Blog2021-06-11T13:29:08-07:00

Brave Women Leaders: Ali Gardiner

We recognize and celebrate brave female leaders. The women featured in our Brave Women Leaders blog demonstrate resiliency, bravery, and the ability to radiate their light brightly. They have gifts, experience, and strengths to share with the world and they do so bravely. Ali Gardiner is the Co-Founder of Mothership Marketing, with an illustrious background of executive marketing roles with Cactus Restaurants, Canucks Sports + Entertainment, VANOC, and more.  Ali and I met many years ago and I have always been inspired by her brilliant creativity and heart-centred leadership. To me, she is the epitome of bravery and I have

By |August 16th, 2021|Categories: Brave Women|Tags: , , |

Brave Women Leaders: Patrice Mousseau

We recognize and celebrate brave female leaders. The women featured in our Brave Women Leaders blog demonstrate resiliency, bravery, and the ability to radiate their light brightly. They have gifts, experience, and strengths to share with the world and they do so bravely.  Patrice Mousseau is the Founder and CEO of Satya, an organic skincare company that all started with a need that wasn't being met. She is a member of Fort William First Nation and a former journalist. Patrice became a conscious entrepreneur from the basic need to help her baby girl, Esme. Her daughter was suffering from eczema

By |June 29th, 2021|Categories: Brave Women|Tags: , , |

The Worst Piece of Advice from a Women’s Leadership Conference

The Worst Piece of Advice from a Women's Leadership Conference Several years ago, I attended a women's leadership conference and was eager to learn from all the incredible senior-level executives who were sitting on panels and leading keynote talks. I specifically remember listening to one woman (with a BIG title) who was working for one of Vancouver’s largest companies. When it was time for Q&A, I asked how she stood in her power as a senior leader in a very male-dominated organization, and she replied: “I just act like one of the guys. I dress like the guys, I talk

Brave Women Leaders: Dr. Maryam Zeineddin

We recognize and celebrate brave female leaders. The women featured in our Brave Women Leaders blog demonstrate resiliency, bravery, and the ability to radiate their light brightly. They have gifts, experience, and strengths to share with the world and they do so bravely.  Dr Maryam Zeineddin is a brilliant and compassionate leader, a Mother, Entrepreneur, and Founder of the not-for-profit organization, Zili Health. Maryam and I met many years ago when I was working for BC Women's Health Foundation. We had an instant connection and I have been in awe and inspired by her ever since. She is a co-owner

By |May 29th, 2021|Categories: Brave Women|Tags: , , |

Brave Women Leaders: Diana Vuong

We recognize and celebrate brave female leaders. The women featured in our Brave Women Leaders blog demonstrate resiliency, bravery, and the ability to radiate their light brightly. They have gifts, experience, and strengths to share with the world and they do so bravely.  Diana Vuong is the Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer for YVR, Vancouver Airport Authority. Diana is a brave values-based leader, champion of people and innovative driver of change. We are thrilled to feature her as one of our brave leaders.  What does bravery mean to you? Bravery to me means being able to persist and

By |May 7th, 2021|Categories: Brave Women|Tags: , , |

Brave Women Leaders: Layla Vera

We recognize and celebrate brave female leaders. The women featured in our Brave Women Leaders blog demonstrate resiliency, bravery, and the ability to radiate their light brightly. They have gifts, experience, and strengths to share with the world and they do so bravely.  Layla Vera is a Senior Associate and Marcus & Millichap. We met many years ago through our mutual love of spin and recently reconnected. I have been inspired by the courageous path she continues to blaze and how she embraces bravery in both her life and leadership.  What does bravery mean to you? To me, bravery means

By |May 1st, 2021|Categories: Brave Women|Tags: , , |

Brave Women Leaders: Sonja Foley

We recognize and celebrate brave female leaders. The women featured in our Brave Women Leaders blog demonstrate resiliency, bravery, and the ability to radiate their light brightly. They have gifts, experience, and strengths to share with the world and they do so bravely.  Sonja Foley and I met many years ago when we were at previous companies working on the Pink Shirt Day anti-bullying campaign together. She has a magnetism that draws people to her, and we quickly became friends, finding ourselves at National Leadership Retreats and Women in Business networking events. She is one of the bravest, most compassionate

By |April 16th, 2021|Categories: Brave Women|Tags: , , |

How 5 of my biggest mistakes turned into my greatest life lessons

How 5 of my biggest mistakes turned into my greatest life lessons Confessions of a high achieving woman In my experience, life will keep serving you the same lessons until you decide to learn them.  I have a deep belief that all of our “mistakes” are actually guiding us towards a more expanded version of ourselves. That although we may deem them as failures or as being misguided, they actually are pointing us to our deeper work and possibilities for our lives. The question is, can we give ourselves the grace and compassion around these “mistakes” and embrace the lessons

