Broken Chair: A Daughter’s Journey Denyse Mouck is the author of Broken Chair: A Daughter’s Journey - a work of historical fiction that follows the journey of four generations of women as they try to survive the sexist restrictions of their times. A key character in the story, Rhita, is based on Denyse’s mother. To use the cliche - Denyse says she …

Liz Benditt is the definition of a survivor. Based in Kansas City, the mother of two discovered, about 10 years ago, that she had skin cancer. Just 11 months after that, Liz was diagnosed with thyroid cancer, and then, in 2015 basal cell carcinoma - skin cancer was discovered on the bridge of Liz’s nose, requiring two surgeries to repair. And unbel…

I had the great pleasure of working with Lesley Gunn for several years at a professional services firm in Toronto. I learned a lot from Lesley about leadership, advocating for my own career and to not be afraid of failure. When Lesley first started her career like so many others she found herself in a job that she didn't find fulfilling. However, i…

Liz Thompson’s life took an unexpected turn about six years ago. The California-based chef, with a MBA in marketing and culinary school under her belt, had recently started teaching and was working at a food show in San Francisco when she unexpectedly loss much of her vision. After some time off learning to live with the loss of much of her vision,…

Kate Gilman Williams is only 12-years old, but she’s already a well-known animal advocate, CEO and author. Kate, who lives in Austin, Texas, was just 7 when she co-authored a book called ‘Let’s Go on Safari’ and 10 when she founded her organization Kids Can Save Animals. Kate believes that anyone can make a difference, and even a little help can go…

Stacey Dakin is the managing director of Mentor Canada, an organization that was launched in 2019, and currently sits on the board of directors of Lean In Canada where she leads strategic initiatives. In this episode Bonnie and Stacey dig into mentorship and career development. Learn more about Mentor Canada and Lean In Canada: Mentor Canada Linked…

Bernadette Butler is the CEO and Co-Founder of StoryTap, a tech firm that works with companies to increase their brand engagement by giving their customers a voice and the ability to share it through personalized videos. With offices in Vancouver and Toronto, Bernadette says StoryTap also works with clients to create easy to use video assistants. B…

Christie Marchese, who grew up in Southern California, worked in a movie theatre through high school. She was planning on enrolling in filmmaking at college, but decided to pursue International Relations following the attacks of 9/11. That love of film remained and after college Christie started working with a well-known TV producer on a non-profit…

Joanna Johnson is a high school teacher by day, and a social media influencer by night, with nearly 900,000 followers on TikTok, where her videos have been viewed millions of times. Joanna, who goes by Unlearn16 on TikTok has become a social justice warrior dealing with hate, prejudice and inequality with well articulated sarcasm and wit. Joanna sa…

A split second decision shortly before her 50th birthday changed Jen Rice’s life forever. She sold everything she owned in the United States and bought a one-way ticket to Europe with the assumption she was going to land a consulting project in Geneva. When the project fell through, Jen found herself jobless and homeless in Europe. Jen still rememb…

Jenn T Grace is the founder of Publish Your Purpose Press and an author of several books. Her company is a hybrid book publisher that focuses on non-fiction and memoirs. Jenn didn't have all the answers when she started her publishing company, but she followed the just do it mentality as she knew this was her calling. In this episode Jenn talks abo…

Elizabeth Bachman, and her Strategic Speaking for Results program, trains business professionals on how to get results through speaking. Elizabeth wasn’t always a trainer, and spent 30 years in the international opera world, 11 of those operating a summer opera company in the Austrian Alps. On this episode of Run It Like a Girl, Elizabeth Bachman t…

Jeanette Brown is the founder of Excellence and Presence Communications, a public relations firm whose clients have included companies such as Pepsi, Reebok, NASCAR, Audi, and the U.S. Open. Jeanette, who was born and raised in Brooklyn, was originally studying to become a nurse until she switched her major to early childhood education. At the same…

Shareen Luze is the Head of Culture and Field Experience with RBC Wealth Management. An employment attorney by trade, she joined RBC’s law group 15 years ago, shifting into human resources a couple of years after that. And when, a decade later, Shareen was approached by an executive about heading up the human relations portfolio, she had a surprisi…

LaTonya Wilkins is an author, speaker and the founder of The Change Coaches, an organization that works with corporate leaders and their teams to create cultures of belonging in their workplaces. On this episode of Run It Like a Girl, LaTonya talks about her book, Leading Below the Surface, and she outlines the three biases of the workplaces, inclu…

Gemma Castle is the Chief Financial Officer for Cult Wines a global company that provides market-leading fine wine investment and collection management services. Gemma always thought she would become a sports journalist, but after university she had two job offers: 1. With a large accounting firm 2. A national newspaper. She took the job with the f…

