentice and entrepreneur. She was first introduced to the trades when she participated in an Intro to carpentry course directed to women with little to no experience in the trades. When she’s not at school or work, she runs a business designing and building a variety of custom wood pieces and displays for local event planners, decorators and businesses.
She serves as a regional representative for the BC Centre for Women in the Trades and is a board member for the non-profit Build a Dream. She has appeared in a variety of publications, has spoken at a number of trades events and has been a guest on several podcasts. Through these platforms, as well as through her online presence on Instagram, she has shared her experience of being a woman in the trades, has provided mentorship and guidance to new or prospective tradeswomen, and has been able to connect with tradeswomen from all over the world. She hopes to aid in changing the negative stigma of careers in the trades, help address the issue of retention of women in the trades and make pursuing a career in this industry more appealing and accessible to those who are underrepresented.
Her ultimate goal is to one day establish a summer camp for young girls where they can explore the skills one learns in the trades as well as learn interpersonal and leadership skills in a supportive environment. Her hope is to provide the opportunity for them to explore alternative careers, as well as gain the skills to be confident, assertive and successful in their future endeavours.
Treasurer:
Jessica Jackman
Jessica Jackman is a Red Seal Electrician in Victoria, B.C. Currently she is working in a safety and administrative position with a residential contractor. Jessica moved into the trades after a non-career of miscellaneous jobs for many years, and found the construction field challenging and rewarding. Jessica is constantly seeking new opportunities for growth and learning, and connecting underrepresented individuals in the trades with resources and connections to grow themselves.
Director at Large:
Amandeep Beesla
She/Her
Amandeep Beesla was born and raised in Vancouver BC, Canada into an immigrant trucking family. She is a third generation, heavy equipment operator by trade with over 20 years of onsite field experience in heavy industrial construction, civil road building, pipeline, winter drilling, open-pit mining, earth works, live process plants, SAGD sites, infrastructure, transportation and trucking, petrochemical, and oil and gas field industry in Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and Washington State and has been on international projects as part of global teams.
Amandeep is a proud member of the International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 955 Fort McMurray Alberta Canada and has roots with Teamsters Vancouver. She is involved with various boards, committees, associations, and organizations highlighting her education and experience with women in the trades and construction, as well as being a visible minority. Amandeep is passionate about tradeswomen’s rights, equal opportunities, diversity and inclusion, mentoring new and young workers, and mental health. This has led her to pursue a career path in health and safety.
In her spare time, Amandeep loves to kickbox, ride motorcycles, read, cook, go camping, quading, 4x4ing, shooting, hiking, swimming, and enjoys going out to live sports events, games, concerts, and working out.
Director at Large:
Gabrielle Herle
She/Her
Gabrielle works, plays, and lives within the ancestral and unceded land of the Sylix, Ktuxnaha and Sinixt nations. within the ancestral, and unceded traditional Syilx, Ktunaxa, and Sinixt Nations in the Kootenay Boundary territory.
She is a recognized Red Seal Carpenter with a certificate in Occupational Health & Safety. She enjoys helping all under represented members in her community with ascertaining the skills and confidence to succeed and lead a joyful life.
For the last fifteen years she has worked in the industrial sectors of the construction, oil, and mining fields as first a bright eyed and bushy tailed Carpenter apprentice, making her way through the journey of the trade up to Red Seal status in 2011 and finally landing in a position suited perfectly to her niche, as Health & Safety Coordinator for Teck in the Kootenay Boundary Region.
She served on the board for the 2021-2022 term as a director-at-large, is currently serving the third of a four year term on the executive board of her carpenter’s union as the first female-member-at-large, created and now chair’s that same carpenter’s union Diversity & Inclusion committee (responsible for introducing Be More Than A Bystander from BCCWITT and is proud to report that three union brothers she has personally worked with are now trainers for the course). In addition, she also serves on the Diversity & Inclusion committee at her current employer, where she has the opportunity to cross-pollinate ideas and ways in which we can further our voices and advocate for the representation of all underrepresented groups within our societal reach.
She carries a passion for people, animals, the outdoors, and believes strongly in the use of movement as medicine. Her aim on the board is to provide regional representation for underrepresented groups while maintaining a focus on retention, expanding the conversation and normalizing the current cultural transition in order to make it a more tangible goal for our province (and ultimately, across Canada).
Director at Large:
Lana Love
She/Her
Lana Love is a journey level millwright and is currently working on achieving her Fourth Class Power Engineering Certification. She works as a Field Operator with the newly formed company Arbios Biotech. Previously, she worked in sawmills for 11 years where she completed her millwright apprenticeship, worked as a journey millwright and then was promoted to Maintenance Supervisor. She was the first woman to complete a millwright apprenticeship and work in the role of maintenance supervisor with the Solid Wood Division of Canfor. Lana previously completed her ‘C’ Level welding and worked fabricating and welding Porsche Speedster replicas at Intermeccanica International Inc. in Vancouver.
