Vera LeFranc moved to Surrey in 1998. She and her partner Jen live in Guildford and are parents to two grown children and grandparents to five. Vera and Jen both have deep connections in their neighbourhood, enjoying their community garden plot in Holly Park, the walking and biking trails of Green Timbers, and the many amenities that are close by.
The daughter of a logger, Vera grew up on Haida Gwaii in Northern British Columbia, in the remote community of Sandspit, where her social justice and advocacy work began at an early age. Vera has since spent decades working in the non-profit sector, focusing on anti-violence, employment, poverty reduction, crime prevention, housing and homelessness, and community economic development – all of which are also issues facing Surrey today.
With a degree in Business and Liberal Studies from Simon Fraser University, Vera brings solid mix of business sense and a passion for social justice to her community work. Since 2007, Vera has provided leadership in developing the Surrey Homelessness & Housing Society, and worked with the Society’s Board of Directors and Foundation to distribute almost $3 million in funding to organizations working with Surrey’s most vulnerable.
Vera worked with the Poverty Reduction Coalition to develop the Surrey Poverty Reduction Plan, including THIS (Transportation, Housing, Income and Support) is How we End Poverty in Surrey – a framework for making a difference for all low-income individuals. The plan was endorsed by City Council in July of 2012.
As a Surrey City Councillor, and as a member of the non-partisan Surrey First team, Vera aims to transcend politics to meet the needs of the citizens of Surrey.