It’s National Volunteer Week in the International Volunteer Year 2026, and some of DIVERSEcity’s most dedicated volunteers can be found on our volunteer Board of Directors.
Sonia Parmar has been a dedicated volunteer Board of Director at DIVERSEcity for more than five years, currently serving as its Secretary and Treasurer, providing financial leadership and heading up the board’s finance committee.
It’s not a small task, but Sonia, partner at local accounting firm David Pel & Company, has not only offered up her financial acumen, but her commitment to community.
Originally from Burns Lake, Parmar said she began volunteering during her university days in Prince George. “I got to have tea with the Queen when she inaugurated (University of Northern BC), and it kind of just snowballed from there,” she says.
Beyond her contributions to DIVERSEcity, Sonia volunteers on many other foundations and boards, including with SurreyCares Community Foundation, Fraser Valley Estate Planning Council, Symington Symbiotic Foundation, Downtown Surrey Business Improvement Association, Fraser Valley Chartered Professional Accountants Association, Sahara Services and Surrey Hospitals Foundation. That’s a busy volunteer schedule!
It comes as no surprise then that she was named Volunteer of the Year in the Surrey Now-Leader’s Community Leader Awards in November 2025.
“We all volunteer differently, giving back to the community,” she says. “I’m from the Sikh faith, so volunteering is in our blood a little bit. And I have great support from my family. My biggest accomplishment, I feel, is when my kids volunteered and they said, ‘That was fun,’ that it didn’t feel like work. My husband encourages them as well, and he volunteers quite a bit too. We all do.”
We are grateful to Sonia not only for her financial expertise, but also for showing up and sharing her story and energy at DIVERSEcity’s events, from Black Brilliance to our Women’s Leadership Forum.
Thank you to Sonia for your dedication to the community and DIVERSEcity!