Every month members of Women in Biz Network receive support from our advisory board of members. They are live on our monthly program video calls. Our two signature programs (see area below mentors for more information) are free to members each month. These include our Mentor Circles Program and Level Up Your Impact Accountability & Goal Setting Program(the link includes our complete program schedule). In meantime, please enjoy reading more about our mentors and our two member programs below.
Transformation and Level Up Your Impact Mentor
Jill Valentine is the co-founder of UGO Impact and founder of Dare to be a Dandelion. She is a leading Transformative Travel & Impact Coach who harnesses the innate power of travel and volunteerism to create and inspire Changemakers around the globe. Leveraging her skills as a transformation coach and extensive background in the local and global charity/non-profit arena, she’s the creator of ‘The UGO Method for
Change Model’ helping current and aspiring changemakers create profound personal and global change. A passionate humanitarian, volunteerism specialist, disability sport consultant, and world traveller, she lives by the words “Make it happen!”
Mentorship/Legal Mentor
Helen Patterson is an experienced HR professional, trained lawyer – and the consultant behind Life Works Well. She specializes in helping small and medium businesses create programs and a culture that attract and retain the best and propel growth. Helen is also our Women in Biz Network Mentorship Mentor.
Financial Mentor
Karen McAllister, The Mindful Money Coach is a Certified Money & Business Archetype coach, non-profit leader, and spiritual seeker.
Leadership Mentor
Debra Christmas is a seasoned leader in the high tech field with over 35 years of experience managing all aspects of information technology. Prior to joining Gartner Canada, Debra was Vice President of Hewlett-Packard Software Technical Sales leading a team of over 300 technical software sales professionals across North and South America, contributing to $500M in sales for HP Software.Debra is also the founder of Stiletto Gladiators, a not for profit organization delivering mentorship services, leadership assessment, development and diversity coaching. She is a member of the Women in Business Network, WxN, and Women of Influence. She is a motivating and inspirational leader and is particularly passionate about the development of women in IT. She is certified in Tilt365 and Leadership Circle, a comprehensive leadership assessment framework based on “Mastering Leadership”.
Training & Development Mentor
Sue (Kitchen) Christensen is passionate learning and development professional with 10+ years’ experience in the design and implementation of learning and organizational development programs. Her experience as a seasoned Project Management Professional has made her adept at finding innovative and creative solutions to a broad range of problems. Sue is committed to lifelong learning, she went back to university completing a degree in Mathematics and now has the joy of sharing her enthusiasm for mathematics with other learners. Her career journey started as a musician, specifically as a violinist. She is an advocate of the considerable transferable skills that musicians are able to employ, no matter the role or the circumstances. Her 5 achievements include the direction of a minimum of 250 hours of live learning and 900 hours of online learning delivered yearly. Development of multi-million-dollar entrepreneurial innovation program. Design and launch of online Business Resource Center. Launch of 33 self-guided learning modules Her superpower is solving puzzles.
Career & Marketing Mentor
Leigh Mitchell is a business strategist and brand consultant. As the founder of Women in Biz Network, she has taken her business from a handful of women in her neighbourhood to a national organization of over 35,000. Leigh is responsible for curating mentorship initiatives, promoting our diversity-driven career portal for women, and delivering skill-building events to a variety of audiences. Leigh provides customized training and branding services for small businesses and national brands. Her career has led her to successfully work with major brands such as GM Canada, Microsoft Canada, TELUS, Johnson & Johnson, Maple Leaf Foods, TD Canada Trust, Staples Canada and Penguin Random House Canada. Leigh has been featured on CBC News, The Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, Canadian Living Magazine, Wall Street Journal and in other media and has been a featured speaker at numerous industry events.
