Hero Landry’s Inspiration
Helping Someone When They Need It’ Is Board Chair Hero Landry’s Inspiration
When Hero Landry walked through the doors of Ernestine’s with her team from Walker for a day of corporate volunteering, she was looking forward to giving back and team building. Little did she know it was the start of much more.
Just one day at Ernestine’s left such an impact on Hero’s team that they requested the company’s annual Christmas giving be directed to the shelter. “I loved that excitement,” recalls Hero, now an executive vice president at Walker. “Our group really rallied behind the work the shelter was doing, so I was very happy to support it.”
Hero Landry, Ernestine’s Women’s Shelter Board Chair
Seeing how Ernestine’s was changing lives touched Hero on a very personal level, too. Years earlier, Hero’s mother had fled an abusive relationship with her three young kids, finding refuge with a dear friend, Hazel Thomsen.
Hero, a mom of two herself, recognizes just how fortunate her family was to have someone who could welcome them into her home. “We were never exposed to the shelter system,” she says. “There was a community around my mom that helped her keep all her coping skills together, do what she needed to do.”
She saw that same special kind of community and support system at Ernestine’s, and it compelled her to stay in touch as the point person for Walker, which continued to support Ernestine’s with a significant multi-year donation. Continually impressed with the team at Ernestine’s, she joined the Board in 2018. Then, a somewhat unexpected event was the catalyst for Hero to get more involved.
Hazel was having a celebration of life—while she was still alive, so she could “gather all those people who she loved and who loved her,” Hero explains. “She is one of those rare humans in the world that could do this,” she adds with a laugh.
This special day honouring the woman who’d helped her family in a time of crisis got Hero thinking about her own opportunities to make an impact. It was quite a legacy to live up to. Hero’s own mom had once asked Hazel, How do I ever repay you? “Hazel said the trick is not to repay her, but to help someone else when they needed it,” Hero recalls.
“ How extraordinary would it be if everyone embraced the ways they can give back? Start small—volunteer and see what it becomes.”
Getting more involved with Ernestine’s was an opportunity to do just that. “I thought there was something I could do to help there, and so I started on the Board as a committee member.” When former Chair Siloni Waraich reached out as her own term was coming to a close, Hero welcomed the opportunity to become Board Chair in 2021.
While the last few years have been challenging for every non-profit organization, Hero is proud of what the Ernestine’s Board has accomplished. In addition to reimagining fundraising in the midst of the pandemic, the Board did important work in evolving the shelter’s mission and vision. “The conversation has progressed from strictly intimate partner violence involving males and females,” Hero explains. Shelter staff looked at who was underrepresented despite being disproportionately impacted by intimate partner violence — in other words, who wasn’t showing up at Ernestine’s. “That's what got us thinking about inclusive wording, and how do we signal that the shelter is a safe space? That was a piece that I'm really proud of, partly because I think it challenged me personally.”
These changes weren’t made lightly. Hero notes that the Board knew a more inclusive mission could risk some donations. But it was important, nonetheless.
The close working relationship between the Board and shelter staff also came into play as Ernestine’s developed harm reduction practices aimed at reducing barriers to accessing Ernestine’s. “Harm reduction is a very real need,” Hero explains, adding that the lived reality of the shelter team was crucial in guiding the Board’s discussions and decisions.
Now in her final year serving as Board Chair, Hero says it’s been a hugely rewarding experience. The Board’s team effort approach made it possible to do their important work, which supports the incredible staff and management team at Ernestine’s and the vital work they do every day. And, for Hero, it all started with a corporate volunteer day.
“How extraordinary would it be if everyone embraced the ways they can give back? Start small—volunteer and see what it becomes.”