President Louise shared with the members that the RI President-Elect Nominee has been announced – It is Jennifer Jones from Windsor Ontario and she will be the first woman RI president serving in 2022-2023.  Our district Governor that year will be Sandhya Maini.

 

Following our last meeting with presenter John Lomax highlighting the work of the district Indigenous Support Committee, President Louise reached out to Stephen Jackson, CEO of the local Anishnabeg Outreach organization to see if there were any opportunities for us to share information or work on projects together.  There was an opportunity to assist with the building of their Teaching Lodge but unfortunately, the timeline was too short and it was not possible for us to become involved.  However, Louise will be meeting with him soon to explore other possibilities – stay tuned.

Sherry Shannon-Vanstone, Guest Speaker

Sherryl Petricevic, Guest Speaker

 

Today, President Louise recognized two members- She welcomed Candi Harrington back from leave of Absence and thanked her for jumping right in and taking on the role of chairing the program committee.  She also thanked Darren Sweeney for his ongoing work with the Local Lager fundraising initiative, which, unfortunately will soon be coming to an end.

Paul Rostrup and his wife Paula are delighted that they were able to get into Toronto this past weekend and finally meet in-person with their two-and-a-half year old granddaughter after only having Zoom meetings with her over the five months of the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

Similarly Howard Pell and Rose will be seeing their grand niece who was born in February for the first time this afternoon.

 

Jim Brown is happy to be at the cottage enjoying the great weather but is a bit disappointed that no one has brought him a drink yet, despite the fact that he has been wearing his birthday hat, complete with candles on top.

Today’s program was a presentation by Sherry Shannon-Vanstone and Sherryl Petricevic of Women in Communication and Technology – Waterloo Chapter who were introduced by Candi Harrington:

 

Sherry Shannon-Vanstone, Co-Chair, Women in Communications & Technology - Waterloo chapter
CEO & Founder, Profound Impact
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sherry-shannon-vanstone-10281b4/

 

Sherry Shannon-Vanstone didn’t grow up in the world of possible; at least not what was deemed possible for a little girl in the late 60s/early 70s.  But, possible is the realm she chose to create for her adult life and business pursuits thanks to her love of and proficiency in mathematics.  Yes, life is a set of algorithms when you are an accomplished elliptic curve cryptographer among other algebraic structure and mathematical science constructs.

 

Mathematician, entrepreneur, inventor, philanthropist, mentor and corporate board member are a few of the words used to describe the accomplishments of this trailblazer.  Sherry has been involved in three very successful start-up ventures — Cylink, Certicom, and TrustPoint Innovation — and recently launched a new company called Profound Impact.  Plus, she was a partner in the development of the information security system that still serves as the market distinction for Blackberry; Certicom was purchased by Blackberry in 2009.  Profound Impact is more than the name of Vanstone’s new enterprise, launched in 2018, it’s also her brand promise.  The other words integral to how Sherry Shannon-Vanstone lives her life are compassionate, authentic and trustworthy.

 

Sherryl Petricevic, Co-Chair, Women in Communications & Technology - Waterloo chapter

Manager, Outbound Marketing and Community Development, ENSCRYPT

Twitter: @SherrylP29

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sherrylpetricevic/
 

Sherryl is a focused and energetic business leader, marketer and community-builder, expert in identifying organizational imperatives, leading initiatives, building strong teams, communicating with stakeholders and achieving results.  Over the last 30plus years, Sherryl taken on leadership roles from small non-profit organizations to large multinational companies, and was a key member of the teams at Communitech, Ontario Business Education Partnership, WaterlooEDC,  TrustPoint Innovation and  now ESCRYPT the security division of Bosch.  She has a passion for building initiatives in support of workforce and economic development such as the Women in Communications and Technology Waterloo Region Chapter.

 

Here is a synopsis of their presentation:

 

After invited to speak at a Women in Communications & Technology event in Ottawa in 2018, local tech entrepreneur Sherry Shannon-Vanstone saw the potential for a similar program for professional women in Waterloo; a place she sees as a “technology hub, but more importantly as a greenhouse for incredible women”.  Six months later, and with the help of co-chair Sherryl Petricevic, the local chapter of Women in Communications & Technology (WCTwr) launched to great fanfare (and even attracted the attention of a Nobel Laureate).

 

Since then the group has held public talks on leading-edge issues such as: ethics in artificial intelligence, social impact investing, and women in politics (featuring Rotary’s own, Karen Redman!). In addition to efforts to ‘complement and amplify’ other groups and associations across the Region focused on gender equity, WCTwr identified the gap early on in their planning around mentorship.  Later that year, WCTwr Mentoring Circles was created.

 

The Mentorship Circles program was designed “for women of Waterloo by women of Waterloo” to provide like-minded professionals the opportunity to form strategic partnerships with members of a group.  The partnerships are intended to help mentees deal with current career challenges, as well as find the support and tools they need to grow and develop in their careers. Participants are from varied backgrounds, expertise and career levels, but what they share is a passion for excellence and a desire to realize their potential in their professional lives. By exchanging experiences, challenges and opportunities for the purpose of enhancing self-confidence, communication skills and leadership practices, participants are able to set important development goals and build competence and character to reach those goals.  Through a partnership with Deloitte, the program was available at no cost to participants.

 

The first Mentorship Circles series capped off on June 25, 2020 with a message from the Right Honorable David Johnston (a long-time male ally and advocate of equality), a presentation by local women leaders who lead through COVID, and a celebration of the inaugural cohort class. 

 

This fall, WCTwr will be opening up applications for both mentors and mentees for the 2020 - 2021 WCT WR Mentorship Circles cohort. Please share the news with colleagues and friends, or consider becoming a mentor/mentee yourself!