When I (Anna) first met Anne over 10 years ago while working together at Pelmorex, I was struck by her exceptional emotional intelligence and people-first leadership style — qualities that are truly foundational to creating safe, brave spaces.

Today, Anne is the Senior Vice President of Software Development at Propel Holdings, where she leads the scaling of engineering organizations and drives the delivery of innovative digital products . Her career spans more than 20 years in product development, enterprise architecture, platform engineering, AI/ML, quality assurance, and IT operations .

Prior to Propel, Anne held senior leadership roles at Wealthsimple and Pelmorex, where she helped modernize delivery practices and strengthen engineering foundations . She also serves as an Advisory Group Member with Accelerate Her Future, supporting the advancement of Indigenous, Black, and racialized women in tech .

Anne brings a powerful blend of strategic thinking and human-centered leadership, and I’ve always admired how she leads with clarity, compassion, and impact. I’m so excited for you to meet her and hear more about her journey and influence.

You can learn more about Anne through LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/annesteptoe/

Sam knows a thing or two about leading with impact in fast-moving, high-stakes environments. He’s  held senior leadership roles at some of the world’s most innovative companies.

Sam’s known not just for driving growth and innovation, but for doing it the right way — by putting people, culture, and purpose at the center.

Anna had the pleasure of working alongside Sam and experiencing his leadership style firsthand. She shares without hesitation that he’s one of the most impactful leaders she has ever worked with — someone who’s made a lasting impression on her both personally and professionally.

In this episode, we’re diving into a topic that doesn’t always make the leadership playbook — the power of safe and brave spaces. Why they matter, how they fuel trust andinnovation, and what it really takes to lead with both courage and care.

Marsha-Gaye, born and raised in Kingston, Jamaica, embarked on a remarkable journey that led her to become a prominent
figure in the field of sports marketing and equity advocacy.  A Clinical Assistant Professor, a Public Speaker and Advocate for Women founding Black in Sport Business (BSB), an organization dedicated to connecting black professionals within the sports business industry. Through her work she has been a finalist for the GBC 5 to Watch industry awards for 3 consecutive years.

Nina is the Founder of Pure Minds Inc., a social enterprise that conducts mental wellness and mindfulness workshops for the corporate and public sector. She is the co-author of the International Bestseller Let That Sh*t Go, a no-filter, practical approach on how to find peace of mind and happiness in the everyday.

Nina has been studying mindfulness for over 20 years and practicing meditation for over a decade. Wanting to take her search for mindfulness more seriously, in 2010, she took a year sabbatical and moved to Northern California. There she took a 1-year course studying ancient wisdom and meditation. During that year, she lived in an ashram in the Redwood forest and completely unplugged.
She now follows her passion and educates on mental well-being and mindfulness across various platforms. Coming from a corporate background, she is especially passionate about bringing wellness to the workplace, to help employees find calm amid the chaos.

Find out more about Nina's work and how she can support you at www.pureminds.ca

Anna and I provide a bit of background of who we are and what are our hopes for this podcast and a broader commitment to helping curate a community to enable safe brave spaces within ourselves, our relationships and our broader communities.

Many of us are still searching for our purpose and passion late in our life, for Dennis Campbell the light went on at the age of seven while accompanying his sister on her summer job. A passion for people combined with an entrepreneurial spirit has resulted in a very special place to work in Halifax Canada. This is such a great conversation where Dennis shares some very practical approaches that have resulted in Ambassatour being voted as one of the top 10 Best Companies to Work For in Atlantic Canada. A vulnerable and inspiring leader who recognizes and activates the power of the collective organization though creating a safe brave space to release the potential of all team members. If you are interested in becoming part of this amazing team click the link https://www.ambassatours.com/join-our-team. To connect with Dennis go to LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/dennis-campbell-0055b54/

Over the past few years we have all seen the trauma of the refugee experience, most recently with Syria, Afghanistan and Ukraine. Matthew House Toronto has been providing safe brave spaces for new Canadians for over 20 years. In this really special conversation with Jacky we hear powerful stories and gain practical ideas from this amazing community and the folks that have called it their home as they begin their life in Canada.  Such a wonderful dialogue and opportunity to deepen understanding of the refugee situation and uncover new ways of creating safe brave spaces within communities.

For more information about Matthew House Toronto go to https://www.matthewhouse.ca/

In 2011 Simon and his partner set out to build a different kind of company built on the philosophy to 'Lead with a Give'. An abundance centric approach to supporting others towards releasing their potential. Fast forward eleven years and the heart beat of that intention has resulted in significant growth and impact through the enablement of safe brave spaces within The Talent Company, for the clients they support and the communities that they are serving within their social impact commitments. Such a wonderful success story and some powerful insights transferable to any organization!!!

To connect with Simon go to https://www.linkedin.com/in/simonparkin1/

For more information about The Talent Company go to https://thetalentcompany.ca/

Pam Dooley, is owner of Plants Creative Landscapes, who's purpose is to enrich people’s lives by improving the relationship they have with the outdoor places they live, work and play in. In an earlier podcast, Paul Burns - Managing Director @ Twitter Canada, shared his insight that safe brave leaders focus on 'preparing the soil' for others to grow. During our conversation Pam shares many practical and powerful examples of how she lives this in her work for clients as well as how she is enables safe brave spaces within her organization. This episode is jammed packed with straight-forward creative ways to release the potential of team members which has resulted in creating impactful safe brave spaces within the communities they serve.

For more information on Plant Creative Landscape go to https://plantscreative.com/

Zulu Alpha Kilo is a trail blazer in their industry for both their creative and the way they do business. In this interview we discover that what makes them so great bubbles up from within, fuelled by what they believe and how they live as a culture. So many great insights from Mike Sutton, President & CEO, inspiring Ola and myself and providing practical examples of how to bring safe brave spaces to life in an organization. A must listen episode!!!!