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...

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...

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 newsp...

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 a...

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. ...

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 o...

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. E...

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 In...

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 ...

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, star...

Jenn T Grace is the founder of Publish Your Purpose Press and an author of several books. Her company is a hybrid book publisher that focuses on non-fiction and memoirs. Jenn didn't have all the answers when she started her publishing company, but she followed the just do it mentality as she knew this was her calling. In this episode Jenn talks about the lack of diversity in the American publishing industry, but she sees hope in the fact that people are starting to demand that m...

Elizabeth Bachman, and her Strategic Speaking for Results program, trains business professionals on how to get results through speaking. Elizabeth wasn’t always a trainer, and spent 30 years in the international opera world, 11 of those operating a summer opera company in the Austrian Alps. On this episode of Run It Like a Girl, Elizabeth Bachman talks about the importance of knowing your audience, and how women who are new to management can lead effectively. Elizabeth also talks about ...

Jeanette Brown is the founder of Excellence and Presence Communications, a public relations firm whose clients have included companies such as Pepsi, Reebok, NASCAR, Audi, and the U.S. Open. Jeanette, who was born and raised in Brooklyn, was originally studying to become a nurse until she switched her major to early childhood education. At the same time, at the age of 20 Jeanette landed her first job at a PR agency where she was pitching to the media a U.S. Open Tennis camp for girls. On thi...

Shareen Luze is the Head of Culture and Field Experience with RBC Wealth Management. An employment attorney by trade, she joined RBC’s law group 15 years ago, shifting into human resources a couple of years after that. And when, a decade later, Shareen was approached by an executive about heading up the human relations portfolio, she had a surprising response.. -no way-. After some encouragement from others, Shareen did indeed apply and get the job as head of human relations, .and most rece...

LaTonya Wilkins is an author, speaker and the founder of The Change Coaches, an organization that works with corporate leaders and their teams to create cultures of belonging in their workplaces. On this episode of Run It Like a Girl, LaTonya talks about her book, Leading Below the Surface, and she outlines the three biases of the workplaces, including confirmation bias. LaTonya also talks to us about the effects of the pandemic on the workplace. And she disspells some false narratives...

Gemma Castle is the Chief Financial Officer for Cult Wines a global company that provides market-leading fine wine investment and collection management services. Gemma always thought she would become a sports journalist, but after university she had two job offers: 1. With a large accounting firm 2. A national newspaper. She took the job with the firm, and began her career as an accountant. As her career advanced she found that as a woman she wasn’t always taken seriously. In th...

Heather Odendaal is the CEO and Co-Founder of WNorth, an organization that connects and offers development opportunities for mid-management women with an upward career trajectory. Heather started WNorth in 2015 after unsuccessfully seeking out a conference where she could network with like minded women. Heather says WNorth’s membership grew enormously during the pandemic as women sought a community more than ever. On this episode of Run It Like a Girl, Heather talks about fl...

Please note: Recorded June 30: Vanessa has since achieved a successful exit of the company Vanessa Iarocci is the CEO of McCarthy Uniforms, a company that employs over 300 people, with another 200 seasonal youth staff; working out of 12 locations in southern Ontario. The 65-year-old company had become insolvent a decade after the founders sold it off, so they bought it back. A lot of work was needed to restore McCarthy Uniforms to its former glory, and that’s where Vanessa came ...

Rachel Hill landed a great job out of university and by her mid 20s was making 6 figures. From the outside she had a full life, but inside she was miserable and diagnosed with anxiety. At the age of 27 she retired from corporate America and decided to travel before settling down. While oversees she started a blog to keep family and friends up to date with her adventures. Rachel was one of the only Black American women travelling alone and backpacking. In 2014 her blog blew up. S...

Deena Baikowitz is the founder and Chief Networking Officer of Fireball Network, which helps clients access business and career opportunities. Originally from Montreal, Deena calls New York City home, although she’s currently stuck in Toronto due to the Covid lockdown. Deena is all about networking, and has some practical advice for people looking to build their own network, and she tell us about why diversity is so important within her own networks. Deena is also a comedian, a passion that t...