About us - Organizational Background

PACE Society is a federal charitable non-profit society that was started by Paige Latin in her one bedroom apartment in Vancouver. It was founded by former sex workers and their allies to provide relevant services and supports to women, youth, men and transgendered sex workers.

Through the tireless efforts and resources of the founding members – Paige Latin, Cindy Lou Powell, Nora Halley, Sandy Lipscombe, Daniel Howley and Sheila Griffin – and with the support of their allies, PACE Society became incorporated on March 10th, 1994.

PACE Society honours the efforts, time and dedication that our predecessors brought to this agency. Members of PACE fought a long hard struggle to extend the rights of people working in the trade and for the credibility and acceptance of sex workers working in community service provision.

Many of our members have gone to work in the field of sex work-advocacy and many associated areas. Others have chosen to leave the sex industry to pursue formal education, parenting and other careers.

Since our inception PACE Society has strived to maintain an accurate representation of our membership and combat stereotypes. Sex workers continue to develop, implement and evaluate the services that they receive.

In memory of those that have lost their lives, we honour your contributions. We miss you.

Awards & Accolades

PACE Society received the Mount Pleasant Agency of the Year Award in 1998.

In 1996, the Ministry of Social Services (now Ministry of Children and Family) independent evaluation of the Vancouver Action Plan (VAP) for sexually exploited youth recommended that:

"The PACE model seems to be a good one for direct services to this highly specialized and very vulnerable target group."

 

Staff/Board Members

Staff Members

The people who make up PACE Society are intensely dedicated to its purposes. PACE has a unique approach to hiring people.

Because PACE Society is committed to creating opportunities for sex workers to participate in program and service delivery, all direct service projects and programs within PACE Society must include remuneration for sex worker participation – we call this “Peer Work.”

Regarding our hiring practices, PACE Society is dedicated to ensuring that active and former sex workers are invited to participate in staffing activities such as hiring committees and orientations.

This will ensure that PACE Society programs and services are staffed and carried out in a manner consistent with our membership and mandate.

A sex worker will always be present at interviews for short-listed candidates, as well as a staff member and a member of the Board. Hiring preference is always given to women or men who have direct experience in the sex industry in addition to appropriate skills and education.

Not all staff members have experience as sex workers, but it is a mandate of our organization to employ experiential persons when possible. The following people are currently working for PACE Society:

Kerry Porth - Executive Director
Sheri Kiselbach - Violence Prevention Coordinator
- Safety Coach
- Safety Coach

Board Members

The Board of Directors has a minimum 1/3 sex worker membership. In addition to including sex workers as Board members.

The following people are currently on our Board of Directors:

Phoenix Beck
Rory Marck
Janelle O’Connor
Scott Pelly
Stephanie Reynolds
Matthew Taylor
Ellen Wiebe

PACE Society would like to take this opportunity to thank all our wonderful employees, and Board members. You are all working so hard to create safer working conditions and create more choices for survival sex workers, often going above and beyond your organizational responsibilities.

Thank you for your graciousness and generosity.