Social Entrepreneurship is a Choice

Social entrepreneurship, for me, is embracing the idea that people, the environment and animals come before profits. My spirit is deeply rooted in nature, I was born and raised in the Northern part of Canada, and I’m very passionate about the planet, people and animals.

I work with social enterprises, small and medium-sized businesses and non-profits that struggle with one or more business function or skill set that I excel at. I show them how to optimize these functions and give them the knowledge, tools or systems necessary to succeed at it – while making every step transparent and easy to understand, as well as having a positive impact.

Professional Experience – I Failed my Way to the Top

I have over 20 years of experience working with and consulting for small and medium-sized businesses, social enterprises, non-profits, start-ups, governments and foreign agencies. I have a proven ability to translate goals and organizational vision into executable plans that are easy to understand. I have set-up multiple companies and understand the key functions to optimize and grow them.

I’ve had the unique privilege and opportunity to work with an elite group of organizations and individuals including Endeavour Financial, the Clinton Giustra Enterprise Partnership, the Clinton Foundation, Inter-American Development Bank, Lions Gate Entertainment and notable international philanthropists – Carlos Slim, Frank Giustra and Rod Lewis.

I‘ve served on the Board of several companies (public and private), acted as an advisor and held senior leadership roles as CEO, CFO and VP.  The depth and diversity of my professional career provides me the ability to critically examine business systems, finance, operations and brand awareness through a variety of different lenses.

I failed my way to the top because I learnt to fail hard, fail frequently, fail fast and figure it out.

Education Experience

I’m a strong believer in education and continuously being inquisitive about life and topics that you are passionate about.   I was blessed to get into two amazing ivy league schools, met some remarkable professors who stretched my thinking and created quality relationships with many of my classmates that I will have for life.  In addition, my education bridged gaps in my knowledge, strung together operational functions, uncovered new resources and opportunities, as well as help build new opinions and point of views.

A few big life lesson I have learned from managing, setting-up and running several companies is that failures are the biggest stepping stones to success as long as you learn from them and recover from them quickly.  Another lesson in life I’ve learnt is that, “…to be successful in business, you must “BE” in business…” and that means rolling up your sleeves and learning to do, almost, all business functions as you start out.

As an entrepreneur and business owner, this likely comes naturally, as the start-up phase is a long grind and one with limited capital.  Doing most, if not all, tasks allows you to see or capitalize on new opportunities (others are unable to see), trim where trimming is necessary and optimize for future growth.

Guest Lecturer

I’ve had the great privilege to be a guest lecturer for three years at New York University – Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service in New York City, as well as be a featured and keynote speaker at several conferences.

Personal Passions

At the top of my list is a morning latte with my fiancé and the great outdoors. I naturally gravitate to the mountains and enjoy several winter and summer sports. I’m known to hunt down the best coffee shop in town and travel miles to get it!  I also enjoy writing and can creatively sew two sentences into a headline story. I like transforming words into written magic, sentences into stories lines and sometimes I surprise myself with a few poems or two.

Metalsmithing, photography, painting, and, at times, knitting are hobbies I can get lost in for hours. I don’t have cable and prefer reading or watching documentaries. I devour at least one book a month and have a healthy book collection. I can go from a granola look to glamours gown seamlessly but prefer to be in jeans, a t-shirt and an old pair of kicks. I am in love with antiques, heritage cars and crystal shops and I’m proudly in love and adore my fiancé, family and friends. I also enjoy collecting memories rather than collecting possessions. I cherish time spent traveling and have visited 4 continents and explored more than 24 countries.