When she worked for Canfor she was a member of Canfor’s Inclusion and Diversity Council, Women’s Engagement Group and Indigenous Engagement Group. She looks forward to helping to create the foundations of a diverse and inclusive workplace where all voices are represented and heard in her new role at Arbios.
In 2021, Lana completed the Regional Representative Leadership training with the BC Centre for Women In The Trades. She was first elected as Director at Large for the BC Tradeswomen Society for 2021. Lana is driven to help change the culture of industrial and trades workplaces to be more inclusive to women and other underrepresented groups so that anyone who wants to can enjoy the many advantages of a career in the trades.
When Lana is not working, she enjoys relaxing at home, spending time with her husband and daughter, reading, knitting, gardening and going on adventures in the woods and mountains.
Director at Large:
Hilary Peach
Hilary Peach is a welding inspector and a boiler safety officer. As a travel-card pressure welder in the Boilermakers Union, she traversed the continent for two decades, from BC shipyards and pulp mills, through the Alberta tar sands and the Ontario steel belt, to the colossal power generating stations of the eastern seaboard of the United States. She is an advocate for diversity and equity in the trades, an avid bicyclist, a writer, and an event producer. Hilary has created three audio recordings, Poems Only Dogs Can Hear, Suitcase Local, and Dictionary of Snakes, and in 2018 released a collection of poetry, BOLT (Anvil Press). Her upcoming memoire, THICK SKIN: Field Notes From A Sister In The Brotherhood, will be out on Anvil Press in August of 2022.
Director at Large:
Rachel Schatz
Rachel Schatz is a red seal plumber and gas fitter with over 15 years experience in the construction and service industry.
Several years ago, she made the switch to education. She obtained her adult education diploma, and is currently the only women teaching in the BCIT piping department. She believes her role is an important step towards representation; allowing underrepresented apprentices to see future career paths, as well as teaching men coming through the program, further breaking down those barriers.
2022 was a life changing year, beginning with the SWiT (Supporting Women in Trades)conference in Newfoundland, where she connected with the BC Center for Women in the Trades (BCCWITT), and went on to complete the Regional Representative Training in September. The friendship and bonding from that experience created more interest in getting involved with the BC Tradeswomen Society, attending meetups, networking, and trying to connect students in her programs with available resources, mentoring and encouragement.
Outside of trades, Rachel has a passion for the outdoors. Forever chasing sunrises, you can find her on the hiking trails, snowboarding or camping with her dogs and husband. She also has a passion for fitness, and has won several metals as a competitive bodybuilder.
Director at Large:
Lisa Scott
Lisa Scott is Red Seal Journeyperson Electrician and has been in industry for over 20 years. Currently, she is located in Quesnel and working for School District #28 as a maintenance electrician. Lisa is very passionate about the trades, trades advocacy, especially when it comes to diversity in the trades. She is active in her community and volunteers on numerous committees and boards. She is a Regional Representative for BCCWITT, a Board Member for the College of New Caledonia. She is also on the Skilled Trades Committee for CUPE BC and on varies different committees for her Union, Local CUPE 4990.
Lisa is also the president of the Quesnel Lacrosse Association, holds a vice-chair position for the Great White North Lacrosse Commission, coaches lacrosse and runs the Spirit of Lacrosse program in Quesnel.
This summer she also organized and led 2 one week youth trades discovery camps at the College of New Caledonia Quesnel campus. The first camp was for young girls and the second camp was for Indigenous youth. Both camps saw youth participants from ages 9-13.
Lisa is excited to be part of the BC Tradeswomen Society Executive and to continue to advocate for the trades and industry.
Director at Large:
Ant Yap
Forever on the run, not from the law but from idleness itself. Antoniette lets her curiosity and ingenuity take her to paths less traveled and reaps fully from its reward. Over the years she has gain many practical experiences that made her a “Jill of all trades”(Millwright) and if she didn’t know it, she’d seek guidance from an expert or resource. When not on the tools she’s jumping around as a paramedic or doing renovations. Antoniette is the the type of leader who utilizes the strengths of a team to work as one cohesive unit, never from the front – always finding ways to support from the back and help each other rise.
In this collective Antoniette wants to continue her passion fostering connection, inspiring and finding sustainable efficient solutions in our globalized society for education and empowerment for all those who dare to dream in the trades.
Thank you to all former Executive Board members.
Without your hard work, we wouldn’t be where we are today.
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