Welcome to the AWE 2024 Summit

Thank You to our Summit Sponors

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Meet Our Keynote Speakers

In a country where 82% of founders fail due to financial mismanagement, Taunya Woods Richardson stands as a beacon of financial empowerment, guiding entrepreneurs to not only survive but thrive.
With over 30 years of experience as a lender, educator, economic developer, and entrepreneur, she is a celebrated advocate for financial empowerment among business owners nationwide.
Taunya’s mission is simple yet profound: to build up small business owners by strengthening their minds and their bottom lines. Her innovative approach combines pragmatic financial strategies with science backed behavioral insights, empowering entrepreneurs to take control of their financial future.
Featured in outlets such as The Globe and Mail, National Post, Financial Post, and CBC, Taunya is recognized for her high-energy, relatable style that makes complex financial concepts accessible and actionable.
Whether delivering a keynote on the Magnificence of Money or guiding founders down the Yellow Brick Road of the Cashflow Canvas, Taunya ensures her audiences leave equipped with actionable tools—and the confidence—to drive measurable results.

Shannon is a passionate leader supporting economic inclusion and women’s entrepreneurship.
A proud member of the Métis Nation of Alberta, Shannon has over 25 years of experience working across academic, nonprofit, industry, and government sectors.
As a former business banker, she pioneered one of Canada’s first women’s banking strategies and launched The Finance Cafe, Canada’s first financial literacy platform for women entrepreneurs.

Meet Our Panelists

Panel 1: Maximizing Opportunities

Crystal is an Indigenous Entrepreneur with over twelve years of experience in executive leadership as the CEO of Sundance Enterprises Ltd. and business development. She hails from Treaty Six territory in Alberta. Her late mother is Cree from Driftpile First Nation, and her late father is from Cold Lake First Nations. She is a proud mother of three young adult sons and a young daughter.
Crystal completed a Bachelor of Arts Honors Degree from the University of Alberta in 2002 and a Master of Science in Public Health in 2006. Crystal completed an Executive Master of Business Administration from Simon Fraser University.
Crystal received the Esquao Award for leadership in social development in 2009 from the Institute for the Advancement of Aboriginal Women.
Crystal also received a Community Impact Award for outstanding achievement from the Beedie School of Business, SFU, in 2022. Crystal has been interviewed by the media and featured in print ads for the Alberta Women’s Entrepreneur organization in 2019. Crystal has been the President/CEO of Sundance Enterprises, specializing in safety and quality control for the oil and gas sector for over ten years.
Recently, after a 3.5-year run as the Executive Director for an organization dedicated to First Nations land management, Crystal has returned to her business roots and has expanded Sundance from Industrial Quality consulting to focus on business development/advising services. Crystal has taught and supported Indigenous students in finishing their capstone projects through the Beedie School of Business and is passionate about helping Indigenous entrepreneurs. She lives her Indigenous identity and loves to promote her Cree and Dene Suline values and identity.
She is an uplifter by nature and will bring her wealth of experience as a business leader and innovator to the Alberta Women’s Entrepreneurs.

Melanie Harris, CEO, Physical Therapist, is a woman who was driven by her passion for helping people to stay committed to her dream and make her vision for that dream a reality. Melanie is the CEO and owner of Functional Therapy Inc., an incredibly unique pediatric support business built on the inspiring vision of its founder, rooted in strong values with the mission to support children and families who deserve to discover their story of possibility.
Melanie’s early experiences in rehabilitation as a physical therapist have driven her desire to connect, learn new skills, find strength, support healing and help the children and families in her community and other locations in Alberta. Melanie was also fortunate to gain insightful and strategic guidance from a collection of inspiring women through her career. She learned quickly how powerful a team of aligned professionals could be in business. Working alongside other female leaders who motivated, empowered, and built capacity in collaborative teams, while assisting children and families to have the best support and service possible, created a renewed drive in Melanie to expand her knowledge and build a space for similar growth and development.
Functional Therapy Inc. has experienced significant growth, evolving from a single physical therapist providing services to schools and families in their homes, to a collaborative, multidisciplinary team of professionals. Functional Therapy’s story started with the drive and energy of one woman working relentlessly around her kitchen table and expanded to a small clinic space serving the community of Stony Plain, Alberta. Today, Functional Therapy offers a beautiful, safe, and barrier-free 6,200 square foot facility that feels like home in the heart of downtown St. Albert, Alberta.
Melanie balances her time at Functional Therapy Inc. with raising 3 children, camping, hiking, and spending time with family and friends.

