Ellen Pekeles

Senior Vice President Operations, Vancity Credit Union

Ellen Pekeles is the Senior Vice President Operations for Vancity Credit Union. Vancity is Canada’s largest credit union, with $14 billion in assets, over 400,000 members and 60 branches throughout Greater Vancouver, the Fraser Valley and Victoria. Ellen is accountable for leading all aspects of corporate-wide strategy to achieve a long term vision of ‘Redefining Wealth’.

Vancity is guided by its values and principles as a financial co-operative. Vancity uses its resources to redefine wealth by blending economic, social and environmental value to generate individual and community wealth and drive social change in the communities where Vancity’s members and staff work and live.

Prior to joining Vancity, Ellen was a Chief Operating Officer in Vancouver Coastal Health, which included 11 municipalities and 14 First Nations communities, with a population of just under 300,000 people, 3500 staff and a $350M budget. She previously served as Vice President, Programs in the North Shore Health Region and before that, spent nine years in Edmonton in a variety of senior positions in a regional health care system.

Ellen holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Physical Therapy from University of Toronto (1979), a Master in Health Administration from University of Ottawa (1987) and is a Certified Health Executive (1992). Ellen was a CCHSA Health Systems Surveyor from 1997-2002.

Ellen is currently a Board member of the Vancity Community Foundation and the Credit Union of BC Foundation.