BY J.M. LEE
Lily is a Director of Youth & Community Initiatives and manages Employment Programs & Community Initiatives at Progressive Intercultural Community Services (PICS) Society. As a role model for women in business, Lily sets a positive example for other women to follow. “I care about empowering other women, so they gain the confidence and skills to take the lead and control their own lives,” Lily relates.
As a Director, she supervises a team of 18 staff and volunteers, who reports directly to her. Lily brings with her a wealth of knowledge with over 15 years of experience in management, administration and customer service, and past 10 years has been dedicated providing Employment Assistance Services in the not-for-profit sector. She holds a Bachelor Degree from India and graduated from the Career Development Practitioner Program from SFU and is pursuing a Human Resources Management Program.
Lily has been dedicated to provide quality services to youth and the homeless population through YESS, I M Change, Trade Builder, Career Builder, SAFE and Youth Resource Area related programs at PICS. These programs are aimed to help people facing multiple barriers in attaining their career goals. She also leads and organizes one of the premiere events—PICS Mega Job Fair—held twice a year, serving thousands of job seekers and over 100 exhibitors.
“As a key organizer, I have spearheaded and led my team to several community events throughout the year,” she reiterates. “I am passionate about these causes, and I know education is the key to inspiring others to act. I really want to get to the root of the issues in the community.”
Some of the critical events that Lily leads are:
- PICS REACH Walk/Rally for Drug and Gang-Free Communities—this event highlights the need to Realize-Educate-Accept-Communicate and Help those affected by our communities’ drug and gang crisis. It brings together community stakeholders to share their programs with the community
- International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination: this project creates art with youth and community partners, bringing attention to the work the world still needs to do and what we can do to introduce change and eliminate racial discrimination
- DEAM—Finding the Ability in Disability: An Employment Forum designed to help employers be aware of the programs available to them for a more inclusive workplace
- Adopt-A-Street: PICS cleans a stretch of streets in Surrey monthly and has adopted it as theirs. Lily will be there with her team, picking up the garbage
- PICS—The Gift of Life—BC Transplant This program educated our staff and community members on becoming organ donors. #Take Two Minutes and Save a Life
- Youth Forum for International Students— this program is to help international students learn and talk about the issues facing them in housing, working, and their mental health and well-being
- PICS Family Circle: This project explores how loneliness affects seniors in our communities and matches them with volunteer families. As an innovative leader, Lily can think and influence others to create new and better ideas to achieve positive results. Her empathy towards others and her genuine desire to empower and motivate them to succeed inspire others to collaborate toward a shared vision.
Lily’s optimism, persuasiveness, enthusiasm, and drive have propelled her to transform the lives of many clients. “As an immigrant, and at one time as a job seeker, I am well aware of the challenges in seeking employment and obstacles to settling into a new country,” Lily recalls. “My empathy with job seekers and genuine desire to empower and motivate others to succeed in their job search drives me to work even harder to help.”
Lily has been an inspiration to her staff at PICS Society. She has been a constant support to others in identifying their existing strengths and the capabilities they would like to further strengthen. “I always challenge the staff with new ideas and projects and inspire them to rise, and I never let them down. Overcoming my personal challenges, I am a confident, determined, and driven leader who would inspire anyone who meets and works with me. The staff knows they can depend on me, as I always have their best interest.”
Some of Lily’s many talented skills include management, media relations, marketing, creativity, and an ability to conceptualize endless ideas and put them into action. She leads with poise and grace, engaging her team daily—making coming to work a motivating pleasure.
PICS Society is happy and satisfied to see its services and work acknowledged in the community, with Lily attending Canuck’s home opening game as this season’s Community Hero and being a face for Canadian Blood Services and BC Transplant’s “Leave Well” national level campaign.
Serving the community since 1987, the PICS Society provides a broad spectrum of programs and services, which includes Employment Programs, Settlement Services, Language Services, Social Programs, and Housing Services. Their services assist new immigrants, seniors, farm workers, women, and youth. Next big project of PICS Society is the PICS Diversity Village – a 3-storey, 125 beds, residential care facility that will have the ability to provide culturally sensitive Long-Term Complex Care to seniors with a South Asian background in a sustained and purposeful manner, within the context of person-centered care.