Heather Odendaal is the CEO and Co-Founder of WNorth, an organization that connects and offers development opportunities for mid-management women with an upward career trajectory. Heather started WNorth in 2015 after unsuccessfully seeking out a conference where she could network with like minded women. Heather says WNorth’s membership grew enormou…

Please note: Recorded June 30: Vanessa has since achieved a successful exit of the company Vanessa Iarocci is the CEO of McCarthy Uniforms, a company that employs over 300 people, with another 200 seasonal youth staff; working out of 12 locations in southern Ontario. The 65-year-old company had become insolvent a decade after the founders sold it o…

Rachel Hill landed a great job out of university and by her mid 20s was making 6 figures. From the outside she had a full life, but inside she was miserable and diagnosed with anxiety. At the age of 27 she retired from corporate America and decided to travel before settling down. While oversees she started a blog to keep family and friends up to da…

Deena Baikowitz is the founder and Chief Networking Officer of Fireball Network, which helps clients access business and career opportunities. Originally from Montreal, Deena calls New York City home, although she’s currently stuck in Toronto due to the Covid lockdown. Deena is all about networking, and has some practical advice for people looking …

Whether it’s because of layoffs, redundancy, or personal choice, many people are starting over in their careers. Now imagine starting over, thousands of miles from home, in a new country, and a new language. Tetyana Dudnyk was a business woman from Ukraine, when she stepped off of an airplane in Canada 20 years ago. Tetyana talks about building her…

Renee Brinkerhoff is a rally race car driver, something she took up in her mid 50s. Believe it or not, she knew nothing about being a race car driver, and had no real desire to be one, but followed a 30 year urge and now owns her own team - Valkyrie Racing. In this episode Renee talks about racing around the world, and Project 356 which aims to rai…

Ainka Jess is one of the top 100 most powerful women in Canada according to Women’s Executive Network. WXN, a powerful network of professional women in Canada, awarded Ainka the prestigious title in their Arts, Sports, and Entertainment category. Ainka, who was a season #1 guest here on Run It Like a Girl, formed an organization called She’s4Sports…

Jill Andrew is the Member of Provincial Parliament for Toronto St. Paul's, a riding she has held for the NDP since 2018. She's the first woman, and the first non Liberal to represent the riding since its creation in 1999. When asked to run for the riding Jill had doubts about whether she would be able to do it, but in the end it was her interest in…

Angela Lilly is an amateur elite triathlete - competing in a grueling sport that involves swimming, running and cycling. She’s also competed in 7 Ironman events over the course of a decade, achieving 7th in her age group and a ranking of the 12th overall amateur woman at the Ironman World Championships in 2007. Angela says she’s had her share of se…

Stephanie Mitton and Myrrhanda Novak run a podcast called Women Don’t Do That. They have conversations with ‘women change-makers and risk-takers.' The podcast was formed, on-the-spot, when Stephanie, who lives in Ottawa, flew to Winnipeg to visit her long-time friend, after an unsuccessful attempt at entering federal politics. The goal of ‘Women Do…

When she was in high school, Rachel Weeks enjoyed English literature, particularly writing. But she also liked math and science. It was her English teacher who suggested a career like engineering, where she could do both. With a degree in Aerospace Engineering and part way through a masters, Rachel now works as a systems test engineer with United L…

Welcome to season 3! On this episode Bonnie talks with Samantha Bailey, #1 bestselling author of WOMAN ON THE EDGE. Samantha's literary success did not come overnight and the journey was not without its share of rejection and disappointment. In this episode we talk about what it takes to be an author, the importance of being resilient and finding l…

There’s no two doubts about it; Miriam Micael has a cool job. She’s a project management engineer with the Canadian Space Agency. Miriam has worked on several projects since joining the CSA three years ago, including working as a risk coordinator with Canada’s 1.2-billion dollar RADARSAT Constellation Mission, which launched last June. On this epis…

Following some deep soul searching, and the breakdown of a relationship, Heather Guluk made an impulsive decision to climb a mountain in the Himalayas, despite knowing very little about mountain climbing. Heather says she was challenged both physically and mentally, but, after three gruelling weeks, arrived at the summit. And that’s where a 10-year…

Even a quick glance Nasheen Liu's bio, would tell you that she never backs down from a challenge. At 19, she left her native China to study at the University of Heidelberg in Germany. Not only was she living on her own for the very first time in her life, Nasheen had to learn a whole new language. What lay ahead was a move to Canada, where Nasheen …

