Board & Staff

Jennifer Bessell is currently the chief executive officer with the Newfoundland and Labrador Organization of Women Entrepreneurs. Jennifer is an accomplished senior leader in the non profit sector with extensive experience in both professional associations and charitable organizations. She has held executive director roles in professional legal education and with the Canadian Bar Association as well as executive positions with the Association for New Canadians locally and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada nationally. Jennifer has a demonstrated ability to lead and motivate teams with a people first approach to leadership. She is an experienced executive leader who enjoys both program and finance management.

In addition to her work with WEOC, Jennifer is also a board member with Women in Science and Engineering, Newfoundland and Labrador and volunteers with Junior Achievement of Newfoundland and Labrador as a mentor for their company program.

Jennifer is passionate about life long learning and helping others achieve success in their professional endeavours. She considers coaching and mentoring a responsibility of leadership. As such, Jennifer is driven to help women and youth realize their potential and be successful in their journey as entrepreneurs.

Shauna is an impact-driven leader, community champion, speaker, mentor, and connector in the entrepreneurial ecosystem.

She is a nationally-recognized advocate for women entrepreneurs, gender equity, and a champion for increased access to services, training, support, and funding. Her strengths include marketing & communications strategy, participatory and collaborative facilitation, business development, community engagement, team building, as well as the development of strategic partnerships and programs.

Prior to coming to WeBC, Shauna was an entrepreneur for 22 years. She owned a manufacturing company that created and sold inspirational glass stone magnets globally, and a marketing and communications company that helped small businesses and not-for-profit organizations by offering marketing strategies, project management, team support, and marketing training.

In 2015, Shauna was the co-facilitator of the regional Catalyst for Growth dialogues that actively explored how to support economic growth through women and create a greater impact by growing the number of women in senior leadership roles, trades, emerging sectors, and as entrepreneurs. She was also a facilitator for portions of the BC Economic Forum (2015) and the We for She Conference (2016).

Shauna has been recognized for her leadership and impact. She was named a Woman of Influence by BC Business Magazine; and Business Person of the Year and Top 40 Under 40 by the Prince George Chamber of Commerce. She was on the BC Premier’s Women’s Economic Council as an advisor from 2014-2017, and an advisor on the Government of Canada’s Women’s Entrepreneurship Strategy in 2019.

Shauna’s vision for WeBC is to continue to build on the incredible success and momentum of the team, while exploring the possibilities in the next phase of collaboration, sustainability, and impact.

A Certified Professional Accountant and former small business owner, Max Kashton brings rich entrepreneurial experience, a deep understanding of the finance, risk and strategy, human resource, and information technology requirements facing the sector, as well as a well-developed set of community and business relationships.

Kashton has honed and applied her leadership skills in her current and past C-Suite roles. MWEC’s CEO since January 2022, her past roles include serving as Chief Operating Officer with Canadian Lutheran World Relief, an international humanitarian and refugee resettlement organization, and as the Chief Financial Officer for The Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce.

The Mayor of Winnipeg recently appointed Kashton to the CentreVenture Board of Directors where she is the Finance Chair. CentreVenture’s mandate is to work with the city, and private and non-profit developers to increase downtown housing in Winnipeg. She currently sits on the Women’s Enterprise Organizations of Canada Board of Directors and is the Finance & Audit Committee Chair

PARO was founded in 1995, with Rosalind Lockyer at the helm, with goals to create a program to help women realize entrepreneurial success on their terms. PARO began as a women’s community loan fund; today, as a multi-faceted women-centred business development program, it is known “as the largest and strongest women’s peer lending network in North America” and supports 150+ Circles across Ontario.

The essence and the originality of PARO demonstrate how Rosalind involves the members of the organization. A true grassroots organization, members are elected to the board of directors annually, and collectively work with Rosalind, as primary innovators and decision-makers for the organization. Under her leadership, PARO has received significant recognition for its contribution to women entrepreneurs. In 2002, PARO received the Soroptimist of Americas Eastern Canada Award for Advancing the Status of Women, and in 2004, the Chamber of Commerce Award for Business Excellence-Not- For- Profit. In 2014, PARO received the Donner Canadian Foundation Award for Excellence in the Education Category. This award recognizes PARO and Rosalind as “one of seven best–run service agencies in the country… .ranked in ten key performance areas including management and governance, use of staff and volunteers, innovation, program costs and outcome monitoring.” Quoting the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) on Ethical Leadership, “Effective approaches to instilling ethics and integrity . . . are key elements to ensuring sound corporate governance and management control.”

Seven years at university earned Rosalind a Psychology Degree and certified teaching credentials. However, it was the 20 years of working as a teacher, entrepreneur, community developer that left Rosalind blatantly aware of systemic women’s issues, and provided the skills, experience, passion, and determination to work for positive change and gender equality locally, provincially, and nationally. For these efforts, Rosalind received the prestigious Influential Women of Northern Ontario Award-Public Sector 2005 from Northern Ontario Business, recognizing her leadership in building PARO Centre for Women’s Enterprise into the dynamic women’s enterprise organization that it is today. More recently, Rosalind was called “one of the most remarkable social entrepreneurs in the world” by the Office of Social Enterprise, MEDEI, Ontario government, and received the International Award for “Women of the Decade in Community Leadership”, from the Women’s Economic Forum 2018 in New Delhi, India.

