Filling the Gap is pleased to host its first virtual series this Fall.
Whether you've been working from home, searching for a job, or adapting to new working environments, the pandemic has permanently altered our relationship with work. In FTG's first event series, we will discuss how to navigate these changes, the different types of work we experience throughout our lives, and how to recognize our core values to set boundaries around them.
Each evening will include a panel discussion followed by a hands-on workshop. Proceeds for the event will go towards the valuable work done by the Barbra Schlifer Commemorative Clinic.
Our Series
Evening 1: October 7, 2021; 6:00pm-7:30pm EST
Working it Out: hustle culture, recognizing toxicity, burnout and setting boundaries.
Evening 2: October 28, 2021; 6:00pm-7:30pm EST
The New Types of Work: emotional labour, unrecognized work, how to shift your perspective on your job.
Evening 3: November 11, 2021; 6:00pm-7:30pm EST
Career Change and Movement changing roles, functions, jobs, careers, how to understand your own needs and supporting yourself through that change.
Our Speakers
Evening 3 Workshop Facilitator
Gwenna Kadima (she/her) is a Toronto-based workplace equity, diversity, and inclusion champion empowering marginalized individuals to achieve their highest professional potential through targeted macro and micro interventions. Gwenna catalyzes equality at the individual level as an independent Career Activator, offering inclusive, culturally-relevant career development services to empower marginalized student and professional audiences. In addition to this work, Gwenna addresses systemic workplace barriers through her work at Accenture, a Fortune 500 technology consulting firm. Here, she is a client-facing Talent & Organization Consultant and the Founder and National Recruitment Lead of BOLD, Accenture Canada’s Black Employee Resource Group.
Panelists
Yusra Khan is a regulatory lawyer & Certified In-House Counsel, with extensive experience in regulated industries and professions. She has worked with some of Canada’s leading legaltech, fintech and financial services companies & executives on regulatory, risk and compliance members. She is currently practicing law as a sole practitioner and provides regulatory risk consulting for Deloitte. Between 2018 and 2021, Yusra acted as counsel & director for Canada’s first Federal Credit Union on their successful application for a Schedule 1 banking license. Prior to that, she practiced as a criminal & regulatory defense lawyer, and was fortunate to article to one of Canada’s top defense lawyers and a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers (ACTL). Yusra also has experience working in politics and government, including as a trade analyst for the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs in Damascus, Syria. A lifelong learner and polyglot, she holds a JD from UBC, a BA in Economics from McGill, and a multitude of relevant (and irrelevant) certificates.
Chris Bergeron VP, Inclusive Creativity, Cossette ( elle/she/her)
Chris lived the first 40 years of her life, hiding as a heterosexual man. She enjoyed a successful career as a contributor to major media outlets in Canada. She made the jump to advertising ten years ago, as a creative director for several top agencies in the country. Then she came out as a trans woman and started living her life as her true self. Suddenly being faced with the reality of belonging to a visible sexual minority profoundly changed her view of the working world and of leadership in particular. Both at home and abroad, Chris actively promotes diversity, inclusion, and the rights of transgender people by sharing her story on the public stage. Her advertising portfolio includes work with major brands such as McDonald’s Canada, Destination Canada, General Mills, GM, L’Oréal Paris, Tag Heuer and Adidas. In 2020 she was named among Adweek/Adcolor’s eighteen Champions of Diversity. Valide, her first novel, came out in Québec the spring of 2021.
Natasha Singh is a creative professional, community builder and entrepreneur. She’s passionate about conceiving and bringing big ideas to life. She has over a decade of experience that spans across industries from tech marketing, fashion and retail. Formerly at Shopify for 7 years Natasha’s work focused on brand and influencer marketing, experiential and community building. Deeply passionate about diversity, belonging and inclusion Natasha was a founding member of the Belonging Connector program at Shopify. In 2018 co-created At The Moment, a community dedicated to women who are breaking boundaries, using their voices to make change, and embracing who they are. She grew up in Brantford, Ontario and have been lucky to call both Toronto and Montreal home. My passion for creating unique, engaging experiences and building
Jaime Lipowitz began selling as soon as she learned to speak. A natural people person, Jaime realized from a young age that with a combination of charm and persuasion—she could always get people to see her point of view. She began a career in sales in 2006 and has worked in a variety of roles in the marketing industry, actively partnering with major brands to conceptualize and execute digital content programs. With cannabis legalization looming, Jaime switched gears and jumped into cannabis marketing in 2018 with a brief stint at Merry Jane. While there, Jaime realized the importance of Budtenders and went on to create High Buds Club, one of the fastest growing startups on the Canadian Cannabis scene.