The Women of Windsor Mentorship Collaborative

RISE Windsor-Essex Presents: RISE and Resilience On February 11th, RISE Windsor-Essex presents RISE and Resilience a virtual summit created by women entrepreneurs in YQG, for women entrepreneurs in YQG. The event is free to join and features 15 local women who discuss topics around Work-Life Balance, The Dreaded P Word (Pivot), Diversity and Inclusion, and Making Your Money Work. The morning will kick-off with a yoga and mindfulness session by Dianne Bondy. ... Sponsored by Pelee Island Winery, The US Consulate General in Toronto, FedDev Ontario, WindsorEats, WEtech Alliance, and BMO, this event can also be enjoyed with an Experience Box for purchase (limited quantities available). This feature includes products from 20 women-owned businesses, a book by Heather Chauvin, a coaching session by Danielle Campo, and discount codes from 30 local women-owned businesses (and yes, there’s Pelee Island wine!). Come prepared to virtually network with your community as we welcome women from across YQG! To register for the event, click here: http://www.risewindsoressex.com/rise-summit-2020-rise-and-/ To purchase an experience box before they sell out, click here: https://windsoreats.myshopify.com//rise-windsor-essex-expe For more information, contact Nicole Anderson: [email protected]

Fun fact: Recently, our President & Founder, Kavaughn transitioned to the role of CFO with WaveDirect - WaveDirect has also become a major sponsor of our organization and it’s work to foster local mentorship and support those who need it... Just 6 months ago, no one would have known this was coming...... Sometimes in life things come together in the most meaningful ways. The saying goes: you reap what you sew . Always remember to plant seeds of positivity and abundance - doing so will land you with a great harvest

This week on our MTM (Meet The Mentor) Monday is Victoria Baird! Victoria grew up being told children should be seen and not heard- which was challenging for a vivacious young woman who had much to say, and ideas to share. So, Victoria started using her smile and her style to express herself. The passion of putting effort into her style followed her into her adult years where she found herself owning her own hair salon and consulting other women in style. I barely ever fe...el like I’m working, she says happily. Watching women evolve and find themselves in their external shell while destroying the ‘cookie-cutter’ social construct is very fulfilling to Ms. Baird. Although she loved her career as a hairstylist, in her early 40’s she had a life-awakening and decided it was time to move forward to the next chapter in her life career-wise. Victoria then decided to focus also on the internal factor and help women evolve mentally as well as physically. She made the decision to sell her salon and start her new calling as an image consultant and empowerment coach. Victoria lives by the saying: Never too old, never too late! She recently started taking up horseback riding lessons and she’s found she has taken a liking to them. She believes your intuition will always put you in the right spot- it’s your brain that is the barrier. Victoria emphasizes that although being a mentor is an important part of her identity, she also learns so much from her mentees as well. As someone who sought mentors and advice along the way with her transition, she believes that the input of the right people will set you on the right course. I like seeing the world from their perspective, she says about her mentees. Victoria wants to finish off by saying that although a lot of people have that one story that has defined the direction of their lives, she has never experienced that. She has had hundreds of little stories and happenings in the decisions of her everyday life that have allowed her to be the powerful and inspiring woman she is today.

A beautiful piece highlighting our intern Hivda Celik! We’ve said it before and we will say it again; Hivda, thank you so much for representing our organization and committing your internship efforts to our very important cause! We love having you on board!