Marcela has explored the world of business through a globally focused business undergraduate degree, designation as a Certified International Trade Professional and more than twenty years of global experience developing and implementing business strategies. A career highlight has been taking on leadership roles at Alberta Women Entrepreneurs (AWE) to support AWE’s goal to build stronger communities and economies through women’s participation in entrepreneurship.

Marcela believes strongly in continuous learning and contributing to the community. In addition to serving as Chair of the Women’s Enterprise Organizations of Canada, she volunteers her time on the Edmonton Economic Development Corporation Board of Directors, University of Alberta Professional Development for Graduate Students Advisory Board, the Women’s Entrepreneurship Day Organization Canada Board of Directors and the Edmonton Region Innovation Network Steering Committee. In 2019 Marcela was appointed as Edmonton Regional Ambassador for the UN Women’s Entrepreneurship Day Organization.

As the Chief Executive Officer of WESK, Miriam has a strong passion and commitment to enabling Saskatchewan to flourish. Equipped with a growth-focused mindset and diverse experience across multiple sectors, she is well-positioned to lead WESK’s team towards achieving their mission of closing the gender entrepreneurship gap.

If you ask Miriam what she is most excited about regarding the future of WESK, she will share how inspiring it is to be part of an organization driving for and seeing progressive change. She recognizes the demands and challenges women entrepreneurs face every day. She is inspired to strategically address gaps and barriers and identify opportunities to foster a strong community of women entrepreneurs. She believes that supporting women is integral to building a strong Saskatchewan.

During her recent tenure at the Saskatchewan Roughriders, Miriam was fundamental in securing the bid for the upcoming Grey Cup, launching the Saskatchewan Roughrider Foundation, and developing many successful programs addressing opportunities around the fan experience. Her work leading the Marketing and Community Relations portfolio connected the Riders with fans across the province through community programs such as Cameco Touchdown for Dreams to the game-day fan experience at Mosaic Stadium. Miriam’s community-minded leadership approach will continue to grow and develop the impact WESK makes across Saskatchewan.

Miriam has a strong penchant for giving back. She is currently the Co-Chair of Communications for the Grey Cup Volunteer Host Organizing Committee, successfully seeing the process in its entirety from bid to execution. She also held the Vice-Chair Sponsorship position for the 2022 Saskatchewan Winter Games.

When Miriam isn’t around the WESK offices, you will most likely find her in the comfort of her home being a short-order cook for her family or in an ice rink around Regina, watching her three children, Eli, Eden, and Emerson, play the sport they all love, hockey.

President and CEO of Réseau des Femmes d’affaires du Québec since June 2010, Ruth Vachon aspires to lead women managers and business owners towards excellence. Through innovative projects in economic development, entrepreneurship and feminine leadership, she intends to bring together some 2000 members for the Network’s 35th anniversary in 2016. A native from the Saguenay region, Ruth has been an active entrepreneur for more than 30 years. She founded and managed two companies for which she won the “Prix Femina” in 1988 and 1991. A seasoned manager, she became a management consultant in 2003, specializing in business reorganization and expansion. Because of her strong networking skills, Ruth knows how to establish trusted relationships and generate meaningful encounters between individuals in order to increase business opportunities.

Femme de terrain et de vision, Ruth Vachon est la présidente‐directrice générale du Réseau des Femmes d’affaires du Québec. Cumulant plus de 30 ans d’expérience en entrepreneuriat, elle soutient que la prospérité se conjugue également au féminin. Elle sillonne le monde pour donner des conférences et piloter des missions commerciales pour les femmes d’affaires tant au Canada, aux États-Unis, en Europe qu’en Afrique. D’un dynamisme remarquable, elle convainc bon nombre de grandes entreprises et de multinationales à s’investir auprès des femmes entrepreneures.

En 2019, elle crée le RFAQ+ : une communauté virtuelle dotée d’une intelligence artificielle permettant aux entreprises à propriété féminine d’offrir leurs produits et services aux grandes entreprises nationales et internationales qui ont choisi d’intégrer la diversité à leur pratique d’approvisionnement.

Depuis 2019, elle est membre du Groupe consultatif de l’initiative « WE Empower » de l’organisation ONU Femmes et du « Portail de connaissances pour les femmes en entrepreneuriat », de l’Université Ryerson. Engagée pour l’équité en affaires, elle est récipiendaire de nombreuses distinctions:

• TOP 100 femmes les plus influentes au Canada – Women’s Executive Network (WXN) (2018)
• Nomination aux Mercuriades de la Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec dans la catégorie « Leadership Femme d’exception » (2018)
• « Personnalité de la diversité 2019 » par l’agence de presse Médiamosaïque
• Cinq honneurs accordés par WEConnect International (2014 à 2016), dont la femme la plus engagée dans l’initiative de l’inclusion des femmes dans les chaînes d’approvisionnement de grandes entreprises.

Depuis 39 ans, la raison d’être du Réseau des Femmes d’affaires du Québec est d’offrir aux femmes les moyens de leurs aspirations. Pour ce faire, il met en place des stratégies concrètes qui inspirent, connectent et propulsent les femmes vers de nouveaux sommets, afin de développer l’économie au féminin et de créer plus de richesse, tant humaine qu’économique.