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Hi there. I'm so glad you're here. I wanted to take the opportunity to tell you all a little about me and my experience that has brought me to where I am today. My hope is that this will help you see if we will be a good fit to work together. I am a wife, mother, employee, and business owner, but there is so much beyond these titles that explain who I am and what I am passionate about.
My career
I've always worked with people. My entire working life has involved listening, coming up with solutions, and providing personalized support. Since I've finished school I have worked in employment services, starting with supporting people living with complex disabilities with finding work. This included working with folks living with HIV for 5 years, which included people who were refugees, had low education, lived with addictions and mental health issues, and had various medication side effects and comorbidities. Imagine being in this person's shoes - they are a person of colour with a highly stigmatized illness, with no education, and English isn’t their first language. Where I come in – I listen, I advocate, I understand their challenges, and I have developed a deep-rooted passion for not only understanding that everyone has a story, but just how important it is to treat every single person with respect and kindness. I did a lot of career exploration in this role, which was a great experience. This was also a sex positive work environment, which is where my allyship for the LGBTQ2S+ community started to truly flourish. I have heard some amazing stories of resiliency, overcoming fears, and unbelievable heartbreak.
After this role, I relocated and moved on to another non-profit, the company I’m still with, and started supporting the general public with their careers. Not long after, I moved in to a team lead role, and then Coordinator role. I currently supervise a team of 9+ and oversee all daily operations. In this leadership role, I am responsible for monitoring the progress of our program, provide coaching to front line staff, and thinking of innovative solutions for a variety of program challenges. I have also had the chance to create and facilitate trainings for staff, presenting at conferences and on panels, and other speaking opportunities.
Since I’ve been so passionate about working with and finding solutions for marginalized folks, and my favourite part about my role is coaching my employees, I decided to start a coaching and consulting business. I’ve always strived to have something for myself outside of my identity as a mother. Having a business gives me the opportunity to be creative, to be the one making decisions, and having something that’s just for me. I have short- and long-term goals for my business. I am starting with one-on-one coaching and will branch out into group coaching. Next will come consulting, mostly because I love looking at process inefficiencies and creating solutions in this area. Ask me to create an Excel spreadsheet and I’m the happiest girl in the world.
My personal philosophy is that I am always learning. I enjoy taking in content from a variety of places – books, podcasts, articles, courses, and social media being the main ones. I am currently enrolled in my Coaching certification program with the aim of becoming ICF certified by the end of the year, and hope to start an MBA in the next few years.
For me, it is about increasing the number of equity deserving groups in leadership roles. Equity deserving groups are folks who historically have been oppressed and are given fewer opportunities due to systemic or blatant discrimination. They are black, indigenous and people of colour. They are people who are living with disabilities. They are people who identify as part of the LGBTQ2S+ community. They are women.
You may be thinking, “what does this Canadian born white person know about diversity?”
Well, I am a proud woman. I live with mental health illnesses. My husband is an immigrant and person of colour, so my children are biracial. These points are truly irrelevant though because the truth of it is, everyone deserves to be treated with respect. It’s the right thing to do. We have to hear everyone’s story before judging, and I am able to use my privilege to amplify the voices of those whose aren’t as often heard in society.
My personal life
I find myself wanting to learn how to be more content with silence. I tend to want to always be listening or watching something, but am learning how to be more present through meditation. My goal is to meditate every day even if only for 5 minutes. I am working on being more Zen and intentional in my life.
Living in Guelph, Ontario, I am married to my hunky husband who is an immigrant from Nigeria. We’ve been together for about 7 years, and have 2 beautiful daughters who are 5 and 3 years old, plus a 10 year old rescue dog named Sonny. We enjoy having our kids immerse themselves in black & Nigerian culture, so they are familiar with and love their black identity. I grew up in a small town on the coast of Lake Huron in Ontario and I visit when I can. Since I grew up a half a block from the lake, every time I’m near water I feel like I’m at home. I even have waves tattooed to my foot! Growing up, I was bullied for being chubby, which really impacted my confidence. Even though I did have everything I needed as a child, I still experienced this and other trauma. I now live with Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and take Zoloft for them, in addition to regular therapy. I have no shame in my mental health issues, and am an advocate for normalizing it.
My two daughters hamming it up for the camera
My values
One of my core values is belonging – it’s important to me to be part of a community. I love connecting with others, finding a common ground, and listening to their stories. I also value community over competition – I will always support small businesses when possible. Another of my values is respect and kindness – I will never tolerate hate, discrimination, oppression, harassment, or any other negativity towards another person or group of people. Every person on earth is deserving of love and respect, and no one is better than anyone else, regardless of how much colonization, white supremacy, or internal biases have been ingrained in their mind. This includes people living with disabilities, people of colour, indigenous folks, women, LGBTQ2S+ folks, people born in poor or war torn countries…. everyone!
My interests
Despite my full schedule, I try to find some time for my personal interests. One of my favourite, more expensive interests is plants. This includes growing vegetables, gardening, and buying cute pots & house plants. I’m up to around 50 house plants. I also love to laugh – I can be quite sarcastic sometimes – and therefore love when I have time watching comedy tv shows like Friends and Superstore. Due to my anxiety, I tend to find comfort in re-watching familiar things, and am stuck in the 90s, so I tend to be drawn to things like Seinfeld, Fresh Prince, etc. I am also an advocate for Cannabis use. It helps me sleep and calms me down.
I also enjoy outdoor activities, when the weather is good. During winter, I'm a hermit. During spring, summer and fall, I'm hiking, swimming, walking, and biking with my family. Even though he's getting old, I do try talking my dog and getting in that vitamin D when I can.
Through my various roles in life, I am proud to contribute to increasing the number of equity deserving groups in leadership roles and bringing more peace into the world. I aim to create a diverse workforce and an equitable world for my two daughters to grow up in. I am shattering the glass ceiling, and together myself and the underdogs are going to change the world.
Hi, I’m Samantha, an Inclusive Leadership Specialist dedicated to empowering you to break free and embrace your authentic self, especially if you’ve felt sidelined in society. My coaching approach is solution-focused with a strong commitment to social justice, guiding you to transform your life and achieve the shifts you never thought possible, making YOU the leader of YOUR life.
I am passionate about increasing representation in leadership roles for equity-deserving individuals—women, racialized communities, disabled folks, and 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals. Together, we can cultivate a diverse and equitable workforce where everyone can thrive as their true selves.
Explore my services in coaching, consulting, and speaking to find the support that fits your needs.
Ready to assess your company’s inclusivity? Download your FREE two-page Inclusive Workplace Checklist here.
Curious to learn more? Book a no-obligation discovery call here.
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