A Langley resident has been elected as the region governor of global women’s organization
Roseanne Ham will serve a two-year term as Western Canada Region Governor of Soroptimist, an international volunteer organization for business and professional women who work to improve the lives of women and girls.
As region governor, Ham will serve as the top administrative officer for Soroptimist clubs in her geographical territory, which covers Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia. Together, Ham and her clubs will work to affect social change and to increase the collective impact they have on local women and girls.
She said her work with Soroptimist is very rewarding and improving the lives of women and girls through education is a very humbling experience.
Ham is a member of Soroptimist International of the Langleys, one of 3,100 Soroptimist clubs. A member since 2012, Ham has held several leadership positions including club president and treasurer, region public awareness chair and governor-elect.
Ham emigrated to Canada with her parents when she was 10 years old and settled in London, Ont.. She moved to B.C. in 1978. She completed the legal administrative assistant program at Vancouver Community College (VCC) and began working for the college a year later as assistant to the assistant dean of Student Services. After working for the division chair of Business and the dean of Student Services, she spent a brief time in Human Resources before becoming the executive assistant to the dean of Education as well as the VP Academic.
In 2005, while working full time at VCC she began the Bachelor of General Studies program at Simon Fraser University. This meant spending every other Friday and Saturday for three years in class, plus the extra study and prep time and in October 2008 she was awarded her BA.
Ham is currently an administrative professional to professional practice at Fraser Health.
Ham also served as Western Canada Division president of the International Association of Administrative Professionals, where she won the Regional Membership of the Year Award.
Soroptimist (Soroptimist.org) is a global volunteer organization with volunteers in 21 countries and territories. Its Soroptimist Dream Programs ensure women and girls have access to the education and training they need to achieve economic empowerment. The Live Your Dream: Education and Training Awards for Women® provide cash grants for head-of-household women seeking to improve their earning potential.
About $35 million in awards has been disbursed to tens of thousands of women since the award-winning program began in 1972. Dream It, Be It: Career Support for Girls® provides girls with tangible strategies to accomplish their future career goals. The charity also powers LiveYourDream.org®—an online community that offers volunteer opportunities in support of women and girls.
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