Anne Whitmore is a leadership coach, community advocate and the current president of Surrey DPAC, representing families in Canada's largest school district. She has spent years building relationships across Surrey's education community and believes that lasting progress happens when families, educators, support staff and trustees work together with respect, curiosity and a shared commitment to students.

During her time as president, Anne helped create an unprecedented partnership between Surrey DPAC, the Surrey Teachers' Association and CUPE 728. Together they developed a shared vision:

A united community of teachers, support workers and families working together to advocate for inclusive, well-resourced schools where every student can thrive.

The collaboration was recognized across British Columbia and Anne was invited, alongside union partners, to present the framework for collaboration and joint advocacy at the BC Teachers' Federation Public Education Conference.

Anne has led or supported advocacy on many of the most significant education issues facing Surrey families.

When StrongStart programs faced significant reductions in 2024, she helped lead advocacy that contributed to preserving nearly every location, protecting an important early learning resource for young children and their families.

She advocated for stronger provincial investment following the Minister of Education and Child Care's mandate letter, highlighting the essential role public education plays as part of our social safety net and the growing impact of chronic underfunding on students with disabilities, students with support needs and classroom learning conditions.

Anne stood with families, educators and students during the proposed closure of the South Surrey White Rock Learning Centre, advocating for sustainable funding and recognizing the important role alternative education programs play in helping students graduate.

She also partnered with the Surrey Teachers' Association and CUPE 728 on the Surrey Students Deserve Better campaign, drawing attention to the real impacts of chronic underfunding, including growing classroom complexity, shortages of support staff, limited classroom resources and reductions to arts, music and extracurricular opportunities.

Recognizing that Surrey's challenges reflected issues across British Columbia, Anne helped organize provincial rallies in support of public education, culminating in a rally at the Legislature that brought together parents, educators and support staff from multiple school districts. She has met with the Minister of Education and Child Care, members of the Conservative caucus and representatives from the Green Party to advocate for stronger public education.

Closer to home, Anne has consistently attended Board of Education meetings to ask thoughtful questions on behalf of parents and PACs, encouraging transparency, accountability and better decision-making. She has also focused on strengthening Surrey's PAC community by developing new leaders, mentoring volunteers and building the capacity of parent advisory councils throughout the district.

Anne is running for trustee because she believes effective governance begins with listening. She believes students deserve enough space to learn, enough support to succeed and a Board of Education that works collaboratively, makes evidence-informed decisions and earns the confidence of the community it serves.

Her commitment is simple...to bring people together, build trust and help create a public education system where every student has the opportunity to thrive.