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Episode 20
On today’s episode, we talk about the recent devastation to the Bahamas from Hurricane Dorian. As some of you know, my passion is helping island nations and remote communities achieve energy security through autonomous energy systems, and building better via smart microgrids and smart cities. It is what I devoted my research life to for nearly two decades now. We know we cannot keep doing what we have done and there is no going back, in fact, there is no time left. The research shows that renewable energy technology can help democratize the energy supply, provide energy security, reliably, affordably and reduce environmental impact –i.e. it is green! So why are we seeing such a slow uptake to implement the solutions that we know are needed in regions such as the Bahamas, and the Caribbean in general, that are consistently impacted by climate change and hurricanes?
Today’s guest, Deborah Deal, CEO, Contractor and Environmentalist, and I discuss this topic. Debby has lived in the Bahamas for nearly four decades, it is her home, it is where she has established her businesses and it is where she serves her community and leaves her legacy for the betterment of the environment. I met Debby while speaking about Energy Security in the Bahamas and sharing my knowledge on microgrids and island energy. This past week has been heart wrenching for me, and to hear from Debby and share her story about the crisis is so important to know how we can help and discuss how we can move forward. Debby’s passion for community service is evident in the way she leads her life, speaks and acts with intention to contribute positively to our environmental crisis and how she brings attention to important topics, especially those surrounding the people of and the islands that she calls her home. We talk everything about the devastation currently in the Bahamas, and what moving forward could look like for the country, plus so much more. After all, as Debby says, The Bahamas is so much more than this disaster, more than just sun, sand and sea. Here's a little bit more about Debby: For the past 37 years, Deborah Deal, President of Contemporary Builders XIX Ltd., has been a building contractor in an industry traditionally male dominated. Joking that she was an only child and her father wanted a boy, her passion for building and design started from an early age, as did her respect for the environment. Over the years, her respect for the environment has worked its way into her career as a builder of “green” homes. Nine years ago, the company built its first green home in Charlotteville, solar panels and back up batteries as its energy source. Ms. Deal is also a partner in South Ocean Palms, a “green” subdivision. Sustainability and energy efficiency being so important in construction both globally and in The Bahamas, her desire is to ensure all Bahamians and residents alike are awarded the opportunity to better steward the country through Best Building practices. From residential to commercial, from new construction to retrofitting, the company and team cover all aspects of the field. Over the years, and through a sister company Ms. Deal has also been blessed by experiencing working in the Family Islands from Inagua to Grand Bahama which has given her and her team a lot of insight as to the country as a whole. Ms. Deal has sat on the board of the Bahamas Contractors Association, sits on the National Committee of the Bahamas Bureau of Standards and Quality and also as a director of The Energy and Environment committee of the BCCEC, (the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation), all in efforts to make a difference, to advocate for better quality and higher standards in the industry which reflect on a better quality of life for all. “If you have passion, a vision and the desire to exceed, take your dream in your heart and your hand and run with it with all your might…don’t stop, don’t look back, don’t second guess, just do it!”…and God said “I will give you the desires of your heart!” Enjoy this important and heart-touching episode. Xox Andrea In this episode we discuss:
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Episode 19
On today’s episode we talk about disrupting the funding and investment of women owned businesses with Investor and Serial Entrepreneur Shelley Kuipers! I met Shelley this summer at a fabulous conference on innovation and investment in Calgary called Inventures and her role on a women’s investment panel impressed me, so I wanted to bring her message, wisdom and knowledge to our Fempower community!
Shelley Kuipers is building the world she wants to live in. As an activist in business, entrepreneurship and investment, she is hell bent on defeating the status quo one project at a time, and replacing it with options that are more equitable, feminist, corporately and ecologically sustainable; revolutionary options that drive greater value for both business and consumer. She co-founded IOVIA in 2015 after previously founding Chaordix, Stormworks and Adventure Capital. She is also co-founder of feminist investment collective, The51 and sustainable direct to consumer clothing brand Harris Kuipers, all in addition to championing the entrepreneurs she has chosen to invest in. Shelley loves to travel for business and adventure but also questions the sustainability of it all. When on a break Shelley finds herself revelling in nature with family and friends, and with the odd glass of cider at her home on Salt Spring Island, Canada. She divides her time between the west coast and Calgary, Canada and right this minute is probably dreaming up ways to realize the possibilities. Enjoy this episode, it’s magical! Xox Andrea In this episode we discuss:
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Episode 18
Hello Everyone!
