FEMTalks: Recent Episodes
BoostHER
The FEMTalks series aims to provide BoostHER’s network with insights from women in various industries. Specifically, this series will be comprised of episodes that highlight female leaders who wish to speak about their professional advancement, inspire other women, and bring awareness to the challenges females encounter in the workplace. This platform has been instituted to benefit women of all educational and social backgrounds, races, and career trajectories.
Evelyn Liu is a recent Class of 2021 grad from the University of Waterloo, where she earned a Bachelor's of Science in Biotechnology and Economics. She now works in the Salesforce Consulting group of PwC Canada as a Functional Consultant, taking on project roles such as Product Owner and Business Systems Analyst, working with companies across different industries. She is passionate about the human-centric side of technology, and how it can be developed in a way to best help users have the best engagement and experience. During her undergraduate years, she has also worked in project management and consulting roles in energy, pharma, and government organizations.
Annabelle Pundaky - A third-year student at the University of Western Ontario and Ivey Business School pursuing a dual degree in Mechatronic Systems Engineering Honors Business Administration. Some of her awards include the Linamar Scholarship, NSERC Undergraduate Research Award, and more. She is a very curious person, who strives to learn and do new things in revolutionary industries; whether it be in medTech, carbon markets, crypto, cybersecurity, autonomous robots, or AI - she is excited to see where my intellectual curiosity takes me next! Outside of tech and business she loves to learn about philosophy, fashion/art and play sports – surfing, soccer, hockey, and tennis are the favourites. Feel free to reach out to Annabelle on Linkedin if you are interested to chat about anything – whether it be tech, business, philosophy, travelling and more!
Iris hen is an HBA ‘22 candidate and the Founder & Head of Product at Monest!
“Monest provides consumers with the information they need to make responsible purchasing decisions.
The platform analyzes the social and environmental impacts of brands benchmarked to industry standards.”
Kayleigh Gray is currently the E-commerce and Digital Marketing Coordinator at Nudestix, a Canadian-based cosmetics start-up. In the spring of 2021, she graduated from a 5-year program at Western University where she earned a BSc and HBA dual-degree from Ivey Business School. In the past, she interned in buying at Hudson’s Bay where she first became interested in marketing and the retail industry. In her fifth year she began working with Marlow, a DTC Menstrual health start-up, where she could explore these interests, and after graduation, became the Community and Marketing Lead. Here she continues to help (part-time) build the Marlow community with the goal of promoting both menstrual and sexual health and wellbeing. Within the retail industry, Kayleigh is fascinated with exploring and promoting sustainability. In the future, she hopes to use both the scientific and business knowledge gained from her studies and experience to work in a creative and strategy-based role for a company that prioritizes climate change.
Rubaina is a second-year student and National Scholar at Western University. Pursuing a joint degree in communications and business, she is deeply passionate about the intersection of media, political economy, and entrepreneurship. She spent 3+ years in the retail space and is currently focused on creating more sustainable fashion textiles, most recently founding her e-commerce brand, SINGLA, for recycled lingerie.
Jessica Sun is a fourth-year Consumer Behaviour student at Western University. Most recently, Jessica interned at TikTok in Sales but has previously worked at RBC, Parks Canada, and with several start-ups. Currently, she's involved with Christian Students at Western (CSW) and works with a fin-tech start-up to scale user adoption. She loves to hike, travel, read, and try new vegetarian/ ice cream places!
Hayley (they/she) is a fourth-year Media and the Public Interest (MPI) student in the Faculty of Information and Media Studies (FIMS). Hayley has worked in a myriad of different industries, ranging from pharmaceuticals to non-for-profit; she is passionate about working at the intersection of communications, technology, and advocacy. Currently, Hayley is the President of the FIMS Students' Council and the Communications Associate for PrideWestern. She is a fan of making curated Spotify playlists, film photography, and queer Asian representation and intersectional sustainability advocacy work.
A message from our host Katie: “In this episode, Hayley shares her journey as a Media and Communications student, as well as how she has been able to apply learnings from her degree in a work environment. All in all, Hayley was an absolute joy to chat with, and her experiences throughout her time at Western and internships definitely serve as an inspiration to those hoping to pursue more unconventional career paths.”
In this episode, we meet Dr. Manasi Parikh, a first-year family medicine resident at McMaster University!
Dr. Parikh received her Bachelor in Health Sciences (Honours) with a Global Health Specialization and her MD from @mcmasteru as well. Over the past years, she has held numerous leadership positions such as the Student Director for the Canadian Public Health Association, Co-Director for the Students and Young Professionals (SYP) network for the Ontario Public Health Association and she founded the McMaster Public Health Association.
A message from our host Pooja: "Although we aren’t from similar fields, I was able to learn a lot from my conversation with Dr. Parikh. She was very open and honest about her struggles with imposter syndrome, which was refreshing and insightful. I also had the pleasure of learning about mentorship and female healthcare, and her amazing experiences!"
In this episode, our host Amy and Lillie have an inspiring discussion about breaking into the start-up world and taking chances after graduating!