Milena is President and CEO of Nexus Exhibits, Western Canada's one-stop shop for complete turnkey visual branding services. Nexus Exhibits works with clients to strategically grow their business through bold design and delivering state-of-the-art trade show exhibits, displays, experiential environments, events, and workspace branding services. 

Aside from being an accomplished entrepreneur, Milena has over 25 years of experience as a transformational branding, marketing and business strategist who has worked with internationally recognized marque clients such as Westjet and Enmax. After graduating with a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Calgary's Haskayne School of Business and completing her MBA from Nova Southeastern University, Milena has dedicated herself to being a lifelong learner. She recently finished her ICD.D designation.  

An active Calgary member of Entrepreneur Organization, Milena travels worldwide mentoring and sharing her experience with other entrepreneurs. Milena has been a keynote speaker at the 2019 SAP Biz One conference and has spoken at various industry organizations. Furthermore, Milena's endless commitment to elevating the next generation of women leaders has been recognized by: President’s Volunteer Champion Award by the Women in Leadership Foundation (2016), University of Calgary's WRC Distinction Alumna Award for outstanding leadership and community improvement work.  Business Leader in Calgary Award for exceptional community leadership (2018), appointed Canada Ambassador to (WEDO) Women Entrepreneurship Day Organization, which is celebrated at the United Nations (2019).  As well as, Calgary Influential Women in Business award for professional accomplishments and community work (2020). Milena was recently recognized as WXN's Top 100 Most Powerful Women for Community Impact (2022).

Milena's mission is to alleviate poverty by educating, empowering, supporting and celebrating women. As a first-generation immigrant who left everything behind to start a new life in Canada, she has a strong drive to help girls and young women trying to make a better life for themselves.

Melissa Martin is our Strategic Edge Facilitator and Business Advisor. Melissa founded Wean Green in 2009 when she was on maternity leave from teaching first grade in Canada. She saw a market need for an eco-friendly storage option to store her homemade baby food and toddler snacks for her 2 daughters. To get started, Melissa grabbed her Mr.Sketch markers and created a business plan centered around infinitely recyclable glass containers that has survived a decade's worth of twists and turns. Now, instead of cooking up her business strategy in her kitchen she is executing an international brand that manufactures in South Korea and is distributed on most continents.
Never one to not maximize her "spare" time, Melissa has been involved in many organizations including Children's Wish Foundation, Alberta Women Entrepreneurs, 10,000 Kids Charity, SDSU, SAIT, Alberta Children's Hospital and she has been mentoring companies at District Ventures which is an accelerator program started by Arlene Dickinson one of Canada’s foremost women entrepreneurs. She has also been an active board member of Believe in the Gold charity and chaired their annual gala.
In 2017 Melissa and her daughters moved from Canada to Newport Beach, California where she not only learned how to surf & Stand Up Paddleboard but also started teaching it to the locals. Her love for the environment and the outdoors has driven much of her company's passion for creating eco-friendly products. She now splits her time between Alberta and California. Today through her company, Melissa's enthusiasm is focused on eliminating single use plastic that is often found in lunches at school and work. She works with organizations around the world to help advocate for the curtailment of plastic waste and encourage consumers to purchase sustainable products.

Panel 2: Fueling Growth

Bontu Galataa is an Entrepreneur Ecosystem Strategist at ATB Financial, dedicated to supporting entrepreneurs in Alberta. Her role involves developing and nurturing strategic partnerships with small business support organizations to understand community needs, facilitating learning opportunities for entrepreneurs and creating connections within the ecosystem.
Bontu holds a Bachelor's degree in Marketing and International Business and an MBA in Entrepreneurship and Innovation. She's passionate about social enterprises that address social and environmental challenges. Originally from Oromia, Ethiopia, Bontu maintains a strong connection to her roots and integrates it into her daily life. She is a Social Entrepreneur who heads Sayyoo Consulting, a firm specializing in social business consulting, as well as Sayyoo Innovation, a startup dedicated to the development of rural African communities through engaging the diaspora.

