Speakers—on Friday

We are thrilled to be welcoming extraordinary women to speak with us at our fireside chats.

BRAVERY—JUNE 7

About—Marina

Marina Byezhanova is an entrepreneur, global speaker & university instructor whose mission is to scale the reach of people's voices and to inspire entrepreneurs to speak up, to stand out, and to be radically authentic. She does it through the power of personal branding.

  • BRAVERY—JUNE 7

    Marina Byezhanova is an entrepreneur, global speaker & university instructor whose mission is to scale the reach of people's voices and to inspire entrepreneurs to speak up, to stand out, and to be radically authentic. She does it through the power of personal branding.

    Co-Founder of a personal branding agency called Brand of a Leader,  Marina has been quoted and referenced in such publications as Inc.com, Forbes.com, Fast Company, Success Magazine, Wall Street Journal and the Financial Post, and has spoken to audiences of entrepreneurs and business executives in North America, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.

    She is a tenured member of Entrepreneurs' Organization (EO) and is presently part of the Global Learning Ambassador Committee.

    Learn more about Marina at brandofaleader.com

    Marina on LinkedIn

Previous Speakers


  • CLARITY—SEPTEMBER 20

    Founder, Impact Lives

    Dr. Meghan Walker is a naturopathic doctor and Entrepologist (On-tre-pol-uh-gist), focusing on health and business optimization for clinician entrepreneurs and game changers. As an entrepreneur, Meghan started and sold her first business while in University and is a co-founder and past CEO of the digital health media start-up, Bright Almond. Meghan co-founded and sold her first clinic, The Integrative Health Institute after graduation from the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine and went on to found and sell her second micro-practice, Entrepology Performance Labs.

    She is currently the host of the the podcast, IMPACT with Meghan Walker, Co-Founder of Health Hives, and CEO/Chief Cheerleader at Clinician Business Labs – a platform to assist clinicians to scale and amplify their businesses.

    Meghan is an award-winning speaker, having spoken on international stages and through multiple media outlets on topics related to women’s performance medicine, brain health and entrepreneurship. Meghan is the host and producer of the annual entrepreneurship conference Impact LIVEs and most importantly, the bedtime story reader to her three girls.

    Learn more about Meghan at meghanwalker.com

    Meghan’s book, The Entrepology Planner here


  • TRANSITIONS—JANUARY 12

    Founder, Cheekbone Beauty

    An award-winning social entrepreneur, Jenn Harper is the founder and CEO of Cheekbone Beauty Cosmetics INC. Cheekbone Beauty aims to help every Indigenous person see and feel their value in the world while developing sustainable colour cosmetics that won’t end up in a landfill.

    Jenn Harper is an Anishinaabe woman and is a member of the Northwest Angle #33 First Nation in Kenora, ON. Throughout her life, Jenn has struggled with accepting her Indigenous roots. She was estranged from her Indigenous family for much of her child and adult life. After learning about her grandmother’s experience in residential school, she understood how her family was affected by generational trauma. Harper has been making a name for herself in the beauty industry for a number of years but gained popularity quickly after appearing on CBC’s hit show, Dragon’s Den in 2019. Since her appearance on the show, Jenn has been featured as Chatelaine’s “Woman of the Year in 2019”, Canadian Business’s “2022 New Innovator’s List”, and Entrepreneur Magazine’s “100 Women of Influence in 2022” list.

    She continues to be deeply involved in all aspects of Cheekbone Beauty operations, including product innovation with the Cheekbone Beauty chemist and sustainability experts to reimagine beauty products, starting with raw ingredients all the way to how all products are packaged. As part of its sustainability mission, Cheekbone Beauty is associated with organizations such as Pact Collective, 1% for the Planet, and B.Corp. These partnerships show the brand’s commitment to both people and planet.

    By early 2023, Cheekbone Beauty will be available in 50 Sephora stores across Canada as a Sephora Clean and Planet Positive brand. It will also be available in 600 JCPenney stores across the United States.

