Pension Life - Winter 2024
No debate: Alison Woods is dedicated to plan members
There’s no debate. Alison Woods cares deeply about College Pension Plan members. Alison, a math instructor at Vancouver Community College (VCC) and former member of the University of British Columbia (UBC) debate team, is one of the plan’s newest trustees. She was appointed to the role in 2021 by the Federation of Post-Secondary Educators (FPSE), but this isn’t her first professional position in the world of pensions.
From 2011 to 2020, Alison served on FPSE’s Pension Advisory Committee. As the committee representative for VCC, she responded to any pension-related questions from employees. As a result, she learned how the plan works and gained insight into the responsibilities of agents. “That experience gave me a good overview of how members interact with their pension, what kinds of questions they have and what they’re surprised by,” she says.
Since becoming a trustee, she has increased her understanding of investments, portfolio theory and post-retirement group benefits.
For Alison, the best part of being a trustee is serving the members. “The members are truly at the heart of everything we do,” she says. “Their pension plan is in really good hands. I’ve been very impressed by the dedication and professionalism of the board of trustees and our agents.”
Alison lives in Vancouver with her husband and two sons. She met her husband at UBC when they became debate team partners after their original partners didn’t qualify for nationals. “We still like to argue,” she jokes.
Alison loves Vancouver because it offers the best of both nature and city activities. Vancouver also has plenty of opportunities for Alison and her family to walk and bike everywhere and be as environmentally conscious as possible.
In her spare time, Alison likes to swim. Last summer, she swam five days a week, training for 5-, 6- and 12-kilometre open-water races.
From her personal life to her role as a teacher and trustee, Alison brings passion and energy to everything she does. There’s certainly no debate.
