WTC Transformers
Since the idea of WTC was envisioned by our founding board in 2011, hundreds of people have contributed to the organization.
WTC stands on the shoulders of those who believe in our shared vision of cities where everyone belongs. We want to continue to recognize the contributions of those who had a transformative impact on the organization - as board directors, members, donors and staff. Transformers are the people who went above and beyond in their efforts, and who led with empathy, kindness and passion.
We will continue to recognize new Transformers each year. Nominate someone who’s made an extraordinary impact on WTC by filling in this short form here.
WTC Lifelong Members
Ellen Woodsworth
She/Her
Ellen Woodsworth is the founder of Women Transforming Cities International Society. She works to make cities work for self-identified women and girls all over the world from local neighbourhoods to global gatherings like UN Habitat 3. She thinks that women and girls work for cities but cities don’t work for women and girls. She believes cities must put a gendered intersectional lens and use disaggregated data on policies, programmes, budgets, funding, staffing and governance in order to create women-friendly cities.
Ellen is an international speaker and urban consultant on gender and intersectional planning. She is a former Vancouver City Councillor and was their representative on the Executive of Union of B.C. Municipalities and the Lower Mainland Treaty Advisory Committee. Ellen provides workshops for cities and NGO’s using “Advancing Equity and Inclusion a Guide for Municipalities”. She spoke at the UN Habitat 3 conferences in Prague and in Quito and at the Smart Sustainable Cities conference in Montevideo, Uruguay as well as participating in the Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights meeting about the “Right to the City” and housing. She also spoke at WUF 9 in Kuala Lumpur and moderated the Women Transforming Cities launch of the Women Friendly Cities Challenge an online library of wise practices tied to the SDG’s, CEDAW and NUA. She spoke at WUF 10 on LGTBQI2S issues in Abu Dhabi and been a consultant to UN Habitat on LGTBQi2S issues. She gives talks on how to put a gendered intersectional lens on everything from climate change, housing, transit, electoral reform and COVID-19.
We closed 2022 with a farewell to our founder and longtime leader and guide, Ellen Woodsworth. Ellen has retired from WTC after 18 years of tirelessly advocating for better cities for women and girls. Please enjoy this retrospective of Ellen’s work with WTC below. We wish her all the very best in her continued global advocacy work.
Dr. Joy Masuhara
She/Her
Co-Chair, Board of Directors, 2016-2024
As the Co-Chair of WTC for 9 years, Joy led the organization through a significant phase in its growth, from a completely volunteer-run non-profit to a charitable organization with a team of employees. Joy led three multi-year projects— a research project into the systemic barriers to women’s participation in local government, a capacity-building project, and a project to increase women’s civic participation in Vancouver. As part of her volunteer role with WTC, Joy founded the Women Friendly Cities Challenge with Ellen Woodsworth after identifying an opportunity to better share information internationally about best practices to advance intersectional policy development. This website is a ‘living library’ where people submit policies that advance gender equity. Joy presented on the Challenge at UN Habitat Conference in Quito and UN Habitat World Urban Forum in Kuala Lumpur. Beyond her enormous contributions through her volunteer labour, Joy has also been a role model for the staff, volunteers and board members as a humble leader that always sees the best in people and opportunities. Joy has been a major donor for WTC, ensuring the organization has resources to support and sustain its operations. As Joy steps aside from the WTC Board in 2024, her impact on the organization will live on.
