Leadership in Community with Vivian Huelgo and Lesley Ackrill 

At Esperanza United, we know no single organization or person is going to end gender-based violence alone – it will take communities, working together. That’s why Latina leadership and community-based solutions are two of our organizational values. 

To advance this strengths-based approach, Esperanza United President and CEO Vivian Huelgo, J.D. is interviewing leaders across the fields of gender-based violence prevention and Latin@ empowerment and beyond. Read on to learn leadership lessons, celebrate the people doing the work, and share in our gratitude for our vibrant community. 

In this edition focusing on gratitude, Vivian speaks with Lesley Ackrill, Executive Co-Director of Interval House, Canada’s first shelter for abused women and their children. With nearly 40 years of experience in nonprofit leadership, fundraising innovation, and advancing safety for women and their children, Lesley has helped build one of the most ambitious capital campaigns for a women’s shelter in Canada and has shared her expertise globally in support of a violence-free future. Pues, vamos:

Vivian Huelgo: One of our organizational values is Latina Leadership. What does leadership mean to you? 

Leslie Ackrill: Leadership means listening and asking the right questions to the right people.

Vivan Huelgo: Who inspired your leadership journey, and how did they shape you?  

Leslie Ackrill: One of my mentors was an assistant deputy minister to the government of Ontario. Later, she was a consultant for international development agencies. Her expertise was in diversity and equity, organizational change management, and strategic planning and implementation. She challenged me and taught me so much in these areas.

Vivan Huelgo: How do you keep your team motivated and mission-driven?  

Lesley Ackrill: I keep my team motivated by continuously appreciating and recognizing their successes. I also bring them new challenges to engage them.

Vivian Huelgo: What is a lesson you learned recently that surprised you?  

Lesley Ackrill: I learned that communication is one of the most difficult areas of work. Even when you think you are clear, you have to keep checking in to ensure that what you said is what they heard.

Vivian Huelgo: One of our other organizational values is living free from violence. What does a violence-free future look like to you?  

Lesley Ackrill: A violence-free future is one where safety is a right, not a privilege. It’s characterized by systemic change, judicial systems that believe survivors, and communities that intervene with care. It’sprevention, healing, and accountability, where future generations thrive in all spaces – physical, digital, and public – without fear. 

Vivian Huelgo: Gratitude is so important: Tell me about something you are grateful for? 

Leslie Ackrill: I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to lead an organization that is helping women lead lives free of violence and offering them ways to become self-sufficient.  

More about Lesley Ackrill

Lesley Ackrill is an Executive Co-Director at Interval House, Canada’s first shelter for abused women and their children.   

For nearly 40 years and in partnership with Executive Co-Director Nadine Chan, Lesley has developed and co-managed Interval House’s robust fundraising program, including producing the only television fundraising campaign ever made for a women’s shelter.  

Lesley co-led Interval House through its incredible $5 million Capital Campaign, one of the most ambitious capital campaigns for a women’s shelter in Canada. 

Before Interval House, Lesley worked at an International Aid and Development organization for five years. As a manager, she worked on many humanitarian initiatives including working with victims of famine in Ethiopia. 

Over the course of her career, she has used her knowledge and expertise in the sector by presenting at the International World Conference of Women’s Shelters in Washington, D.C., The Hague, and Taipei, as well as the first national conference of Women’s Shelters Canada in Ottawa.  

Lesley currently serves on the board of the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation, the largest public foundation in Canada dedicated exclusively to funding women’s shelters and domestic violence prevention. Previously, she was the first woman on the Board of Directors of the White Ribbon campaign. 

Lesley has dedicated nearly 40 years to making the lives of women and their children safer and ensuring they have tools and opportunities to live self-sufficiently.