About Jessica Howard

Jessica Howard is Manager, Content and Web at the Canadian Women’s Foundation. Having worked as a journalist, blogger, content strategist and university instructor, she believes that storytelling is key to social change. As a mother of two sons, she is also highly knowledgeable about Lego, Star Wars and Superheroes.

Anna Cordner is One of the Fearless Women

2017-12-19T17:34:22+00:00October 7, 2015|Corporate, Gender-based violence|

Anna CordnerWhen she started her career, Anna Cordner looked around and noticed a lot of “group think.”

“People tend to subconsciously hire people that are like themselves, and prefer to work with people that are like themselves,” Cordner says. “That may feel like it makes things easier, because we are all thinking the same, but you really lack the different perspectives that drive value.”

Now, she works for a company that prioritizes diversity and female leadership. Cordner is a Specialist in Integrated Business Planning at the Calgary office of Agrium, a global leader in agricultural products and services.

Our 2015 Breakfast speaker talks women’s empowerment, disability & changing the world through comedy

2017-12-19T17:35:26+00:00September 28, 2015|Empowering girls, Gender-based violence, Women in media|

Maysoon ZayidWhat do you do when an obstacle stands between you and your dream? If you’re comedian and actress Maysoon Zayid, you find a way to laugh about it.

“Comedy is all about taking something that is otherwise painful, and spinning it in a way that allows you to laugh it off,” says Maysoon, who will be speaking at the Canadian Women’s Foundation Breakfasts in Calgary on Oct. 22 and Toronto on Oct. 27.

As a Palestinian Muslim woman living with cerebral palsy, Maysoon has scaled her share of obstacles while working toward her dream role: a part on General Hospital. Realizing that she didn’t fit the conventional actress mold, Maysoon looked to role models like Ellen DeGeneres and Gilda Radner. Comedy would be her ticket into the entertainment world.

How to help your teen recognize unhealthy online relationships

2017-12-19T17:38:26+00:00August 12, 2015|Empowering girls, Gender-based violence, How to|

Teens taking selfieFor anyone who knows a teenager, it won’t come as a shock that one quarter of kids age 13 to 17 are online “almost constantly.”

A lot of that time is spent communicating with friends and peers: texting, Instagramming and Snapchatting. And for parents, a lot of that communication goes unseen and unheard.

Although parents can’t possibly monitor all of their children’s online interactions, they can help set the tone for healthy online relationships.

Sex-trafficking Roundtable: A First for Atlantic Canada

2023-05-29T19:09:37+00:00July 21, 2015|Gender-based violence, Human trafficking, Sexual abuse|

Denise John speaks at sex-trafficking roundtable (Photo: Denise John, Victim Support Navigator at the Mi’kmaw Native Friendship Centre in Halifax, was one of the participants at the Canadian Women’s Foundation’s recent roundtable discussion on sex trafficking.)

Windsor, Nova Scotia, is known as the “birthplace of hockey” and is famous for its giant pumpkins. The population of the town, which is an hour from Halifax, is around 3,700.

When veteran officer Luc Côté got stationed at the Windsor RCMP detachment in April, it was “a bit shocking” to learn his colleagues were working on a sex-trafficking case.