Broken Chair:  A Daughter’s Journey

Denyse Mouck is the author of Broken Chair:  A Daughter’s Journey - a work of historical fiction that follows the journey of four generations of women as they try to survive the sexist restrictions of their times. 

A key character in the story, Rhita, is based on Denyse’s mother.  To use the cliche - Denyse says she walked a mile in her mom’s moccasins in order to learn about and develop her character.

Denyse says she never really viewed herself as a writer, and became involved  in everything from politics to pottery and painting….but kept coming back to writing. She says everyone is really good at something…you just have to figure out what that is.

Check out Denyse's book here

The Fast Three

What is your favourite podcast or source of information?  
Here's the Thing with Alex Baldwin,
Writers in company with Eleanor Wachtel
Between the covers by David Naimon
What are you currently reading?
State of Terror by Hilary Rodham  Clinton & Louise Penny
Yellow House, by Patricia Falvey 
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
Who is currently inspiring you? 
The women in my life

Liz Benditt is the definition of a survivor.  Based in Kansas City, the mother of two discovered, about 10 years ago, that she had skin cancer. Just 11 months after that, Liz was diagnosed with thyroid cancer, and then, in 2015 basal cell carcinoma - skin cancer was discovered on the bridge of Liz’s nose, requiring two surgeries to repair. And unbelievably, two years later, Liz was diagnosed with breast cancer.

To make use of an old adage - Liz took all of these lemons, and made lemonade.

In October of 2020, she took her health experiences and launched the Balm Box, offering practical self-care and gift boxes, with the first line focused on people breast cancer - essential oils and diffusers, burn balms, creams, support pillows and throw blankets as well as augmented clothing, such as wireless bras.

After all of her experiences, Liz has maintained a positive outlook, perhaps something gifted by her grandmother, a woman who survived the holocaust and was forever grateful for a second chance at life.

Learn more about Liz and The Balm Box
The Balm Box
The Balm Box Blog and News

The Fast Three
What is your favourite podcast or source of information? The Daily, Pod Save America
What are you currently reading? An Ugly Truth by Sheera Frenkel, Cecilia Kang, The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
Who is currently inspiring you? My grandmother, a holocaust survivor who made a new life and chose to be happy after experiencing the most extreme trauma. She is my role model and any time I feel frustrated or face a setback I think about her perseverance and perspective.

I had the great pleasure of working with Lesley  Gunn for several years at a professional services firm in Toronto. I learned a lot from Lesley about leadership, advocating for my own career and to not be afraid of failure. 

When Lesley  first started her career like so many others she found herself in a job that she didn't find fulfilling. However, it ultimately helped her understand where she didn't want to focus her career. After some interesting job experience with a newspaper in London, England, Lesley returned to Canada and began working in the staffing business where she learned how to run a multi-million dollar business.

Lesley now works in financial services, as the Head of Marketing for Connor, Clark and Lunn Financial Group Ltd. in Toronto.

On this episode  Lesley tells us communication and persistence are key when an organization is going through a period of transition and change.  She talks about having a common vision and how to bring the best out of each individual.

The Fast Three
What is your favourite podcast or source of information? Ask Lisa
What are you currently reading? Building a Story Brand by Donald Miller
Who is currently inspiring you? Teachers and students

Liz Thompson’s life took an unexpected turn about six years ago. The California-based chef, with a MBA in marketing and culinary school under her belt, had recently started teaching and was working at a food show in San Francisco when she unexpectedly loss much of her vision. 

After some time off learning to live with the loss of much of her vision, Chef Liz Thompson reinvented herself, and that’s when Liz Thompson Marketing was created.

On this episode of Run It Like a Girl, Liz talks about her passion for the restaurant and food industry.  She talks about how to pick yourself up after a major set-back, and she has some advice for young up-and-comers - jump off that cliff and don’t feel bound by a life plan.

Learn more about Liz

Liz Thompson Marketing

The Fast Three
What is your favourite podcast or source of information? Women Beyond a Certain Age
What are you currently reading? James Taylor Autobiography, The Book of Joy by The Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
Who is currently inspiring you? Eleanor Roosevelt, Martin Luther King Jr.

Kate Gilman Williams is only 12-years old, but she’s already a well-known animal advocate, CEO and author. Kate, who lives in Austin, Texas, was just 7 when she co-authored a book called ‘Let’s Go on Safari’ and 10 when she founded her organization Kids Can Save Animals.

Kate believes that anyone can make a difference, and even a little help can go a long way. On her podcast - Club 15, Kate says a great way to learn is from experts who educate on what we can all do to help save wildlife. 