By |March 25th, 2021|Categories: Uncategorized|

Brave Women Leaders: Yvette Wu

We recognize and celebrate brave female leaders. The women featured in our Brave Women Leaders blog demonstrate resiliency, bravery, and the ability to radiate their light brightly. They have gifts, experience, and strengths to share with the world and they do so bravely.  I was introduced by a mutual friend to Yvette and was instantly taken with her boldness, bravery and beautiful heart. Yvette Wu is an entrepreneurial and strategic business leader with diverse leadership experience in start-ups, corporate and educational institutions and currently the Director of Corporate Services at Capilano University. What does bravery mean to you? Freeing yourself

By |March 16th, 2021|Categories: Brave Women|Tags: , , |

Brave Women Leaders: Juggy Sihota

We recognize and celebrate brave female leaders. The women featured in our Brave Women Leaders blog demonstrate resiliency, bravery, and the ability to radiate their light brightly. They have gifts, experience, and strengths to share with the world and they do so bravely.  Do you ever meet a leader and just instantly feel magnetized to their essence? That is how I feel about Juggy Sihota. Charisma, caring, compassion and bravery are all words I would use to describe her. She's a dynamic values-based leader and is a FORCE for good. Currently the Vice-President of Consumer Health at TELUS, Juggy leads

By |March 11th, 2021|Categories: Brave Women|Tags: , , , , |

Brave Women Leaders: Narissa Vohora

We recognize and celebrate brave female leaders. The women featured in our Brave Women Leaders blog demonstrate resiliency, bravery, and the ability to radiate their light brightly. They have gifts, experience, and strengths to share with the world and they do so bravely.  Narissa Vohora is taking tiny steps of bravery each and every day in her leadership and life. She is a Senior Business Analyst at the City of Vancouver and sits on the board of directors of Vancouver Women in Technology.   What does bravery mean to you? To me, bravery means stepping out of your comfort zone

By |February 24th, 2021|Categories: Brave Women|Tags: , , |

Brave Women Leaders: Fereshteh Zeineddin

We recognize and celebrate brave female leaders. The women featured in our Brave Women Leaders blog demonstrate resiliency, bravery, and the ability to radiate their light brightly. They have gifts, experience, and strengths to share with the world and they do so bravely.  I had been hearing about Fereshteh Zeineddin through mutual friends for years before I had the opportunity to hear her speak at a WNORTH event. The engaging, open, and transparent way she spoke created an instant connection to her, both as a person and as a leader. I was incredibly impressed by her Harvard Business School MBA,

By |February 2nd, 2021|Categories: Brave Women, Uncategorized|

Brave Women Leaders: Laurie Sterritt

We recognize and celebrate brave female leaders. The women featured in our Brave Women Leaders blog demonstrate resiliency, bravery, and the ability to radiate their light brightly. They have gifts, experience, and strengths to share with the world and they do so bravely.  I first met Laurie Sterritt years ago and was instantly taken with what a warm, dynamic, engaging and values-based leader she is. Laurie is a member of the Kispiox Band of the Gitxsan Nation. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of British Columbia and a Certificate in Professional Fund Raising from the University of

By |January 21st, 2021|Categories: Brave Women|Tags: , |

What if we didn’t have to live a life safe and small?

Written by: Jen Murtagh Over the past few months, I have found myself retreating. Retreating into my home, into my family, into my mind. And like so many of you, I am growing weary of it. I yearn for the social connectedness I felt on a regular basis in what feels like a distant life now. I found myself in floods of tears the other night watching Wonder Woman 1984 (spoiler alert), entranced by the closing scene where the world is at peace and at one with itself. As I watched the beauty of people hugging one another, heavy tears

By |January 3rd, 2021|Categories: Uncategorized|

What is your path to self-actualization?

I have been swimming in this topic for quite some time now. Just treading water. Not necessarily wanting to get to the other side of rigid ground just yet. I only really remember hearing the word 'self-actualization' over a year ago, and now it's taking up considerable space in my mind on a weekly basis. What does it mean to be a self-actualized woman? Whose whole being is possessed with the need to pursue and fulfill one's unique potential? Maslow taught us through the hierarchy of needs that self-actualization is at the top and can only be attained once we have

By |December 30th, 2020|Categories: Uncategorized|Tags: |

Brave Women Leaders: Kimberly Dixon

We recognize and celebrate brave female leaders. The women featured in our Brave Women Leaders blog demonstrate resiliency, bravery, and the ability to radiate their light brightly. They have gifts, experience, and strengths to share with the world and they do so bravely.  Kimberly Dixon was born and raised in Vancouver and moved east to attend McGill University and the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto. Now an education leader and district executive in Toronto, she began her career with the Toronto Catholic District School Board as a research assistant while in university. She currently

