Within British Columbia's sporting community, the name Daisy Lee stands for purpose, perseverance, and progress. Her legacy as a game-changer and a protector of grassroots development is one that represents a life committed not only to competition, but to developing opportunity, building infrastructure, and equipping the next generation. When leadership in sport necessitates equity, innovation, and connection, Daisy Lee in badminton is a national leader who embodies all three.
From obtaining grants to implementing game-changing programs for girls and women, Daisy's leadership path has set a standard in Canada's shifting sporting landscape. As Executive Director of Badminton BC, she has revolutionized the organization's operational capabilities, competitive scope, and community influence. Yet her true legacy is the individuals she empowers and the tables she creates particularly for those who hadn't always had a seat.
A Game-Changer in Grassroots Development:
Daisy Lee's passion for badminton began years before she assumed an executive role. As a past athlete and community developer, she knew firsthand the importance of having a solid, inclusive grassroots network. During her tenure, Badminton BC grew its reach throughout the province into Vancouver's city courts and into northern isolation so every young player could rally, compete, and belong.
With Daisy in charge, community badminton wasn't merely about numbers. It was about inclusion, mentorship, and productive growth. Community-organized events, junior coaching clinics, school outreach, and regional competitions became tools for sporting excellence as well as life skills development. All the racquets in every young hand under her guidance were windows of opportunity.
Constructing a Blueprint for Women Athletes
Perhaps one of the most defining features of Daisy Lee's life is her abiding passion for female leadership in sport. In an industry not always keen to adapt, Daisy didn't ask for permission she took matters into her own hands and wrote the grants herself. Her work has attracted vital funding streams focused on women and girls' development in sport, powering new initiatives and shattering barriers in badminton and beyond.
With her strategic eye, Daisy made Badminton BC a proud member of a pioneering endeavor: the Gender Equity Playbook with Canadian Women & Sport. Understanding that meaningful equity begins with purposeful change, she spearheaded the effort to bring Badminton BC's policies and practices into gender-inclusive alignment.
This wasn't a symbolic act. It was a promise to shift the game. Through the establishment of a special Gender Equity Team, Daisy is spearheading the assessment and overhaul of everything from coaching models and competition structures to leadership positions and membership participation. The Playbook will be both a mirror and a map reflecting where the organization is and showing it where it needs to go to become more equitable.
Grants, Governance, and Growth
Daisy's leadership is not limited to badminton, nor to sport. In addition to court-side tactics, she is a widely acclaimed voice in nonprofit governance and provincial leadership development. She offers training in program delivery, organizational governance, and strategic leadership, enabling future sport leaders to construct ethical, resilient, and forward-looking organizations.
She knows the significance and burden that accompany funding. From securing operating grants to special project funds, Daisy Lee makes every dollar count for the community most of all, underserved populations. She has an uncanny knack for converting passion into proposals and proposals into results. It's not only about the victories on court it's about sustainable, inclusive systems off court.
A Voice for the Mission
As the face of Badminton BC and other community initiatives, Daisy is not merely advocating for an organization, she is advocating for a changing vision of sport in Canada. She talks to stakeholders, sponsors, government officials, and local leaders with passion and precision, ever driven by the goal of making sport more accessible, equitable, and empowering.
Trust underlies her leadership. Partners trust Daisy Lee to deliver on time, on word, and on vision. Whether sitting with a municipal executive, coaching a young coach, or speaking for her organization at a provincial gathering, she is professionalism rooted in authenticity.
Mentorship That Multiplies
Daisy Lee's work doesn't stop when the courtroom lights go down. She trains the next generation of leaders in sport and in the nonprofit world, creating ripples that extend far beyond her own orbit. Her mentoring is based on empowerment enabling others to visualize what can be accomplished and with the skills to make it a reality.
From individual coaching to workshops in equity, leadership, and successful program delivery, Daisy is molding the future of changemakers. She invests in people so that the momentum she has ignited does not cease when she is gone it expands, matures, and multiplies.
Changing the Culture of Sport
Culture change in sport doesn't happen overnight, but with Daisy Lee, the way is certain. She is assisting to shift the language from exclusion to inclusion, from tradition to transformation. The Gender Equity Playbook project is a cornerstone of this, but it's just one piece of a bigger mosaic.
Under Daisy's stewardship, Badminton BC is prioritizing not only performance, but purpose. That is, fostering mental health, enabling multi-sport development, empowering Indigenous and newcomer youth, and creating community through sport. Each decision Daisy makes is informed by a larger vision: harnessing sport as a means of social good and lifelong development.
A Legacy in Motion
What Daisy Lee in sports is creating is greater than a legacy, it's a movement. Through badminton, she has motivated a wider commitment to equity and development in Canadian sport. Her work embodies what sport leadership in the 21st century should be: inclusive, strategic, values-driven, and community-focused.
In a world where so many are still struggling to get in, Daisy is holding the door wide open. In industries where women have long been underrepresented in the leadership ranks, she is not only participating, she is taking charge.
What's Next?
With the Gender Equity Playbook in motion and grassroots programming more robust than ever, Daisy Lee continues to break new ground. She invites sport professionals, community leaders, and policymakers to join her to uplift girls and women in sport. And to establish fair systems, and to make certain every athlete, no matter background, has the chance to succeed.
Are you an organization interested in putting gender equity frameworks into place?
If you are a young athlete looking for your ideal position in sport
If you are a policymaker, funder, or advocate eager to drive positive change.
