Model Behaviour: How Val Walls is Leading By Example To Engage LGBT + Employees, Customers and Allies at Scotiabank
This originally appearing on Women of Influence
As Director of Sales Effectiveness at Scotiabank, as well as lead champion for Scotiabank’s Toronto Pride Employee Resource Group, Val Walls is always asking herself: How can I touch, move, inspire and make a difference? She shares how she’s driving change — and creating an inclusive vision of LGBT+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Trans+) rights.
-By Shelly White
For Val Walls, the energy at Toronto’s Pride Parade feels like “arriving at the top of the mountain.”
A long-time participant in Pride festivities, Val says she looks forward to experiencing the spirit of harmony and togetherness that permeates the event each year.
“The day feels like a hum of bees around a blooming cherry tree,” says Val of the annual Pride Parade, happening this year in Toronto on Sunday, June 24. “Sweet smells of food, music vibrating through your body, a patchwork blanket of sounds that fill your senses. As flags wave and people cheer, there is one common denominator — everyone is smiling and standing united.”
Val is Director of Sales Effectiveness at Scotiabank, a position that involves developing strategies to optimize Scotiabank’s sales force and coaching team members for higher levels of performance. She’s also lead champion for Scotiabank’s Toronto Pride Employee Resource Group (ERG), a role she took on because she believes that “if we want to drive change, we cannot just talk about it. We need to be the instrument of change.”