By |December 29th, 2020|Categories: Brave Women|Tags: , |

Brave Women Leaders: Natanya Bravo

We recognize and celebrate brave female leaders. The women we are featuring in our Brave Women Leaders blog demonstrate resiliency, bravery, and the ability to radiate their light brightly. They have gifts to share with the world and take tiny steps of bravery each day to share them with the world. Natanya Bravo is a brave, bold, and brilliant leader I have come to know virtually. Natanya spent the first part of her career living bi-coastal between New York and Los Angeles, creating global brand marketing campaigns for Fortune 500 consumer brands including Adidas, BMW, and Coca-Cola among others. While

By |December 3rd, 2020|Categories: Brave Women|Tags: , , |

Brave Women Leaders: Zafira Rajan

We recognize and celebrate brave female leaders. The women we are featuring in our Brave Women Leaders blog demonstrate resiliency, bravery, and the ability to radiate their light brightly. They have gifts to share with the world and take tiny steps of bravery each day to share them with the world. I am thrilled to feature Zafira Rajan as our next featured Brave Leader.  Zafira owns her voice with purpose and power AND is the founder of Zafira Rajan, Inc., a branding strategy and copywriting consultancy for conscious coaches, health, wellness and lifestyle entrepreneurs.  What does bravery mean to you?

By |November 24th, 2020|Categories: Brave Women|Tags: , |

How Doing Less Taught Me to Value Myself More

Written by: Jen Murtagh, Certified Leadership Coach  Someone wise once said to me, “Jen, don’t wait for a life-changing moment to change your life,” a sentiment that remained with me for many years before I had the strength and self-awareness to do anything about it. For far too long, I was stuck in a perpetual cycle of exhaustion with no clear path out. When I began to network within the women’s leadership space in Vancouver, I witnessed, admired, and revered women who seemingly had the ability to “do it all.” Everywhere I looked I saw women raising families, building their

By |November 17th, 2020|Categories: Uncategorized|

Brave Women Leaders: Jordana Pourian

We recognize and celebrate brave female leaders. The women we are featuring in our Brave Women Leaders blog demonstrate resiliency, bravery, and the ability to radiate their light brightly. They have gifts to share with the world and take tiny steps of bravery each day to share them with the world. It is my honour to introduce you to Jordana Pourian. Jordana is the SVP Operations and Chief of Staff at Aritiza. She is a Board Director for One Girl Can, Business in Vancouver Forty Under 40, mother of two and extraordinary human.  What does bravery mean to you? To

By |November 5th, 2020|Categories: Brave Women|Tags: , , , , |

Brave Women Leaders: Kim van der Woerd

We recognize and celebrate brave female leaders. The women we are featuring in our Brave Women Leaders blog demonstrate resiliency, bravery, and the ability to radiate their light brightly. They have gifts to share with the world and take tiny steps of bravery each day to share them with the world. It is my honour to introduce you to Kim van der Woerd. Kim is a proud member of the ‘Namgis Nation from Alert Bay BC. Her family gave her the name T,łalisam in their families first potlatch after the potlatch ban. She started her company, Reciprocal Consulting in 2003,

By |October 1st, 2020|Categories: Brave Women|Tags: , , , , |

5 Things to Consider Before Going on Maternity Leave

I have worked with hundreds of women over the course of my 20-year career and navigating maternity leave has been one of the biggest challenges I have witnessed women struggle through. When to tell your employer? How to tell them? What happens to your role? How to move from being a “career woman” to a “mom”. I can admit, I had a major identity shift when I went on my first maternity leave and I felt lonely, isolated, unsupported, and cut off from work.  I learned so much from my first maternity leave that when I went on my second,

By |September 14th, 2020|Categories: Maternity Leave|Tags: , , |

Brave Women Leaders: Dorcas Ronoh

We recognize and celebrate brave female leaders. The women we are honouring in our Brave Women Leaders feature demonstrate resiliency, bravery, and the ability to radiate their light brightly. They have gifts to share with the world and take tiny steps of bravery each day to make those visible.  Today we honour Dorcas Ronoh. Dorcas is a Senior Accountant in Audit with KPMG Vancouver. She spent five years at KPMG in Nairobi, Kenya before moving to Vancouver. I met Dorcas through a mutual friend and within the first 15 minutes of meeting her, I was in awe of how

By |September 5th, 2020|Categories: Brave Women|Tags: , , , |

Brave Women Leaders: Chastity Davis

We recognize and celebrate brave female leaders. The women we are featuring in our Brave Women Leaders blog demonstrate resiliency, bravery, and the ability to radiate their light brightly. They have gifts to share with the world and take tiny steps of bravery each day to share them with the world. Our first feature highlights Chastity Davis. Chastity is a mixed-heritage woman of First Nations and European descent. She is a proud member of the Tla’amin Nation, located in Powell River just off the beautiful Sunshine Coast of BC. She strives to keep her sacred First Nations culture, traditions, and

By |August 24th, 2020|Categories: Brave Women|