PR Mentor
Kimesha Walters is the CEO of Oasis Integrated Communications, a PR firm with operations in Canada and Jamaica, and a focus on helping businesses to find their paradise. She’s a seasoned PR professional with a passion for crafting meaningful stories that connect with people. An eternal optimist who thrives on perfecting solutions that marry creative brand experience with consumer engagement, she believes in tapping into the core values of a company and tailoring strategies that share their narrative and find affinity. Her experience spans public relations, corporate communications, marketing, social media and advertising across a range of industries. She has executed projects in Toronto, New York, and Jamaica where she has deftly managed some of the foremost brands across North America and the Caribbean.
Sales Mentor
Natasha Mitchell is the Founder of Inspire & Drive, Creator of the S.I.M.P.L.E Business Method (TM) and is a #1 International Best Selling AuthorShe is a business strategy and efficiency expert who helps Creative business owners scale with ease and without a big team or a big budget. She believes in keeping business S.I.M.P.L.E (TM) and helps entrepreneurs map out a custom path to success that is aligned with their ideal life. She has appeared as a guest on multiple podcasts and summits is the host of Your Business Without Borders podcast. Fun Facts: My goal is to retire early and live in a different country every 6 months starting with Italy!
HR Mentor
Sara Bibb is the Principal Consultant of MKS HR Consulting. She is a professional and certified HR & Recruitment Consultant. You will think she is part of your team because she takes pride in serving her clients and getting the best possible candidates for their vacancies. Sara has a comprehensive recruitment background in a variety of industries and it shows because she makes the process look easy. She excels in her superior communication skills and relationship building skills with everyone she works with.
She completed her post-graduate program in Human Resources Management at Seneca College and obtained her Certified Human Resources Leader (CHRL) designation in 2009.
Sara started MKS HR after seeing that smaller sized companies have the same Recruitment and HR issues that larger companies do. The main difference was that smaller sized companies aren’t large enough to warrant having an in-house HR department-even a department of one!
So she decided to help those companies with her 13 years of experience in HR and founded MKS HR Consulting.
Specialties: Talent management, interviewing, sourcing, employment branding, employment testing, managing and marketing of employee referral programs, general human resources, and benefits administration
Health & Fitness Mentor
Martha Trahan, CNP, PTS, PnL1 coach is an experienced, goal-driven professional with a love for continuous learning and self-improvement. After building a successful career in Operations and Logistics, Martha realized her passion was in helping others to be healthy and fit. She made the brave decision to follow her dreams and refocus on expanding her expertise in nutrition and fitness. She earned her designation as a Certified Nutritional Practitioner from the Institute of Holistic Nutrition, where she graduated with First Class Honours. She also earned her Personal Training Specialist and Precision Nutrition Coach certifications.
In April 2020 Martha launched SHENutrition.ca, a nutrition and fitness coaching practice in Toronto focusing on women’s wellness. Drawing from her own personal expertise as a mother of 2 combined with her knowledge of holistic nutrition and fitness, Martha provides caring, personalized support educating, guiding, and motivating women to become the healthiest, fittest versions of themselves.
Technology Biz/Career Mentor
Amy Syed is an entrepreneur, kinesiologist and rehab professional with over 20 years of experience in both the public and private healthcare sectors.
In recent years, Amy has ventured into the tech world, learning more about how innovations create equitable access in the global healthcare space. She developed the concept of FindyourHCP based on her firsthand knowledge working in these sectors both as a healthcare practitioner, employer and innovator.
In addition to FindyourHCP, Amy continues to work in her community to lead change and awareness to improve accessibility of healthcare services for all.
WANT TO JOIN US? CLICK ON ANY OF THE BOXES BELOW.
Additional info can also be found on our membership/program options page.
1. Women in Biz Network Success Mentor Circles
FIRST TUESDAY OF THE MONTH AT 1 PM EST – 2:30 pm
What to Expect:
Practical, mindful leadership with results-oriented action plans to help you make better decisions with the strength of a team of advisors ready to support you with meaningful mentorship.