I’m back with a solo episode and it’s based on my own reflections over the past month. Lots has happened and April has flown by compared to the slow pace of March. Lots of ideas and issues have come up this month and I took some intentional time to be quiet and reflect on many things. Now I’m back with a month worth of content that I can’t keep to myself! So today’s episode is a little different – I cover several topics that I’ve collected over the past month, from workplace and life Biases, to the rise in hate-crimes and separation encountered in my local community and globally, and my thoughts on influencers and the responsibility and power that they have that is often misguided, abused or unrecognized and the trouble that can cause, and I wrap up on my take on the latest social media trends, such as the Celery Juice Craze that is driving up prices for celery, so much so that is it being reported as a celebrity factor in the price of this basic vegetable and I encourage you to pause and reflect on the sustainability of it all as well as how this is linked to our over consumption and serious recycling issues. Hope this gives you something to think about as well. Enjoy! Andrea In this episode I discuss:
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Women, Business, Technology, Trades, Entrepreneurship, Engineering, Arts, Athletics, Math, Science, Spirituality, Wellness, Self-compassion, Leadership, Excellence, Influencers, Social Media, Biases, Unity, Recycling, Sustainability
EPISODE 17
On today’s episode we talk all things clean beauty, engineering, eco-entrepreneurship and more Clean Beauty Pioneer, the revolutionary Jenise Lee! A serial eco entrepreneur, Jenise is the founder & CEO of PurPicks - a site like TripAdvisor for organic skincare - which has the largest directory of nontoxic beauty products and largest database of product reviews. She is also the Founder of CertClean, North America's certification for safer skincare. You can find thousands of beauty and personal care products globally with the CertClean certification.
Jenise was honoured as one of Canada's top sustainability leader, named Canada's Top 100 health influencers alongside Wayne Gretzky and Sophie Trudeau, and nominated for the Governor General's Innovation Award. Jenise has a Chemical Engineering degree (University of Waterloo), and a MBA (Schulich School of Business). Prior to starting her MBA, Jenise worked as an environmental engineering consultant where she led projects related to environmental site assessments, environmental impact studies and feasibility studies on leading edge renewable energy from biomethanation plants to solar projects to waste-to-energy facilities. Enjoy! Andrea WE DISCUSS:
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EPISODE 16
A SPECIAL EPISODE FOR INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY
HAPPY INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY!
This is a day to celebrate and not underestimate it's importance. Today's episode was a must. After almost a year of speaking about the power of the Divine Feminine how could I not put out a story for this important day?! In fact, the story is so important it talks about the both the Divine Fem and Masculine. This is an important episode recognizes that we are all composed of both these energies. I provide some treats at the end with a meditation and take home exercise for you on developing your fem and mas balance for creativity. And I make a couple announcements about some new ventures I'm onto... So tune in and enjoy - and celebrate the beauty of this day! Namaste, Andrea I DISCUSS:
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Episode 15
Welcome to today's solo episode! I spent the last few months really working through the concepts of what excellence in leadership means and how it means to practice it daily and the challenges I would face as I strive to do so. Along the way, I learned many things, surprisingly that most are inadequately prepared to functionally operate at a level of excellent leadership and they don't even know it, because leadership takes work, and I mean a lot of internal work. Leadership differs fundamentally from management and it's important to know what that difference is so that we can strive to attain true leadership, beyond just management, especially if we care about our role and those we serve, be it at work, home or in the community. So sit back, tune in and relax as we discuss this important topic and how we can create the ecosystems we need to achieve excellence in leadership.
Namaste, Andrea IN THIS EPISODE I DISCUSS:
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Women, Business, Technology, Trades, Entrepreneurship, Engineering, Arts, Athletics, Math, Science, Spirituality, Wellness, Self-compassion, Leadership, Excellence
Episode 14
Welcome to Season 2! Today’s episode is from our last Fempower Live event of 2018. I’m excited to finally bring you this fantastic episode about two fierce and strong woman entrepreneurs. One who immigrated to Canada not long ago, fleeing a life of many challenges and seeking the best for her daughter as a single mother, and the other who is homeschooling her two children while running the business. These two kind and generous souls met under serendipitous situations that enabled them to pursue their dreams together. Through grit and perseverance they are starting to feel the joys of their success. Gabrielle Zoppa and Harman Dhaliwal, together, are the co-owners of Spa Botanica, one of a few Ayurvedic spas in Winnipeg, MB.
Namaste, Andrea IN THIS EPISODE WE DISCUSS:
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Women, Business, Technology, Trades, Entrepreneurship, Engineering, Arts, Athletics, Math, Science, Spirituality, Wellness, Self-care, Ayurveda
Episode 13
Today’s guest and I share similar roots – we are both Aerospace Engineers who jumped careers into entrepreneurship and we both like to maintain a balance of our left and right brain through our spiritual studies.
