Run it Like a Girl

Trish Tonaj is an author, entrepreneurial coach and speaker.  Her latest book, Breaking Barriers, features the stories of 10 female entrepreneurs who’ve reached success in their respective business ventures.  Each shares some of the challenges they’ve faced along the way, as well as advice for those just starting out. Trish, herself, started on the sales floor of a major department store, but has reinvented herself three times in her 25 years as an entrepreneur.

On this episode of Run It Like a Girl, Trish Tonaj talks about the use of emotional intelligence as a roadmap to success, how combining your passion with your career is key, the importance of lifelong learning and how failure actually provides us with a wonderful opportunity for growth.

Christine Robertson is a Partner and leads marketing, communications and sales at PwC Canada. Her career has been more like a jungle gym than a straight path to get her where she is today. 

Not too long after starting at PwC Christine took on a global role within the organization, leading a major transformation among all firms, across 158 countries, and approximately  236 000 people.

On this episode of Run It Like a Girl, Christine explains the difference between mentorship and sponsorship, she talks parenting, and she has some tips on achieving success in male-dominated businesses.

Delane Cooper worked in the tech world - in sales and marketing to be precise, but was given the opportunity, following her marriage, of switching careers to something more creative.

After exploring her interests in painting and teaching, Delane apprenticed with a Goldsmith before enrolling in a jewellery  program at George Brown College in Toronto. She’s been a Goldsmith  now for 14 years. 

Delane is also a big proponent of giving back, and is the driving force behind the Lotus Hero Project.

On this episode of Run It Like a Girl, Delane talks about her project, My Story, the Story of Many….and her book that spawned from it.

Learn more about Delane and her work at www.delane.ca 

Although Allison Abraham Simpkins worked for a tech company where gender equality never came up as an issue she did see the gap elsewhere.

Allison,  who is now the Senior Vice President for North America and Managing Director of Toronto for high-tech company Valtech is passionate about attracting more women to the industry.

On this episode of Run It Like a Girl Allison tells us how mentorship has played a vital role in getting her where she is today, and her belief that changing the stats on women in the tech field will require the help and support of men as well as women.

Crystalee was blow away by the steep learning curve that went with getting a business off the ground, especially with young kids in the home. And that’s when she came up with the idea for The Mama Ladder.

The Mama Ladder, a company co-founded by Crystalee, has launched a biannual international grant program called ‘High Five Grants’, which provides $5000 to a promising mom entrepreneur.

On this episode of Run It Like a Girl Crystalee Beck tells us about the four core needs when starting a business, and she has some advice for women who are just too afraid to make that jump into entrepreneurship.

Bonnie Kearns has seen the best and the worst of humanity. As a nurse with the Canadian Red Cross, she’s been called to the scene of natural and man-made disasters around the world, including 9/11 at ground zero, where she worked at a rest centre for firefighters, police officers, and workers clearing debris.

Bonnie began volunteering with the Red Cross while working as an emergency room nurse in Sarnia, Ontario. 

Following her retirement Bonnie dove in head first with her first major deployment being to Afghanistan, where she worked as a nurse educator in a public hospital.

Despite the dangers involved in some assignments, and missing her family during long deployments. Bonnie says its worth it.  So why does she do it….

The road to an executive position at Kingston Health Sciences Centre was laid years ago for Queens University grad Theresa MacBeth.

After an enjoyable stint as the director of publicity and promotions for a broadcasting company Theresa moved to western Canada and began working for a Communications and Public Relations consulting firm. 

Theresa would eventually move back to Ontario and start up her own branch of that consulting practice, a business she would run for the next decade. 

On this episode of Run It Like a Girl, Theresa MacBeth talks about empowering women, being your own boss, and the importance of mentorship.

After working as a school teacher, and owning her own photography studio Jenny Fitz found another passion, connecting up-and-coming female entrepreneurs from around the world with experts in that field who can mentor them.  And that’s when the Female Entrepreneur & Mentorship Movement, known as FEMM International was born.

Jenny has also co-written a book, Awaken Your Inner Hero, which features 50 stories about kids from across Canada who’ve done some amazing things. In addition co-founded an organization called the Hero Intelligence Agency, which is designed to give youth a platform to have their voices heard, and inspire other young people.

Jenny Fitz talks about empowering women, mentorship, and the importance of being an authentic leader.

Dr. Hazel Barton has taken two of her life passions, and combined them into an extraordinary career. She’s a microbiologist working at the University of Akron in Ohio, and an avid cave explorer. Dr. Barton focuses her work on microorganisms that thrive in deep subsurface environments such as caves.

Dr. Barton co-starred in the 2001 IMAX film Journey into Amazing Caves, and has co-written a children’s book based on the film.  She and her work have also been featured in several documentaries and television programs.

On this episode, Run It Like a Girl travels to Akron, Ohio, where guest host Jodi Kearns learns about some of the challenges faced by women in two fields traditionally dominated by men, and how Dr. Barton discovered that she didn’t have to sacrifice her femininity to be accepted as an exceptional cave explorer.

For her entire life, growing up in Sarnia, Ontario, Marlo Taylor thought she was going to be a lawyer, right through to a degree from Queen’s University in Kingston, before discovering that the legal business wasn’t for her. 

On this Episode of Run it Like a Girl, the owner of Gage Communications talks about the importance of finding your passion, mentorship and how being authentic is key when running your own business.