You Will Receive
- Confidential career and business advice
- Opportunities to brainstorm with mentors (see below) and your fellow members
- Accountability partner that will follow up with you later in the month
- The collective advice of the group to tackle your challenges
- Opportunity to work on your projects in a supportive group environment
- Support and advice to balance your well-being, happiness, and health coupled with your business life
- Access to our mentor support group (Private Facebook Group)
REGISTER NOW
2. Women in Biz Network Level Up Your Impact Accountability Club
LAST TUESDAY OF THE MONTH AT 1 PM EST -2:30 PM
Join our “Level Up Your Impact” Accountability Club and get the support you need and DESERVE!
Our mentors and fellow members will assist you in accomplishing your goals. They can be business, career, or health-related. The healthier and more productive we are the better we are in our business life. We use small breakouts to discuss your goals and progress with those who are as closely matched as possible.
Each month the Level Up Your Impact Accountability Club will:
- Give you tips and tricks backed by science and experts
- Mentors will be available to assist as required (We have a Financial, Tech, HR, Legal, PR, Mentorship, Leadership, Career, Business, Sales, Health, and Wellness mentors)
- Provide Breakout sessions and our founder Leigh Mitchell and facilitator Jill Valentine will visit each group with support so that you can work in small groups to discuss your goals
- Time will be given to set timeframes and milestones to take on your intentions with specific steps declared for how you will get there
- We will survey you throughout the program to see how the group progress is coming along and make tweaks along the way as needed
- Handouts and resources will be provided throughout the program
- Self-tracking opportunities will be providing
Participants must commit to six months within the group so that we can give everyone time to make progress and get to know their fellow participants and mentors well
This program is available only to Women in Biz Network members ONLY.
REGISTER NOW
Facilitators
Transformation and Impact Mentor
Jill is the co-founder of UGO Impact and founder of Dare to be a Dandelion. She is a leading Transformative Travel & Impact Coach who harnesses the innate power of travel and volunteerism to create and inspire Changemakers around the globe. Leveraging her skills as a transformation coach and extensive background in the local and global charity/non-profit arena, she’s the creator of ‘The UGO Method for Change Model’ helping current and aspiring changemakers create profound personal and global change. A passionate humanitarian, volunteerism specialist, disability sports consultant, and world traveller, she lives by the words “Make it happen!”
Career & Marketing Mentor
Leigh Mitchell is a business strategist and brand consultant. As the founder of Women in Biz Network, she has taken her business from a handful of women in her neighbourhood to a national organization of over 35,000. Leigh is responsible for curating mentorship initiatives, promoting our diversity-driven career portal for women, and delivering skill-building events to a variety of audiences. Leigh provides customized training and branding services for small businesses and national brands. Her career has led her to successfully work with major brands such as GM Canada, Microsoft Canada, TELUS, Johnson & Johnson, Maple Leaf Foods, TD Canada Trust, Staples Canada and Penguin Random House Canada. Leigh has been featured on CBC News, The Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, Canadian Living Magazine, Wall Street Journal and in other media and has been a featured speaker at numerous industry events.
For over ten successful years, Women in Biz Network has helped business owners and professionals to connect, share and grow in their business lives. We support local women’s charities and believe giving back to our community is an important part of what makes our organization special. With supportive mentors, advice and online tools, Women in Biz Network is Canada’s trusted network (with global influence) for mentorship and career growth. We offer a lifetime of guidance to build a thriving business and career with:
Women in Biz Network have been featured in national media in North America including the Wall Street Journal, Yahoo, CBC News, The Toronto Star, The Globe and Mail, Global News, Chatelaine Magazine, just to name a few. We are a community of over 35,000 women including internationally recognized celebrity speakers and influencers.
Our Mission: We focus on helping women to be happier, healthier and less isolated while increasing their success through mentorship, advocacy, skill-building events, and training. We have been changing lives for over 10 years and are a community of 35,000 thriving women.
