Vera LeFranc was born in Prince Rupert, attended grade 1 in Terrace, grew up on Haida Gwaii and lived in the Okanagan before ultimately moving to the Lower Mainland.  With connections to northern and interior British Columbia, Vera brings a unique combination of skills and experience to her role as COO of Elizabeth Fry Society of the Lower Mainland. 

With a degree in Business and Liberal Studies from Simon Fraser University, Vera brings a solid mix of business sense and a passion for social justice and reconciliation to her work.

Vera is currently a member of the Provincial Child Care Council, with a mandate of providing support and advice to The PCCC provides advice on the policies and programs that affect the affordability, quality and accessibility of child care. Its members are appointed from throughout the province and represent key partners in delivering universal child care: Indigenous communities, the business sector, child care providers, the education system, the non-profit sector and local governments.

For over a decade, Vera worked with Vancity Community Foundation and the Surrey Homelessness & Housing Society to distribute almost over $5 million in funding to organizations working with Surrey’s most vulnerable. As well, Vera led the team that administers over $10 Million in Homelessness Partnership Funding annually to organizations working across the region to reduce homelessness.  This meant closely working with EFry and other organizations delivering programs to our most vulnerable residents.

From 2014 to 2018 Vera was an elected City Councilor with the City of Surrey where she led initiatives such as the Surrey Urban Aboriginal Leadership Committee, laying the foundation to ensure the full economic, social and cultural participation of the Indigenous people who call the City of Surrey home.  In addition, Vera was the Vice Chair of the Finance Committee, Co Chair of the Social Policy Advisory Committee including extensive work on poverty reduction, Co Chair of four very successful Social Innovation summits aimed at creating a culture and eco-system conducive to tackling significant social issues in the City of Surrey, Chair of the Surrey Aboriginal Social Innovation Strategy, grounded in the Truth and Reconciliation calls to action, Vice Chair of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and Co-Chair of the Healthy Communities Partnership.  In addition, Vera was named by the Federation of Municipalities as one of the inaugural 2018 Top Ten Best for Canada Municipal Innovators. 

Vera spent has spent the majority of her career working within women serving organizations to advance women’s equality, provide employability and life skills training, develop programs that meet the needs of the most vulnerable, including crime prevention, housing and homelessness, and community economic development.

Vera has been married to Jen for over 14 years.  They live in Guildford and are deeply involved in the community volunteering to support young people who are exiting the foster care system. 

Spring has Sprung! Please join us April 1st at Noon on Zoom for a special program.

 Eric Young will present The Art and Science of Dahlias 

• Eric has been a volunteer with Rotary International since he joined the Rotaract Club in 2007 while in university.
• He has a BSc in Health Information Science from the University of Victoria and moved to Vancouver in 2014 to work at the BC Patient Safety & Quality Council as a Data Analyst. Eric has a strong interest in healthcare transformation and quality improvement and is passionate about using health information to story-tell and drive improvement work.
• In recent years, Eric picked up gardening, growing dahlias in particular. 
• This is a passion of his mother (Connie) and he took it upon himself to learn from her.
• In his spare time he enjoys spending time outdoors either running
• Contact Louise Perry by email for ZOOM link  lperrynewwestrotary@gmail.com

Claire is the daughter of Michael and Melissa Haffner, and is sister to Grace. She is in grade 11 at New Westminster Secondary, where she plays both basketball and volleyball. Claire also plays volleyball outside of school, and dreams of continuing to play for a university, as it is one of her biggest passions. Having played many sports in her lifetime and after taking the career course in grade 10, she has been looking at jobs in Health Sciences (physio therapy, genetic counsellor, etc). buat has also recently been interested in business and technology, and she looks forward to exploring her options. Claire also plays piano and has volunteered at many small events, but looks forward to  doing more volunteering in her community through the Hyack Ambassador Program.

Claire is most inspired by her parents, as they are the kindest, most supportive and hardworking people she has ever met. They always push Claire and her sister to do their best and make them take risks even when they don’t want to. She is very thankful to have them in her life.

Claire's most treasured keepsake is her Pandora charm bracelet. Almost every
important event that has happened in her life is represented by a charm. It shows her family, friends, travels, May Day and so much more.

Her proudest moment of her life so far was receiving female athlete of the year for her grade last year. "I worked really hard during the volleyball and basketball season and it was nice to
be recognized for my effort."

Claire's favourite thing to do in the Royal City, besides the Hyack Festival, is going down to the Quay in the summers, getting gelato at the farmers market and walking along the boardwalk with her friends. "At the end of the boardwalk, there used to be
beach volleyball courts and I loved playing there. Or relaxing in the hammocks the city would hang. It was the perfect place to relax."​

When asked who she would trade places with, past or present, Claire says:
"I have always wanted to know what it was like to live during the renaissance so I think it would be interesting to trade places with Marie-Antoinette. When I visited France, I got to go inside
the place of Versailles and it would be interesting to see how the royal family lived back then. The society was very divided and it would be different to live in a monarchy government, especially to be the Queen. However, if I was to trade places with her, I would want to leave before the French Revolution."

If she could give advice to her 13-year-old-self, Claire would tell herself not to care what anyone else thinks or says. "It’s typical to be self-conscious at that age but the only thing that matters is how you see yourself." She would also tell her 13-year-old self to not worry so much about the future and to just live in the moment.

Claire believes she would make a good Hyack Ambassador because no one loves this city more than she does. She
loves our traditions like the Hyack Parade and May Day. "We are a small community but our spirit is big. My parents grew up here and it only seems fair that I do my part to give back by
volunteering and representing my Royal City."