What does it take to build a career in a field that wasn’t built with you in mind? 

Women Building Futures has been helping women enter the trades and transportation since 1998 — not just with job training, but with the wraparound supports that make it possible to actually get there: childcare plans, housing support, fitness training, and a food pantry. Since the beginning, more than 3,000 women have come through their programs. Their work is supported in part by the JudyLynn Archer Fund, an endowment held at Edmonton Community Foundation. 

In this episode, we hear from WBF CEO Carla Madra and Red Seal welder Natalie Bak — a graduate who went from a nineteen-year-old with no experience to a welder who’s worked across Western Canada and up into the Northwest Territories. 

Show Notes:

Our guests today were Carla Madra, CEO of Women Building Futures, and Natalie Bak, WBF graduate and Red Seal welder. 

Read the companion article, “Forging Ahead,” in the Spring 2026 edition of Thrive Magazine. 

Learn more about Women Building Futures 

Learn more about the JudyLynn Archer Fund

 ECF Happenings:  

Find out how to create an Endowment Fund of your own.  

Read the latest issue of Thrive.  

Read the latest on  our blog.  

Check out some of the amazing funds our donors have created.  

 ECF Youth Grants:  

Youth Grants 

Upcoming Student Awards: 

Al Maurer Awards

Click here to find details for all of our student awards! 

Alyssa Noel’s interview with Carla Madra and Natalie Bak was produced by Odvod Media. 

The Well-Endowed Podcast is produced by Edmonton Community Foundation.

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