Governance Board of Director

About Nellie’s

Nellie’s is a place of respite and rejuvenation for women and their children navigating a variety of challenges. Through community outreach, skill-building programs, and space for the unhoused to find shelter, clients are empowered to take steps to change their lives. We welcome people who seek guidance as they reclaim their strength and tap into their resilience to find a new path for their life.

The individuals who come through the shelter or access our community outreach programs come to us with unique experiences and needs. Nellie’s mandate to help all women* and their children, regardless of circumstances, is what makes the organization’s work essential.

Nellie’s vision is to be a place where every woman* and her* child(ren) who step through our doors finds a pathway to a violence-free life, and to advocate to ensure gender-based violence and oppression is a relic of the past.

Opportunity To Serve

Become a member of Nellie’s community and work with us to create a world free of oppression and violence against women* and children.

Nellie’s is seeking women* to serve on its volunteer Governance Board of Directors. A successful applicant would join a dynamic team of women* from across various backgrounds and sectors who are passionate in ensuring that Nellie’s remains a strong and effective organization.

All applicants must support our Mission Statement and be committed to achieving social justice for all women and children by providing strategic leadership for Nellie’s.

“Nellie’s breaks the cycle of gender-based oppression through our unwavering commitment to offering a safe refuge for women* and their children fleeing violence, poverty, and homelessness. Beyond safe housing, we empower women* with advocacy, strength, and support-based programming, enabling them to create a new path for life, free from the barriers of violence and oppression.”

Nellie’s is committed to the development of an agency that reflects Toronto’s diversity and the clients we serve. We are currently seeking applicants who:

• have experience/expertise in risk management, which can be leveraged in the context of a governance board.
• have experience/expertise in finance and/or accounting, which can be leveraged in the context of a governance board.
• have legal experience/expertise in relevant areas of law, such as employment law, which can be leveraged in the context of a governance board.
• have prior experience serving on a governance board of directors (preferred but not required)
• have a commitment to inclusive and intersectional feminism.

Commitment of Successful Applicants

• Attendance at monthly Board Meetings (1.5 hours per month on weekday evenings + prep. time), held remotely and in-person (approximately quarterly).
• Attendance at the Annual General Meeting in September/October (2 hours, in-person).
• Serve on at least one Board Committee (1 to 3 hours per month approximately, on weekday evenings), held remotely.
• Participation in the annual Board strategy session (10 hours approximately, on the weekend), held in-person.
• Support the ongoing implementation of our 3-year vision and strategic plan for Nellie’s.
• Minimum two-year term (to a maximum of three two-year terms).

Applications from equity-deserving groups are strongly encouraged, including

Indigenous persons, racialized persons, persons with disabilities, persons of all sexual

Identities, persons with lived experience related to Nellie’s mission and members of other equity-deserving groups.

Nellie’s is committed to an inclusive, accessible and welcoming board recruitment process that provides reasonable accommodation to all applicants. Please

contact Yashika Arora at yarora@nellies.org should you require any accommodation to participate in the recruitment process.

Nellie’s is situated in Tkarón:to (Ta-kar-on-toe) which is located on the traditional

lands of the Mississauga (Missi-sog-a), the Anishinaabe (Ah-nish-nah-bay), the

Haudenosaunee (Ho-deh-no-show-nee), the Chippewa (Chi-puh-waa), the Huron

(Hur-on), and many other Indigenous Peoples.

Nellie’s acknowledges all Treaty Peoples, including those who came here as settlers,

as migrants either in this generation or in generations past, and those of us who

came here involuntarily, particularly those brought to these lands as a result of the

transatlantic slave trade and slavery. We pay tribute to those ancestors of African

origin and descent.

To Apply: Please fill out this form.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/LQ2S55F

Application Deadline: May 31, 2026, at 5 p.m.

To learn more about Nellies visit https://nellies.org/

*Nellie’s affirms the inclusion of trans women and non-binary people in our vision of who we serve and support.