Ali Boone is a 9-to-5 dropout who left a high-paying career as an Aerospace Engineer to start her own business. She is the founder of Hipster Investments, a real estate investment company that flips real estate investing on its head. Not only does Hipster offer unique investment opportunities that open the door for anyone to invest in real estate, but Ali has structured Hipster in such a way that allows her full freedom to create the life of her dreams. Ali has Master’s degrees in both Aerospace Engineering and Spiritual Psychology. She has written over 170 articles for BiggerPockets—the world’s leading real estate investing website. She has been featured in Fox Business and The Motley Fool, has over 300k views on her Calculating Rental Property Numbers video on YouTube, has sold over 200 copies of her Turnkey Rental Properties 101 eBook, and was awarded Top 100 Real Estate Investing Blogs & Websites on the Web. If you ask Ali what her biggest accomplishment is though, she’ll tell you it’s that she successfully created a completely location-independent business that allows her to live wherever she wants, travel whenever she wants, work whenever she wants, and most importantly—be her own boss. Ali’s strengths are in organic business building, passive income, outsourcing, and lifestyle design. She also does business consulting where she specializes in looking at the puzzle pieces of struggling businesses and, using her engineering background and experience as a successful entrepreneur, helps fit those puzzle pieces back together in a way that best supports the client and their business. When Ali isn’t helping people buy real estate or coaching other entrepreneurs, she is usually flying airplanes around Santa Monica (and teaching other people to fly as well), hanging out in the SoCal outdoors whether it be the beach or the ski slopes, or volunteering in California prisons. She is also a failed reality makeover TV star. Amidst her busy schedule, her ultimate goal is to one-day challenge Tim Ferriss to a lifestyle design duel. It’s getting colder outside and that means Hygge Season! So cozy up into this episode and enjoy - and remember, RSVP to rsvp@fempower.ca to reserve your spot to this week’s Fempower LIVE! Event happening on Sunday November 18, 2018 at 12:30pm at Spa Botanica. The details are under Events. Namaste, Andrea IN THIS EPISODE WE DISCUSS:
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Episode 12
Hello World – I am back! I had to take some time off, which I explain more about in today’s episode, and it’s interesting how these things align sometimes. So today’s episode is extra special and extra long! Take your time to enjoy it. Rana Bokhari is on the show today and she is one fierce incredible woman. Her story and her many lifetimes from fashion design to leader of a major political party, from how she grew up on a farm to where she is today leading her own business, hers is a story that will provide you with so many insights into the struggles we face as women when we rise and it will provide you with much wisdom to face the very real challenges in our society. Her message is empowering and affirming of what we need to do as women to have our voice heard, and to heal from times we have been abused. She talks more about the details of breaking the “glass ceiling”, which is really a brick wall as she puts it, in her TEDx talk (see link in show notes below). She reminds us of the power of connection and the root of all strength as love. Enjoy today’s episode and tell everyone you know about it – the wisdom and teachings in this episode alone, you’ll carry for lifetimes. Here’s a little background about Rana:
Rana Bokhari, B.A. (Criminology), B.A. (Psychology), J.D., Notary Public Rana Bokhari is a graduate of the University of Manitoba Faculty of Law (Juris Doctor), and also has a Bachelor of Arts in Criminology and Psychology. During her studies, she served as President of the Manitoba Law Students’ Association, made the Dean’s List for excellence in academics, and received The Carolynne Boivin Award for her research and support of women’s rights. In May of 2013, Rana was called to the Manitoba Bar. She was elected as Leader of the Manitoba Liberal Party in 2013 and chose to pursue her new career in politics. As the first female minority leader and youngest leader of the Liberal Party in the history of Manitoba politics, she is an inspiration to all Manitobans to get involved and take leadership on issues that matter to everyone. Although her career is demanding and diverse, Rana finds time to devote to her passions, including charity work. She is a committed believer in public service and involves herself in community affairs and organizations; in particular, she advocates for women’s rights and for mental health services being part of Manitoba Health Care coverage. In the past, she has participated in Winnipeg’s “CEO Sleep-out”, raising funds for the homeless. In addition, Rana travels country-wide, discussing “Women in Leadership” roles and is a strong supporter of the LGBTQ community. Namaste, Andrea WE DISCUSS:
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
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Episode 11
Today’s guest is very special, because unknowingly, she had a very fundamental role in the formation of this podcast. Because of the work that she is doing, I have been able to connect with my own intuition and spirit guides to make this podcast a reality. If it hadn’t been for the messages that Natalie Miles was putting out into our world, and my own little nudges from spirit and the life lessons along the way, I wouldn’t have put it all together – well, at least not as clearly and as quickly! Natalie Miles is an international Spiritual Guide, Psychic, Mentor and Entrepreneur. She has cultivated her life’s work in an esoteric industry with a legitimate business that grounds the spiritual realm in the now, but it wasn’t what she was always doing.
