Paula Martin is an experienced banking executive and board director. She has proven through her work the positive impact organizations can make on their communities and now, retired from a corporate career, works in governance and business advisory roles focused on advancing organizational leadership for social and environmental benefit.

Among her various executive roles, Paula served as Advisor to the CEO at Vancity, Canada’s largest community credit union, which focuses on improving the financial well-being of its members, while at the same time working to develop healthy communities that are socially, environmentally and economically sustainable. 

Concurrently, Paula worked with the Global Alliance for Banking on Values (GABV), as well as other national and international organizations in the values-based banking, sustainable business, financial, and co-operative sectors. She also worked on secondment as Senior Advisor to the Netherlands-based GABV Secretariat with its Executive Director and Board of Directors.

Her other roles at Vancity included Interim Chief Human Resources Officer, Senior Vice President, Member Engagement, overseeing marketing, communications, and digital and community engagement, and Vice President, Public Affairs and Corporate Communications. Prior to joining Vancity, Paula served as Director of Public Affairs at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, BC. She was a print and radio journalist early on in her career.

A graduate of Canada’s national Institute of Corporate Directors’ Education Program, Paula is Chair of the Board of Governors at Simon Fraser University (Burnaby, BC) and sits on the Board of Directors of Sunrise Banks (St. Paul - Minneapolis, MN) and Deetken Impact (Vancouver, BC), a Canadian impact investing firm focused on renewable energy and women’s empowerment in Latin America.