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Savvy, Green & Soulful and...

by Rebecca Ephraim

photo by Jaime Kowal

As you might imagine, our name change to Today’s Vancouver Woman has generated an outpouring of passionate viewpoints (see Mailbox ). Welcoming the title change or opposed to it, the intense reaction in its own right reaffirms how important a role this publication plays and what an honour and responsibility it is to be its current steward.

One reader, Emma-Louise, was pleased with our move: “I am very excited that you have gone all-out for your female readership... we need to have more female energy/skills in the world and workplace—empathy, strategic and big-picture thinking—to balance out all the capitalism and macho power struggles.”

Others, like Eric, said we’ve taken the “shared” out of the vision. “It reinforces traditional gender views in my opinion,” he laments, “and there is nothing progressive about that.”

While the mission of this magazine will continue to be true to its history, we do believe that one of the most intriguing places to be in the sustainability movement is at the intersection of ecology and feminism. Having said that, with our name change we are also acknowledging our primarily (86 per cent) female readership.

Today’s Vancouver Woman will continue to do this important work and welcomes progressive-minded people of all persuasions into our pages. I invite you to join the conversation regarding our new title: mailbox@tvwmag.com.

Meet Vancouver’s First Lady

It is a great match—the launch of our new title and the public introduction of Amy Robertson, wife of Vancouver’s new mayor. After reading our cover story, “Finding Amy,” I believe you’ll agree that she epitomizes our new tagline: “Savvy, Green & Soulful.”

In interviewing Amy, I discovered a woman who understands that change begins within and who knows how to access it. “First it’s taking care of yourself and feeling good about yourself, so that you can be there for everyone else,” she says.

Her new role as Vancouver’s first lady has compounded her responsibilities. Yet she wakes early each morning to stay true to her yoga practice—75 minutes on the mat. Her lithe and muscular physique is testament to her yogic commitment, as is her outlook on life. “I am accepting of what comes at me and not feeling the need to control. This [the radical change in her life] hasn’t felt like I got hoisted out of one life and into another. I flowed here, and the scenery has definitely changed quite a bit, but it doesn’t feel foreign, it doesn’t feel stressful.”

An interview wouldn’t be complete with this first lady without asking her thoughts on her husband’s oft-discussed movie-star good looks. “Quite honestly it drove me crazy during the campaign how often it was mentioned, because if that was a woman and it was always pointed out that ‘Oh, she’s so beautiful,’ it belittles how smart she really is.” She adds, “To those people, I’m hoping he’s proved that it’s not just his good looks that make a good mayor. And I’m sure he has; I don’t think that’s going to be an issue.” See Amy’s profile.

It’s all good. It’s all still a shared vision.
In gratitude,