Toronto, Ontario — May 30, 2019 — The Women’s Industry Network (WIN) welcomed two new board members earlier this month during their annual conference in Florida. Trista Anger, regional manager for BASF and Cheryl Boswell, the CFO of DCR Systems are two women proud to represent themselves and others in their industry on the WIN board. Recently, Collision Repair spoke with them about the importance of the women’s network and encouraging young girls to enter the industry.
Collision Repair: Congratulations to both of you for being selected to join the WIN board. Could you describe your involvement with WIN and what the network means to you?
Cheryl Boswell: I’ve been with WIN since the beginning, over 10 years ago. Really the mission behind WIN is to help develop and support women in the industry. To drive industry and sustainability by developing women through education and connection. We want to be THE network that drives the future of collision repair.
Trista Anger: My involvement with WIN is fairly new. I went to my first conference two years ago and being a woman in the Collision Repair Industry for the past 15 years and being a minority in that industry…there was nothing like WIN in Canada. It is such a unique organization and there’s a real need for it. I want to see what we can do to expand the borders.
CR: Both of you were able to attend the most recent conference in Florida. What was that like?
CB: I will say, a huge portion of [the conference] is all about networking, and making those connections and those bonds and relationships. But it’s not only about developing the industry, it is about giving back. We’re always about helping women enter the industry and this year we gave out the annual scholarships to our biggest scholarship class. We had nine scholarship winners, they were with us for the whole conference, and many of them left with actual job opportunities.
CR: What advice would you give these women, and any young woman interested in entering the industry?
TA: We often hear the phrase “fake it til you make it” and being a woman in this industry, the biggest thing I’ve learned is “face it til you make it.” Don’t be afraid to have confidence in your skillset, understand what you’re bringing. And don’t give up on that.
For more information on the Women’s Industry Network, visit thewomensindustrynetwork.site-ym.com/
