The PersistersCAN Podcast

Today’s certified persister is Michelle Johnston.

Michelle grew up in Kitchener, Ontario and got involved in politics while studying at the University of Toronto by joining the Toronto Centre Young Liberals.

She went on to serve on the Ontario Young Liberals executive before becoming the youth wing’s President ahead of the 2014 Ontario Election. In government, Michelle served as a legislative assistant and issues manager, an MPP Liaison, and a policy advisor. More recently, she has served as a Director of Communications in the federal Liberal government.

Michelle joins us today to talk about how she got involved in politics, what it takes to support the youth wing of the party, and how we can encourage more women to get involved in civic life.

Production Note: This episode was recorded on July 18, 2022.

Today’s certified persister is Kate Graham.

Kate grew up in Southwestern, Ontario, beginning in Exeter before moving to London as a teenager. Kate and her siblings were inspired to pursue careers that gave back to their communities after watching their parents serve their community as educators.

She first got involved in government service as a summer intern with the City of London and went on to serve the city for ten years before making the leap into politics.

Kate ran twice as a candidate for the Ontario Liberals in London North Centre, once as a leadership candidate for the party, and most recently as a Platform Co-Chair for the 2022 Ontario Liberal election campaign.

Kate joins us today to talk about how she got involved in politics, what it takes to build an election platform, and how we can encourage more women to get involved in civic life.

Production Note: This episode was recorded on June 29, 2022.

Today’s certified persister is Tracey Sobers.

Tracey was born in the UK before moving to Saint John, New Brunswick as a child and Ottawa, Ontario as a teenager. She was raised in a family where politics was talked about around the dining room table and everyone was expected to have an opinion.

As she began her career in communications, she remained interested in the events of the day and became more involved in political action, including attending anti-apartheid marches.

Tracey joined the office of Ontario Liberal Leader Dalton McGuinty after his 1999 election loss and was by his side during all three of his election victories in 2003, 2007, and 2011.

Tracey joins us today to talk about how she got involved in politics, what it takes to be an executive assistant to the Premier, and how we can encourage more women to get involved in civic life.

Production Note: This episode was recorded on June 30, 2022.

Today’s certified persister is Andrea Ledwell.

Andrea was born on Prince Edward Island and came to politics after building up decades of graphic design experience in the private sector.

She put her talents to political use for the first time during Kathleen Wynne's successful party leadership campaign and was tapped to serve as the Creative Director for the Ontario Liberal Caucus in the Legislative Assembly.

She played a critical role designing campaign literature for the party as a volunteer during the 2014, 2018, and 2022 elections.

Andrea joins us today to talk about how she got involved in politics, what it takes to be a partisan graphic designer, and how we can encourage more women to get involved in civic life.

Production Note: This episode was recorded on June 24, 2022.

Today’s certified persister is Brooke Crewson.

Brooke credits her upbringing as the daughter of mayor in a small town in rural Ontario for sparking her interest in politics.

She’s been a grassroots volunteer, a party office staffer, a constituency, legislative, and executive assistant, an MPP liaison, an operations advisor, and a regional advisor to the Premier of Ontario.

Brooke joins us today to talk about how she got involved in politics, what it takes to be a political organizer, and how we can encourage more women to get involved in civic life.

Production Note: This episode was recorded on June 8, 2022.

Welcome to the PersistersCAN Podcast. 

PersistersCAN host Theresa Lubowitz brings listeners behind the scenes of Canada’s civic life by interviewing the women who have stepped up to solve our country’s toughest problems.

Listen in each week to hear their stories as they inspire the next generation of women to get involved in Canada’s civic life. Each episode, communications experts, policy advisors, organizational strategists, and more share their stories about how they first got involved, what it takes to do their jobs, and their advice for other women looking to make a positive impact on their country.

If your streaming profile includes a category for ‘Strong Female Leads’, this is the podcast for you. Join us wherever you get your podcasts.