Natalie was born and raised in the U.K., connecting with her Spirit Guide at the age of five, Natalie’s gift was always a backdrop as she moved through life. At the age of sixteen, she truly began to develop her skills by attending small groups educating on improving intuition and psychic abilities. It was here where she unlocked her natural gifts working with Spirit to share messages with others. After working for 10 years in the film industry as a producer, she could no longer ignore the calling of her Spirit Guide and began working with Spirit full-time. Natalie’s mission is to support ones spiritual journey by sharing, The Spirit Upgrade. This upgrade connects people with their guides –in other words, cheerleaders in the spiritual realm. Spirit guides help find the answers ones seek, and clear any blocks in the way. Working with guides will heal the past, and help people feel a sense of empowerment. Natalie has been guided by Spirit to use her gifts to open the door and be the “upgrade” messenger, illuminating the light onto other people’s life paths. Her goal is to inspire people across the globe to connect with their own Spirit Guides, so they can feel more connected, each and every day, and continue an upgraded soul journey. Natalie does this work through three major sessions: The Soul Upgrade, The Mediumship Upgrade, and The Past Life Upgrade, and either in-person or through telephone or via Skype. After all, she says, distance is no barrier for the Spirit! Spirit Guides will bring up exactly what needs to be discussed during that session and her clients are always taken aback that what comes through, is exactly what they needed to hear. Natalie does more than what most psychics and mediums do, she is a form of a life coach as well, where she offers an opportunity for souls to learn and grow. I’m excited and honoured to have Natalie on the Fempower podcast today, and it turns out it is episode 11, which if you follow angel numbers will know that it is the karmic Master Number 11 and symbolizes the principles of spiritual awakening and enlightenment, high energy, idealism, inspiration and intuition, illumination, visionary, enthusiasm, creative/creativity, self-expression and sensitivity, and mysticism. Number 11 tells us that to connect with our higher-selves is to know and live our soul mission and life purpose. Master Number 11 is usually called 'the Illuminator', 'the Messenger' or 'the Teacher' and relates to those who are here to be inspirational guiding lights, and their mission is to bring illumination to others and to help raise spiritual awareness. This wasn’t planned this way, as I’m just going with the flow, and yet it is so perfectly aligned. I bet Natalie will be smiling when she find out! I think you are really going to like this episode – it’s full of practical ways to grow your intuition, connect with your spirit guides, and in turn develop your self-awareness further which will enhance your confidence and lead to your empowerment – it truly is a chain reaction and it begins with these fundamental steps. And, you’ll have some fun along the way as this episode gets hijacked by one of my deceased loved ones! My grandfather shows up to play some tricks and have some fun with us. I’ve left it in there so you can see for yourself how we lost the connection, but everything kept recording so we could have the evidence of his playfulness – this normally doesn’t happen for me! Usually, if I lose the connection I lose the recording and yet somehow we were able to keep it all here. Thank you Grandpa! Natalie even goes into the details to clarify which of my three grandfathers it could be – and I definitely knew which one it was right from the outset. My grandfather even gives me a message when we ask if he has something to share. You are going to want to hear this. It is so fascinating and exactly on point. Natalie wouldn’t have known anything of this as we only spoke for the first time here. She is so sharp and in-tune and such an earth angel. We are lucky to have her on the show today! Enjoy this episode and may all the practical tools help you in your journey to enlightenment and empowerment so that you too may spread more of your light. Namaste, Andrea WE DISCUSS:
This is my cheeky grandfather who came through on this episode. Here we are, years ago, being playful together! He was always making fun of his messy hair!
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The doors open at 7:30pm and the program starts at 8:00pm. The doors will also close at 8pm since this is a private event with limited seating and because we will be recording it for the podcast! So come early to grab a seat, get some great food and drinks, network and experience this awesome cafe in Winnipeg! Bring a friend, a family member, a co-worker and come hang out, it’s going to be a really fun event and there will be door prizes! We can’t wait to see you there!
Remember to RSVP via the Fempower Event page or email hello@fempower.ca with you and your names! It will be first-come first-served (fcfs) at the door! |
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March 2021
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