CEO Message

With the arrival of Spring, Profound Impact enters into the second half of our fiscal year with plenty of highlights to share from a productive March and a view into what’s planned for April. 

This month, in celebration of Earth Day on April 22, 2022 — our team will once again take on the responsibility of spending at least one hour doing something to benefit the environment. We invite our Profound Impact network to follow suit and participate in making a difference by doing something to help the environment — such as going for a walk, clearing the trash in your community, or even planting a tree. Whatever you choose to do this Earth Day, our collective impacts will make a real difference.

Speaking of making a difference, Profound Impact is proud to release our first Social Impact Report! We set a goal for our organization to be an early adopter of social impact programs and you can read all about our first year of activities here.

Last month, Profound Impact powered the second annual International Women’s Day celebration events in collaboration with WCT Waterloo Region, which attracted over 450 participants from our community and around the world — all coming together to #BreakTheBias. We had a productive time celebrating the successes of women entrepreneurs, professionals, and community leaders from the Waterloo Region and beyond. A big thank you to our inspiring panelists for sharing their stories and advice — and of course, our valued sponsors and partners for their support in making this event possible. If you missed the event or want to re-watch the insightful panel discussions, you can access them on our Women Empowering Women Digital Community platform here.

As we head into the warmer months, Profound Impact is looking forward to continued collaboration as we strive to create a community that empowers positive change. Stay connected with us on social media and through our upcoming Profound Connections newsletters for more information on upcoming events!

Thank you for your ongoing support and engagement,

Sherry Shannon-Vanstone 

International Women’s Day 2022

Hosted on the Profound Impact™ Platform, Three Days of Free Virtual Event Programs

Profound-Impact-IWD-News-ReleaseDownload

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

REGION OF WATERLOO CELEBRATES INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY 2022 WITH THREE DAYS OF FREE VIRTUAL EVENT PROGRAMS

Women in Communications and Technology — Waterloo Region Chapter to host three online events celebrating, educating and empowering women

WATERLOO, ON | FEBRUARY 24, 2022 — In celebration of International Women’s Day on March 8, Women in Communications and Technology — Waterloo Region Chapter (WCT-WR) is partnering with various community organizations to host three virtual events during the month of March featuring some of the Region’s most notable female leaders, entrepreneurs and innovators.

Centered around the 2022 campaign theme #BreakTheBias, participants will share personal stories of overcoming stereotypes and discrimination in the workplace. There will also be live panel discussions on empowering women in healthcare and education, achieving financial independence and assessing overall perceptions of women in society, culture and the workplace.

“Women have made tremendous progress in advancing gender equality and challenging existing gender stereotypes, but there is more work to be done,” said Sherry Shannon-Vanstone, CEO of Profound Impact Corporation and Founder of WCT-WR. “With the pandemic posing serious risks to women’s progress in the workforce, empowering and educating women is more important than ever.”

CEO Message

Happy Women’s History Month! March is a time to celebrate the countless women who have made significant contributions to our society. This year, we’re honouring women in a month-long celebration who #BreakTheBias and have a Profound Impact™ on communities globally. From scientists and entrepreneurs to artists and activists, women have broken barriers to inspire the next generation of leaders and prove that the possibilities are limitless. 

The first event of this month-long celebration was held on March 1, 2022, in collaboration with the Women in Communications and Technology Waterloo Region (WCT-WR) and 15 other organizations from across the Waterloo Region including Perimeter Institute, Vidyard and OpenText. This event was hosted on WCT-WR’s Women Empowering Women’s Digital Community powered by Profound Impact. Highlighting this year’s theme – #BreakTheBias, the opening event featured several esteemed speakers: Bardish Chagger, MP Waterloo, Jean Becker, Associate Vice-President, Indigenous Relations, University of Waterloo; Deborah MacLatchy, President, Wilfrid Laurier University; Madhu Ranganathan, EVP, CFO, OpenText and Kate Paul, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Manager, Bruce Power on how they have overcome bias in their respective industries.

Don’t worry if you missed the March 1st event (watch the recording here!); the second will be on March 8th, International Women’s Day, beginning at 12:00 PM EST (register here). Last year’s successful online event drew nearly 400 participants from all across Waterloo Region and demonstrated how virtual gatherings can be a powerful tool for learning and connecting people. 

We will conclude the month-long celebration with an event on March 22nd, beginning at 12:00 PM EST (register here) with a conversation about a topic that is extremely important to me – Angel Investing and Early Stage Funding for Women Owned/Founded Businesses . To discover more about these upcoming events, discussion subjects, and panelists, I encourage you to visit the Women Empowering Women platform for the most recent information. To further participate in the discussion and share your impact, register on the platform here.

Our March Impact Story highlights a woman who is breaking barriers for women in the world of crypto, Web3 and NFTs — Janelle Hraiki Chalouhi, Co-Founder of Venuseverse. Please continue to read the rest of our Profound Connections newsletter to learn more about the first Canadian female-founded, female-focused educational program, incubator and NFT collection as well as how Janelle is using this opportunity to help women increase their digital financial literacy.

Warmest regards, 

Sherry Shannon-Vanstone 

CEO Message

Message from the CEO

Welcome to our February edition of Profound Connections! 

Our team at Profound Impact™ has been busy working on our upcoming webinar in partnership with Wilfrid Laurier University. I’m pleased to let you know that on Tuesday, February 22, 2022, at 12:00 pm EST, we will be hosting our first Profound Insights webinar of 2022: ‘How to Effectively Communicate and Match Research Funding Opportunities’. 

Towards the end of 2021, our team partnered with Wilfrid Laurier University and their research department to better understand how Research Service Offices (RSO) across Canada communicate grant opportunities, partnerships and research policies. Searching for insight into how research across Canada is conducted effectively, we surveyed 23+ universities and research institutions and received 40 responses from across the country! 

Our upcoming webinar will be able to provide insights into how RSOs can more effectively communicate and match research funding opportunities. Moderated by our very own Sherryl Petricevic, Account Executive, we will be discussing the findings of our Research Matching Survey and highlighting key takeaways from the report with our panellists Dr. Jonathan Newman, Vice President of Research, Wilfrid Laurier University, Shawna Reibling, Knowledge Mobilization Officer, Wilfrid Laurier University, and Rob Darling, Strategic Advisor, Profound Impact. 

Know someone who might be interested? Please invite them to attend and RSVP through our registration page here. Webinar attendees will be provided with a free copy of the final Research Matching Survey report.

Thank you for your ongoing support, and I look forward to seeing you all on February 22nd for our first Profound Insights webinar of the year. Additionally, our team, in partnership with WCT Waterloo Region, looks forward to hosting you for a series of virtual events held exclusively on our Profound Impact platform throughout the month of March to celebrate International Women’s Day 2022: #BreakTheBias and the women in our Waterloo Region community. For more information, read on and check out the IWD 2022 WR webpage hosted on WCT WR’s Women Empowering Women Digital Community to stay up to date with all of the latest information about panelists, conversation topics and entertainment.

Warmest regards, 

Sherry Shannon-Vanstone