The Welch Group is a privately owned group of companies that include several manufacturing plants and forest management operations.

The group includes Canpar, the largest employer in Grand Forks, and Olympic Forest Products, which was founded by the Welch family in 1932.

Welch is a key member of the group’s management team and helps decide the Vancouver-based company’s strategic direction, capital programs and corporate image.

She joined the Welch Group after she ended a 13-year career as founder, president and owner of Distinctive Travel Services Inc. by selling the company. That retail travel company had an all-female staff and a global clientele.

Welch is chair of the Minerva Foundation for BC Women, chair of the council for Simon Fraser University’s Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue and a committee member for the YWCA’s Inner Circle. She also guest lectures at the British Columbia Institute of Technology.

Past activity includes serving as chair of the SFU Foundation, a judge for the Ethics in Action Awards and a board member of the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, where she chaired the fund development committee.

What professional achievement are you most proud of?

First, the envisioning, founding and growing of my own business. Second, after I sold my business seven years ago, I was able to successfully transfer my skill sets to another career area.

What’s the greatest barrier you’ve had to overcome in your career?

That glass ceiling turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to me. Corporate constraints in a past career environment propelled me to found my own business and I never looked back.

Who had the biggest influence on your career?

The man who would become my husband, Bruce Welch. He was initially a mentor, client and role model. Others have influenced me too.

What network or organization has most helped you in your career?

The organizations that have helped me most are community organizations, where talented women and men share their expertise, energy and time, where strong bonds that transcend the decades, are forged. This started at the Vancouver YWCA, where I am a lifer, continued with Simon Fraser University and more recently The Minerva Foundation for BC Women.

What was your toughest decision?

For a fleeting moment, leaving the comfort of an existing senior position within an organization to found my own company and, much later, giving up my beloved company to launch career No. 2.