Tell us about your business
hEr VOLUTION A nonprofit organization working on access to innovative education and employment services to girls and young women in STEM. hEr VOLUTION promotes increased government involvement and a change in the attitude towards gender from a young age.
What is STEM: commonly known as Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics
Our mission:
hEr VOLUTION encourages girls and young women to pursue STEM based careers and promotes stakeholder’s involvement in the support of STEM education in Canada.
Our vision:
To raise awareness and value placed on STEM education for girls and young women in Canada.
Biography
A combination of all of Doina’s experiences led her to launch hEr VOLUTION, a nonprofit agency that serves underprivileged young women and girls with innovative education and employment services along with mentorship support in the STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics) sector.
One of the main focus that hEr VOLUTION has is to give access to talented girls and young women who’s financial situation prevents them from taking part in innovative curriculum and engagement with mentors in the industry. hEr VOLUTION comes with the belief that, with our support, young women and girls of today will have the advantage in growing professionally while lowering the barriers in gender equality.
Another focus is to make STEM fun, to offer equal opportunities to girls and women in this industry and to express that women are ready for challenging careers. That is demonstrated through innovative and alternative educational programs. Change is done not only through hands-on learning but also through professional mentorship opportunities starting with our partners and any other professionals in the field that are ready to give back and make a change.
The reason why Doina has made it a life commitment to make her business a “for passion” business is because she has experienced being a youth at risk, new immigrant, low income, overcame domestic violence and now a single mom she understands first hand the challenges faced by this demographic. Her educational and professional background has led her to create opportunities for young women because she believes that just because someone is going through challenges in their life it does not mean that they do not have skills to offer.
Who are you outside of work?
Outside of work I am a mother of two amazing daughters who inspire and motivate me every single day. I remember 5 years ago when I escaped domestic violence I lived in a shelter for 3 moths with my kids and the one thing that turned me into the woman I am today is a sentence that my oldest daughter said to me: “Mommy when I grow up I want to be just like you!” That is when I realized that I am becoming my daughter’s most important role model and if I want them to do better I have to do better. Whether I am working or not I always try to be conscious of decisions I make to empower my daughters to lead better lives. Other than that I am a friend and you may see me at networking events, and when you do please say hi!
What motivated you to start your business or choose your profession?
I started working when I was 14 and my first job was making crepes on the beach for tourists. That job gave me the independence I needed to buy the things that my friends had so that I can fit in. I saw my mother work hard as a single mother and I could never ask her for things other than necessary things I needed. Later on in life, having to overcome challenging life situation being youth at risk, new immigrant, low income, experiencing domestic violence, overcoming homelessness, single motherhood are first hand experiences that help me understand the value of giving back and supporting the people that have potential but do not have the means to move forward in life.
How do you overcome business challenges or obstacles?
This is a tough one because I do not necessarily think that we overcome business challenges or obstacles for good. There is always something challenging that comes up in business be it lack of funds, lack of resources and/or lack of time. To overcome what is in front of me at the time, I take a deep breath, pull back a bit and look at the situation from a different point of view. I am fortunate to have a few people around me to support me with what I do. Starting with hEr VOLUTION’s Board of Directors, Youth Committee, Advisory Committee and Volunteers, I owe them quite a lot in terms of support. We all need a support system in place to help us move forward in business. Having a small budget to work with, their expertise and invaluable support makes a huge deal of difference in reaching our goals and milestones.
What are your greatest strengths?
I feed off a good challenge. Tell me I can’t do something and I may prove you wrong. My strengths lay in being able to adapt to new situations and easily move from task to task. This can also be a downfall when I take on too many things at once. Passion for making a difference overcomes my fear of challenges though. Remembering why I do what I do makes it easier when I am sleep deprived still having to beat a deadline at 2 AM.
I can safely say that I was born to be a social worker but I am not the one to sit on a chair facing a client and listen to problems without having to come up with a game plan. Having lived some of the experiences that many of the people we help at hEr VOLUTION I know first hand that just talking about things alone will not solve problems. My passion for creating opportunities for women has led me here. I have always been the odd one in the room so to speak, being involved in things that do not necessarily represent the Status Quo, running a renovation company while my youngest daughter was only a few months old, teaching myself skills such as coding when I did not have funds to pay for them right after I moved on my own. What I learned from this experiences is that when there is a will there is a way yet if the way comes with a lended hand of support it is easier to move forward and therefore quicker to make a difference reaching far and wide.
What are your favourite business tools?
When I attended the #WIBN conference in 2013 I learned about this new and innovative tool that changed my life: My calendar. What I learned from the speaker then I am still using today: if it’s not on my calendar it doesn’t get done and the only way to avoid distractions is to add what is most important on my calendar and leave the rest behind.
What advice would you give to other business owners?
Be open minded and have boundaries. Be focused yet leave room for fun, better yet love what you do so work will be fun.
Tell us about a helpful business book you have read. Why was it helpful?
I haven’t read any books in a very long time but I do read blogs. Once in a while I like to peak through business blogs such as Forbes, Times and The Economist. When I am on the go I have the Pulse App on my phone which is powered by LinkedIn and I have the most recent posts by business influencers and I categorized it based on what I am interested in.
Member Biography
A combination of all of Doina’s experiences led her to launch hEr VOLUTION, a nonprofit agency that serves underprivileged young women and girls with innovative education and employment services along with mentorship support in the STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics) sector.
One of the main focus that hEr VOLUTION has is to give access to talented girls and young women who’s financial situation prevents them from taking part in innovative curriculum and engagement with mentors in the industry. hEr VOLUTION comes with the belief that, with our support, young women and girls of today will have the advantage in growing professionally while lowering the barriers in gender equality.
Another focus is to make STEM fun, to offer equal opportunities to girls and women in this industry and to express that women are ready for challenging careers. That is demonstrated through innovative and alternative educational programs. Change is done not only through hands-on learning but also through professional mentorship opportunities starting with our partners and any other professionals in the field that are ready to give back and make a change.
The reason why Doina has made it a life commitment to make her business a “for passion” business is because she has experienced being a youth at risk, new immigrant, low income, overcame domestic violence and now a single mom she understands first hand the challenges faced by this demographic. Her educational and professional background has led her to create opportunities for young women because she believes that just because someone is going through challenges in their life it does not mean that they do not have skills to offer.
Connect on Twitter @hEr_VOLUTION and at http://www.hervolution.org and on facebook
