The empowerment of women and girls is my most passionate focus. In 2018, I joined the board of Ask Her YYC when the organization started preparing to train 2021 civic election candidates to campaign successfully. Our volunteers devoted hundreds of hours to creating and delivering multi-module programs on election law, policy development, fundraising, and dealing with added pressures on women candidates. Election night brought significant progress, with four women associated with the program elected to city councils and numerous other program graduates playing key campaign roles. The empowerment of girls is also the mission of Girl Guides of Canada. As a Unit Leader for six years, I have worked to inspire girls to work toward the vision of “a better world, by girls.” For much of the pandemic, I also served as National Link Liaison, providing training to women 18-30 years of age, and am now Guiding Ambassador, with a mandate to inspire girls from across Canada to take action to improve their communities.

Strong teamwork and the support of my community have been essential in all of my work, especially in empowering high school students with SUNIA and my work moving Calgary closer to political parity with Ask Her. In my position as Executive Director of SUNIA, I relied on our volunteer team and the organization’s collaborative culture for support to develop new program content, promote enrollment, and keep spirits high through the challenging weeks of the summer camp. Collaboratively with our alumni community, we secured scholarship funding to ensure no students were excluded due to their financial situation. For additional expertise, we enlisted speakers with the United Nations and other organizations with an international focus. Ask Her YYC also depended on a core group of committed volunteers to plan and organize programs and events, plus the support of 55 additional community members to act as mentors and share expertise on topics such as battling imposter syndrome, understanding municipal policy, and developing a campaign communications strategy.

Collaboration is truly the fuel that has powered my volunteer work– from working with successful female politicians to inspire a new generation of women candidates to planning activities that help girls gain confidence through Girl Guide programs. These partnerships have an immediate impact, but they also create connections between people who care about their communities—locally and globally—and are focused on creating a fairer and more equitable world.