Lillie graduated from the Ivey HBA Program in 2020 and is now the Head of Growth and E-commerce at skincare startup, Three Ships Beauty. As one of the first hires, she helped to market new products, develop growth channels and launch Three Ships in the United States. Prior to joining them, Lillie completed internships at Accenture, Wealthsimple and Drop. Her passions now are in building consumer brands and exploring the intersection of technology and creativity. Outside of work, you can find Lillie playing competitive sports, making Spotify playlists or cooking up a storm for her friends.
A message from our host Amy: "I loved my conversation with Lillie and how it was centred on trying new things and mentorship. I learned about what it was like working at a company with strong female leadership and the culture and goal setting that it creates. Above all, I loved the honesty in Lillie's words and experiences through navigating undergrad, different career fields and working in a start-up!"
After completing undergraduate studies in Business at the University of Toronto and while completing graduate studies in Adult Education at Central Michigan University, Jess began her career in financial services, holding several senior management positions in a number of divisions with one of Canada’s largest banks. There she was one of the pioneers of a program aimed at providing emerging leaders with cross-divisional and leadership competency development opportunities.
Drawing on 15 years experience of strategic and operational leadership, Jess joined the IT Consulting firm, Mantralogix, in 2011, where she was a key part of the leadership team that oversaw tripling of top line growth in just seven years. Under Jess’ leadership, Mantralogix was named by the Mississauga Board of Trade as the 2015 Small Business of the Year and the 2016 Employer of the Year.
Passionate about Corporate and Social Responsibility, Jess and her husband, Kerry, founded the Randeep Grewal Memorial Scholarship to support students in the Digital Enterprise Management Specialist program, in memory of Jess’ late brother. The University of Toronto awarded Jess with the Arbor Award in 2018 – their highest award for volunteerism.
Jess and Kerry were selected by the Women of Influence as a Canadian Dynamic Duo in 2015 for successful co-gendered leadership. Jess is an active mentor and life coach who describes herself as a ‘lifelong’ learner. Along with completing Yoga Teacher Training certification, Jess is a certified Life & Executive Coach and is focused on physical, mental and emotional wellness in and out of the workplace.
Jess joined MNP as a Partner as part of the Mantralogix merger in July, 2019. Retiring in July 2021, Jess continues to offer support as part of the Executive Coaching team at MNP as well as Life Coaching services to individuals looking to move from surviving to thriving!
Haritha Murthy works at the Royal Bank of Canada as a Senior Manager of Merchant Partnerships. In her role, she supports new partnership development and existing partnership management to deliver value to clients across the Cards, Payments & Banking lines of business. Before this, she has held Financial Control, Audit and Assurance roles providing advisory guidance around financial impact, reporting, SOX, IFRS, risk, governance, and controls.
The journey across three continents has exposed Haritha to challenges which she now embraces as opportunities to grow. She is passionate about authenticity, inclusion, and belonging.
Outside of her day job, Haritha loves to volunteer in the community and work with underrepresented groups. She is Deputy Chair of the Chief Inclusion Officers Forum at Ascend Canada, podcast host, mentor to new immigrants, students, and persons with disabilities, and RBC’s CFO Pride Committee member.
If she’s not meeting new people and making connections, you’ll find Haritha penning down a poem, learning a new tune, or baking some banana bread. She lives by Rumi’s quote, “Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.”
Megan is passionate about connecting with others and a strong believer in the positive power of business. She builds strategic marketing partnerships as part of the Global Partnerships team at Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment with a focus on partnership development and innovation.
In addition to working for MLSE, Megan is the Founder of RollUP Solutions - a social enterprise focused on providing mobility devices for individuals in financial need. She is a graduate of the Ivey Business School at Western University, and HSBC's Women Entrepreneurial Leader of the Year for 2019.
Shairi Islam is currently an HBA2 student at the Ivey Business School at Western University. Within the Western Community, Shairi is the Co-President of the Ivey Marketing Club, an Executive Member of EthnoCultural Support Services USC, and acts as a mentor for several student organizations such as PBSN, Western Marketing Association, and Ivey's Career Peer Program.
She has past internship experience at PepsiCo in Sales, General Mills in Brand Management, and will be joining Canadian Tire full-time in the fall as a Marketing Consultant. During her free time, Shairi loves to watch movies, paint, and hike.
Colleen Johnston currently serves many boards including Shopify, McCain Foods, Q4, Private Debt Partners, Blue Shield of California, and is also the Chair of Unity Health Toronto, which includes St. Michael’s Hospital, St. Joseph’s Health Centre, and Providence Healthcare.
Colleen retired from TD Bank Group in 2018. During her time at the bank, she served as the bank’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for 10 years. She received her CPA designation in 1984 and in 2006 was elected an FCPA recognizing her outstanding career achievements and dedication to community activities.
Additionally, she has received numerous top industry honours as a senior finance executive including Canada’s CFO of the Year in 2012. She has also been honoured as a champion of women in leadership and diversity, equity and inclusion. At TD, she led the Women in Leadership initiative for 10 years, from 2005-2015. She was inducted into Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Hall of Fame in 2007. In 2011, for the third year in a row, she was named one of the 25 Most Powerful Women in Banking by American Banker.