Meet Erin Seeley, the Leader Proving That Social Impact and Entrepreneurship Aren’t Mutually Exclusive, and RBC Canadian Women Entrepreneur Awards Social Change Regional Impact Finalist

It took Erin Seeley decades to see how her life experiences were quietly shaping the leader she was becoming.

The dinner table conversations with her single dad who sold cars to people nobody else would finance. The small-town values that taught her about community. The career in international development that showed her what sustainability meant. Two decades in public service that built her confidence to make hard decisions.

“It’s only now in my career that I can see how my values, strengths, choices, and ambitions have led me to a more authentic place of leading with confidence,” she reflects.

That authenticity matters because today she leads one of BC’s largest multi-service charities with more than 600 employees serving women, children, youth, and allies across 42 locations. Getting there meant learning to trust herself and her own path.

The Foundation of Values

Erin grew up in Powell River, a small town on BC’s Sunshine Coast where everyone knew each other. Her parents divorced when she was young, and evenings with her dad became tutorials on how to show up as a leader. He’d share “Bobisms” (like “you have to be able to look yourself in the mirror in the morning”) and talked openly about how he used his position as a car dealership owner to help people others often ignored.

“He’d come home excited about who he managed to get a car for. We talked a lot about single moms. He talked a lot about First Nations people and how no one would finance them, and he could get them a car.”

She went on to study political science at the University of Victoria, driven by curiosity about how systems worked, then worked in Latin America after completing a post-graduate diploma in international management from Capilano University.

Back in Canada, she spent the next two decades in public service, working in immigration policy, labour markets, and venture capital. She had two kids and somehow completed a master’s degree when her eldest was an infant. “I thought I would get a to-do list done while I was off on maternity leave, not understanding parenthood,” she jokes.

When she was asked to become acting CEO of BC’s real estate regulator, she was ready for the challenge. “I think I was finally ready for people not to like me and to take hard decisions and be okay with that,” she says.

Then COVID hit.

Leading the YWCA

Like many people in 2020, Erin found herself reflecting on what she loved, what she was passionate about, what she wanted to be doing.

She could see how all her experiences had been building toward something, but she wasn’t sure what.

That’s when the YWCA Metro Vancouver called. “It just fit,” she says. “The business background I’ve had, the political government relations, my volunteer work advocating for affordable housing. It all could come together, and I could actually work and love my work in a way that I probably hadn’t really ever in my career.”

Today, under Erin’s leadership, the YWCA operates across 42 locations, offering more than 80 programs to women, children and youth, from housing and violence prevention to employment support and early childhood education. The organization also runs social enterprises including a 220-room hotel and five childcare centres.

The work focuses on three interconnected challenges: childcare access, affordable housing, and safety from gender-based violence. For Erin, these aren’t just social issues. They’re economic ones.

“Childcare is economic development,” she says. “If women aren’t working because they can’t access affordable childcare, you’re not maximizing your workforce. It’s that simple.”

The housing crisis is equally urgent. When a two-bedroom apartment costs $3,400 a month but income assistance provides just $790 for rent, families face impossible choices. “The gap is so unfair,” Erin says. “And the policies actually punish women who try to earn more because their support gets clawed back.”

What’s become clear to her is that these challenges disproportionately affect certain communities. An Indigenous elder who advised the organization told her something that shifted her thinking entirely: “If you constantly think about policy from the perspective of an Indigenous woman, you’re going to advocate for the right policies.”

The work demands difficult choices. “We have to make trade-offs about which programs to prioritize,” Erin admits. But now she has the confidence to make those calls and stand behind them, trusting that her values and experience will guide her to the right answer.

A Team Effort and Advice for Other Entrepreneurs

When Erin was named a finalist for the RBC Canadian Women Entrepreneur Awards Social Change Regional Impact recognition, she thought about the broader movement she’s part of.

“It means that the work of the YWCA is recognized for being entrepreneurial, which it is,” she says. “There are women leaders across 29 YWCAs in Canada taking big risks, and we lean on each other.”

But the recognition also means something personal.

“It’s all about the people. We have 600-plus employees who do this work every day. I get the absolute privilege of accepting the beautiful glass statue, but they’re the ones providing the direct services. That’s what it means. It means their work matters.”

Her advice to other women reflects what she wishes she’d understood earlier: “Trust yourself. Trust your judgement. I didn’t trust that I could lead until much later in my life. I’d love to see more women in their 20s just go through the world with the confidence they should have.”

She also wishes she’d trusted herself enough to leave situations that weren’t serving her. “With the bad bosses and the bad jobs, I wish I’d left earlier,” she says. The confidence to walk away is just as important as the confidence to stay.

She encourages people to get involved locally, whether through volunteerism or community engagement. “Getting connected in your community creates compassion for each other. When you have human connection, that’s what makes this work so valuable.”

Looking back, Erin can see how each experience contributed to who she is as a leader today. The path wasn’t linear, but it was authentic. “I suppose my story is still being written,” she reflects, “but my hope is that by sharing this, it can make space for other women to do the same.”

Her dad had another saying that’s guided her through every transition: “Move your goalposts.” Once you achieve something, keep reaching higher. It took decades for Erin to see how all those dinner table lessons were shaping her leadership style, but now she understands. Authentic leadership isn’t about having it all figured out from the start. It’s about trusting that your experiences are preparing you for exactly the work you’re meant to do, even when you can’t see the pattern yet.

And every morning, she can look at herself in the mirror with pride.