Learn more about Kate and the work that she does:

Kids Can Save Animals
Check out Kate's book : Let's Go on Safari
Check out Club 15
Listen to her song Kids Can Save Animals that Kate recorded with Jenn Hartmann Luck

Follow Kate and Kids Can Save Animals
Twitter
Instagram

The Fast Three
What is your favourite podcast or source of information: Part Time Genius
What are you currently reading? Poached by Stuart Gibbs
Who is currently inspiring you? Jenn Hartmann Luck

Stacey Dakin is the managing director of Mentor Canada, an organization that was launched in 2019, and currently sits on the board of directors of Lean In Canada where she leads strategic initiatives. 

In this episode Bonnie and Stacey dig into mentorship and career development.

Learn more about Mentor Canada and Lean In Canada:

Mentor Canada
LinkedIn Twitter Instagram Facebook

Lean In Canada
LinkedIn Twitter Instagram Facebook

The Fast Three
What is your favourite podcast or source of information? Armchair Expert, Canadian Women's Foundation All Right, Now What,  The Ontario Non Profit Network, Digging In
What are you currently reading? Mentoring Mindset Tools and Skills by Ann Rolfe
Who is currently inspiring you? The non profit sector. 

Bernadette Butler is the CEO and Co-Founder of StoryTap, a tech firm that works with companies to increase their brand engagement by giving their customers a voice and the ability to share it through personalized videos.

With offices in Vancouver and Toronto, Bernadette says StoryTap also works with clients to create easy to use video assistants. 

Bernadette says she’s excited for where women are going in the tech world, but says there are still a lot of challenges for female founders.

Early on in her career, Bernadette joined a variety of networks where she received tips from well-meaning and successful women - tips like don’t wear dangly earrings, and to lower her voice when talking to people…in other words, become more masculine to overcome the female barrier.

The Fast Three
What is your favourite podcast or source of information? Master Class  
What are you currently reading? Play Bigger by  Al Ramadan, Dave Peterson, Christopher Lochhead & Kevin Maney

Who is currently inspiring you? I am obsessed with Storytelling and authenticity, I don't have one person. I get inspired by a ton of people

Learn more

Storytap: https://storytap.com

Christie Marchese, who grew up in Southern California, worked in a movie theatre through high school. She was planning on enrolling in filmmaking at college, but decided to pursue International Relations following the attacks of 9/11.

That love of film remained and after college Christie started working with a well-known TV producer on a non-profit film on registering voters. Christie’s path next took her to a company called Participant Media, where she worked on documentaries such as Food Inc., Waiting for Superman and The Cove.

Now based in New York City, Christie is the founder and CEO of Kinema, a company that uses a market platform to make films available to hosts who handle things like booking and ticket selling themselves through the digital platform.  And this, according to Christie, allows Kinema to service more filmmakers and distributors.

On this episode, Christie Marchese talks about some mistakes she’s made as CEO - including not delegating enough.  She has some advice for anyone interested in starting a business on venture capital, and she has some great advice for fellow introverts.

Learn more about Kinema
https://kinema.com

The Fast Three
What is your favourite podcast or source of information? Kim Masters, The Business
What are you currently reading? Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell
Who is currently inspiring you? People who work in the industry - the people of New York

Joanna Johnson is a high school teacher by day, and a social media influencer by night, with nearly 900,000 followers on TikTok, where her videos have been viewed millions of times. 

Joanna, who goes by Unlearn16 on TikTok has become a social justice warrior dealing with hate, prejudice and inequality with well articulated sarcasm and wit. 

Joanna says her favourite thing to do is change someone’s view. On this episode of Run It Like a Girl, Joanna Johnson talks about education and says young people today aren’t being given enough opportunity to fail at something.

The Fast Three
What's your favourite podcast or source of information?: Anything with Ricky Gervais, Russell Brand or Michael Rosenbaum (Inside of You)
What are you currently reading?: high school papers, but favourite book is Women on the Edge of Time by Marge Piercy   
Who is currently inspiring you? My mom

Learn more about Joanna: https://linktr.ee/unlearn16
Follow Joanna on Instagram
Listen to her podcast: Unlearn16: Class is in session

A split second decision shortly before her 50th birthday changed Jen Rice’s life forever. She sold everything she owned in the United States and bought a one-way ticket to Europe with the assumption she was going to land a consulting project in Geneva. When the project fell through, Jen found herself jobless and homeless in Europe.

Jen still remembers the moment she finally gave herself permission to just stop and forget about life for a while. In this episode Jen talks about resilience, starting over and finding what you're passionate about. 

Learn more about Jen: https://www.jenrice.co