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Beverley Wybrow

2009 YWCA Toronto woman of distinction, community leadership

Beverley Wybrow is on a path to change the face of poverty in Canada. Her quiet strength, astounding passion for the well-being and economic sustainability of women and girls is reflected in everything she does. She is a remarkable leader who has inspired the non-profit sector, mobilized the business world, and challenged the nation to invest in transforming women’s lives: she is the 2009 YWCA Woman of Distinction for Community Leadership.

Beverley is best known as the President and CEO of the Canadian Women’s Foundation (CWF), the first and only national public foundation dedicated to improving the lives of women and girls in Canada. It is a position she has held since 1991. CWF raises money and provides grants to move women out of poverty, end violence against women, and build resilient girls. Beverley is a leader who believes investing in women and girls is important for the future of our communities and our society as a whole. CWF has raised over $31 million and supported more than 825 programs across Canada, ranking it as one of the top ten women’s foundations in the world. Under her guidance CWF has facilitated corporate partnerships with both national and community components, and her latest campaign calls on individual women to be engaged in philanthropy. Women Moving Women will bring together 2,500 women who over five years will help to move 2,500 women out of poverty.

wod sunlife logo There are few women’s organizations in the city of Toronto who have not benefited from Beverley’s wisdom, support, or leadership. She is one of the founders and first chair of an inter-agency steering committee who came together in 1985 to address the rise in crisis calls from abused women. Their cooperative work led to the establishment of the Assaulted Women’s Helpline, the first telephone crisis service of its kind in Ontario. The helpline is now a province-wide 24 hour crisis line for women experiencing violence. It offers support, safety planning and referral services for women in 154 languages.

Beverley has brought sexual assault into the public discourse. From 1987 to 1991, she served as Director of Public Education at the Ontario Women’s Directorate, where she oversaw the first government public education media campaigns on wife assault and sexual assault.

An extraordinary communicator and empathic listener, Beverley has extensive volunteer experience. She is a past Board Member and President of YWCA Toronto. She has served on several committees at the United Way, the Metro Toronto Coordinating Committee Against Wife Assault, YWCA Canada, and Raising the Roof: Solutions for Canada’s Homeless. She recently completed a six year term on the Board of the global Women’s Funding Network. She is an active member of the Board of Royal LePage Shelter Foundation and Chair of the Board of Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto, the church that performed the first legal same-sex weddings in the world.

In 2007, Beverley was presented with the City of Toronto’s prestigious Constance E. Hamilton Award, which is given to women who have made a significant impact on securing equitable treatment for women in Toronto, either socially, economically or culturally.

Beverley Wybrow is an innovator. She is profoundly pragmatic about what will really benefit women and girls, and she is working 24/7 to make sure her vision for Canadian women is realized.

Beverley Wybrow

2009 YWCA Toronto woman of distinction, community leadership

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