ABOUT
THE NEST

The Nest Foundation is a grassroots non-profit with a mission to transform the lives of women and build future leaders. We are grateful for your support and look forward to sharing the stories of transformation that you will make possible.

With your support, we can directly impact and transform the lives of women and our youth to create more female leaders and evoke a global circle of reciprocity.

When women succeed, we all succeed.

FOUNDER’S MESSAGE

I believe that every woman has a story. My own personal journey has led me down the road of rebuilding my life for myself and my son. The journey has been filled with uncertainty, judgment, and duress. My life was turned upside down in 2007. I became a single mom with a seven-month-old baby: which in turn became a complex divorce and seven-year litigation navigating the courts. It was one of the most vulnerable times in my life and the beginning of my personal journey of transformation, to rebuild my life as an independent woman and mother.

The Nest Foundation will transform the lives of women and empower our future leaders of tomorrow. I’ve paved the path.  Your support will directly impact the lives of women and youth in our community. With your support, we can inspire the next generation of leaders and provide leadership, opportunities and a community of support.

Did you know…

Increasing diverse women’s representation in leadership is key to advancing gender justice in Canada. With more women in these roles, there’s a greater opportunity to bring a gender lens to the decision and policies that impact our future. The next generation of girls and young women will also benefit from having diverse role models and mentors across industries and sectors.

  • 67% of women learn leadership from other women
  • 86% of  women report when they see women in leaders they are inspired and encouraged to do the same
Source: Canadian Women’s Foundation

MICHELLE'S STORY

Our Why

  • 75.8% of women are part-time workers due to childcare
  • Single or divorced women are more likely to live in poverty after the age of 65
  • Indigenous women are killed six times at the rate of non-Indigenous women
  • 60% of women with a disability experience some form of violence; women of color or race are less likely to be recognized for their achievements
  • 27% of women make up the House of Commons
  • 60% of women are less likely than men to move to middle management or executive ranks
  • 35% of women have a university or college degree
  • 1.5 million women in Canada live on a low income

STEERING COMMITTEE

Monica Kretschmer

Founder, The Nest Foundation™ Founder and CEO, Universal Womens Network™, Women of Inspiration™

Monica is the Founder and CEO of Universal Womens Network™, Women of Inspiration™ Awards, The Nest Foundation™, SupportHER™ (elevating male leaders who champion women in their networks, workplaces, and communities), MentorHER™ Mentorship Program, and the Women of inspiration™ Podcast. The Universal Womens Network™ is a global platform committed to gender equality by raising the bar to advance women in their network, workplace, and communities with strategically like-minded partners and organizations. Women of Inspiration™ celebrates, recognizes, and inspire women across Canada who lead by example and inspire others to be more and do more! Universal Womens Network™ inspires and connects a diverse network of 21,000+ members and subscribers made up of female entrepreneurs, business owners, executives, thought leaders, industry experts, professionals, National and Global Ambassadors.

Ronald G. Dahl

During his three-decade career in education, Ron served as a school administrator, President of the Canadian Association for Social Studies, Director of the Canadian Teacher’s Federation and Vice President of the Alberta Teacher’s Association. He subsequently, after “retiring”, was Director of Student Recruitment for DeVry University Calgary. These roles led to attendance at international conferences {WCOTP* in Sweden and El” in Zimbabwe}, chairing Executive Council and Annual General Meetings and managing operations and budgets throughout. He also spent several years in the private sector serving on the boards of various organizations. “World Confederation of Organizations of the Teaching Profession and Education Intonational.

Lindsay Sill

Lindsay Sill is an Executive with a demonstrated history of working in the information/digital technology and services industry. She is skilled in Strategic Partnerships, Management, Leadership, Team Leadership, and Project Management. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from the University of Victoria. Over the past decade she’s held various leadership roles at the Quantum Algorithms Institute and WestGrid / Compute Canada. As a member of the Advanced Research Computing (ARC) Working Group, Lindsay co-authored a position paper on the ARC needs in Canada, as requested by the federal government, through the Leadership Council on Digital Research Infrastructure. These efforts led to the 2018 federal budget announcement of $572.5M over five years to implement a Digital Research Infrastructure Strategy. Lindsay was also an Advisory Board member of the first international and Canadian chapter of the non-profit organization Women in HPC, which works to improve the gender balance in high performance computing. She serves as a National and Global Ambassador for the Universal Women’s Network, Vice-Chair of The Nest Foundation, on the CanShield Solutions Board of Directors, and is a member of the CIRA Nominations Committee.

Sarah Raza

Sarah Raza is a PhD student in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Alberta. She previously earned her MSc in Neuroscience at the University of Lethbridge, where she studied the role of early experiences on brain development. Currently, Sarah is working on the Canadian Infant Sibling Study as part of her PhD research. Her research focuses on understanding the early signs of Autism Spectrum Disorder. Driven by a passion for brain health research, Sarah hopes to support, empower, and improve the lives and future potential of children and their families through impactful research.

In addition to academia, Sarah has experience in stakeholder engagement, public policy and advocacy, and community outreach. She has served on several national trainee-led executive committees with Kids Brain Health Network (KBHN) – a trans-Canadian network dedicated to helping children and families with neurodevelopmental disabilities. These executive roles have given Sarah the opportunity to interact with key members in the community, clinical practice, and governmental organizations on initiatives related to child health.

Sarah was inspired by Monica Kretschmer’s story and the vision behind The Nest Foundation. She believes the combination of her background in health research and experience in stakeholder engagement and advocacy will bring a unique perspective to The Nest Foundation.

Sarah Hawco

Sarah has an extraordinary wealth of legal and financial expertise that brings a 360-degree perspective to both dispute resolution and financial distress and restructuring. She is a Chartered Professional Accountant, a Chartered Insolvency and Restructuring Professional, holds a Master of Laws from Osgoode Hall Law School, is a Certified Fraud Examiner and is a Qualified Arbitrator. Prior to founding her own firm, Hawco Peters and Associates, Sarah spent 13 years practising insolvency and turnaround management at national and international firms. She provides a wide range of consulting and business coaching, specializing in debt refinancing, due diligence, business reviews and viability assessments, restructuring, succession planning, and alternative dispute resolution. As an expert in her field, Sarah has published numerous papers, lectured at the University of Calgary Law School, and has presented across the country as a keynote speaker. Outside of her professional commitments, Sarah volunteers her time to teaching financial literacy at various schools and shelters, as well as sitting on a number of non-profit boards. Finally, and perhaps the most fun she has, Sarah is a group fitness instructor trying to spread the joy of movement and community.

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