Vancity’s board of directors have selected Patrice Pratt as the new chairwoman, and Catherine McCreary as vice-chairwoman. Both roles are for a one-year term and effective immediately.

Pratt, a Burnaby resident, first joined Vancity’s board in 2005 and was named vice-chairwoman in 2006. She is retired from the British Columbia Government & Service Employees Union (BCGEU), where she served for 20 years on their executive leadership team. Patrice is a past chair of the United Way of the Lower Mainland and their “Success by 6” initiative; she was on the board of directors of the Vancouver Foundation and was chair of its Four Pillars Advisory Committee.

“Vancity is an incredible organization that reflects my values and those of our members,” said Pratt. “We have the resources and the will to make change in our world and that makes me proud.”

Pratt succeeds Elain Duvall of Vancouver who served three consecutive terms as board chair from April 2004 – April 2007.

Catherine McCreary has been a member of the board of directors of Vancity since 1999 and a director of the Vancity Group’s Inhance Investment Management-a socially responsible mutual fund company-since 2005.

McCreary has a long history in the credit union movement. She is a director of the Credit Union Central of British Columbia where she chairs their audit committee, and is a former director of First Calgary Savings and Credit Union.

McCreary is a Vancouver lawyer with a focus on labour law, and is currently working as an arbitrator and mediator. She recently finished her second term as vice-chair of the B.C. Labour Relations Board.

In addition to Pratt, McCreary and Duvall, the Vancity board is rounded out by Doug Soo, Lisa Barrett and Ian Gill and five new and re-elected directors: Virginia Weiler, Bob Williams and Doreen Braverman, as well as Kim Griffith and Elizabeth Fletcher who joined the board as a result of Vancity’s merger with Van Tel/Safeway in April 2007.

Vancity is Canada’s largest credit union, with $12.3 billion in assets, close to 360,000 members, and 50 branches throughout Greater Vancouver, the Fraser Valley, Victoria and Squamish. Vancity owns Citizens Bank of Canada.