Your Voice Matters: A Rural Women Town Hall
Clearing a New Path™ Podcast has shared over 25 stories of underrepresented women-identifying and non-binary entrepreneurs in rural Canada.
In town hall style, and from some of our most engaging guests, we’re creating a community space of vulnerability to hear the authentic challenges faced by women-identifying and non-binary entrepreneurs in rural Canada.
Our goal is to connect rural women-identifying and non-binary entrepreneurs with rural women politicians, band council chiefs and business leaders in order to learn how we can support each other and to grow an ecosystem built on understanding and allyship.
It’s about going deep and looking at our own biases, so we can stand up – united.
We are grateful to be partnering on this even, with the Canadian Women’s Chamber of Commerce (CanWCC).
OUR GUESTS:
Season Kirkwood – Founder – SAYZOONS – Otterburne, Manitoba
Season was the spark for this event. Season is an Indigenous (Metis) Firekeeper and they introduced me to the idea of a ‘bonfire’ community, all participants on equal footing, each with a voice, discussing issues. Season creates land-based tourism experiences and teaches others how to look at the use of land in new ways.
Stella Sehn – Co-Founder – Sweet Pure Honey – Porcupine Plains, Saskatchewan
Stella has taught me a great deal about allyship and has been open about the challenges she has faced in a small community, as a Black woman and a rural entrepreneur. Stella and her husband were heavily affected by the pandemic but found new ways to promote their honey products. Sweet Pure Honey has received the Integrity Award from its local Chamber of Commerce.
Cheryl Haskett – Co-Founder – Udderly Ridiculous Goat’s Milk Ice Cream and Udderly Ridiculous Farm Life – Bright, Ontario
Cheryl has brought a product from an idea to market and their goat’s milk ice cream won the prestigous Grand Prix of New Products in Canada and Innovator of the Year from Southwest Ontario Tourism but it has not been an easy time.
Sascha Boulet-Devost – Founder – Capture Therapeutics – Grand Falls, New Brunswick
Sascha had a vision of changing the way health care is offered in rural communities, without competition between practioners and with a preventative approach rather than reactive. She has a chain of clinics in Atlantic Canada, and many of her clients are bilingual.