Alissa Assu is a mother to Ember and Charlie. She embodies patience and compassion, balancing her roles as a supportive partner for the National Indigenous Renal Transplant Research Project: BRIDGE, and as an entrepreneur. Together with her partner Cody Assu, she runs three Indigenous companies: Bear Essential Oils, RavenSong Soap & Candle, and West Coast Wildflowers.

Alissa spent much of her career working as a frontline worker across various Indigenous community sectors. She contributed to organizations such as the BC Association of Aboriginal Friendship Centres, the Urban Native Youth Association, and Gathering our Voices. These Indigenous-led social service organizations promote, develop, and deliver accessible programs and services to support Indigenous peoples living in urban areas and away from home. With over 15 years of frontline experience, Alissa has built leadership skills, compassion, and a deep understanding of vulnerability. Transitioning from frontline roles to leadership positions, she has worked to demystify negative Indigenous perceptions and integrate Indigenous values and conversations at the highest levels of business. 

This journey has been an integral part of her mission and story, leading up to co-founding a fourth business – Empower Women Canada – with three incredible allies.

Ashley Ramsay is a highly accomplished entrepreneur, investor, not-for-profit board member, speaker, and community builder, renowned specifically for her unwavering passion and commitment to advancing women’s equity in the realms of business and entrepreneurship. With a wealth of experience, she has successfully founded, built, and led four companies since the age of 25 and boasts an extensive parallel track record as a Director on government Crown and not-for-profit boards.

In her latest entrepreneurial endeavor, Ashley achieved a remarkable feat by spearheading the growth of Yeti Farm Creative, now recognized as one of Canada’s premier animation studios. Under her leadership, the studio expanded to over 175 employees before a successful exit. Ashley also stands as one of the few Canadian female animation company founders. This legacy serves as the driving force behind her dedication to empowering entrepreneurs across Canada, guiding these high-growth enterprises through the challenges of scaling up, exit planning and execution, and raising capital. At a higher level, Ashley’s advisory within her Crown appointments has significantly increased economic impact. She is passionate about making a difference to the economy, not only for British Columbians but for all Canadians.

Ashley’s outstanding contributions have garnered her prestigious accolades, including the Profit 100 Rising Stars, Okanagan’s Top 40 under 40, New Ventures BC, Women to Watch, and the Business Examiner Business of the Year award, among others. Her commitment to excellence is further evident in repeat nominations for the Royal Bank Women of Influence.

Honored by the TEC Leadership Forum and a longstanding member of the MacKay CEO Forum, Ashley has had the unique opportunity to sharper her leadership skills among some of the country’s top CEOs. Her journey reflects not just success but a continuous commitment to excellence and a passion for fostering the growth and success of women in the entrepreneurial landscape.

Ashley currently invests in the Okanagan Women’s Mentoring and Angel Network (WMAN), is an active member of Indigenous Insight, and currently advises a handful of women-founded startups throughout British Columbia while enjoying the work-life-play balance in the fastest growing city in Canada, Kelowna, BC.

Kelsey Pringle is the Owner of 5 Star Media Group, a boutique marketing firm renowned for innovative strategies and top-tier content. With over eight years of dedicated leadership, Kelsey has driven the company to success.

As a passionate entrepreneur and advocate for women’s empowerment, Kelsey is also the Co-founder of UPLIFT, a community fostering connection and empowerment for women. Beyond conventional business boundaries, UPLIFT reflects her commitment to inspire and uplift others.

In her role at 5 Star Media Group, Kelsey embraces the transformative power of emotion in marketing. Guided by Maya Angelou’s wisdom, she believes in infusing a human touch into every corporate narrative, recognizing that how you make people feel leaves a lasting impression.

Creating and gathering is one of Laurence’s’ joys of her life. She has successfully blended her love to plan, curate and capture beautiful moments into our everyday lives, through the art of floral therapy with her business FleuRich Creations.

Laurence is passionate about floral sustainability and is well respected across her industry as a pioneer of eco-friendly floral artistry practices, using ethically sourced blooms. Supporting local flower growers is one of her priorities, actively sourcing blooms from local farms in her arrangements, before purchasing further afield.

As a community advocate, collaboration with other small local businesses is imperative to her success. Viewed as a kind-hearted, go-getter with a fierce love for local, her peers always want to join forces and it’s hard not to when there’s flowers involved!