AHF Summit 2019 Agenda
This highly curated and intimate day of programming was held at University of Toronto Entrepreneurship’s ONRamp on Saturday, October 26, 2019.
9:00 – 9:30 am
Registration, Networking & Breakfast
9:30 am – 9:50 am
Welcome & About Accelerate Her Future
Golnaz Golnaraghi, Founder, Accelerate Her Future
9:50 am – 10:10 am
Mentorship Circle
Mentors and mentee introductions and discussion
10:10 am – 11:00 am
Changemaker Talk
Komal Minhas, Investor, Interviewer & Philanthropist
Hear first-hand how a successful woman of colour has used the entrepreneurial mindset to navigate challenges and opportunities and build a meaningful career. Accelerating your career requires you to often think like an entrepreneur and take calculated risks –to achieve the success you know you deserve. This opening talk will be from a woman of colour who can talk about their own fears and ambitions while in school and how, perhaps, the fear never really goes away, but how they learned to navigate their path, reframing challenges into opportunities and accelerating their career success.
11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Accelerate Your Career as a Woman of Colour in the Workplace
Karlyn Percil-Mercieca, KDPM Consulting & SisterTalk Leadership and Wellness Academy
Angela White, RBC
An honest and candid fireside chat about careers and issues you may face in the workplace as a woman of colour – from finding cultures of belonging, to navigating multiple overlapping aspects of identity and bringing your authentic self to work, and overcoming issues we may face as women of colour.
12:00 – 1:00 pm
Lunch and Mentorship Circle
1:00 – 2:00 pm
Twice as Good: Navigating Excellence as a Woman of Colour
Chanèle McFarlane, Do Well Dress Well
As women of colour, we’re often judged more harshly which has led to us constantly striving for perfection. As Michelle Obama says, we’re not given the benefit of the doubt so we have to show up at all times. This talk will focus on equipping you with the context around excellence as women of colour and how to overcome perfectionism, through a discussion of systemic issues and current research (networking gaps), We will end with a practical workshop on how to develop a value-driven personal brand that enhances your career in and out of the workplace.
2:00 – 3:00 pm
I see it, I want it: How to get noticed in the recruitment process and land the job you want
Golnaz Golnaraghi (Moderator)
Shavonne Hasfal-McIntosh, Shopify (Panelist)
Tanya Bhaskar, TD (Panelist)
Mabel Hu, Wealthsimple (Panelist)
A deep dive into everything you ever wanted to know about the recruitment process and how you can stand out among the rest – hear first-hand from recruiters across various industries on what they look for, what their interview process is like, how to follow up the right way and how their workplaces are prioritizing diversity and inclusion.
3:00 – 3:15 pm
Break
3:15 – 4:15 pm
Networking for Women of Colour, Unfiltered
Darine BenAmara, The Smart Woman
We know how important having a strong network is – but let’s be honest: networking for women of colour often seems like it’s much easier said than done. What does it actually mean to build and maintain a network? How do you get over your fear of networking, especially when you have to navigate spaces where there’s no one else in the room that looks like you? How do you confidently present yourself and ensure your voice is heard? How do you make your way around the room and have conversations with people in a position of power?
4:15 – 4:30 pm
Mentorship Circle
4:30 – 5:30 pm
Reception, Speed Networking & Closing Ceremonies