The Diversity Institute wishes to share an update regarding the Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub (WEKH).
After years of dedicated service, Sabine Soumare, Executive Director of WEKH, and Shay Lowe, Director of Stakeholder Engagement, will be moving on to the next chapters of their professional journeys. We extend our sincere thanks and appreciation for their significant contributions to the growth and impact of WEKH.
Sabine began her journey with WEKH in 2019 as Francophone Engagement Consultant before becoming the Director of Communications and Marketing for the Diversity Institute and later stepping into the role of Executive Director back at WEKH. Throughout her tenure, Sabine played a key role in advancing francophone engagement both within and beyond Quebec, supporting the operations of WEKH’s national network of hubs, and representing WEKH at countless events. Her leadership has helped build WEKH’s momentum and its mission to advance inclusive innovation and women’s entrepreneurship across Canada and particularly in the Francophone community. She will also be missed by her many friends and entrepreneurs whose businesses she helped advise and build.
Shay has also been an important contributor to WEKH’s success over the past five years. Building on more than a decade of experience as an entrepreneur, Shay brought deep passion for community building, mentorship, and collaboration. She played a pivotal role in strengthening relationships across WEKH’s network of more than 250 ecosystem partners, helping to amplify the voices and experiences of women entrepreneurs and the organizations that support them. We are grateful for Shay’s unwavering commitment and for the energy and expertise she brought to her work.
We extend our warmest wishes to both Sabine and Shay as they embark on new opportunities, and we thank them for their leadership, dedication, and impact.
A New Chapter for WEKH: Women Build Canada
Dr. Wendy Cukier and Dr. Tania Saba will continue to lead research and strategy as Co-Chairs of WEKH through its next phase with a focus on the ways in which women owned businesses are core to Canada’s economic, trade and sustainability goals as well as our national AI Adoption Strategy.
Wendy is the Founder and Academic Director of the Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub and the Diversity Institute at Toronto Metropolitan University. An internationally recognized expert in innovation, inclusion, and the future of work, Wendy has authored more than 200 publications and led national initiatives advancing diversity in entrepreneurship, tech, and leadership. She has been the lead for WEKH’s research and advocacy and bringing a gender and diversity lens to all aspects of the entrepreneurship and Innovation Ecosystem
Dr. Tania Saba is the BMO Chair in Diversity and Governance at the Université de Montréal and Full Professor, and lead of the WEKH Quebec Hub who has been with the network since its inception. Her research focuses on workplace diversity, labour market integration, aging, gender equity, and intersectional approaches to organizational change. A respected scholar and national leader on inclusive labour and entrepreneurship ecosystems, she has worked closely with academia, government, and entrepreneurship networks to build a strong francophone lens within WEKH’s research and engagement strategy. Her leadership has been instrumental in strengthening WEKH’s bilingual capacity and expanding outreach across Quebec and francophone communities in Canada.
The WEKH Team includes:
- Dr. Guang Ying Mo, Director of Research who has been responsible for overseeing research on entrepreneurship and innovation
- Meagan Trush, Director of Partnerships who has been responsible for government relations. sponsorships and for the WEKH ecosystem mapping and outreach
- Deirdre O’Beirne-Rosaeg, Manager of Communications leading WEKHs bilingual communications and digital strategies
Along with our small but mighty team of staff, they are supported with our regional coordinators: Roz Lockyer, CEO, PARO, Elizabeth Cleland, Managing Director, Impact Hub Ottawa, Suzanne Gagnon, Acting Dean, I.H. Asper School of Business, Canada Life Chair and Director, JW Burns Leadership Institute, University of Manitoba, Shannon Pestun, Founder and CEO, The Finance Cafe, WEKH Senior Advisor Alberta, Business and Finance, Lesley Esford, Executive Director, SFU Venture Labs, Meghann Coleman, National Executive Director, Lab2Market, Dalhousie University as well as Kathleen Powderley, Strategic Communications from Responsible Communications.
