2025 BCNU Leadership Awards Presentation
A PICTURE OF EXCELLENCE BCNU President Adriane Gear presents the 2025 Excellence in Leadership and Advocacy award to Central Vancouver region member Jessica Machado (left) and the NU Leader award to Vancouver Metro region member Abbey Glowicki (right).
Day two of Convention 2025 featured the annual presentation of the BCNU Leadership Awards.
Union president Adriane Gear presented the NU Leader Award to Vancouver Metro region member Abbey Glowicki and the Excellence in Leadership and Advocacy Award to Central Vancouver region member Jessica Machado.
The NU Leader Award honours a student member or member with under five years of nursing experience who has demonstrated outstanding achievements in BCNU-focused advocacy and activism and who embodies union values.
The Excellence in Leadership and Advocacy Award honours a member who has made a difference to the health and well-being of their community and their profession through leadership, activism or social justice efforts.
NU Leader Award recipient Abbey Glowicki is a registered nurse at St. Paul’s Hospital known for her passion for working with surgical patients and the young adult population. Her certifications and professional development experiences reflect her commitment to lifelong learning. Glowicki says she uses her practice to promote gender equity, decolonization and reproductive justice.
“I’m deeply honoured,” she says. “I now feel more inspired than ever and more committed to providing exceptional care. I’m proud to be part of a profession that constantly shows dedication, hard work, intelligence and commitment to serving people.”
Glowicki says she is looking forward to continuing her learning and growing as a nurse. “Nursing is a dynamic profession. Looking ahead, I’m potentially interested in being a nurse practitioner and getting involved in community opportunities and leadership.”
Excellence in Leadership and Advocacy Award recipient Jessica Machado is a registered nurse at Vancouver General Hospital. She has been nursing for 10 years and serves as her region’s occupational health and safety representative.
Machado shared her gratitude at receiving the recognition, saying she is “deeply honoured to accept this award while standing here just two weeks after giving birth.”
Machado intends to continue advocating for better working conditions in nursing.
“Leadership means creating safer conditions for our profession. I remain committed to fighting for a health-care system where safety is non-negotiable,” she says. “To my frontline colleagues, I see you. I will continue to advocate for you.”
Each award includes $1,000 and a beautifully etched crystal piece featuring the commissioned artwork Raven Steals the Light by Haida artist Erik Prytula. The artwork is inspired by the creation story that describes how Raven stole the sun, the moon and the stars, placing them in the sky and creating life as we know it.