Women & Courage with Sarah Lajeunesse

Having created numerous impactful brand strategies and activations in sport, tech, entertainment, lifestyle and retail - Valerie’s expertise in marketing, sponsorship activations, branding, community and corporate partnerships, CSR strategy, digital and live event management has led to launching her own Toronto based brand agency BALDWIN + BRANT, whose extensive client list has included Woodbine Entertainment, Movember, Sundial Cannabis, The Grey Cup Festival, The Calgary Stampede, Curling Canada, Marble Slab Creamery and New Era Cap Co. In this episode, we discuss the power of exploring your personal purpose, your brand purpose, and betting on yourself if you ever decide to explore your entrepreneurial calling.

Lisa Norman is the Founder and CEO of For The Love Of Cups, a patient and breast cancer advocacy nonprofit organization. The organization was created out of an urgent need Lisa discovered during her own journey, diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer to better inform patients and bridge the gap in support and outcomes. Lisa shares her own diagnoses journey and how that led her to creating FTLOC. We discuss the importance of connecting with your “Why”, trusting your vision, and how to move through the fears that prevent you from taking the first step towards your soul’s purpose.

Jade Bryan is a Women’s Financial Literacy Advocate born and raised in Hamilton, Ontario. Jade’s affinity for telling a brand’s story and connecting with their audience has given her the opportunity to manage social media accounts for companies across many different fields, taking her career from fashion to finance and everywhere in between. This, combined with over 10 years of working in the financial industry with a major Canadian bank, has led Jade to become passionate about fostering an online community that empowers women in all things personal finance. She believes that financial literacy is the key to independence, and can help women take their future into their own hands.

In this episode we speak with Michelle Kwok, Co-Founder of FLIK, which merges the gap between female founders looking for helping hands on their businesses and female students looking for career-relevant experiences and mentorship. We discuss the why behind FLIK, Michelle’s vision, the greatest barriers that she sees for female founders, and the power of representation.

Brodie Lawson is a host for the Canadian Football League and a lead voice for content generated from the CFL’s head office on a weekly basis reaching 12 million fans nationwide. Brodie can also be seen on TSN as a contributor to Thursday Night Football and TSN’s horse racing coverage for Racing Night Live. Knowing the male-dominated industry of sports well, Brodie shares her experience and insights on so many important topics including encouraging all women to give themselves the grace to see that the parts of us that we find unattractive, are actually what makes us great. We dive into the importance of being willing to take a leap of faith when fear of failure or inadequacy presents itself. We discuss the power of female representation in leadership positions and the importance of having supportive male mentors, and how we need to revise the definition of mentorship into one that includes more humanity and empathy for others.

Gemma is an award winning documentary maker and founder of Sister Stories. She has dedicated her life to creating spaces for people to tell important stories, be it on film, in writing or in their community. Gemma created Sister Stories as a means of offering women an opportunity to come together to be seen and heard, experiencing an expansive evening of truth telling, healing and transformation.

Jolinda Johnson is a Women’s Health Coach, Mentor, and Priestess who’s passionate about helping women break up with the good girl and return to the wild: whole, healthy, and free. She is a Certified Holistic Health Coach with a specialization in hormone health, a Certified Life Coach, and holds degrees from Columbia University and Pace University in the City of New York.

Norma Rubio is an Emmy-award winning TV Producer/Writer and Meditation and Mindfulness teacher whose greatest intention is to cultivate a safe, authentic environment for others in both her careers. Norma is also the host of the Inner Peace Masterclass series where she interviewed more than a dozen thought leaders on the subject of Inner Peace.

Emily Cassel is a Soulful Business + Leadership Coach for women entrepreneurs, a podcast host, an international retreat leader, and champion of women. With a background in Positive Psychology, sustainability, and spirituality, Emily is devoted to helping women launch, grow, & scale the business their soul came here to create while making the impact + income that will change our world.

Driven by the belief that when a woman embraces and expresses her deepest soul calling, becomes a leader of her life and business, and does it in a way that's sustainable, we create a more harmonious future for ourselves, each other, and our world.

Katee Duarte is the CEO and Co-Founder of Duarte Group, Inc, a social media agency which specializes in digital curation, brand cultivation, and community building founded on the principles of integrity, transparency, and trust. Katee has been managing and consulting in social media for the past eight years, with over a decade of professional experience in marketing and communications. She has worked across multiple industries including media & entertainment, academia, tourism, nonprofit, lifestyle and beauty.