Women, Wit and Wisdom

UNLEASHING PERSONAL POWER

Join us for the 11th edition of Women, Wit & Wisdom at the beautiful and highly rated Château Laurier in downtown Ottawa. This event series began in 2017 at a time when there were not as many events focused on women. It has continued to grow in both popularity and impact because of the authenticity and diversity of the people involved. Guests note inspiration and connections as the top benefits for joining.

Women of all ages, backgrounds and career paths will find value in this night out. A chance to relax, have fun, and meet new friends. A chance to be inspired, share your story and fill your cup. We will enjoy a networking cocktail hour and gourmet dinner, followed by a panel of three local women leaders. The evening is designed to connect women, and facilitate real conversations about leadership, life balance and legacy building.

In the past we have discussed concepts around: “Rising Up”, “Being Bold”, and “Digging Deep”. The theme for the upcoming event is Unleashing Personal Power.

Women are powerful beyond measure. Women are the foundation of our communities, our families and our networks. Women care, create, communicate. Women address challenges, drive change, and generate opportunities. We do this in a world built by men, for men. We do it at great personal sacrifice only to take one step forward and three steps back. And we carry on. This is the way we were raised. This is what those we love expect and what we expect from ourselves.

The burning question is this. What if we truly harnessed the power of women in our businesses, in our community, in our governments? And more importantly, what if women truly and unapologetically unleashed their personal power to make a paradigm shift in their life. Join us to explore this idea and maybe do a little unleashing of your own!

Highlights:

• A delicious gourmet dinner
• Opportunity to connect with and learn from women of all ages, background, and experiences
• A conversation with a panel of local women leaders sharing their story and insights on leadership, life balance, and legacy building

We are curating special opportunities to engage and network. Please consider inviting a young leader to join you and help us build up the next generation of change makers.

“When women gather to celebrate each other, the energy and excitement in the room is electric!” ~WWW guest, Nov 2023

MEET OUR OTTAWA WOMEN LEADERS . . .

Mona Abow, Founder and CEO of The Boundless Mindset and Chnge Mker Innovation Hub

Mona is a business coach and consultant with a strong focus on supporting ambitious Black entrepreneurs in launching impactful online businesses they’re passionate about. She is the founder and CEO of The Boundless Mindset and the Chnge Mker Innovation Hub. Mona’s mission is to empower entrepreneurs to step into their authentic power and demand more from life, believing in their greatness and boundless potential. Alongside her coaching work, she hosts “The Boundless Mindset” podcast. Mona’s dedication lies in helping individuals break free from unfulfilling jobs and fear of failure, guiding them towards a path of empowerment and self-discovery. In her free time, Mona enjoys quality time with her three children and their beloved cat, Nunu.

Jennifer Stewart, Founder and CEO, Syntax Strategic

Jennifer is an accomplished leader in Canadian business, government, and public affairs. She is renowned as an expert in this field, often being called upon by national media for commentary. Additionally, Jennifer has twice been named one of the “Top 25 People in the Capital” by Ottawa Life Magazine, one of Ottawa’s “Top Forty Under Forty” by the Ottawa Business Journal and the Ottawa Chamber of Commerce and was a finalist for Ottawa’s “Established Female Entrepreneur of the Year.”

Jennifer has actively taken on many business and community affairs roles, including Co-Host and Co-Founder of The Honest Talk podcast, Chair of the Village of Carp Business Improvement Association (City of Ottawa), Board Member of the Youth Services Bureau of Ottawa Foundation, Member of the Board of Trustees for The Women in Technology Scholarship of Willis College, and Member of the Leadership Council of the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation.

Sonya Shorey, Interim President and CEO, Invest Ottawa, Bayview Yards and Area X.O

Sonya Shorey, Interim President and CEO, for Invest Ottawa, Bayview Yards, and Area X.O, is a strategy executive and management consultant with more than 22 years of leadership experience with private and public organizations. With expertise in regional, national, and global technology, entrepreneurial, economic development, and innovation-based organizations, she specializes in corporate and communications strategy development and execution. This includes investment strategies that secure new cash and in-kind contributions from public and private sources. Since 2005, Sonya has led, strategized, authored and/or made a significant contribution to successful multi-year funding proposals and initiatives valued at more than $203 million from municipal, provincial, federal, and international governments.

Within her executive leadership role with Invest Ottawa, Bayview Yards and Area X.O, Sonya plays a pivotal role in developing, leading, and executing strategy for all three organizations. This includes:

• Area X.O, the futureplex of innovation and collaboration for next-generation smart mobility, connectivity and autonomy technologies;
• The Women Founders and Owners Strategy and Action Plan. This includes co-founding SheBoot, the investment-ready bootcamp for women tech founders designed and delivered by women entrepreneurs and investors, and founding International Women’s Week in Canada’s Capital; and International Women’s Week.
• The first Pan-Ontario Scale-Up Platform of its kind aimed at enabling and accelerating the growth, scaleup and commercial success of more $100 million revenue-generating tech companies in Canada.

Sonya launched her career as the Manager of Communications and Member of the Vice-Presidential Cabinet with the 10G Organization of Optical Networks for Nortel from 1999 to 2002, and then served as the Director of Marketing Communications for CMC Microsystems until 2007.  Building on a decade of experience, Sonya launched her own strategy company in 2008, addressing the needs of S&T organizations, innovation, entrepreneurship and economic development agencies across Canada, and their partners around the world. She currently serves Vice President of Strategy, Marketing and Communications for Invest Ottawa, lead economic development agency for knowledge-based industries in Canada’s Capital.

Sonya is a Director of the Institute of Mental Health Research of the Royal Ottawa Hospital, Elevate International, and Mindtrust Leadership. She also serves as mentor and pitch coach with Women in Cloud, AI North America, and Technovation. She holds a Combined Honours in English and Political Science from Carleton University and has won 10+ international awards for communications, leadership, and women’s economic empowerment

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Looking for sponsorship opportunities? Contact Don Mersereau at Don@ottawabusinessevents.ca

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