My
background
My
background
Growing up Canadian and being exposed to French and English created a curiosity in me for language and other cultures. It also sparked an insatiable travel bug that persists to this day. I now speak fluent French, German and English and passable Spanish and Japanese. I’ve also always been drawn to origin stories and love to visit Indigenous communities, such as in Ecuador, Colombia and Guatemala, to learn their perspectives on consciousness and what it means to them to be a contributing part of our living eco-system. I also have a deep passion for immersive service trips and spent time with communities in Nepal and Senegal, building schools to provide education to girls and women who otherwise had no access. At this point, I’ve travelled to more than 60 countries and all seven continents in search of humanity and purpose.
Growing up Canadian and being exposed to French and English created a curiosity in me for language and other cultures. It also sparked an insatiable travel bug that persists to this day. I now speak fluent French, German and English and passable Spanish and Japanese. I’ve also always been drawn to origin stories and love to visit Indigenous communities, such as in Ecuador, Colombia and Guatemala, to learn their perspectives on consciousness and what it means to them to be a contributing part of our living eco-system. I also have a deep passion for immersive service trips and spent time with communities in Nepal and Senegal, building schools to provide education to girls and women who otherwise had no access. At this point, I’ve travelled to more than 60 countries and all seven continents in search of humanity and purpose.
Photo by Robert Malmberg
Photo by Robert Malmberg
Photo by Robert Malmberg
I graduated from University of Alberta with a Bachelor of Commerce and found my way to the United States through Harvard Law School. I practiced corporate law at Morrison & Foerster in San Francisco, and then moved into investment banking during the early years of the internet. I was fully engaged in the corporate world and saw first hand how capital and influence shape the way people live.
I graduated from University of Alberta with a Bachelor of Commerce and found my way to the United States through Harvard Law School. I practiced corporate law at Morrison & Foerster in San Francisco, and then moved into investment banking during the early years of the internet. I was fully engaged in the corporate world and saw first hand how capital and influence shape the way people live.
I also saw who was missing from those conversations. Women’s viewpoints and value structures were rarely part of the discussion, even when the outcomes landed squarely on their lives. I have known that at some level all my life, and the longer I worked, the more I wanted to understand how and why this happens and what it would take to change it.
I also saw who was missing from those conversations. Women’s viewpoints and value structures were rarely part of the discussion, even when the outcomes landed squarely on their lives. I have known that at some level all my life, and the longer I worked, the more I wanted to understand how and why this happens and what it would take to change it.
When I retired from corporate life, I decided to put my time, experience and resources to work for women. That has meant efforts in securing a voice for women in the peace process, addressing gender-based violence, and advocating for women’s leadership and control over our bodies. Closer to home, I founded an educational start up, Reach Pleasure, where I am CEO, because I strongly believe a woman’s relationship with her own body is connected to her voice and her vitality.
“I’ve spent my life knowing that women have been consistently erased from the discussion, and trying to understand how and why.”
When I retired from corporate life, I decided to put my time, experience and resources to work for women. That has meant efforts in securing a voice for women in the peace process, addressing gender-based violence, and advocating for women’s leadership and control over our bodies. Closer to home, I founded an educational start up, Reach Pleasure, where I am CEO, because I strongly believe a woman’s relationship with her own body is connected to her voice and her vitality.
“I’ve spent my life knowing that women have been consistently erased from the discussion, and trying to understand how and why.”