A leader in the women’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, Alison was named WEOC’s inaugural CEO in 2019. Since then, she has guided WEOC’s growth from Board-run initiative to integral resource within the women’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. A longtime advocate for increased access to capital for women entrepreneurs, Alison oversees the $30 million WEOC National Loan Program, which was announced by the Government of Canada in 2022. Working closely with national loan fund partners, the program supports entrepreneurs as they start and grow their businesses, offering funding alongside crucial wraparound services.
A sought-after speaker and collaborator for both government and industry, Alison leads from experience, with 20-plus years in communications management and a decade as a certified small business counsellor. A respected member of the business community, Alison recently sat on the Province of Manitoba Economic Competitiveness Committee and is currently Past Chair of the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce Board of Directors.

Catherine Glambeck has a diverse business background which started in accounting and finance. After working in many industries and roles, she started her own business. Together with her partner, they ran the business for many years. When the company was subsequently acquired by a larger organization, she set her sights on helping others through their Entrepreneurial journey. She went back to university and graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Entrepreneurial management from Royal Roads University in 2013.
Since then, with her people-centric nature, and empathy for the small business owner, Catherine has followed her calling to educate and share her first-hand, entrepreneurial understanding with the small business community. Her financial background allows her to support her clients in key financial areas such as cash flow, understanding financial statements and financing. She also has the personal and professional experience to advise as a generalist on all aspects of small business.
A born and raised Calgarian, Catherine loves traveling, learning about other cultures and spending time with friends and family. She has been to many places in the world but the bucket list is still long.
Now as Capital Relationship Strategist with AWE business, Catherine looks forward to continuing her work supporting women entrepreneurs.

Dr. Lindsay Booker is a registered psychologist and owner of a group psychology practice, Springbank Psychology, with two locations in Calgary.
Dr. Booker completed her PhD in School Psychology at the University of Nebraska and practiced as a licensed psychologist in the United States for nearly a decade. A native of Canada, she moved to Calgary with her family in 2017 before opening Springbank Psychology in the fall of 2020. Dr. Booker continues to provide clinical services for youth, adolescents and families while expanding a busy practice.
Springbank Psychology is a growing practice providing both assessment and counseling services for children, adolescents, parents, adults, and families. We have been expanding our services to include workshops and groups for kids and adults to meet the growing needs of our community.
Dr. Booker is an avid supporter of AWE, having participated in both the Bold Leadership and inaugural cohort of Strategic Edge as well as a recipient of a capital growth loan.

Juliet’s career in the financial services industry spans over 25 years with 20 years in corporate and business banking.
As a senior lender at the BDC for the past 10 years, Juliet is passionate about supporting small and medium sized businesses grow and making a positive impact on them. She is very proud to be part of Canada’s only bank devoted exclusively to entrepreneurs.

With the knowledge and love for retail Shashi has founded, developed and sold a few retail banners. Twisted Goods, Fernweh & Joydrop being her latest operational endeavor.
She has been on the Profit 200 list, W100 profit list, represented Canada at G8 Business Summits, spoken at various retail panels across Canada, been awarded Leader of Tomorrow and in 2013 was named Retailer of Year for Canada. She is passionate about the retail business, member of EO Calgary, volunteer with Futurpreneur & The Haskayne School of Business, 2018/19 Entrepreneur in Residence for SAIT, 2019, Former Board Chair for Alberta Women’s Entrepreneur, LPAC member for The51 & Board Member for Calgary Public Library Foundation. She is a strong advocate for women in business.
In 2022 Joydrop was named Independent Retailer of the Year for Canada.
Personal Profile: I love what I do and every day has a Hell yes in it! A big reason for that is my husband and my son. They constantly remind me what is important, and rest is just the icing on a very delicious cake. When I am not with them or with my business – I am reading, getting a cycle or yoga class in, planning our next trip and just generally trying not to be sore from core class.