Deborah Lampitt-McConnachie is the Prosper Project Coordinator and BC representative for PARO. PARO, derived from the Latin phrase ‘we are ready,’ is the Ontario counterpart of WeBC and focuses on empowering women entrepreneurs through education and support. Thanks to funding from the Government of Canada’s Women Entrepreneurship Strategy, PARO has expanded to make some of its programs available to women across Canada. Deborah joined the WeBC team in August 2023 to provide support and outreach for both organizations and help women all over BC find the right programs for them. 

Before joining WeBC, Deborah’s diverse career spanned the fashion, lifestyle, music and design industries in Canada, Los Angeles and London, UK. During her 25 years in London before relocating to Kelowna, Deborah has contributed to print and television media as a writer, stylist, segment producer and director. Deborah (or Debs, as she’s known in the office) also boasts an extensive background in higher education, holding roles in program management, curriculum development and teaching.

“My recipe for success has always been a combination of life-long learning, following my passion, and networking,” says Deborah. “My whole career has been aligned to the principle ‘luck equals preparation meets opportunity.’ I have been lucky enough to have done some amazing things, but I doubt I could have plotted it out as a career path if I had tried. One thing just led to the next, and the next, and so on.

After finishing my last position (Program Manager at the Centre for Arts and Technology), a friend suggested I should get in touch with WeBC as she knew I had a couple of entrepreneurial ideas I was batting around in my head. I went to an event they hosted as part of International Women’s Day, and liked what I saw. A short while later, WeBC advertised several full-time positions and I jumped at the opportunity to work within the organisation! The rest, as they say, is history.”

Deborah thinks PARO’s offerings complement WeBC’s services well, providing foundational programs like the GoForth online course, which guides new entrepreneurs step-by-step through the business start-up process. Their Prosper Circle initiative encourages women to form small peer support circles for mutual support and accountability. (Note: statistics show that women with peer support are up to seven times more likely to succeed in their business!) Additionally, PARO offers BizCamps for Foodpreneurs, or those interested in the Green Economy, featuring comprehensive 6 to 12-week online programs.

Deborah also champions WeBC by promoting our resources, online workshops and mentoring programs to her PARO clients. She recently assisted Dawn McCooey in facilitating the Mentoring 2.0 program and lends her writing and design skills to support WeBC’s marketing department.

“I love being a part of the WeBC/PARO ecosystem. Helping women achieve their fullest potential is really important to me, and I think the resources that PARO and WeBC offer are truly extraordinary. I remember starting out as a freelancer in the UK, and just having no idea of what I was doing. I would have given my right arm for the kind of support that we offer—for FREE!”

If you’d like to talk to Debs about how either PARO or WeBC might be able to help you on your entrepreneurial journey, please email her at deborah@we-bc.ca.