Our Board
Gurpreet Jhaj
Director
Gurpreet Jhaj is the Vice President of Marketing at Vancity. She brings a wealth of experience, having lived and worked across the UK, USA, India and Canada. Gurpreet joined Vancity in 2022, following leadership roles at BCAA, Aimia (EMEA and US) and Centrica. She is renowned for driving innovation within organizations and building highly engaged, effective teams.
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For the past decade, Gurpreet has made British Columbia her home, residing in the vibrant Gastown neighborhood near the DTES. She is deeply committed to fostering a more equitable, inclusive and sustainable future. Gurpreet is an active member of the Global Alliance for Banking on Values’ communication working group, where she shares and learns best practices from the GABV network.
Embracing life in B.C., Gurpreet enjoys hiking the province’s stunning mountains, swimming and paddleboarding on its serene lakes during the summer. An avid reader and lifelong learner, she is passionate about continually expanding her knowledge.
Heather O'Hara
Director
Heather brings over 15 years of leadership experience in non-profit, social enterprise and social innovation to her role as Executive Director at BC Farmers’ Markets, representing 145+ member farmers’ markets and 6,000+ small business vendors across all corners of BC.
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A creative thinker and doer, Heather is passionate about all things farm and food, entrepreneurship, community economic development and empowering all people and communities to prosper. Heather also believes in reconciling relationships with our food systems, land, water, sky and its diverse inhabitants, embracing Indigenous ways of knowing and leveraging the untapped potential of regenerative agriculture as solutions to the impacts of climate change.
Heather is an innovative leader and elevator who brings organizations and initiatives to the next level. Prior to joining BC Association of Farmers’ Markets, Heather served as Executive Director with the award-winning social enterprise Potluck Café & Catering, which creates jobs and provides healthy, fresh food for people living in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. In addition, Heather was the founding Board Chair of the Hastings Crossing BIA and for a brief period served as Executive Producer at CityStudio. Along the way, Heather has mentored and supported dozens of social entrepreneurs, non-profits and social enterprises.
After completing the KPU Tsawwassen First Nation Farm School program, Heather founded Filly Farm, an organic, small scale farm demonstration project, horse powered by manure compost and growing epic vegetables. An avid horse lover and owner, Heather is privileged to live, work and play in Delta on the traditional territory of the Tsawwassen and Musqueam people.
A transplanted prairie girl from Treaty 1 territory in Manitoba, Heather acquired her MBA, along with Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Environmental Studies, all from the University of Manitoba.
Jindy Bains
Director
Jindy Bains is Vancity’s Vice President of Operations and Compliance, focused on member experience and community engagement. She has been with Vancity for more than 25 years, and has held many roles including Branch Manager, Change Management Lead and Director of Community Member Services.
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Jindy is known for driving results through innovation and creativity, leading people through change and being an advocate for community. Jindy is also an alumni of the Global Alliance for Banking on Values Leadership Academy, where she has had the benefit of hearing a diversity of perspectives, learning from others and sharing best practices. Jindy’s intrinsic values of inclusion, sustainability and respect have guided her throughout her life and career, and kept her at Vancity.
In her free time, Jindy loves to run outdoors, explore the city and spend time with her husband and three daughters.