At the age of 30, Misty Shearer re-joined the Canadian Forces; this time as a combat engineer. Originally from Hamilton, Ontario, Misty was an experienced member of the forces, having spent years as a Military Police Officer before her year-long departure. Misty has won lots of medals, in Brazillian Jiu-Jitsu and Kettlebell competitions, but she sa…

Growing up in the Quinte Region of southern Ontario, Erin Bury didn’t really even know what it meant to be an entrepreneur. Erin is now the CEO of Wilful, an online estate planning start-up, based out of Toronto. She was previously Managing Director at a communication firm serving tech. companies and start-ups, and she was a founding editor at a st…

By Bonnie Mouck

By Megan Hanacek, reality TV contestant, forester, biologist

Mitzie Hunter would like to be the next premier of the province of Ontario. And she may well get that chance. Mitzie is a Liberal member of provincial parliament, representing a Toronto area riding. She's also one of six candidates vying for the leadership of the Ontario Liberal Party, which culminates with the party convention in March. Mitzie ser…

Joanna Chiu is a senior journalist for the Toronto Star based out of Vancouver......and says there is very little diversity in the leadership of Canadian newsroom, with most decision-makers being white men. Joanna kicked off her reporting career with a newspaper in Hong Kong, before heading into mainland China and working for a couple of major publ…

Sarah Ditmars has combined two of her passions into a career that continues to evolve. Her first love was sports. Sarah says she played every sport growing up, and recalls when her parents, fed up with her incessant use of the recycling bins as targets, broke down and bought her a basketball net. Sarah’s other love was science, a passion that would…

Happy New Year! As we enter a new decade we look back at some of the remarkable women we featured in 2019. Wishing all of our listeners a happy, healthy and prosperous new year. Thank you for listening.By Various 2019 guests

Eva Wong is the Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Borrowell. Eva talks about the pros and cons of being a woman in the tech industry. She tells us that not all tech companies have done a great job in creating environments that encourage and welcome diversity, and need to do more. Eva also talks about different leadership styles, pointing ou…

Lana Paton was a fresh Chartered Professional Accountant, working for another firm, when she received a call from a friend over at Price Waterhouse Cooper asking her to join PwC in tax services... That was over 25 years ago. On this episode of Run It Like a Girl, Lana, who now sits on PwC’s Canadian leadership team tells us, one thing she’s learned…

Sherri Stevens took a risk, and it paid off. Her decade long dream of being a flight attendant had fallen flat. After a couple of years in the industry, Sherri discovered, it was definitely not the profession for her. With no job and no money, Sherri left Toronto to live with her mother in a small apartment in her hometown of Woodstock. Desperate t…

Please note: In the episode we talk about Erica being the first woman from the ranks to become a combat diver. Erica was unaware at the time that another woman (Misty Shearer) received her combat diver coin first. Erica and Misty connected and it was a good news story. We also featured Misty on our podcast! Be sure to check her out. Erica Oliver ha…

Andrea Cook calls herself a career advertising girl, although she graduated from university as an economist, thinking she might want to be a trader. Following an internship, it became clear to Andrea that stock market trading was not in her cards, and she made a sharp turn towards advertising. Andrea is now the president of FCB/Six, an award-winnin…

Kristina Schwartz started out working with at-risk youth, working the midnight shift so she could spend time at home with her young daughter. When the mental and physical toll became too great, Kristina set in motion, a plan that would allow her to spend time with family, and make a living. Kristina opened a daycare out of her home. After the passi…

Virginia Brailey originally had visions of a career in high finance, but after taking The Canadian Securities Course to become a stockbroker realized that wasn't the path for her, and found her passion in marketing. Virginia is a strong proponent of collaborative, fun work environments, and spends much of her time bringing in people with diverse ba…

Sarah Kaplan is a professor at Toronto's Rotman School of Management and the director of The Institute for Gender and the Economy. As a professor and author, Dr. Kaplan has also been interested in gender equality issues, and has herself faced barriers and biases since beginning her career. It was in 2016, 30 years after Sarah's first day of work th…

In this episode Run it like a girl host Bonnie Mouck talks about why she started podcasting, what it means to be an authentic leader, and why she stopped caring about not knowing what she wants to be.By Bonnie Mouck

Dr. Ann Marie Vaughan had two challenges as she progressed through student leadership at Memorial University in her home province of Newfoundland. Not only was she female, but Ann Marie was always the youngest. She started university at 16 and ran for student government in her third year. By the age of 21, Ann Marie had advanced through to presiden…

Sevaun Palvetzian heads up Civic Action, an independent organization in Toronto that uses a collaborative approach to come up with solutions to some of the most pressing urban challenges. Civic Action has been around for nearly 15 years, starting as a Toronto-specific city building organization and expanding to cover the Greater Toronto and Hamilto…