Equity in Contracting Networking Event

Women and gender-diverse contractors, prospective contractors, and women and gender-diverse workers are invited to come socialize, network and enjoy themselves on Saturday, March 23rd, from 12:00 pm-2:30 pm. This event will build connections and rapport between trailblazing contractors and their supporters.

For questions or concerns please contact Anna Lary.  There will be a light lunch, a panel discussion, structured networking opportunities, and door prizes (including a Milwaukee M18 Fuel ½ drill).

Time and Place: Saturday, March 23rd, 2024, 12:00 PM-2:30 PM, NW04 Flex Rooms, BCIT, Burnaby Campus

The Panel Discussion will be moderated by Barbara James Malidzas, Red Seal Carpenter. Barbara James is winner of the 2023 BCIT Outstanding Student Leadership Award, a BCIT Part-Time Studies Instructor, and Vice President of the BC Trades Equity Society.

Panel Members:

• • Mary-Anne Bowcott, Owner Westcom Plumbing and Gas Ltd.
  • Priya Anderson, Owner Rockwood Electric Ltd
  • Amandeep Beesla, Sole Proprietor Amandeep Beesla Consulting Ltd.
  • Anne Lee, CPA and Taxation Specialist

Panelists Biography:   

Barbara James Malidzas (she/her/they/them) currently lives and works for her Nation the Gwa’sala-‘Nakwaxda’xw in Port Hardy BC. She is a Red Seal Carpenter who works as a Safety and Project Coordinator and is also the Vice President of the BC Tradeswomen Society. She is winner of the 2023 BCIT Outstanding Student Leadership Award. Barbara is a PT Instructor for BCIT and their School of Construction and the Environment, where she assists in teaching High Performance Building. Barbara is a passionate advocate for BIPOC in the trades and uses her platform to promote equity for all those under-represented folks in the trades. She volunteers for many industry related organizations, facilitating courses, sharing on or moderating panels, being interviewed by newspapers, and participating in important Industry Research. Barbara’s dream is to inspire more youth and women to enter the trades and pursue their passions while making a generous living and contributing to their communities. By promoting sustainable building practices and incorporating cultural significance she aims to decolonize the industry.

Anna Lary M.Ed, FSR Class B (she/her) is a Master Electrician and an Instructor in the Electrical Apprenticeship Program at the British Columbia Institute of Technology. Anna is also the newly elected Chair of the VRCA Equity Diversity and Inclusion Committee. She is an activist promoting equity in the trades, working on various national working groups to advance the recruitment and retention of equity-priority trades workers. Anna is passionate about the electrical trade and about supporting apprentices in their career paths. Anna brings with her empathy and understanding, fostered by her past experiences with the biological and social realities of being a woman in almost exclusively male workplaces. Anna’s work includes curriculum development, peer mentorship, and support.

Mary-Anne Bowcott was born and raised on Vancouver Island, where she still lives. She is the owner of both Westcom Plumbing and Gas Ltd. (2015) and Westcom Roofing and Sheet Metal (2022) She has been in the building trades for 20 years. Mary-Anne originally started as a shingle roofer, and then moved on to plumbing and gas, all while continuing to roof, completing her apprenticeship and receiving a Red Seal Endorsement for Plumbing and Class B Gas Fitter certifications.

Amandeep Beesla (she/her) 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 25 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. She is involved with various executive boards, committees, associations, and organizations such as Canadian Construction Women (CCW), Vancouver Regional Construction Association (VRCA), Canadian Association for Black Health and Safety Professionals, and Safety Driven Technical Advisory Committee. It highlights her education and experience with women in the trades and construction, as well as being a visible minority.

Anne Lee (she/her) is a Chartered Professional Accountant, who also has a Master of Professional Accounting and a Bachelor of Education. Her career has focused on tax specialty work, incorporating digital tax technology experiences, and managing global innovation projects in Canada, Oceania, and Asia-Pacific regions for one of the Big4 accounting firms. Anne is also an apprentice working towards obtaining a Red Seal Endorsement in the field of Construction Electrician. Bringing her two areas of expertise together, she is working on sharing the tremendous financial benefits of the apprenticeship pathway and promoting financial literacy for trades workers.

Priya Anderson (she/her) is a Red Seal Electrician and the owner operator of Rockwood Electric Ltd, which she started four and a half years ago. Priya is remarkable, as she has built a network of women and gender-diverse contractors who offer each other knowledge, insight, and support, all while running a successful and growing electrical contracting business and raising two small children. Priya gives back to her community in many ways, both through charitable work and by helping others access the supports and insider knowledge that make contractors successful.

Mary-Anne Bowcott was born and raised on Vancouver Island, where she still lives. She is the owner of both Westcom Plumbing and Gas Ltd. (2015) and Westcom Roofing and Sheet Metal (2022) She has been in the building trades for 20 years. Mary-Anne originally started as a shingle roofer, and then moved on to plumbing and gas, all while continuing to roof, completing her apprenticeship and receiving a Red Seal Endorsement for Plumbing and Class B Gas Fitter certifications.