    Giving back to the Indigenous community is critical to Cheekbone Beauty’s mission. To date, Cheekbone Beauty has contributed upwards of $200,000 in product, monetary, and project-focused donations to the organizations across North America and will continue to do so.

    Cheekbone on Instagram

    Learn more about Jenn and Cheekbone Beauty at cheekbonebeauty.com


  • BRAVERY—MAY 3

    Vanessa Bowen is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) and Master Neuro-Linguistic Programming Practitioner (NLP) and the Founder of Mint Worthy Co. Inc., a personal finance coaching platform that helps women shift their relationship with money and take control of their finances. After a decade in corporate finance and public accounting working with international businesses in Canada and the US, Vanessa decided to pursue her passion for personal finance, shifting her focus to empowering women to live life on their own financial terms.

    Through Mint Worthy, Vanessa teaches women the fundamentals of personal money management. With her holistic coaching strategies, Vanessa equips women with the tools and methods needed to break bad money habits, create new mindset shifts, and blaze a path to life-long financial freedom.

    Learn more about Vanessa at mintworthyco.com

    Vanessa on Instagram


  • CELEBRATE—DECEMBER 8

    Ashley Audrain’s debut novel, The Push, was a New York Times, Sunday Times, and number-one international bestseller, and a Good Morning America Book Club pick. It has sold in more than forty territories, and a limited television series is currently in development. Her second novel, The Whispers, is also a number-one international bestseller. 

    Audrain previously worked as the publicity director of Penguin Books Canada, and prior to that she worked in public relations. She lives in Toronto, where she and her partner are raising their two young children. 

    Learn more about Ashley at ashleyaudrain.com

    Ashley on Instagram


  • RHYTHM—NOVEMBER 10

    Founder, Creative Niche

    Mandy Gilbert is an Entrepreneur, Best-Selling Author, and Investor who has spoken on topics including entrepreneurship; attracting, hiring and retaining the best talent; and the importance of developing as a leader.

    In addition to being a columnist with Inc.com with hundreds of published articles, she is the bestselling author of "Just Go With It: Navigating Entrepreneurship's Highs and Lows" which was recommended by Forbes and Entrepreneur, and endorsed by Verne Harnish, Founder of world-renowned Entrepreneurs' Organization (EO) and Author of Scaling Up; and Stephen M. R. Covey, Bestselling Author of The Speed Of Trust.

    Mandy started her business, Creative Niche on a modest $8,000. Now recognized by Forbes as a top recruitment firm, her firm generates eight figures in annual sales and has been behind more than 14,000 successful placements with prestigious creative agencies, high-growth tech companies, and Fortune 500 firms throughout North America. Mandy is an active YPO member and is currently Chair of the Toronto Chapter.

    Learn more about Mandy at creativeniche.com

    Learn about Mandy’s book, Just Go With It, here


  • RELATIONSHIPS—MARCH 8

    Mother, mentor, poet, artist, volunteer, bestselling author and host of the Practice You Podcast.

    Elena Brower has taught yoga and meditation since 1999.

    After graduating Cornell University in 1992, she designed textiles and apparel for almost a decade shifting her focus to yoga, meditation, art and writing. Her first book, Art of Attention, has been translated into seven languages; her second, Practice You, is a bestseller. Elena's first collection of poetry, Softening Time, was released in May 2023.

    Her yoga classes and meditations are featured on Glo. Her virtual Engaged Mentorship is renowned for inviting analog creativity into online coursework, and her Perceptive Parenting audio course is a key resource for parents. She works to elevate bright futures for girls, women and children through her support for Girls on Fire Leaders, On The Inside and Free Food Kitchen. Her spoken word poetry can be heard on Above & Beyond's Flow State albums, and she's commencing Buddhist Chaplaincy training in 2024.

    Learn more about Elena at elenabrower.com

    Elena on Instagram

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