Sussanne Skidmore was elected to her second term as BCFED president in 2024. Prior to being elected president for the first time in 2022, she served two terms as the federation’s secretary-treasurer between 2018 and 2022. A well-known human rights, social justice and queer rights activist, she served as executive vice-president of BCGEU for 5 years. She has co-chaired the BCFED’s Human Rights Committee and is active in the federation’s Women and Gender Rights Committee.

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 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.

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 level millwright and then was promoted to Maintenance Supervisor. She was the first woman to complete a millwright apprenticeship and the first to 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 Biotech.

In 2021, Lana completed the Leader in Trades Program (Formerly the Regional Representative Leadership training program) with the BC Centre for Women In The Trades. She was first elected as Director at Large for the BC Trades Equity Society for 2021. She was a tradeswoman coach for the first two cohorts of the Canadian Apprenticeship Forums National Leadership Development Program for Women in The Trades. Lana is driven to help change the culture of industrial and trades workplaces to be more inclusive to women and other equity priority groups so that anyone who wants to can enjoy the many advantages of a career in the trades.

Gabrielle Herle is a Journey Red Seal Carpenter, and has her Certificate in Occupational Health and Safety (COHS) with a complement of National Construction Safety Officer (NCSO). She has spent the last fifteen years working on the road with her trade and currently works where she resides in the beautiful West Kootenays of Southern British Columbia.

Recent and notable career highlights include OHS Canada’s 2022 Top 25 Under 40 as well as an award of Excellence in Safety and Service, which was given to Gabrielle for her active leadership in contributing to positive safety culture for a variety of clientele.

When Gabrielle is not working towards the goal of a sustainable safety culture, she enjoys the outdoors, team sports, public speaking and community events.

Sandra Brynjolfson is the assistant business manager for IBEW Local 213 and a past coordinator at the BC Centre for Women in the Trades (BCCWITT). A journey electrician for more than 20 years and a mentor to many tradeswomen, Sandra is passionate about breaking down cultural barriers, specifically the barriers that have prevented women and other underrepresented groups from entering, excelling at and ultimately enjoying rewarding careers in the trades. As an active volunteer, they have led groups of tradeswomen in renovation projects at women’s shelters. Sandra is also a past member of the board of directors for the IBEW Electrical Joint Training Committee and a trustee of the IBEW 213 Welfare and Pension Plans.

For years, women have been told there is no place in the construction trades for them. Those who ignore that message and enter the trades face discrimination, harassment and bullying from the time they start their apprenticeship. Many women leave while still apprentices and those who stay face barriers throughout their careers.

Brynjolfson provides leadership, mentorship, collaboration and action on countless initiatives, from speaking engagements to political advocacy.

“And all those barriers that we have faced and that we are still facing, I want to see those disappear,” says Brynjolfson. “I want to see respectful workplaces and equal opportunity in the workplace.”

Sarina Hanschke is a third generation Roadbuilder and union member of the Labourer’s International Union of North America (LiUNA local 1611). She started her career in the trades immediately after graduating high school as a means to pay for her university degree to become a teacher. She quickly learned that the trades are a viable career option for a bright future and quickly excelled at the trade. Her passion for safety, teaching, and the trades met in the middle as she worked with instructors and industry from around the province to redesign the course curriculum for the Traffic Control Program. Sarina became an active advocate for women in trades in 2013, helped form Build Together on the National level in 2015, and currently serves as the secretary-treasurer on the executive board of Build Together BC. She is thrilled to contribute BCCWITT’s mission to moving the dial to increase the number of women entering trades, by working to improve workplace culture through the surge of inclusivity and diversity on the Province’s infrastructure projects. 

Harpreet has contributed to various innovative and diverse industries. Boasting over a decade of experience in strategic communication, project management, and leadership, she is now leveraging her expertise to elevate the profile of CLR and its esteemed members to new heights. Harpreet is a proud alumnus of Sheridan College, holding a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing Management. In September 2023, she embraced the role of Marketing and Communications Coordinator at CLR.